Author's note: Hello all! I can't apologize enough for the delay. Real life factors and fluctuating motivation have made things a bit challenging, but I'm glad to say right now that I'm back in the game. Also, for what it's worth, I'd recommend checking out the oneshot I posted in the meantime called '750P an Hour'. Anyway, thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
There was no going back now.
They pressed on, through every step of thick, uncharted jungle canopy. Through every jump over rocks and crevices that bore into the Charmander's feet like rain drops on a cool summer day. And through every quickened glance back to the Raichu at his flank, the Pallid's heart grew heavier. They had been going at it for almost an hour now, yet every minute seemed to stumble on for days. He could almost see it now: That small, unassuming river where light cut through the canopy. For a moment, he let his eyes glaze over as he stared back over the ground that they had crossed. Unfettered. Picturesque. Free. His feet shifted, straying a few degrees off his forward path meeting Argon's gaze.
"How are you holding up?" he asked. "Again, I apologize for dragging you out here at such an impromptu time. I-It's just… I believed it was best I show you as soon as possible, before the eventual monsoon makes the path unnavigable."
With only a few weary breaths, Argon returned a smile to the Charmander. Her posture straightened, tail levitating under her buckling only the slightest bit.
"I-I've been through worse; Dad did say treating the mind like a muscle was the first step to doing this consistently. If I'm being honest, though, I'm a bit more worried about whatever it is you're showing me. You haven't said a lot once we set out. This… it's been a long time coming, hasn't it?"
The Pallid gave a slow nod, making an about-face as he turned to face her. It wasn't too late to turn back now, was it? A sharp breeze rattled across the leaves as, for a brief second, he stared into her eyes. Eoin could almost see himself on some tranquil beach, pure white pupils taking the place of a tropical sunset on a small corner of the world simple and free. With a mind of their own, his foot picked up. It was just about to take a step forward, towards the Raichu, and opposite his original footprints when the Pallid froze. He shook his head, feet instead slowly shifting to turn him back to the road ahead.
"Yes, very much so. Make no mistake, I value the kinship that we formed in each other's company tremendously, but there was another reason I came to you. That group, the one I informed you of before, let's just say it found its origins past these palm trees. I would like to make an argument for the justness of our cause before any pokemon you see past these trees can convince you otherwise. You deserve to know; they've done an excellent job covering it up otherwise."
"They?" Argon replied, head tilting to the side as the whistling wind swirled every which way through the trees. "Please Eoin, I need to know. Why the secrecy? What could he so terrible that you needed to show me firsthand?"
The Pallid bit his lip, spotting the answer to the Raichu's question not a few yards away, in the form of a thick wall of brush at the forest's end that need only be parted. They were here. As the chilling wind ran up Eoin's spine and flickered against his tail, he couldn't tell whether it was feeding his flame to an inferno or turning it to ash.
Just before the veil of brush, Eoin stopped. Argon followed likewise, expression no less incredulous. Her ears perked us as the Pallid laid his hand on a particularly dense set of palm leaves, only thin speckles of brown, green, and grey in the distance filtering through the cracks.
"Argon, you've been working with the guild for a pretty long period, correct? Four years, or so?"
The Raichu's nose crinkled, eyes widening as a few of the dots began to connect.
"Y-Yeah, about that number. Couldn't refuse when I saw the advertisements back home; Seemed like a way for a fresh start back then. Don't really have many complaints since I've been here. The pay is good, hours are decent. You won't find friendlier pokemon. O-Only real trouble I had was when they started offering me promotions, ironically. Well, that and the mess of paperwork you gotta do at the end of the month."
She raised a paw, shielding her eyes from the ray of sunlight that pierced through the canopy shade. Back and forth, her gaze shifted. First to Eoin's face, and then the small hand grasped around the bocage like a tepid judge holding a gavel.
"Never questioned it, really. Never had a reason to. T-Though a lot has changed in the past few months. I found out those stories about the humans have a grain of truth to them, even that the time gears and legendaries exist, a-and… that the grey pokemon I fought every day like clockwork actually have the capability to be sapient. Kind, caring… curious about the world around them. So much that I've been willingly ignorant to ... if there's one more thing I've been missing, I'd be a fool to not want to see it now. N-No more reason to beat around the bush, I suppose."
