As the group walked, Cinder slowly regained her breath, as well as her ability to lead, allowing Nona to follow meekly behind the other two while they trudged side by side. The feeling in her legs slowly returned, as well as the melted snow dripping off her skin as the terrain around them changed from that of a cold pine forest, to a gentle amber woods, with bright sunlight colored leaves gracing the trees and blanketing the ground below.

Nona had so many questions, starting with where they were going, but yet, she couldn't bring herself to ask them. She was tired. Her whole body ached. All she wanted to do was run and hide.

"Why-" Nona started.

Cinder and Ronan turned around, not interrupting their walk, but allowing the silence for her to speak in her hushed tone without issue.

She gulped. "Why did you come back?"

"Hm?" Cinder whispered, leaning in closer to hear her before actually processing what she said almost immediately after, "well, we-"

"That's the Explorer's duty! Of course we could come back and save you," Ronan interrupted, jumping up and pumping his fist.

Cinder laughed weakly. "Well, that's one reason, but we also came back because we were worried about you. Team Eviscerate is a pretty bad team. . . I'm sure you know that now. We wanted to come back sooner, but Blaziken's a real dangerous pokemon, and if we were to come back the same day or argue with him, well. . . "

Nona didn't need her to finish her sentence. The last hour was enough for her to get the picture.

They walked in silence for a bit longer, the whole group still trying to calm down from what had happened, both the threat from Blaziken and the attack from Abomasnow. Nona could feel the tension weighing down on them.

"What's the Drift mean?" Nona dared to ask, "I heard you say it the first time you saw Abomasnow, and I don't know what it is."

Cinder rubbed her hands together. "You must not be from around here then. . . There's this sickness called the Drift. It makes pokemon go crazy and attack people, like Abomasnow did." She shivered and looked down. "Most Abomasnow aren't like that one, but it was a Drifter."

"What causes someone to catch the Drift?" Nona prodded further.

Ronan butted in. "Dunno, nobody does. It's only been happenin' for a few years, but nobody's been able to figure out why or how. It's real weird."

The walk grew much quieter, though nobody was going to complain. Nona drank up the silence like ambrosia, enjoying any second of solace she could find. The breeze had now dried the melted snow off of her skin, and a few rays of sunset were peeking out through the leaves, warming her sides.

This already seems better than when I went with those Eviscerate guys, Nona thought to herself, this is so much warmer- and safer, I hope- wait a minute. We've been walking for so long. . . What are they planning on doing leading me so far from where they found me?

The Mudkip nudged Cinder in the back to get her attention. "Where are we going?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, we were going back to our house. . ." The Cyndaquil rubbed her arm. "I guess we should have asked you if you wanted to come first, sorry."

Nona stopped in her tracks. After what had happened earlier that day, she wasn't in a hurry to go trusting strangers. Ronan and Cinder did save her, but so did Team Eviscerate. At this point, being sure of their intentions was impossible.

"Why do you want me to follow you then?" She whispered with venom.

"Uh, you see, erhm. . . I'm sorry I-" Cinder sputtered, curling in on herself once more.

"We wanted to ask you if you wanted to join our exploration team!" Ronan was quick to interrupt, running up to Nona excitedly. She stepped back in shock.

"Your what?"

"Our exploration team," Ronan repeated, "we worked so well as a team when we were fighting Abomasnow. I think we would make a great team!"

The mention of a team brought back memories of Crasher's team, the same team that was about to let her be eaten by that monster. Considering her past experience with teams, she wasn't very keen on the idea of joining one.

The Mudkip looked down at the ground, then at the woods around her, looking for any possible escape routes. "What's an exploration team?"

Ronan looked at Cinder excitedly, and she nodded, silently giving him permission to gush. "Exploration teams are the coolest! They get missions from pokemon in need- pokemon like you- and they come to the rescue. They even get paid for it!"

"Why would you need me for that?"

"Well, uh, teams work through guilds, and you aren't allowed to join a team unless you meet their minimum requirements for strength, like how good your team is," Cinder explained, "Ronan and I. . . well we've tried before, but we never met the minimum. We always got turned down."

Nona's head still swam with questions, but at least that made some semblance of sense. The duo wasn't strong enough to fight the Blaziken alone. She could imagine that they would struggle to meet the standards of whatever guild they were referring to.

"Guild?" Nona questioned, easing up a bit.

"Yeah! Like the Star-reach guild in town!" Ronan smiled wide at the mention of it. "They take on apprentices, and those apprentices get to make teams and take jobs from the guild's job listings! The Star-reach guild is soooo cool! All of the apprentices there are so awesome, and Guildmaster Slowking is really nice! He's so helpful- they say there isn't a single thing he can't fix, not a single pokemon he can't help!"

That piqued Nona's interest. Granted, the idea that he was able to help any pokemon was most likely hyperbole, but it was the only lead she had at this point. If he could have even the slightest bit of input to her being a human, she would be willing to seek him out.

That was all she wanted, to just be able to know why she had become a pokemon, not even how.

"Ok, I'll. . . I'll go with you. I'll join your team."

Cinder lit up with excitement. She flapped her paws up and down and turned to Ronan, who pulled her immediately into a hug.

"Hooray! We can form an actual team now!" The Cubone cried, "c'mon Cinder! Let's get home!"

Ronan grabbed his sister's hand tightly and ran ahead.

"W-Wait! What about Mudkip?" Cinder yelled, trying to dig in her heels.

Nona let out a sigh and trotted after them. Maybe her choice would end up being right after all. She looked up once more at the blushing sky above her as a feeling of warmth returned to her body. She had something to hold on to, something she could be sure of, or as close to sure as the situation would allow, and gods willing, she would find out all she could about what Guildmaster Slowking could do to help her.