**Note: Animals do exist in the pokemon world. Many times in pokedex entries real life animals are referenced. In my mind, and in this story, small animals coexist with pokemon. Pokemon are viewed as simply more advanced, magical animals, with unique properties.**
It didn't take long for Vega to get through the line. There were all kinds of people around her; women with small crying children, burly men with their pokemon having a laugh, and many many people around her age, just talking, waiting to get inside the fairgrounds. She stood by herself, feeling awkward without anything to do, but not wanting to strike up a conversation with anyone, being afraid that her voice would give her away. She released Sue and had her sit on her shoulder, and she talked softly to her pokemon, rubbing her egg nervously
There were eight different ticket booths set up at the entrance to manage the giant amount of people that come each day to the circus from all around Rudan. The one single line that Vega was in eventually split into those eight. She chose the third booth's line, because it appeared to be the shortest.
She read the sign above the ticket booth once she was close enough to see it: "Kids free! Women: five copper. Men: one silver." Vega was glad her father had taught her to read when she was young. Many women never learn how to read and relied on men to translate for them. All men are required by law to learn to read by the age of eleven, when they leave on their Leaving Day.
It made her sick as she neared the booth. A woman in front of her and her two small children approached the slimy man running it. "Eh, its a copper per kid, and a silver for you ma'am," he said, grinning.
"Oh, but I..." she said, digging through her purse a little more. She produced seven copper pieces. "This is all I have... my children have been wanting to see the acrobatics all day... is this enough?"
"Well... I suppose I could make an exception for you, lass," he said sappily. "Just give me the seven and be on your way."
"Thank you, thank you sir!" she said, bowing her head and handing him the copper. "Come, children," she commanded lovingly, and they entered the fairgrounds. The booth owner snorted, pocketing the two extra copper pieces.
Then, he noticed Vega. He laughed and beckoned her over. "Women, what can you do?" he said evilly. "You know how much, let's see it," he said, holding out his hand and looking down the line.
Steaming, Vega reached into her coin pouch and pulled out a silver, forking it over and forcing herself to hold her tongue.
"Thanks much. Next!" he called down the line, with Vega now forgotten, and the prospect of a new women to scam fresh in his mind.
And with that excellent mindset, Vega entered the fairgrounds, taking a right, thinking to see everything by walking in a circle.
It was busier than anything she had seen in her entire life. People were everywhere, shouting to each other, running from booth to booth, eating cotton candy... it was crazy. She had never seen anything like it in her small farm town in Flaming. She felt Sue's talons grip harder into her shoulder.
"You sir! Would you like to test your strength?" A burly man with a giant hammer stood leaning against a tall wooden post with a bell on top. Vega shook her head, not trusting her voice, and passed by.
"Fried chicken here! Get your fried chicken!" "Cotton candy! Come try a taste! Only three copper!" "Can I guess your weight? If not, you win a prize! Only two copper per turn!" Vega was overwhelmed by the amount of people yelling things at her. Not to mention the overall general noise made by the crowd.
"Come spin the wheel! How about you sir?" said another carny to her left. He beckoned towards her, his mustache giving him a gentlemanlike quality.
Oh, what the hell, she thought, and headed towards him.
"Only two copper pieces!" he said. She shifted her egg to her right hand, and dug through her pocket. She opened her coin bag with her hand still in her pocket and fished out two copper coins, feeling that they were the least valuable piece by the fact that they were the largest coin. She forked them over.
The wheel was wooden, and had different prizes listed around it, between each peg. The selections were "small prize!" "medium prize!" "large prize!" and, of course, "free spin!" She cracked her neck, with Sue taking off, flapping to get above her head and hovering on her cloud-like wings on the steady breeze. Vega stepped up to the wheel, and spun.
"Small prize!" Of course. Vega was allowed to pick from a small box of tiny stuffed hand-made bird pokemon dolls. She chose a little swablu, and handed the man two more copper.