From the way the Pallid flinched, one would think he almost hadn't wanted to hear those words. Almost. One final moment passed as the two shared a look, tail flame blazing in the breeze as Argon's own cheeks sparked in resolution.
"Yes, would do no 'mon any benefit to delay it further. Thank you for your trust, Argon. I hope in the upcoming weeks I will be able to repay it. This was the same spot, I believe. The same place that wide-eyed Charmander stood when I parted these leaves. With any luck, you nor I won't be the only pokemon to do likewise."
Initially, the Raichu squinted, as Eoin pulled the brush away and the shade covering her made its retreat. Blue eyes opened slightly as she spotted a thin yet deep river not a few feet in front of them on the other side. More leaves parted, revealing an almost endless expanse of farmland across the river. Still, Argon remained silent, muscles tensed in preparation for something. Thoughts swam to and fro through her conscious, each proposing a different theory for what she'd see past the farmland. For a half second, the Raichu almost thought she was prepared for the worst, until she saw it.
Guard towers. Barbed Wire. Tools. A ramshackle collection of cabins and canvas tents in the center. But most of all, Pallids. Crowds of them. The Raichu's jaw dropped, mind needing an excess amount of concentration to not fall off of her tail right then and there.
"O-Oh, Arceus…"
She looked up, towards a guard tower overlooking the land between the treeline and the shacks. Sitting on the guard tower, with glazed over eyes, was a Deerling. Her head craned up and down, in a near constant struggle to see how many pages she could read of the book at her side before having to look back down at the Pallids below. From the Deerling's complection, she seemed barely a year's difference from herself. Moreover, the Raichu gasped, spotting on the Deerling an especially familiar badge. A slightly different design, a slightly different designation, but with a pattern so verbatim she dared not look at her own bag.
"I cannot apologize enough that you had to see this Argon," Eoin said, matching the Raichu's remorse as he traced her vision. "If there is a silver lining though, I hope at least that this will serve as a decent enough explanation for the struggle and strife I instigated by suggesting that exploration."
Argon's mouth opened to respond, yet her mind was not cooperative enough to complete the gesture. She stared on, vision settling on crowds of gloomy, yet undeniably sentient Pallids scattered across the fields. A single stood out among many.
A Stoutland. Large. Imposing even, with dull, grey coat of fur that shined in the wind despite its lean stature. There wasn't a single pallid among the crowd that Argon wouldn't call lean, all moving through the fields as if walking through a haze, with limbs and bellies so gaunt it was hard to imagine them tending to vibrant rows of crops and berries. Yet there they were.
Closer inspection only made the Raichu's legs feel more numb; scars and burns lined the Stoutland in particular, with Argon unable to tell whether their source was chemical or fire. A horrific cringe took to Argon's face, in no small part caused by the Stoutland's front right paw, where only sickly scars appeared where two of his toes should have been. Still, there was a sense of life to the way the Stoutland moved through the field with a steel plow strapped to his frame. The vigor of a persian ready to pounce, concealed beneath an endlessly waiting stare towards the ground. A small dart of the Stoutland's eye made Argon flinch, before its gaze returned ahead, and it went back to its business.
"W-Why?" she asked, unable to move her neck. "Why do this? What purpose could this possibly have? How could you justify something like this?"
"I… wish I could answer that," Eoin replied. "The Pallids on the inside have their own opinions on the matter, I believe it would be prudent to show you their perspective of this malignant operation. In short, as far as I can ascertain, the majority of Faire's produce comes from these farms. What Pallids that are not slaughtered for meat are taken here, given the bare minimum education required to communicate and perform manual labor, then put to work here, until their usefulness wears out."
The Raichu forced her eyes shut. Her thoughts jumbled in one final attempt at making sense out of the senseless. She turned to Eoin, vision glazing over as memory after memory took their place.
"I-I've talked to some of the soldiers stationed at the mainland a couple times. They always seemed friendly enough, always said it was classified what they were doing in the mainland though. I… Arceus, I've missed so much. I always knew vaguely where they got the meat from, but this... "
The Pallid said nothing, posture slumping as his tail drooped in tandem with Argon's ears. He looked to her, then to the ramshackle huts in the middle of the field. The Raichu didn't need to be a psychic to catch his connotation. She shook her head, blinking rapidly as she gave a few deep, preparatory breaths.
