I normally love when it's quiet. I could spend hours just sitting outside, basking in the sunlight, and hearing nothing but the wind in the trees and the bubbling of flowing water. Right now, however, I was being driven crazy by the silence. It was too quiet, more of a forbidding, ominous feel instead of luxurious peace. Even with Aeris next to me, the entire building was as silent as death.

It was as if the books sitting silently on shelves were watching us, daring us to make a sound so that they could fling themselves off their perches like Zubat and tear into us. Ugh, there's a pleasant thought. Guess imagination still does play tricks on people.

Unable to sit still any longer, I pushed off the chair and walked across the carpet. Aeris flopped off the chair after me without hesitation, and I could hear her moving behind me. More unnerving than the silence was the subtle realization that even the excitable Gligar wasn't making much sound, whether it be talking, humming, or tapping the stone like she had done so many times on the way here. The silent human building was feeling more and more like a cage with each passing minute, oppressing me from speaking to break the silence, and closed in on all sides, burying the view of sunlit windows behind shelves of books as far as the eye could see.

In contrast, Brio seemed extremely comfortable with these surroundings. We found him curled up comfortably on a cushioned chair beside the human, who was whispering to him as she held a book in her hands, holding it partly to the side so he could simultaneously study the pages. Every time she turned a page, she paused to give him a few strokes on the head. I glanced over at Aeris, verifying she wasn't wandering off. She had that little tendency to get into trouble the moment I turned my tails to her, and Brio was far too defensive of this place for me to let my guard down. That didn't mean Aeris was necessarily a frustrating individual to manage; she just liked to examine things she shouldn't.

I took some comfort in the fact that Brio was so at ease here. Without him, I'd find the persistent presence of the human female to be another layer of tension that the place held. At the same time, I didn't really want to draw attention to myself or Aeris, simply because I still didn't think the library supported Pokémon clients. Brio very well could be the sole exception; in the rare times he mentioned the library, he never once led me to believe that Pokémon were normally allowed in the building. Surely most humans would be unaccommodating to potentially wild creatures roaming a fragile environment. Still, I never asked why Brio was given special treatment, and I could see as clear as day that this 'Alyssa' girl was extremely fond and familiar with the Glaceon.

There was a sudden click of the door and the sound of soft human footsteps coming across the carpet. I immediately began walking further away from the approaching sounds and nearer to the furniture where Brio was laying. The woman whispered something in the Glaceon's ear, closing the book and setting it beside him before rising to her feet and returning to the large desk near the front. As she passed, she gave me a small smile, but her eyes spoke of suspicion and unease, which I'm sure I returned. Aeris waved, and while I didn't see the human's expression, the Gligar followed me with a cheerful air.

"Can you get back to this now, Brio?" I asked, circling around the chair and climbing up to sit beside him. The ice Eon glanced up, blinking as if he had forgotten we were there, but sat up and nodded.

"All right, let me see it again," he said, holding out his paw towards Aeris, blinking when Aeris pulled it out of his reach with a defensive jerk.

"Don't drop it this time," she said. Only at Brio's nod did she offer it to him, letting it fall onto the cushion between them. Brio turned the tablet over in his paw, studying the faded writing. A few second passed before anyone spoke. I watched his eyes. They had a certain life to them that was difficult to see if you hadn't spent time with him. When he was deeply intrigued by a subject, or thinking hard, his eyes positively shown with interest, and it was this expression he wore now.

"So great was the destructive potential that none but the Original was allowed to reign over impurity...," Brio read aloud, looking up with a thoughtful smile. My spine tingled. I couldn't be sure if it was the words, his tone, or the silence that caused it, but there was another problem: It made no sense.

"That sounds so cool!" Aeris squealed, taking the tablet back into her claw and studying the inscription with uncomprehending, excited eyes. "Now I definitely want to-"

Her statement cut off as a yelp of shock as a strong green rope coiled around her 'wrist' and delivered a sharp tug, flinging the tablet from her pincher. As if in slow motion, I watched it spin in the air before a second rope seized it in midair, letting it hang there like a puppet.

And that's when I saw her.

I say 'her' because that was the immediate vibe I picked up. Standing several feet away from us was a bipedal green and tan snake-like creature. Vibrant red eyes gazed upon the hovering tablet, and I could see now that the rope had really been a vine of some sort, coming from one of the protruding leaves on the semi-serpent's back. It had a distinct, yellow collar, and its paws were tiny, justifying the use of vines. It was the eyes that had the most life, and a small, triumphant smirk was plastered over its snake-like face.

