A good morning is being awakened by the gentle rays of sunshine softly caressing your body with inviting warmth and light, stirring you from sleep with care, so as not to bring you to alertness too abruptly.

Sounds and smells soon accompanied the light, working in tandem to invigorate both body and mind, drawing one from the comforting abyss of sleep and back into alertness. The transformation was best done slowly, allowing one to savor the last moments of total relaxation.

Celes could smell the sweet fragrance of dew mingling with grass, and the even sweeter scent of honey, and in the background, she could hear the sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing. Her eyelids fluttered, resisting the allure of rolling over and returning to doze for a few more minutes, until at last her dark brown eyes opened, alertness triumphing over its more desirable foe.

The Flareon blinked in the morning light a few times. Her ear twitched subtly, scanning the surroundings for any sound to indicate the presence of another. Only after she mentally confirmed her isolation from onlookers did she allow herself to stretch her body, taking absolute care to nevertheless utilize her tail as a barrier while doing so.

Completing the stretch filled her weary limbs with energy, and she sat up, shaking herself a little to dispel any lingering haziness from her mind, and she slowly scanned the area with her eyes, confirming once and for all that she had been alone. This suited her perfectly well; back at the clan, it had been notoriously difficult to have complete privacy, even after evolution. Or maybe it would be better to say 'especially' after evolution.

The Flareon sighed and glanced around. She hadn't taken much time to inspect her sleeping location in terms of available resources, and was disappointed to find that there wasn't a water source within her line of sight. It wasn't that she was thirsty as much as she preferred to be able to inspect her reflection when she groomed, but on the other paw, the lack of such a water source would certain explain why she had gone completely undisturbed. In most areas she had chosen to spend the night, there usually was at least one Pokemon that passed by, or tried to make use of the same area.

And now it was beginning to occur to her that for the first time since leaving the clan, she was no longer operating entirely on her own schedule. If she wanted to proceed with the events of the day, she would require Sorin's presence, and she hadn't bothered to see where he had spent the night. Considering that she had met him while he had been perched in a tree, she imagined that he would be somewhere higher up, and that made it painfully inefficient to search for him.

The Flareon scowled to herself, but forced herself to relax, taking a moment to lick her paw and smooth out her fur. She needed to stay calm and not be impulsive. If she wandered off in search for Sorin, there was a chance that she'd miss him and he'd come by here and find her absent, and that would throw everything into chaos. It wasn't as if she could proceed with her search without his guidance anyway.

The secondary problem was that Sorin's undue wariness towards her meant that he might hesitate to approach the area while she might still be sleeping, out of fear of provoking her. Celes sighed to herself at the thought. She just wasn't used to interacting with people for longer than strictly necessary, and from the short time she had known Sorin, it was beginning to dawn on her just how much impact her tone and impatience had on others. For most interactions, the clipped and no-nonsense tone she used was to her benefit, but when it came to someone she relied on, or otherwise needed to keep around, she was slowly poisoning a relationship she otherwise profited from.

Celes bit her lip, her brown eyes glazing over in absent thought. Yet if she forced herself to behave differently, then she would be acting manipulatively for her own benefit. There had to be a balance somewhere that would keep Sorin from potentially becoming fed up with her attitude, but not force herself to come off as so kind and sweet that she would be acting like a total hypocrite.

The Flareon shook her head firmly, imagining that the thoughts clinging to her brain were being scattered aside by the head motion. She was just overthinking things now, and the last thing she needed was to get caught up in how much of her mindset was outright hypocritical.

"Guess the clan did teach me something, after all," she muttered bitterly. Her brown eyes swept the area again, and to her incredible relief, she spotted the blue dragon in the distance, moving towards her. By the time he reached her, she had taken several deep, cleansing breaths.

"Good morning," the Altaria stated cheerfully, although his expression sobered slightly, as if concerned that his tone would irritate her. Celes gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. Even back at the clan, she disliked greetings, no matter how harmless and well-intentioned they may be. She could never really get the hang of using them herself, at least not without coming off as phony, and after evolution, the Eevee that greeted her were just using it as a bridge to their true agenda, and so her tolerance for such empty words wore thin very quickly.

"Sleep okay?" Celes asked, not wanting the conversation to get awkward from the beginning. She wasn't in a particularly foul mood, she just wanted to get to the point of the interaction, something that was unlikely to occur quickly if Sorin was turned off by the way she acknowledged his greeting. Now and then, small talk was necessary to steer the conversation towards something relevant.

"Slept good," Sorin said, smiling briefly, which Celes did not bother returning. She wasn't in a bad mood, but she wasn't enthusiastic. Curt neutrality was easiest for keeping unwanted attention at bay. "You?" the Altaria added, still smiling a little.