"R-Right. Thank you, Eoin, for showing me this. W-We have to… I have to go deeper into this. There can't be another 'mon who goes about their life as ignorant as I was to suffering. If I'm gonna do one thing in my life, this is gonna be it."
The wind grew slightly less weary, letting Raichu and Charmander settle as a tepid, yet mutual smile grew between them.
"I appreciate it, Argon. Even when we first met, you showed me you wouldn't succumb to anger or fear in the unknown. The path ahead will be difficult, I have no doubt there will be losses one way or another, but I have hope that we shall prevail, together. Some day where we can have that night on the beach without something like this existing."
The air seemed to shift in that moment, causing a deep feeling of warmth in the two pokemon that couldn't help but extend to their cheeks. Their feet grew light, goaded by a desire to step forward, until another breeze went through the treeline, scattering loose leaves and directing their vision back to the field.
"R-Right," Eoin said, feet shuffling as he readjusted his goggles.
The Raichu gave an equally bated nod, glancing between the row of sheds and guard tower strategically placed between it and the treeline. The Deerling had taken to fiddling with the amber flower overtop her head, yet still seemed alert enough that spotting a Raichu and Charmander running through an empty crop field would be just cause to ring the overtop bell hanging from the tower.
"Is there any way we can get inside?" Argon asked. "This is probably the most restricted place on the whole island. Even if I were to show them my badge, t-they'd probably still kick us out. Or worse…"
The Charmander let out a heavy sigh at her question, clutching his tail in a nearly instinctual reaction. He turned back, settling his gaze on the moderately flowing river just past the tree line. Its water was clear as day, doing little to hide the wide, rusting pipe a few feet above the riverbed.
"Yes… there is. Isn't the most pleasant sensation, but nothing to panic about if it is done quickly. I-I'd rather not force it upon you if you'd prefer. At the very least, it is a fair amount cleaner than when I first used it for a concealed entrance. The Pallids on the inside have been very courteous in that regard."
She looked to the Charmander, then to the river, then to the pipe. It was small in diameter, barely big enough to fit a pokemon such as Eoin or herself. It was hard to tell the exact amount of water flowing out of the underwater pipe, but she saw well enough the slight tinge that was somewhat… discolored. When she turned back to Eoin, the Pallid couldn't help but flinch.
"Again, if you would rather—"
"H-Honestly Eoin," she said, turning away to hide the slight quiver in her neck, "I'm more worried about you going through this. Definitely isn't easy for a fire type. And the mess… don't worry about it. If those Pallids can spend every day working under the sun, the least I can do is get a little dirty in the process of helping them."
The Pallid's eyes widened the slightest bit. He looked to the river, then to her, still clutching his tail as he saw not a single change in her demeanor.
"Right then. I… we appreciate the sacrifice."
The two of them moved forward, now on the edge of the lake with only a few large leaves to conceal their forms from the guard tower. Eoin took to his knee, gaze locked on the pipe a few feet below the waterline. He dipped his hand into the water, nose crinkling as it swished passed his hand at a healthy rate.
"Eoin?"
He glanced back, finding Argon's paw on his shoulder.
"Are you gonna be alright with this? I've seen firsthand how painful it can get when you have to deal with water."
"It's… nothing to worry about," Eoin replied. "This is the worst part of the whole endeavor, but I've done it many times before. In a twisted sense, I think that whole bout with Chimera under the cave might have made this easier the first time I did it; pokemon often fear the bad they're ignorant of far worse than that they know."
He dipped his head, taking three deep breaths as his tail blame started to wither in size.
"I'll see you on the other side.. Make sure to compensate for the current, and get to the air pockets in the tunnel before the worst happens. I'll be with you every step of the way. Now… "
Without another word, the Pallid dived in, leaving a wisp of steam as his tail submerged. A trail of bubbles soon followed, each one causing Argon's muscles to tense further as she looked over the bank. With a similar deep breath, she soon followed. Initially, the Raichu had a slower pace than Eoin, paws having to do most of the work in place of her legs. Glancing behind her, however, to her tail, the Raichu's ears perked up. She closed her eyes, tail once again moving on its own as it swished up and down behind her like a rudder. Soon enough, she was able to feel her way into the pipe. It was a tight fit, one that forced her into an impromptu army crawl through the flowing water, but after the first few feet the water leveled off, leaving a pocket of air just big enough to catch her breath.
