Ink's Notes: [insert usual excuses about being sick/unmotivated/etc etc here; I'm as tired of it as anyone else would be ]

Anyway, we have someone joining us this chapter. Here's to their entry into the series!

Chapter Three – Sight, Smell, and Senses

Luke was by no means a slow runner, but he didn't expect that he'd be able to keep up with a large-sized animal running away from him. And yet, each time he rounded a corner that he'd seen the creature run down, he'd catch a faint glimpse of it turning a corner and heading down the next path. Vaguely, he acknowledged that there was someone close behind him, but Luke assumed that it was the Professor, who had realized something was up and was following after him. As he continued following after the creature, slowly catching up, he began making out more and more features – brown fur, long legs with hooves, and he thought he saw antlers once or twice.

As Luke began to close the distance between himself and the animal, he began picking up on what it was saying. Much to his surprise, it was largely a mantra of Hurry up, come on, this way, keep up! that he was hearing, and before long, the buildings thinned out and he arrived at a river, where the animal – which he could now clearly see was a reindeer of all things – was standing and waiting for him. Once he came to a halt, the reindeer made sure it had his attention and turned its gaze to look up at a tree that was growing over the river. Hanging from one of the tree branches was a kid who looked to be about Luke's age, and he looked as if he were struggling to keep himself on it so that he wouldn't fall into the river below. The kid had ginger hair, brown eyes, and was dressed in a white shirt with a dark gray shirt that was unbuttoned over it, dark gray jeans and black sneakers.

No sooner than Luke had taken his appearance in, the kid lost his grip and went falling into the water, where he began sputtering and flailing his arms above the surface, apparently unable to swim. Luke reacted quickly, tossing his hat and bag to the person who'd been following him and just caught up. He dove into the water, swimming over to the kid and supporting him over his shoulder before swimming the both of them back onto shore. The kid began coughing, thumping his chest to make sure he hadn't swallowed any water, then turned to face Luke.

"Th-Thanks," he gasped out with a nod, taking off the dark gray shirt to wring it out. "I… really need to learn how to swim."

"Not a problem!" Luke smiled, wringing out part of his own shirt. "No gentleman would allow someone to drown in front of them!" Luke's hat and bag were offered to him, and he turned to take them back from who he thought was the Professor, but was surprised to see that it was actually Robin who had followed him, and was using her free hand to pet the reindeer on the head. "Robin? What are you doing here?"

Robin smiled gently at him. "I came to make sure you didn't get into trouble," she explained. "Layton and Flora went ahead to go and meet the mayor." Luke looked away awkwardly, somewhat ashamed that he'd caused them to split up like that. "No need to be upset, Luke," Robin put in, as if reading his thoughts. "If you hadn't run off, our friend here might have drowned and no one would have ever known." She turned to face the kid that Luke had rescued. "Speaking of which, why were you in that tree if you can't swim?"

The kid fidgeted around a bit, before using his thumb to point to himself proudly. "No obstacle is too insurmountable for the incredible Pyrrhos, savior of all that is good and great!" he grinned widely. At the completely deadpan looks he was getting from Luke, Robin and the reindeer, he frowned. "…and, erm, I saw something in the tree." He reached into his pocket and produced what looked like a scalpel. The reindeer bristled slightly, and Luke turned to the deer in confusion before Robin took the object from Pyrrhos. "Sometimes crows take things from people and put them in trees, so I thought it might be something valuable."

"How noble of you… Pyrrhos, was it?" Robin checked to confirm, and the kid nodded. "Risking yourself for the sake of others is noble, but you should be careful not to do too much to hurt yourself."

"It wasn't that much of a risk," Pyrrhos pouted, crossing his arms and looking away. "Pyrrhos' faithful steed was there to keep an eye on him." He turned to the reindeer with a grin. "Isn't that right, Horny?"

The reindeer slumped over at the name, and Luke picked up that he was muttering That's not my name… in an utterly dejected tone, as if he had resigned himself to being called a stupid name like 'Horny' forever. Luke blinked, then approached and pet the reindeer – since Robin was doing so, it was unlikely that it was going to lash out at him.

The reindeer glanced at him in confusion, and he offered a smile. "You say that 'Horny' isn't your name?" he asked, and the reindeer turned his head to face him fully, shocked that he could understand what he was saying. Pyrrhos' mouth fell open, and even Robin was looking at him in confusion, so Luke adjusted his hat and smiled at them. "I can communicate with animals. It's a skill I've had for as long as I can remember."

"Oh? That's a very useful skill to have," Robin smiled at Luke, continuing to pet the reindeer, who looked very confused by the situation. "Well, would you mind asking this kind reindeer what his name is?"

Luke nodded. "Sure thing, Robin!" he smiled, turning to the reindeer in question. "Well? What is your name, big guy?" he asked as he scratched behind the reindeer's ears, a gesture that the reindeer seemed to enjoy receiving.