This time, she was a little luckier. "Medium prize!" he called. He pulled the lid off of the second prize box to reveal assorted colored leather bags. Vega fished around and pulled out a black bag with a rope drawstring. Opening it, she found a few oran berries, a tiny mushroom, and a voucher that gave her a discount at the local market.
She thanked the man, whistling for Sue, who lighted upon her shoulder. Holding her egg tight, the two set off once again, exploring the fairgrounds.
She passed many small tents and booths, some of which were new for the tournament, and were still being set up. There were pokemon setting up the tents, and at first Vega was surprised. The pokemon setting them up were rock types. But it didn't take long for her to realize why. Each rock type was shackled in chains, and monitored by a Flying Sect member in white and gold robes, carrying a whip.
The large tent on the rightmost side of the circus, now directly in front of her, was actually the smallest of the three. But this did not change the length of the line. The line was massive, extending out the entrance of the tent itself into the crowd.
There was a large sign above the gaping hole that served as the doorway into the tent. The sign listed showtimes, which explained the length of the line. They let people in all at once for each show, it seemed. The next show would be starting soon, by the looks of the line, and there were two alternating throughout the day. Vega had no idea which show she was lining up for, but that did not stop her.
It did not go over her head the significance of having Sue with her and out of her crystal. Having a flying type pokemon in the Flying Sect itself was respectable, especially one as beautiful as Sue. Flying Sect members loved beauty and agility and grace, and Sue appeared to be all of these.
Soon after lining up for a second time that day, she saw a crowd of people coming out from behind the tent, from what she assumed was the exit. They were talking excitedly to each other, making hand motions and laughing. It excited Vega more, and she became more anxious to enter the tent.
Finally, it seemed, they were allowed in. The people poured in, the admission being free to each event. Vega was towards the back of the line, and therefore got one of the nosebleed seats up near the top. But she didn't mind; the arena was very big, and the ceiling high. The seats themselves were spaced out very well, and she could see everything.
She gripped her egg in her lap, and felt Sue flap up and land on the top of her head, to see better. Vega didn't care, she would have done the same. There were still a few stragglers left that were coming in through the door, anxious to find a seat, though to Vega's eyes there appeared to be none left. But the guards continued to let people in, clearly knowing something she didn't. To herself, Vega wondered if every show was this packed.
Then, the ring leader appeared. He held up a hoop of some kind, waiting for the murmurs to die down. It became very quiet, and he lowered the hoop once he was satisfied. "Welcome! Welcome." He spoke loudly, too loudly. There must have been an enchantment on his voice for the show. "Today, you will be experiencing our Variety Wonders Show!" There was some cheering from the audience, apparently Vega wasn't the only one who hadn't known which show she stood in line for.
"You will be seeing some of the finest models of the greatest pokemon type, the Flying!" More roaring from the audience, of which many members were from the Flying region of Rudan itself. "Also, don't forget! Tonight, the fireworks show will mark the beginning of the five days of festivities before the great tournament begins, right here in our very own city of Aero."
Five days, Vega thought to herself, making a mental note. Five days for her to figure out her plan, and to do some training.
"Our Queen herself has also asked us to make a few announcements about the tournament here in our tents before each show, just so the information gets out about the tournament to as many citizens as possible." There were some groans from the audience, and the ringleader waited for the noise to die down before continuing.
"As I am sure you all know, the tournament is being held to determine the Queen's successor. There will be eight contests held in each of the Sects, at their great temples. Only those who win each battle, and collect each token, will be allowed to compete in the final tournament, at the Queen's castle itself. The contests will move in a circle around Rudan, starting here in Flying and ending with our neighbors, the Flaming. North from Flaming, in Normalcy, will be the final challenge.
Each Sect's challenge shall last forty days, meaning that one will only be able to complete said challenge within each time frame. Five days from now, the Flying unit shall begin, and only forty days from that point will competitors be allowed to take on the next challenge, which shall be in Flora, the Nature capitol. Competitors can only take on each challenge within their respective time units."