"Eoin," she said, hacking out the stray drops of water in her mouth, "you there?"
It was pitch black. She blinked, and blinked again, waiting for her vision to adjust enough to see more than one foot ahead of her. For a half second, adrenaline shot up the Raichu's spine. Her breaths quickened, eyes scanning anxiously for a candle flame that wasn't there.
"Y-Yes," Eoin replied. "Discomforted. V-Very discomforted, but comparatively in good spirits. You?"
"I'm fine. I-It's just… you had me worried for a bit. Forgot that your tail flame doesn't actually make any light."
A moment passed where both could only hear the echoing thud of paws and claws against cylindrical metal, as well as the occasional splat that arceus knew neither would question.
"Ah yes, apologies. I sometimes forget the abnormality of it. Still, it is likely for the best at this point; I'm sure neither you nor I want to know what we're crawling through right now."
The Pallid turned back to the front, expecting silence, only for his head to jump up as a slight chuckle echoed through the tunnel.
"Are you alright, Argon?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, another small giggle leaving her maw. "It's just… I guess this is a time where the unfortunate things we can see are worse than what we can't."
A half second of silence passed as the Raichu's laughter faded. She bit her lip, eyes closing in an instinctive cringe as its last echoes traveled through the pipe. The last reverberation had nearly faded, when another chuckle picked up where it had left off. Argon's ears twitched, slightly unexpecting of the source.
"Yeah," Eoin said, his voice lighthearted in an almost foreign manner to the last couple hours, "I suppose it is. I-I… apologize. I am willing to bet this wasn't what you had in mind for a first date; Crawling through muck and infiltrating a guild domestication camp probably are not your vision of a good time."
Argon froze as the Charmander finished the sentence, needing a few seconds to rally and recover the brief bit of levity they had found in the muck. She shook her head, plugging her nose to give a few deep breaths.
"W-Well, it's not the worst, if it's any consolation," Argon replied. "I've had times when I had to make small talk at a couple mandatory celebrations back in the day. If I had the option, I'd have gone through a sewage pipe in a heartbeat to go back home. Never really had a party I enjoyed, at least until I met you. I-If you have any doubts, I'd rather be here sorting through all this side by side than spending another second with how things were before."
Were the Raichu to listen closely though the blackened silence, she would hear the Pallid's flame wisp in something akin to a gasp.
"I-I… thank you. I can assure you that the feeling is mutual. It feels nice, having somemon to ground me through all this. In a sense, perhaps prevailing together in the road ahead will do us just as much good as any night on the beach… even if seawater requires less olfactory fatigue."
Argon gave a soft hum, ratio of air over arceus-knows-what becoming ever more favorable as the two proceeded down the tunnel. Soon enough, Argon was able to spot a small illumination in the distance over Eoin's shoulder, one that grew ever larger until coming into focus as a beam of sunlight filtering from above. Smell ever pungent, the Raichu had a few suspicions over where it was coming from.
Now just below the ray of light, the claustrophobic conditions of the tunnel leveled into a near vertical ascent. It took more than a few tries for Raichu and Charmander to climb up the crumbling rock—former using her tail to balance against the crevice in lieu of her feet—but before long Eoin was able to tilt up the metallic latrine seat that made up the tunnel's makeshift entrance. After a quick check of his surroundings to confirm that the coast was clear, the Charmander scrambled out of the latrine, before holding his arm down to Argon to help her do likewise. The dip had done well to wash off what dye remained on Eoin's scales, returning him to his grey hue.
Even Argon's stained fur from the crawl could do little to prepare her for the squalor. It was more of a shed than anything, with dilapidated plank roofing and walls with copious gaps from the less than ideal craftsmanship. The stacked beds lining the walls were for all purposes shelves, made of various sizes to accommodate different pokemon with not a mattress to be seen. The flooring itself was a creaky thing; Boards jutted out like splinters in a log. Slowly, she levitated to the side of the door, running her paw against a simple wooden sign marked 'Housing Unit 24-60(1)'.