The reindeer looked to Robin, almost as if he were seeking her approval, and Luke was tempted to ask why when he turned to look back at him to introduce himself. My name is Tony Tony Chopper. My name was given to me by the world's greatest doctor! The deer proudly snorted and lifted his head high, and Luke blinked in confusion at the explanation before he nodded and turned to face the others again.

"He says his name is Tony Tony Chopper," he translated for them, and Robin smiled as she lowered her hand to scratch under the deer's mouth.

"Chopper, hmm?" she asked, and Luke wondered why she'd picked that name to use instead of one of the 'Tony's. "If it hadn't been for you, young Pyrrhos would have drowned. Thank you."

Chopper began doing some sort of weird wiggling motion that looked almost like he was dancing, despite that Luke was clearly reading his words as I'm not happy that you're praising me, you jerk! Luke's face fell into a dumbfounded expression, and Robin brought a hand to her mouth and laughed gently. "Well, now that we've settled this matter, should we perhaps try and meet up with Professor Layton?" she asked.

Pyrrhos, who looked as if he had been trying to think of an excuse to leave at that moment, suddenly locked eyes with Robin. "You're with that Professor Doohickey guy?" he asked, and Luke looked almost offended that the Professor had been given a nickname like that. "Mister Mayor guy said that we should try and be nice to the Professor and his friends, since you all were gonna help us figure out what the dealieo with that specter was."

Luke blinked a few times, staring at Pyrrhos. "You know about the specter?" he asked, and Pyrrhos nodded in response, crossing his arms in some sort of attempt to look sagely. "Could you tell us more about it?"

"Humm, well, I don't really know much more than anyone else does," Pyrrhos admitted, looking away as if he were embarrassed by the fact.

"Don't worry about that," Robin smiled at him, crouching down so they were at an even height. "We've only just recently arrived in town, so anything you might know would be helpful."

Pyrrhos nodded in response, then cleared his throat. "Well, ah, let me think. It only really comes out between dusk and dawn, like, after the sun sets until the sun rises? It also tends to hang out in dark and dreary places that no one really goes to, like the graveyard and whatnot." He brought up his hands and began counting on his fingers, to help himself recall whatever facts he knew about the specter. "Um… I think two of our residents had an encounter with it? Nephele and Hanuel, they're called. They watch over the graveyard, and apparently it appears around there pretty often, but those two are really hard to get information out of, so I mean, if you want to talk to them you're free to try it but it might not amount to anything." Pyrrhos seemed to realize he'd been rambling, and muttered an apology before finishing off his list. "Oh! And it likes music."

"Music?" Luke asked, thinking that last bit seemed to be a little out of place.

"Uh-huh," Pyrrhos said with a short nod. "My friends and I heard singing one time on our way home so we tried to follow it, but got lost in doing so. We found some footprints that looked like they went to a really tall person, though. Maybe it's the specter?"

"That's quite a lot of information you've given us," Robin smiled at him. "Thank you. You've been an amazing help, Pyrrhos."

"Ah… thank you," Pyrrhos looked away with an awkward blush. "Well, um, we should be off, right- er, Chopper, was it? Come on, let's go!" Chopper visibly bristled up then shook his head, prompting Pyrrhos to blink a few times and stare at the reindeer in confusion. "What? You... don't want to go?"

Chopper shook his head again, then turned to Luke to pass a message to him. I like the way Robin smells. I want to stay with her. Chopper turned to Robin with pleading eyes, and she hummed in amusement as she pet the reindeer behind the ears.

"He says he likes Robin," Luke translated for Pyrrhos. "And so he wants to stay with her."

Pyrrhos blinked, then nodded slowly in understanding. "Oh, okay. I see." He scratched behind Chopper's ears. "It's been a fun run, but if you like her that much, you can stay with her." His eyes began to water, but he forced his tears back. "He's- really good at smelling things out, and he's super smart and he's always had my back a-and take care of him for me, please?" At this point, he wasn't able to stop the waterworks, and he buried his face into Chopper's chest. The deer responded by wrapping his head around Pyrrhos' back in some sort of approximation of a hug, gently nuzzling against the boy while he got the tears out of his system. Luke and Robin acknowledged the act but remained silent to allow them their moment, until Pyrrhos finally pulled his face out of Chopper's chest and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He stared at Robin, looking like he was about to start crying again, then turned to Luke and offered a hand, which Luke shook.

Chopper turned to Luke to relay a message, and he nodded in response. "Chopper says that he knows your scent, and so he'll bring us to stop by and visit when we get a chance during our investigations," he informed Pyrrhos with a smile.

This seemed to brighten the boy's mood considerably, and he brought a smile onto his face before nodding enthusiastically. Pyrrhos turned and ran off along the river, assumedly heading home.

"My, what a cute little boy," Robin smiled, picking up the Professor's suitcase, which she had set off to the side during the entire encounter. "But perhaps we should go and meet up with the Professor now?"

She offered the suitcase to Chopper, who began sniffing at it, and Luke stared blankly at Robin's choice of actions. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Pyrrhos said that Chopper was good at smelling things out, right? So I was thinking Chopper could help us find the Professor by following his scent," Robin explained. Chopper nodded in response, then looked over at Luke.