At this point, Vega was nearly asleep, having already known most of that information, save for the starting point of the Flying time unit. Many people in the crowd were also bored, or restless. Clearly they wanted the show to get started.
After several more minutes of what seemed like a lecture, they finally got started. "And now, presenting the trainers and the pokemon of the Variety Wonders Show!"
She had never seen so many flying types, and of so many dual types! The first pokemon to appear, for dramatic effect of course, was a giant tropius, a grass and flying type thats long neck allowed him to look into the eyes of those seated in the middle-upper seats. Vega was still higher than that, but had an excellent view.
Each pokemon that came out simply demonstrated a few attacks, and the smaller ones flew around, soaring through hoops and doing amazing acrobatics in the air. There was an emolga, which was a democratic choice, seeing as how Lightning and Flying didn't get along very well. The Sect was clearly trying to show tolerance.
There was a skarmory, delibird, swanna, a few scyther, an aerodactyl, and a natu. But they saved their pride and joy for last. "And now, for our finale, and demonstrating the strength of the flying pokemon, a terror and power that is rarely rivaled, charizard!"
The crowd roared, and out of the gate flew the giant fire type. It soared through the air, each flap of its wings ruffling the tent itself, blasting air into the faces of those in the crowd, who in return only cheered more and more. It was quite the spectacle, though the trained eye could see that it was a show of power, a bragging rights performance.
Vega wasn't quite sure about how she felt about the show when she left the tent. It was beautiful and awing, but to her it seemed like they were only showing off. They were awfully proud of the pokemon that were members of their Sect, and some of that pride they had earned. But every type had its checks and counters, and that kind of boasting eventually might provoke someone to put them back in their place, and not too kindly either.
She couldn't have asked for better weather to attend an outdoor even such as the Aero Circus, but then again, the weather was always like that in Flying. Rayquaza was said to watch over the region in the clouds, preventing bad weather from ever effecting the skies, and providing perfect flying conditions year round. It was especially important to the people, for they believed that Rayquaza prevented the never-ending storm north of Flying in Lightning from coming any farther south.
And so she kept walking, moving more towards the center of the fairgrounds. At the four corners of the circus were the large, imposing circus tents, but towards the middle were tiny stages, with individual acts. The performers in these stages were often regular citizens who petitioned to have their act be shown on a platform, and were able to rent space, and make their own money in tips.
And so, in the middle of the fairgrounds there was a much wider variety of talent. And they were all astounding. Of course the owners of the circus would never let anything less than perfection into their collective act, but still she was amazed. There were so many booths that it would take more than one day to even glimpse at them all.
There were jugglers, actors, impersonators, and every kind of performance she could think of. And all of them were dual acts, with both people and pokemon. The first that she actually stopped to watch, however, was one that really caught her eye.
"Gather 'round!" called a large man, standing with his hands on his hips. Beside him, standing in a mimicking pose, was a magmar. Vega walked up to the small stage that seemed to be gathering a decent crowd. The performer and his pokemon kept calling out and beckoning to people, until they decided that they had enough of their attention.
The performer held his hand up until it was quiet, save for the rowdiness of the surrounding circus. The audience trained their eyes on him, as he began to move his arms in mystical patterns, mimicked by his pokemon in unison. He wore long robes, not exactly like Flaming robes, but similar. His were definitely more for show, covered in glitter and fire patterns.
The magmar stopped moving, and shut its eyes. Slowly, it opened its mouth, revealing a small ball of flame. He released the ball in the air, and it stayed, floating, controlled by the pokemon's limited psychic powers. Many fire types have limited psychic ability, allowing them to use moves such as this one; will-o-wisp.
The ball of flame floated right in front of the human performer, who suddenly leaned forward, taking the ball into his mouth, and shutting it. The crowd gasped. How could he not have been burned? Shouldn't he be howling in pain? There were whispers, and the man just smiled. Tiny flames could be seen flickering between his teeth.