Aeris recovered first. "Hey!" she shouted, her tone furious, all cuteness immediately drained from her voice. "That's mine!"

Brio didn't scold her for the outburst, but his needle-like fur bristled as he turned to face the antagonistic presence. He narrowed his eyes, and then they widened again in what I probably misinterpreted as recognition. The obvious grass-type ignored Aeris, the vine receding until the pilfered tablet was close to her face.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, standing up. It was unspeakably rude to just take something from someone else without asking permission, and Aeris was likely to throw a fit if it wasn't returned in a timely fashion. Manners missing or not, I wanted to avoid a conflict if possible, an opinion that didn't seem to be shared by the other Pokemon.

The scarlet eyes of the serpent focused upon me, and the expression of triumphant dismissiveness did not change. "I am studying my new acquisition," the voice was clearly effeminate, yet carried a strange feeling of power and confidence that was not immediately evident from the body language. I was expecting something more stoic.

"Acquisition?" I repeated, tensing slightly. That didn't sound like something Aeris would like to hear. The grass-type chuckled softly and did not reply, turning away, back towards the door. Before she had taken more than a step, Aeris caught on to what was happening.

"Give it back!" Aeris practically screamed, climbing over the back of the couch and launching herself at the grass-type. At most, the opponent may have shifted her weight, but in a moment, Aeris found herself in the grip of a vine, the tablet dangling just out of her reach. "Let me go!" Aeris shouted, doing everything she could to strike at the grass serpent, but with no success; she was out of range. Even her scorpion tail was nowhere near the body of her foe.

I glared, inhaling in preparation to launch a jet of water. Brio gave a choked yell and pushed me down before I could even aim. I cursed, shoving him back and glaring at his interference. "No attacks!" he pleaded, unfazed by my response. I blinked. What was he talking about? Why shouldn't I help Aeris? "The books! Don't harm the books!" he insisted.

"Silly girl," the grass type said, regarding Aeris' failed attack. A vibrant green glow surrounded the grass-type's body and I shuddered, feeling a sudden disturbance in the room, as if there was an increase of gravity around the opponent. With a simple flick of the vine, Aeris was cast aside, her body crashing against the bookshelves with a loud thump, and several more as the bookshelf teetered, dropping several of the heavy books to the floor.

"Hey!" the human's voice called out and she appeared at once, a fearsome glare upon her face. The intruder turned to her without an ounce of fear. "You, Servine! If you're going to cause trouble, you're going to have to-"

"Leave?" the evidently named Servine guessed, her eyes bulging slightly. With a flick of her left arm, a blade-like leaf extended and she brandished the blade towards the human with a threatening air. "I fully intend to, for my hunt is complete. I advise you to step down. No… this is your warning to stand down."

The human stopped short at the sight of the leaf blade, but she did not back away. Her hands tensed and clenched into fists, eyes scanning the shelves. I wanted nothing more than to hurl myself at this Servine and get back Aeris' treasure, but it was also clear that there was nothing I could do without escalating the situation.

"Wise choice," the Servine whispered. The green glow shimmered and seemed to become absorbed into its chest, and at that infinitesimal moment, I saw a dangling rectangle tied around the Servine's neck, identical in all ways to Aeris', only green. With a single movement, the grass-type seemed to disappear from the room and the door slammed shut.

I blew out my breath and hurried over to Aeris, who was getting to her feet with a dazed expression, rubbing her head. Several books had fallen around her from when she had slammed into the shelf, but overall, she didn't appear seriously injured.

"Ow," she mumbled, tears in her eyes. She stumbled a bit, and I caught her in my arms, holding her close to my stomach for support. "Sy? Why'd she take my treasure?" The Gligar looked up at me pleadingly. "I really liked that one..."

I didn't know what to say. I had no answers. Turning to Brio, I could practically see the gears turning in his head. His expression was troubled, and even angry, yet there was a logical thoughtfulness in his eyes, a counterpoint to the emotions brewing within him. Just the sight of his expression sent an anxious flutter through my stomach. I had never seen him quite like this before.

"Brio?" I asked, fidgeting a little. His expression was starting to scare me, coupled with his silence. "What is it?"

"…nothing. It's nothing," Brio answered, but I knew he was lying. How could he not be?