From the solitary window, the uniforms structures were repeated. The actual living area built on the fields seemed a very condensed thing. WIth rows upon rows of vegetables, berries, and assorted fruits in various states of growth dotting most of the land, it seemed the pallids had taken to building up. Creaking ladders and stairs lined the narrow streets of the condensed sheds, with shingles held on like splinters attached to log frames seemingly salvaged from the surrounding areas.
"It may not look like much," Eoin said, walking to her side with similar wary glances through the window, "but this is our base of operations. Me and a few dozen other pallids have banded together in the past month under the noses of the WFG, with the end goal of freeing those that reside here, and garnering a respect for our natural rights. More or less all the pallids are out working at this time of day, but soon I hope to introduce you to—"
Something roared. A piercing growl sent Argon's fur on end, forcing her gaze to a crack in the wall towards the noise. Eoin could only watch with a flickering flame as Argon peeked through the crack, not a single word leaving her maw.
"What do you see?" Eoin asked. "An injury, perhaps? They can be dishearteningly common around here."
"N-No," Argon replied, head pressing further against the wall for a better view. "Might be not as bad… might be worse."
In an instant, Eoin was also to the wall. The Pallid took off his goggles, grey pupils shrinking as the sunlight filtering from outside hit him.
A dozen or so yards outside of the cabin stood a Mightyena on the crop fields. What fur would have been black on its pallid coat was colored a deeper grey. Its nose twitched with the scowl of a pokemon primed to pounce. Cast off to its side were torn up remains of a steel plow and saddle that appeared fitted to its size. From the Mightyena's comparatively healthy bone structure and normal amount of body fat, it seemed of the younger variety than the surrounding pallids. It gave a hasty kick to the disheveled remains of the harness, piercing stare unwavering from the quivering Deerling giving the pallid a few feet's berth. The Deerling glanced ever faster between the harness and pallid, every sudden jerk of the creature causing her a similar flinch.
"Break," the Mightyena said. "Break, break, break."
"L-Look," the Deerling replied, flower drooping as her posture turned smaller by the second, "I know the days have been long, b-but we all have to make sure the quota are completed. If this soil doesn't get tilled by the end of the week, then the Pokemon above me at the guild will be forced to—"
It let out another snarl, before making an about-face and planting its rear on the harness. The Deerling could only watch, frozen with her jaw to the floor as the three letters stamped on the harness were covered by a particularly large load of droppings. Satisfied with its work, the Mightyena turned back, maw taking to a pouty grin.
"I… I-I—"
Before long, the Mightyena wasn't alone. A familiar Stoutland stood at its flank, fur blowing in the breeze as it eyes beamed into the Deerling's soul. It was nearly twice the size of the pokemon, it spite of its lean stature. It planted its feet down, single toe on one limb digging into the soil. Without saying a word, it stepped in between the Mightyena and Deerling, before leaning to the side to let the stack of heavy logs atop its back fall to the ground. The timber toppled over each other, sending a clatter through the fields. At the sight, Argon could barely hear Eoin mumble a single sentence.
"Poilu… I hope you know what you're doing."
"Something the matter, Ms.?" the Stoutland said, voice gruff and deep.
He leaned forward, casting a shadow over the Deerling. Her feet threatened to collapse as she looked between the Mightyena and plow, badge tied around her neck losing its shine at the newfound darkness. Inch by inch, her feet wavered under the stare, retreating to take a step back.
"Flora!"
Even Argon jumped at the voice. She scanned through the fields, finding its source to be one of the guard towers at intervals dividing the sections of land into neat quadrants. From the garrisoning sceptile's imposing stature, it seemed one of many patrolling pokemon ever vigilant for signs of provocation.
"Y-Yeah?" the Deerling replied.
"You're not gonna last long here if you let them walk all over you. We all got work to do, and the fact of the matter working this position is that you have to remember what they'll respond to. Remember your training, or they aren't gonna give you shit. Besides, a little example could do well for the pallids like that Mightyena fresh out of domestication. Understood?"
Though Argon winced at the wording, Eoin seemed undisturbed. A second passed where the wind ran through the fields, rustling the crops and fur of the three pokemon, as well as the small crowd of pallids that had gathered around the perimeter of the scene, looks a mix of curiosity and scowls. Glancing over at Eoin, the Charmander had already taken off his goggles and tail cover in preparation, making him appear little different from the pallids outside.
