The bath, the walk back to the inn, and even the period of rest afterward (where Khridoli provided some spiced cider from the Initiative storage to enjoy and talk around), Upright stole to put together the pieces of his new life. It must have been obvious what ate at him, because none of them questioned his bafflement or his inability to answer the easiest questions.
I must be suffering from some kind of whiplash, he thought, taking another long draw from his cup – feeling the warmness that it put in his bely kept him from accusing it all of being a dream. There's no way I am this calm. It shocked Upright how easily he adjusted to staring down the dark mysteries ahead, that he left his horror behind in Grace's cabin. This new world was dark to him, very dark, to the point he would likely spend the rest of his life learning to feel the walls around him.
Upright looked over his cup. Khridoli was making the effort to see if he had seen Marker's father somewhere in the territory. It started calm, yet had grown quite animated.
"C'mon pooch, you've got to give me something," Khridoli growled. "Nibbled ear. Black stripe. Large paws. I've seen scores of mightyena on my rounds of the Territory. His breed isn't enough."
"Why would I know my father's ears?" Marker asked. "We always found each other by scent, in my pack." The pangoro huffed, stretching backwards. The floorboards creaked as he did so. Upright could tell he had given up on the subject, and admired his ability to make a tactical retreat.
Marker's ears popped up in excitement. "A scent… I have just the thing!" He stood up, trotting towards the corner of the room.
Still bewildered by his own ideas, Upright nearly missed the poochyena's intent. Doggy gaped and leaped forward, knocking over his bowl of cider in an attempt to pin down Marker. The growlithe's instincts were on point.
"Nope!" Doggy said. "That's a dumb idea if I've ever heard one."
'You spilled your cider," Marker groaned.
"Better than you spilling your-"
"Enough," Khridoli said. The pangoro stood up to his full height – it imposed on the three pokémon, and Upright couldn't help but imagine that some discipline was headed their way. But he just moved down the room, towards the wall, so that they had no choice but to line up in front of him. Even so, Doggy and Marker were off of each other in a split second. "I might as well start explaining what to expect from orientation tomorrow. And what sort of behavior's appropriate. You ready Upright?"
Upright nodded drearily. "I'm fine, thanks." Out of all those words, he picked out three, maybe four. When he realized what was going on, he jolted to attention. "S-Sorry. Whatever you need, commander." Doggy shot him a concerned glance, thankfully the first one that night.
Khridoli nodded back. "That's the first thing: titles. If a pokémon has one, you use it. All adventurers have their reasons, but are nonetheless quite attached to being recognized – I'm sure Amory gave our friend here a lecture or two about all sacrifices that went into that warehouse. Our business is like tossing our efforts into a deep crevasse, so it's nice to be reminded once in awhile that it brings results."
Yeah, just like I reminded Amory of his 'results' with the last 'human.' It was an incredibly contrived way to pity himself. He hid his guilt behind a studious grunt. No more of that. I've got to stay on track.
"Do we get titles?" Doggy asked. "If so, I wanna be called Deathseeker D-"
"Rookies and unlisted don't get titles, they get nicknames," Khridoli answered. "And if you keep up with that death nonsense, other commanders'll label you DNT – do not trust." Khridoli switched gears, becoming perhaps the most official Upright had seen him yet. "But that's ahead. Let's start all the way at the top: the Adventure Initiative works on a credence system – if a commander presiding over any task gives you permission to do the same, then you are officially entrusted to perform that task. Intermediaries are the pokémon who train rookies and unlisted to a point where this may happen. They work in courses, which can be specific or hit a variety of subjects, dependent on how advanced the rookie."
That makes sense, Upright thought. Mostly, he liked the freedom to make mistakes on what he preferred. I really lucked out with this whole credence thing.
"Take my own assigned task as an example," Khridoli continued. "I am responsible for those entrusted to interact with Greaterbeasts, whether that means distraction, routing or fighting them – these pokémon are referred to as underdogs."
"Greaterbeasts?" Upright asked. Ah, I just interrupted! The quilava raised a hand up in post, hoping for leniency.
Khridoli grew terse and impatient, as if bored of the explanation. "Greaterbeasts are creatures that aren't pokémon. They are… amalgamations, machines, other sorts of horror stories the average adventurer isn't equipped to deal with. Underdog's do their best to lead these monsters away from the group." The pangoro grinned, but the idea of being chased by a monster made Upright's stomach churn. "Ignoring the fact he isn't housebroken, I'd choose Marker as an example of a pokémon capable of becoming a great underdog. His experience in a pack has already taught him to tire out opponents before taking action."
The poochyena wagged his tail. "I love chasing and being chased!"
"And Doggy, you'd do just fine with training."