He nodded at the magmar, and in unison, the two spit fire. The magmar used an awesome flamethrower, shooting it into the air, and the man, using just the oxygen in his lungs, controlled the donated fire in his mouth and released a stream, nearly as large as the magmar's. The crowd clapped and whistled, and he smiled and took a bow.
He continued his show, with the people in the audience putting copper pieces on the stage whenever they saw something they liked. A magby ran along the edge of the stage, collecting the money in a hat and smiling at the people, making faces at small children, getting laughs from everyone. Vega particularly loved fire eaters, they were pretty common as street performers in Flaming where she lived. One of her best friends back home was a fire eater herself, and therefore she knew all the tricks of the trade.
It was still amazing to watch under a facade of unknowing.
She watched a few more shows, Sue particularly liking one involving hoops and acrobatics, and grabbed some food. She claimed a picnic table for herself and her pokemon, and they shared a late lunch of jerky, bird seed (for Sue) and corn.
She was surprised at the lack of attention that she received, once again. When she wasn't pretending to be a man, whenever she would go out in public, many men would try and approach her, showing off either their pokemon or their muscles or both. But all day, she hadn't had one person approach her about anything. It was as if she didn't exist. She had been avoiding double takes, however, keeping her head down and moving quickly whenever she felt she might have accidentally blown her cover.
She spent the rest of the day scouting out the temple where the first contest would be held. The tent was shut down for the next few days, while inside members of Flying were organizing the competition, setting the stage. The guards were not letting anyone in, especially not a potential competitor.
"Scram, kid," said one of the guards, blocking her way as she tried to slip inside.
"Uh," she stammered, still worried about her voice betraying her. She kept it deeper. "I just wanted to see what I'm gonna be up against. Being a man and all. A man that can enter the competition without any question." Crap.
The guard gave her a weird look. She stood up a little taller, boxing her shoulders to look less feminine. "Yes..." he began. "But we cannot allow anyone in that is a competitor, no one can be allowed to have a fair advantage over another."
She was about to argue, when she caught a glimpse of movement to her right, beside the entrance to the tent.
"Thank you so much, men," said a man about her age. He exited the tent, a quill and scroll in his right hand, nodding towards the guards escorting him out. "The queen will be delighted to here my report, and details of the competition will be posted around the kingdom the day of the competition!"
Behind him, exited another man, donned in Flying robes like nothing Vega had ever seen. "No problem, mister..."
"Kane," said the writer, extending his hand, and shaking the hand of the Flying priest. "Krimson Kane. Sorry, I must have gotten too wrapped up in my head to remember to even introduce myself." He turned tail, headed towards the exit of the fairgrounds. "I will be back the day of the competition, taking more notes for my next article!"
"Thank you- oomf!" The Flying priest was pushed aside, as a girl, also around Vega's age, burst out of the tent, her head swinging side to side.
"Kane?" she called, and then her eyes locked on him. She quickly walked over to him. "Kane you are the royal scribe you don't just get to walk around without a guard!" She looked back at the Flying priest, smiling apologetically. "Sorry."
Kane sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just because I write doesn't mean I can't take care of myself," he whined. The young girl wasn't having any of it. She whispered something angrily at him, and he groaned, but nodded.
Vega, all this time, was slowly inching her way towards the odd couple. She was unable to catch anymore of what the girl was saying, but she found something odd. She glanced around, and was unable to see any sort of guard for the scribe. All she saw was a vicious scolding and an embarrassed writer.
They turned to leave, and Vega trailed behind them, straining to hear what they said. The sky was dimming, and many people were now heading towards the front of the fairgrounds as well, to watch the fireworks show.
Finally, realizing she wasn't going to get anything accomplished with what she was doing, she jogged to catch up. "Excuse me!"