As the words sank in, Flora forced her gaze back up to meet Poilu's. The slight jitter in the Deerling's feet were still present, but the hoof about to step back dug itself into the ground. She stepped out of its shadow, guild badge shining in the sun as she met the Mightyena's challenging glare.
"A-Alright then… so that's how it has to be."
The Deerling reached into her saddlebag with her mouth, retrieving a jacketed book emblazoned with the same three letters. She let it fall to the floor, before shoving it in the Mightyena's direction with a newfound forcefulness.
"E-Every pallid in this camp is responsible for reimbursing the education they have received, maintaining a reasonable level of respect for the pokemon around them, and doing everything in their power to keep a steady level of production in the best interests of Faire's populace—"
The soft creaking of the floorboards alerted Argon to Eoin moving just outside of the door. His hand was to the handle, muscles shaking to a degree previously unseen in the Pallid. As his grey pupils widened, she found the jittering contagious.
"I can very well see where this is going," Eoin said, door opening with a soft creak. "I'll try my best to intervene. Please, stay here. Keeping you present will do more in the coming months for our aspirations than any damaged plow."
The stream of questions on the tip of Argon's tongue faltered upon meeting the Charmander's restless eyes. After a moment of silence, the Raichu nodded, Eoin doing likewise before running out of the door.
"—I-In damaging this property," Flora continued, previously tepid voice gaining ground with every word, "you have stated your intentions regarding yourself and the pallids around you as being disrespectful of the WFG and the resources it has allocated."
The Deerling picked herself up, walking in a small circle around the Mightyena and Stoutland, and in the process meeting the eyes of every single pallid that had gathered into the surrounding crowd. Her statements sounded as well rehearsed to Argon as any guild motto the Raichu had recited.
"As such, in accordance with the regulations explained to you at the end of your domestication training, we will have no choice but to halve the daily rations provided for your work sector for the next thirty days. Effective immediately."
Flora's words echoed through the open fields, absolute silence overtaking the previously faint growls and mumblings. A few turned their scowls to the Deerling, while some brought it to bear on the Mightyena as, one by one, they began to take a step inward. The majority of the pallids, however, looked to the Stoutland. With grey paws, vines, and flippers alike clutching gaunt chests and lean limbs, they gazed on, lost for an answer. The Mightynea had curled into a small bundle under the looks it received, tail once raised in the air tucked between its legs.
With all eyes on the Stoutland, he let out a low, hoarse breath, before looking to the right and left through the crowd. Poilu's leftmost paw kicked into the dirt, single toe bringing up bits of soil. As the wind rustled through the field, he took a step towards Flora. A log under his paw splintered in the process. Finding the Deerling unwavered, he cleared his throat.
"That's the way things are today, isn't it? Gettin' up, plowing soil that we'll never use, makin' food that we'll never eat. All for them."
He gestured around, those surrounding tracing his craning neck to the various guard towers and fencing in the distance. Beyond the stacked barracks, a crew of pallid blastoise, vaporeon, golduck and the like were spurting water across the acres of crops with a single guard in tow. A similarly grey pancham sat in a makeshift cooking station under the shadow of the Guild Hall. Besides the dented pots were canvas bags of grain and leftover vegetables that could, in generous terms, account for about one modest meal per pallid. Last target of his glare being the Deerling, Flora's posture wavered the slightest bit. Piolu let out a raspy chuckle, voice raising to equal her own.
"Well, I've been haulin', plowin', and plantin' here for a long time now, and you know something I've learned? When your belly starts to ache, the hunger pains set in, and your paws looking for somemon to point to—"
Eyes narrowing, the Stoutland's voice lowered two octaves.
"—point it at the one responsible."
"Wait!"
All at once, the low rumblings from the crowd drew to a halt. A grey Ivysaur withdrew its vines as Eoin came into view, while a similar Flaffy loosened its grip on the sickle in its hand. The sea of pallids parted to let the Charmander though, letting him step in between Piolu and Flora. At the slight irritation in the Stoutland's glare, Eoin gestured with his head to a Jolteon in the crowd lean enough that the tightened straps on its harness dangled loose. Piolu hesitated for only a moment, before raising his own mangled paw to the rows of guard towers and barbed wire in the distance. Though the crowd seemed to cast a nearly equal gaze on both pokemon, Piolu was the first to take a step back, giving a short huff as Eoin turned to Flora. The Deerling tilted her head at the sight, nose twitching at the slightly rancid smell from the Charmander's scales.