"Perfectly," Celes answered, the corners of her mouth twitching in spite of herself. It had been a good night's sleep, and she definitely had the energy for the road ahead.

"All right," Sorin said brightly, pivoting his body to face the direction of the path they had been traveling the evening before. "If you need to eat something before we set off, now's the time to say so. Otherwise, I think we'll be able to grab brunch when we get there."

"I'll wait," Celes said after a short pause. Sorin had said the other night that it wasn't much further, and she didn't really want to backtrack to get more food, since there wasn't anything in the immediate area. Going back would only make her feel like her goal was further away than it actually was.

Sorin led the way down the path, with Celes trailing behind only a little bit, compared to the distance she had kept the previous day. Although neither of them had commented on the fact, it had been obvious that Sorin had a tendency of looking back at the person he was talking to, most likely judging the distance between them so that he could adjust his speaking volume, and Celes preferred if he didn't keep doing that. It made her feel a little self-conscious to have someone constantly glancing back, and it also made her nervous because Sorin would have his attention split and could potentially injure himself if he collided with something ahead of him.

The first few minutes of the trip were done in silence, broken only by Sorin absent-mindedly humming to himself. It was a different tune than the one he had been humming the other day, and Celes privately mused that had he not been humming when she had been passing through, they probably would not have met at all, as the melody of his voice had caught her attention and allowed her to pinpoint him. Even now, she was distinctly aware that the Altaria had a very lovely voice. She hadn't really noticed this when he was speaking, but his more musically inclined behaviors definitely demonstrated this talent.

"What is that tune?" the Flareon asked, startling Sorin into momentary silence.

"I dunno, just a tune I picked up somehow. I travel around a lot, and watch travelers, so bits and pieces of music and songs get all mixed together when I'm lost in thought," the Altaria answered, sounding a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry, was my humming bothering you?"

"No, nothing like that," Celes replied hastily. "It sounds nice."

"Oh, thanks," Sorin said, a little taken aback, but he smiled faintly. "I have to credit my evolution for that, because I was completely tone deaf as a Swablu."

"I don't think that's how it works," Celes said slowly. "You don't usually go from hopelessly bad to expert just by evolving."

"Maybe not," Sorin conceded. "But the change can streamline the learning process. Like maybe as an Eevee, you'd be a terrible swimmer, but evolve into a Vaporeon and you'll be a master before long. So as a Swablu, I was a terrible singer, but when I became an Altaria, my skills developed much faster with the advantages of my species."

Celes nodded thoughtfully. She hadn't really thought of that before, and it would make sense, especially with the specific example of an Eevee into a Vaporeon. She suspected he picked that example specifically to make it more relatable to her experiences.

They continued in relative silence, but the reason for this seemed to be that they were running into significantly more traffic now. Humans and Pokemon alike were passing them on the path, heading in the opposite direction, or just lingering on the side of the roads. More than once, Sorin indicated for them to go off the pathway entirely to better accommodate human travelers.

"Relax, we're fine," the Altaria said, noticing the heightened tension that was overtaking Celes' body whenever a human passed by. "Don't tense up so much, you draw more attention and make yourself look vulnerable."

"I know that," Celes grumbled. "I can't help it."

Sorin looked at her with a hint of concern. "You do realize we're heading towards one of the largest human cities in the region, right? There's going to be a lot of humans and Pokemon around us, so if you get that nervous, then this probably isn't going to work..."

"Then why did you suggest this?" Celes asked, trying to get the aggressiveness from her voice, but her growing anxiety was making her tone come off as more forceful than she wanted it to.

"Um..." the Altaria hesitated. "Well, you had a really...confrontational demeanor, so I figured it wouldn't be as much a problem, especially if you're with me."

Celes twitched, feeling a mixture of annoyance and exasperation welling up inside her. "I'll be fine," she said firmly. "Just keep going so I don't think about it much. Stopping and taking the passive road is what's messing with me right now."

"But showing poor manners on the road isn't doing you any favors, either," Sorin noted. "It comes off as antagonistic and challenging. It's that type of thing that sparks conflict with Pokemon like Inferna, who'd view you as a threat that needs to be dealt with."

Celes frowned. It sounded like Sorin was giving her conflicting advice, what with referencing her having a confrontational attitude, but then warning her not to act too passive or nervous, while still not being too confrontational...where was she supposed to draw the line?

As if he could read her thoughts, Sorin gave her a tiny smile. "Just act how you normally would, but let me guide you a little."

"Just go," Celes muttered. The Altaria shrugged his wings, but resumed flying towards the city. Even with the destination seemingly so near, it was still a considerable distance away, making it more difficult for Celes to simply relax and let her mind wander.