The two turned, and she slowed to a stop. She extended her hand, remembering to deepen her voice. "I'm... uh..." She realized then she hadn't yet picked a name for herself. "I'm..."
"Well," barked the girl. Arceus.
"I'm... Veal!" she sputtered.
"...Veal?" questioned Kane, looked sidelong at the girl. She shrugged. He turned back to Vega. "Like deer meat?" Crap.
"Yes. I mean no! I mean, well..." She shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. "I was just wondering if you guys saw anything interesting in the tent."
They looked at each other, and bust out laughing. Vega felt very embarrassed all of a sudden. "Do you know how many people have tried to get us to give them information? Well forget it, bub. You're no different. Now scram." The girl shook her finger in Vega's face the entire time, scolding her like a child.
Kane, on the other hand, wasn't so harsh. "Oh come on, Allora, it's not like he tried to bribe us or anything like those other ones, or send threats or anything. At least he asked..."
"No no no!" she began. "We are not going over this again. Absolutely no sharing information. None!" The two fought like a couple. An elderly, married couple. Vega resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Kane didn't. Rolling his eyes, he looked back at Vega. "Sorry, man. Rules are rules. Maybe I'll see you around, I'm assuming you are entering the tournament?"
Vega took him in, trying to remember his face, in case they did meet again. He was taller than her, just over six foot tall, with black hair and kind eyes. She nodded, answering his question.
"Good, now can we go?" Questioned Allora, eying Vega suspiciously. Kane sighed again, and shook his head.
"See you around, Veal," he called, as the tall, blonde girl practically dragged him away. Vega shook her head, and sighed, upset that she wasn't able to get any information.
She continued to walk, tending towards the outside edge of the fairgrounds, walking along the outer fence. She stayed there, not wanting to attract anymore attention than she had for the day. Nearly everyone was up ahead of her now, sitting in an open field, waiting for the fireworks show. The only company she had was the occasional cart rolling by, carrying different kinds of fireworks and decorations. And she walked. But she soon found something... upsetting.
As she walked it was becoming darker and darker, until finally the sun had set behind the mountains to the west, casting the city in shadow. They say the sun sets early on Aero simply because the mountains were to tall. She walked until she heard something that made her sick.
A pokemon was whimpering, she heard it in front of her, behind one of the miniature tents up ahead. She could not see what it was. She heard some yelling, and then a cracking whip, and a roar that turned back into a whimper. Suddenly, she was running.
She slowed when she reached the edge of the tent, and edged around the side, until she could see the commotion. And what she saw nearly made her blood boil. Laying on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises, was a large pokemon she had never seen before. It looked like it should have been fierce, like it should have been menacing. But in its condition, it was pitiful.
It had ropes wrapped around its upper arms, and they were attached to another tent, but it wasn't quite put up. It looked as if the pokemon's job had been to put up the tent, but hadn't finished. The pokemon was surrounded by a few men, who were at the moment throwing rocks at it. One of them had a whip, and would occasionally crack it, striking the creature on the back, causing it to cry out.
"Get up, you aren't finished!" Crack. "Worthless rock type." Crack. "Lazy fucking pokemon." Crack.
At that last one, she had had enough. Sue was about to take off and show them a piece of her mind, but Vega shook her head. She had a plan. She took off her bag, unfolded her cloak, and slipped it on, placing her egg in the pocket for safekeeping. Suddenly, she was no longer Veal. She was Veil, and she was angry. She dusted some black dirt on Sue's cloudy wings, and set her on her shoulder.
She stepped out onto the path again, headed away from the poor pokemon on the ground. She stood there, watching another cart roll up the dirt path, pulled by a ponyta. She stood there, silent, and held up her hand in a 'stop' motion. The man driving the cart, with fear in his eyes, pulled on the reigns and slowed the cart to a stop. Vega walked up to the cart, gliding along the ground, and held out her hand. In her hand was a silver piece. The man took it, confused.