"Please," Eoin said, squinting as if under an imaginary spotlight. "We meant no offense. I can assure you that we want the relationship between pokemon and pallids alike to be a favorable one. I-It's just… there are some sources of discontentment we could bring up to you, in a civilized manner of course."
Whether from the memories of surrounding snarls still echoing through her ears, the Mightyena curling ever more into itself from her occasional glances, or the excrement covered saddle still at its side, Flora's stance was unwavering. Her hoof was planted before the logo emblazoned cover, as if it were the only thing that would keep her trepidations from returning. From her silence, Eoin let out a deep breath, a slight tremor taking to his tone.
"But that can wait. The fact of the matter is that there are living, thinking beings here that will die if their rations are cut. For as long as the status quo across Faire remains, I shall do everything in my power to assist you in keeping relations amicable, but I implore that in return our existence is continued."
A harsh gust of wind ran through the fields, rustling the crops and causing the Deerling to briefly lose her grip on the book. Its cover flipped over, pages shuffling in the breeze before she was able to close it. Something in Flora seemed to short-circuit hearing the Charmander's words. She blinked, then blinked again, as if to clarify that the ember fighting against the breeze was in fact grey. The convey of tarp-covered carts in the distance continued, and were it not for the draft their growls would have carried over, but that seemed neither of their focus.
"M-My hoovess are tied," she said, "they broke the rules, they have to face the consequences. I can't—"
"We'll return to work," Eoin said, irises growing wide, "I'll have the saddle and plow washed, myself. You can have it on record that the issue has been , from one being to another, this doesn't have to end in death."
Flora was not the only one turned to silence. Piolu let out a slight groan, patting the Mightyena on its back. While many of the pallids still held a look at the Deerling sharp enough to kill, none said a word of objection. The Deerling looked to Eoin, then back to the guard tower, finding its occupying pokemon descending the ladder for a shift change. For a second, her ears were perked up, eyes weary for the single pallid that would let its glare escalate into something further. With only a light breath of air across her fur as an answer, Flora let out a sigh. With the book gripped in her teeth, she returned it to her bag, before looking back at every pallid in the circle. From the Deerling's hind leg, it seemed the shaking had returned.
"Fine. I-I guess I can make one exception. No more, though. A-And if anything else like this happens I won't have another choice. Understand?"
With Eoin starting, a murmur of agreements went through the field. One by one, the pallids went back to their work, leaving only the Mightyena, Stoutland, Deerling, and Charmander. Seeing another pokemon stationed at her own tower, Flora turned back to the facility, every muscle in her seeming to loosen at once. While glancing back to the book poking out of her saddlebag, her eyes met those of the pallids one last time.
"Arceus, I need a break."
With her absent, Eoin and Piolu turned to each other. A single row of crops divided the two, sprouts just about to break through their encompassing soil.
"We can comb over all this later," Piolu said.. "In the meantime… it's good to see you again, Eoin. Was beginning to worry that you'd finally been found out on the outside."
"No," Eoin replied. "The dye is still working, and my deep cover is still in place. Had some difficulties, no doubt, but after everything we should have the key to the plan in place. Got a bit more than I bargained for with that key, in fact."
The Stoutland's oversized eyebrows raised. For a long moment, he scanned over the Charmander, taking in his tepid grin, and the way his flame seemed to flicker with every look back to a particular shed. When Eoin looked back to the Piolu, he found a grin that seemed almost athenema to his usual features.
"Well then," Piolu said, chuckling, "let's go meet that 'key', why don't we? You took a big risk after all getting to her, I hope it was worth it… and that you can keep your eyes on the goal from here on out."
"Yes," Eoin replied, "let's."
Ignoring his wince at the statement as best he could, Eoin turned back to the shed. While the Charmander took the lead, however, Piolu halted. The Mightyena had its teeth loosely wrapped around what remained of the saddle, gaze perpetually stuck to the dirt until the Stoutland gave a quick bark in its direction. Looking back up, the Mightyena whimpered.
"Hey fella, don't beat yourself up about it," Piolu said, before motioning to the Deerling just about to enter the facility. "This day may have been theirs, the next too. But you know what? Soon enough, we'll wake up to a world where tomorrow is ours."