"Would it help to converse a little, and keep your mind off the traffic?" Sorin wondered. Celes cocked her head thoughtfully. It was not an unwelcome suggestion and she had little doubt that it would be effective in keeping her mind occupied, but there weren't many topics she particularly wanted to explore at length, and small talk was no better than absolute silence.

"Eh, why not?" she said with a shrug, and her dark brown eyes flicked towards the Altaria, a trace of amusement gracing her expression. "And we do owe one another further explanation of our previous conversations. So who'll talk first?"

"What do I owe you?" Sorin asked, sounding confused. Celes rolled her eyes, unseen by the cloud dragon. There was little chance that he had legitimately forgotten how he had prematurely ended a conversation last evening, but at the same time, it might be considered unfair of her to press the subject so soon.

"What happened after your kit was born," Celes explained, with an air of forced patience. "But never mind that for now, it's only fair that I take a turn this time. What do you want to know? More about the clan, my brother, or something else?"

Sorin was silent for several seconds, mulling over his options. Celes braced herself for his answer. While it was a nice change to have someone genuinely interested in her clan and history, many of the memories were tainted by Blaze's departure, and her own shortcomings.

"Okay," Sorin said finally, and there was a wariness in his voice that spoke volumes about how he expected her to react. "I know you weren't too fond of explaining the situation yesterday, but I feel like I'm missing something that'll enlighten me on why it-"

"Just say it," Celes interrupted impatiently. "You're not making me more willing to discuss it by beating around the bush, especially if I don't even know yet what you're going to ask about."

Sorin winced a little. "Your evolution. I don't get why you're hostile about the subject. And you also mentioned something yesterday about dealing with attention post-evolution."

Celes frowned, but perhaps to Sorin's surprise, the expression was thoughtful instead of aggravated. It was a perfectly fair question, and his hesitation in bringing it up served as an uncomfortable reminder that she had been a bit too prickly yesterday.

"I'm not normally hostile about my evolution," the Flareon admitted carefully. "Not in the sense that I'm unhappy with it. I enjoy being a Flareon, for whatever that's worth."

"Well...that's good, right?" Sorin asked awkwardly.

"But I shouldn't have evolved," Celes continued, ignoring the Altaria's comment. In her present mood, it would be best if she explained herself without distraction. "I didn't find the Fire Stone, and I didn't earn it. Blaze found it, but I touched it. He wanted it for himself, so that he could try to change things."

The Flareon closed her eyes, feeling a surge of emotion welling up in her chest, causing her eyes to burn with the beginning of tears, but she forced them away, gritting her teeth to focus her mind and energy away from the emotions tearing at her heart.

"Blaze hated the clan, you see. He found the rules too controlling and stifling, and felt that young Eevee should learn by having the freedom to make mistakes and improve themselves from experience, not by mindlessly following whatever they were told," Celes continued.

Sorin nodded slowly, but continued to listen without interruption.

"My brother wasn't stupid. He didn't just break rules for the sake of it. He wouldn't risk his safety or mine just to prove a point, but he got on the bad side of the leaders, so when it came to earning status and such, he had no hope of being chosen," Celes sighed, but her tail flicked a little.

"Did that bother him a lot?" Sorin wondered. Celes glanced up at him, briefly confused. "The fact he was more or less blacklisted from rising in status?"

"Not really," Celes mused. "But he resented the exclusiveness of the system. The real struggle for him was being ostracized from the community and becoming the target of mean-spirited pranks and insults to rile him up. By taunting a figure of ridicule, they hoped to get rewarded by the leaders that disliked him."

"And let me guess, it was stupidly effective?" Sorin asked, with an obvious note of distaste in his voice.

Celes gritted her teeth, practically spitting the words. "It destroyed his morale and self-esteem. He hated himself for being an easy target, and every time he was scolded for defending himself from the bullying, his hatred for the clan increased. If it weren't for my support...I don't know what he might have done."

The Flareon sighed heavily, the aggressiveness fading from her body. She was quiet for almost a full minute, and Sorin didn't dare break the silence, but she could practically feel his eyes on her, metaphorically if not literally.

"My evolution attracted the ire of the clan leaders, obviously," Celes continued finally. "It went against the system in a way they could not ignore."

The Flareon paused, her tail flicking as she replayed the scene in her head. She could still see the leaders in her mind's eye, flanking one another and scolding her, their eyes angry as they made accusations and inquiries, yet never permitting her to actually explain herself in favor of repeating their statements of how taking a shortcut was an insult to the Eevee that had put in the effort and time to be chosen and prepared for evolution.

Celes' mouth twitched. "I told them respectfully to piss off."