"I need a few of these," she said lowly, walking to the back of the cart. She knew exactly what she was looking for. Fireworks were Flaming's specialty. She lifted up the dirty red curtain and pulled out a few smoke balls, some poppers, and light spinners. She nodded in thanks to the man when she was finished, and walked back towards the tent, slapping the ponyta on the behind as she passed to get it moving again. She disappeared into the shadows.
Once the man had gone, she walked back over to the scene. The workers were more interested in being cruel now, beating down the pokemon, the 'worthless rock type.' She approached them, the smoke bombs in left hand. She had Sue quickly clip down on the wick part of the light spinner in her right hand, which ignited it. She threw it into the small clearing. It spun, shooting sparks, causing the men to cry out.
"Who..."
"Who is there?"
She remained quiet, using fear and darkness to her advantage. She nodded to Sue, who, knowing the next part of their plan, took to the skies. Vega waited just a few more seconds, until the light spinner had died down to a dim glow, and she stepped out into the open.
The dim light barely illuminated her, and so she looked as if she formed from the shadows. The men took a step back as their eyes adjusted.
"A Shade," one of them whispered. His buddy took another step back. The third man wet himself.
"What do you want," said the first man again, braver than the other two. Vega took another step forward, enjoying his reaction, as he stumbled backward, putting his hands up.
She laughed, darkly. One of the men whimpered. "This pokemon is mine..." she said ominously, in her most menacing voice she could muster. The first man's face hardened.
"This worthless thing?" he asked. "Well it is ours, you can't..." At this moment, Vega held up her arm, and Sue swooped down from the sky, alighting on it for effect. "Have it."
"Yes," she said, stroking Sue, who played the part perfectly. "About that." And she threw a smoke ball.
When it struck the ground, it burst and began releasing a thick, black smokescreen. "She has a Power!" shrieked one of the men, and he fled towards the exit of the fairgrounds.
Next, she took her poppers, and began throwing them at the mens' feet. They made loud banging noises, and sparked as they burst, scaring the hell out of them.
"Waaaaaahhhhh!" they screamed, and followed their friend, hands in the air, pants wet.
Vega waited until they were out of earshot, and she busted out laughing. Even Sue was twittering to herself in laughter. She gave Sue a high five (wing five) and smiled at her. She really looked the part. Like a menacing, undead swablu. She grinned again.
"Taaa..." moaned the pokemon on the ground. Remembering what she had come for, she knelt by the pokemon.
It was a rock type, she knew for sure, due to its treatment by the Flying workers, and therefore she knew it should have a hard outer shell. But when she touched it, it was not only soft, but brittle as well, and flaked off as she felt it over for wounds. It had deep cuts, and where the ropes were tied around its arms, they had rubbed raw,
First, she cut the ropes, carefully peeling them from its hide, exposing its sores and bare skin, which was black under the shell, but red where the ropes had lay. It made her sick, and she gagged slightly. She carefully peeled off the other one.
It was in no condition to stand. She looked around for something to carry it with, but all she saw was an empty bowl of what should have contained water, and another trough of bird seed. Bird seed. Vega looked at the pokemon, at its pointed teeth and sharp claws. They were feeding it bird seed. No wonder it was so weak! she thought. She realized then what she would have to do, and so she did. Taking a red crystal out of her belt, she held it out, and the pokemon dissolved into red light, and disappeared into the crystal.
The crystal began to glow, but so faintly it was almost impossible to see. It didn't increase in temperature at all, and this worried Vega greatly. She stood, and made her way towards the exit, slipping out without anyone noticing, just as the fireworks began.
She knew where to go, but was worried if she should, for fear it would blow her cover. But she knew she had to, or this pokemon wasn't going to last much longer. She headed straight for the pokemon center, straight for the young girl with the pink hair.
"Hello, welcome to the- oh!" she said, mimicking last time. "Veil! It is you again, are you... okay?"