"…You want us to ride on your back?" he asked at the unspoken message, then nodded as Chopper explained it would be faster to carry them that way. "Well, all right, but only if you're sure you can carry both of us…" With that, he climbed up onto the reindeer's back, followed by Robin who settled onto Chopper's back behind him. The reindeer lifted his nose to the air, then trotted off, following the scent that was the Professor's back the way they had came and towards the direction they assumed the Mayor's house was in.

PUZZLE FOUR
Help guide Chopper through the streets of Old Ashton towards the Mayor's house! He's not too familiar with the layout of the town, so all he has to work off of is the Professor's scent. Guide him left or right when the path branches to ensure that he arrives at the Mayor's house with no issues!

Chopper wound up taking a few wrong turns, because they arrived at the area that Luke recognized as where they'd run into Aimi before managing to find the correct path, so all in all it took them perhaps ten minutes to reach the Mayor's house. Chopper was curious as to what sort of animal was in the barn, but Robin informed him that she heard the Professor's voice coming from inside the house, speaking with another older male voice, so it was likely that they had already met the mayor and were waiting on the two of them to arrive before going into any further details as to why the group was here. Robin slid off of Chopper's back then helped Luke off of the reindeer, before approaching the doorway and lifting her hand to knock three times.

The chatter in the house died down immediately, and before long footsteps were approaching the door. It was opened by Aria, who greeted them with a smile and motioned for them to come in. She wasn't surprised at all when Chopper wiped his hooves on the doormat and entered after Robin, but she paused at Luke, looking the boy up and down.

"Aren't you a cute little boy?" Aria cooed, and Luke looked up at her in confusion. "Do you happen to have a girlfriend? Because if not, my daughter would be-"

"Aria!" Senkou called from the living room. "Stop trying to hook our daughter up with random people!"

At his words, Luke's face went red, and Aria laughed while she moved back inside to sit next to Senkou. Robin backpedaled over to him and helpfully nudged him into the house, where she steered him over to sit by Flora. At this point, he had regained enough sense to see that Chopper was talking to a goat off to the side of the room, which, based on their conversation, he gathered lived here with the family.

"Luke," Professor Layton called him to get his attention, and he turned to look over at the Professor. "This is my old friend, Senkou Canera, and his wife, Aria Canera. Over there talking to your reindeer friend is their daughter's pet, Colt."

"Oh- Nice to meet you, sir!" Luke sat up as straight as he could. "My name is Luke Triton, the Professor's apprentice!"

Aria smiled at him again and he withdrew backwards, and Senkou sighed and shook his head. "Yes, as my darling Layton said," Luke wasn't sure whether the Professor's awkward expression or the fact that Aria's face hadn't changed at all was more surprising, "I am the mayor of Old Ashton, Senkou Canera, also known as Doctor S.K.C. This is my wife, Aria," he motioned to her, and she lifted a hand to wave. "Our daughter, Michi, has been keeping to herself lately, but I'm sure you'll meet her soon." He looked over at Chopper, who bristled and tried to hide behind Colt, which would have been a lot more effective if he weren't hiding only part of his face and leaving the rest of his body exposed, and if Chopper hadn't been a size or two larger than Colt was. "Is the reindeer why you two were delayed?"

"That's right," Robin smiled at Senkou, though there was something a little bit different about it compared to her usual smiles. "Chopper led us to where a young boy named Pyrrhos was about to fall into the river. Luke saved him from drowning and being washed away by the currents. My, if we hadn't been there, he might have been dead at the bottom of the river by now," she said, her smile a more amused one than it was before.

"R-Robin!" Flora yelped, withdrawing in on her seat. "Don't say such scary things!" Luke nodded in agreement, and even Chopper seemed afraid of the implication of her words.

"Well, we did arrive in time to rescue him, and in fact, he gave us some rather interesting information on the specter that you've asked us to find," Robin smiled at Senkou, glancing over at Layton to make sure he was paying attention.

"Oh?" the Professor asked, adjusting his hat as he turned his attention to Robin. "Would you mind telling us what he said?"

PUZZLES SOLVED – FOUR

CURRENT MYSTERIES:

The White Specter – Several residents of Old Ashton have reportedly seen a mysterious white specter. It only comes out between dusk and dawn, and it seems to enjoy music. Pyrrhos reports that it has footprints, meaning that it might not be as ghostly as the residents first assumed, and it has apparently had an encounter with two residents of Old Ashton known as Nephele and Hanuel.

Missing Food – According to Aimi, food that is about to go off has been going missing.

Missing Supplies – According to Aimi, some supplies from the hospital and the general store have gone missing.

Robin Nico – A woman with an air of mystery around herself who is working as the Professor's assistant. She has experience working with children and is very good at moving silently and quickly despite her footwear of choice being high heels.

Michi – Mayor Senkou's daughter, whom he notes has been growing more distant lately, as if she's hiding something, although he's not sure what or why.