Sorin choked, turning his head to look at her, his expression a mixture of amusement and incredulity. "You did what?"

Celes smiled, taking a moment to make eye contact with the Altaria, simply so that he would realize that she was completely serious. "I told them, in no uncertain terms, that I didn't appreciate them yelling at me, because I couldn't take anything away from the situation. I can't undo evolution, and I wasn't going to put up with them screaming in my face."

"...then what happened?" Sorin asked uncertainly.

"They backed the hell off," Celes stated simply. Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration. The leaders hadn't just backed off immediately, because doing so would have made them appear weak and easily intimidated not only by their peers, but by the Eevee stationed below them. Rather, one of the leaders had hastily stepped in and whispered something to the others that prompted them to step back from the situation. Things quickly diffused from there, but Celes had been told that they would speak to her again soon.

"Really? That can't have just been the end of it," Sorin noted.

"It wasn't," Celes agreed. "Later, one of the clan leaders came by and said that he was impressed by how I handled myself, and that I showed promise despite the unapproved evolution. Adding that with a little time and mentoring, I could probably receive a boost in status."

Sorin frowned a little. "So they decided to promote you anyway? That's...odd."

"I didn't have a rebellious reputation like my brother," Celes explained, but then she shrugged. "Maybe they thought it easier to get me on their side rather than risk me opposing them. Or maybe it's another piece of evidence supporting my theory of our heritage."

"But you accepted the offer?" Sorin asked.

Celes snorted, earning a puzzled look in return. "I asked him how he stood to benefit from the arrangement. He was offering a way for me to become a peer to him, for no apparent reason. I hadn't done anything to gain his approval, so it's not like I paid my due in advance like other Eevee might have."

"So even back then, you were paranoid of everyone's intentions?" Sorin asked, and then immediately winced, as if he realized that he said something dumb. Celes decided to ignore the inadvertent jab.

"Had a female made the offer, I might have taken it without question. A male making such an offer is much more suspect," Celes stated curtly. "I assumed he wished to court me, and enabling me to climb the social ladder could benefit his chances of earning my affection."

"Do you suspect that of every male who offers you help?" Sorin wondered.

"Every male except for you," Celes confirmed. Sorin gave her a weird look, and she smirked a little. "You were acting like I was diseased, remember? Not exactly lending yourself to the suspicion of wanting to hit on me."

"Touche," Sorin chuckled. "So...you rejected the offer?"

"Indeed," the Flareon said blandly. "I said I wasn't going to play games with them, and if they couldn't handle that, then they should have the guts to tell me to hit the road."

Sorin shrugged his wings. "I have no idea how that panned out. It could go either way right now."

Celes smiled a little. "Well, they very noticeably sent the only female Umbreon leader to notify me that I was approved for promotion, and to check in with the rest of the leaders in the morning."

The Flareon privately debated whether to mention that the Umbreon still got bitten for invading her personal space in the middle of the night, but decided against it. If Sorin hadn't already guessed that invading her sleeping area was unwise, then his own personal space issues were being exaggerated, because that was something he should be able to relate to perfectly.

Any further discussion was halted when they found themselves at the gate of the human city. From a distance, the city had seemed large and unnerving, but it was nothing compared to seeing it up close.

Enormous metal structures towered over them in every direction, each one many times larger than the archway decorating the entrance. Streets marked the path between each structure, yet it all seemed to be an enormous labyrinth, stretching on endlessly in every direction. And then there were the signs and banners covering almost every inch of the metal walls of each building, advertising wares in vibrant colors and lettering that Celes found overwhelming to gaze upon.

And if the sights were this difficult to behold, they still didn't compare to the noise. The entire city seemed to be consumed with a constant din, with armored vehicles navigating the streets with roaring commotion, the footsteps of passerby striking the stone pavement constantly, and the incessant chattering and calling of humans and Pokemon alike that were conversing with one another. People were everywhere; humans of all different sizes and colors, dressed in a dizzying variety of attire, from simple casual wear to sharp business attire. They were accompanied by more Pokemon species diversity than Celes had ever seen in her entire life, much less in one area, and all of them were doing different tasks in some form. The muscular humanoid Pokemon were assisting burly humans with their labor, and other species darted about the vendor stands, frolicking with customers or helping enable a transaction.

Still more people and Pokemon were moving about the enormous buildings, going in and out of them in a constant stream, like the ebb and flow of a river. No single individual seemed exactly the same as the others, yet they all blurred together, making it impossible to distinguish one from the fifty before them.

Sorin observed Celes' reaction with noticeable amusement, before gesturing grandly with one of his cloudy wings.

"Welcome, Celes, to Goldenrod City."