"I need a private room," Vega said lowly, not really caring that the room had once again become silent. The young girl was the only one who seemed not afraid, but concerned. She seemed only thirteen years old, and braver than most adults in the room.
"I can get you one," she said boldly, and rushed to the back to get a key. She was back in a flash, and escorted Vega to the back, where she was let into a room with a duo of chansey.
Vega wasted no time and released the giant rock type, where it lay still on the floor. The girl with the pink hair gasped, and ran out of the room, returning shortly with an elderly woman. She was older than anyone Vega had ever seen in her life, though this made sense, seeing as healers often lived the longest. The woman was first scared of Vega, but quickly forgot about her when she saw the condition of the pokemon on the ground.
"Chansey, get to work. Quickly! I'm getting oran paste and rawst powder. Put him to sleep so he heals faster. Quickly!" she ordered. The two pokemon nodded, and held their hands over the rock type, silver sparkles flowing from their hands to the wounds on his back.
"Taa..." it groaned, but still did not move. At least it was alive. One of the chansey began to sing, and soon it was snoring steadily. The old woman was back soon with a bowl of blue paste and a shaker of light blue powder. She spread the cream and the powder evenly along along its wounds, and Vega assumed they would help.
Soon, there was nothing more that could be done. The trio sat in the room together, watching the pokemon rest.
"What must I do for it?" Vega asked after a while. The old woman started, shocked to hear Vega speak.
"It... needs something of sustenance to eat. Some meat... something from the market will do. How did you find it like this?" she asked. As she spoke, she gradually overcame her fear of addressing the pseudo Shade.
And so, Vega retold the story of how she came upon the pokemon (which she had been informed was a tyranitar.) She did not elaborate on how or why she was in the fairgrounds, but simply that she was there and had seen it happen and had fixed the problem.
The old woman was captivated, but not very convinced of parts of her story that she left out. "Who exactly are you?" she asked Vega directly.
She swallowed. "I am Veil, the Shade."
"You are not like the Shades I have seen before," she said, age and memories clouding her eyes as she thought. "I believe you are something different."
"I... no I am..." The old woman reached over and took off Vega's hood, no longer afraid. She nodded to herself, and smiled.
"Not only not a Shade, but not quite a man either," she said smartly. Vega hung her head.
"Please, ma'am, I meant no trickery, I only..."
"Hush! None of what was seen here today will be spoken of outside of these walls, agreed?" Vega and the little girl both nodded. "I am not one for spoiling secrets, I only unearth them myself, for my own satisfaction. For a price, of course." She looked Vega in the eyes. "Now, why, is the question."
So she started from the beginning, telling her whole story since she had begun, even taking out her egg and showing them. She talked about Jack the Birdie, and how he had insulted her, and pushed her to cut off her hair. She talked about the man who had tried to kill her, and how she had found the cloak. As she spoke, the woman became more and more pleased with herself.
"It is settled then," she said after a pause. "My daughter has not yet made her pilgrimage to the healing lands in Nature. If you take her, then your secret is safe, and you will always be welcome here."
Vega opened her mouth, but shut it smartly. She thought for a moment, and realized that having a healer around at all times, especially one who seemed as witty as the pink haired girl, would not be too bad. So she nodded, not trusting her voice. What the woman said seemed so absolute, she was scared to object.
"Now," she began. "You can stay here overnight, and in the morning fetch some proper food for this pokemon here. Then you both must leave. I assume you have a place you have been sleeping?" Vega opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted. "Good. So you will take care of my great granddaughter, agreed?"
She couldn't do anything but nod. "Good. Joy, go and grab some of those pillows from the closet. You can sleep in here for the night. Go on!" The little girl with the pink hair leapt up and sprinted into the other room.
Vega sighed, holding her egg, having avoided a close call, but taken on a new task. The woman smiled at her, remembering her own adventures as a child, and how she would have done whatever it took to become a soldier.