It took every bit of effort for the growlithe to not voice his opinion on running away from a good fight.
Then Khridoli looked at Upright. The commander tried to keep his expression neutral. "Upright, don't take it wrong, but I would have to label you DNT for underdog training. That means that intermediaries may bar you from taking courses directly related to my task. Your frame is too fragile and you are inexperienced at navigating terrain."
As much as Upright didn't want to be one, it still stung. "Is it normal to take on an unlisted that can't even do your task?" He asked, a little bitter in spite of himself.
"Relax. There are eight other commanders. Many pokémon, rookies and unlisted, are declared DNT in three or four tasks straight out of orientation."
"Sorry," he muttered. What if I'm not good enough for any of them? He could end up not being allowed outside – Doggy's reasons for avoiding the Initiative became very real.
"Wait – you mentioned some courses cover multiple topics," Doggy said, hardly concealing a wry tail-wag. "If that's the case, Upright could work up to it with enough effort."
"Yes," Khridoli said.
"And you said intermediaries may refuse! If he asks nicely, maybe they could privately tutor-"
"No!" Upright barked, panicking. "I don't want to be babysat. I… I want to take up as much space as everyone else and not an inch more."
Doggy's second glance definitely beat out his first. Upright scratched an ear and drank some cider – over their talk, it had grown cold.
Fortunately, Khridoli looked as though he had grown tired of explaining. He swept through the rest in a breeze of instructions: "we will enter through the timestop early tomorrow, take our place at the observatory and watch over orientation – unlisted do not participate. Get some sleep, prepare your best behavior, and so on."
If the rest of Khridoli's lecture went by fast, then the scramble to get to bed was an absolute frenzy. Their room was cleaned up before Upright knew it, the commander had retired to his room, and no one could save him from the angry growlithe staring at him from atop the bed. Upright prayed his friend would leave it alone.
"What the heck was that?" Doggy asked. No such luck.
Upright fettered his claws nervously. "I… uh, I didn't mean to bark..."
"He wants to hunt alone," Marker explained, rolling onto his back. "To prove himself. I tried this once. I met a green dragon. I felt that my kills were always envious of those that went into the dragon's maw…. the pack respected my bravery, but I think I would rather not have chased the deer Outside. The shame of being so small was unbearable. I felt pains in my chest because of my envy."
This outburst distracted the growlithe from grilling Upright. "Geez. You sure sound calm about it now."
"That's because I'm tired," Marker said. "Our pelts smell of fresh grass, it is exhausting… I still dream about the dragon..." just like that, the poochyena was asleep.
Upright took the chance to explain himself. "You've given me so much and I haven't repaid you, Doggy. I want to return the favor."
"Sheesh, you've been in Pokéearth, what, three or four days? With enough hard work and time, I'm sure you will find a way to help me – even so a genius strider is usually the one doing the saving, not getting saved!" Doggy grew quite excited, shaking the small bed with his wagging. Marker rolled to the side and pawed at him pleadingly. "Anyways. Upright. I know you won't ever disappoint anyone if you can help it. So don't get all stressed and bark at me. Or I'll toss you out the window!"
The quilava chuckled. As far as he was concerned, Doggy could do no wrong.
Maybe he really is a genius, Upright thought, curling up. He always knows what to say… sleep grabbed hold of him before he could pass on more quiet compliments.
~~~4~~~
"Come on, you lot!" Khridoli called, pounding on the door rhythmically. It surprised Upright how fast he reacted – the second knock had the quilava on his feet, wondering what preparations he needed to make. "Room's been paid for. We're leaving in five minutes!"
"Aiyee!" Doggy cried, running back and forth. Ignoring the speed, the growlithe hadn't done a single thing to pack up. "This feels just like Delibird Day, only a hundred thousand times more intense! I couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time!"
Upright perked up. Delibrd Day… sounds like something I remem-
A bag hit him straight in the face. Khridoli's bag of money, the one they used to pay for the bathhouse. Marker dropped to his belly some distance away.
"No time for your thinking-face!" He barked. Doggy had infected him with his anxiety.
"Thinking-face?" Upright asked, a little offended. He reached up to feel where the bag hit him, only to discover something missing – his tusks. The stress ball actually worked! In its place, however, the quilava felt taller – now he had to hunch to stay on his hind feet – and his paws had taken on a shape that made it easier to cling on to the bag. All these features trumped the fact that he apparently had a 'thinking-face.'
"Oh, quiet," a stranger said from the room opposite the hall. A racoonish creature pawed open the door to his room. "It ain't Delibird day. It's only another day of high tariffs and crooked roads."
Doggy froze. He retreated towards Upright.
"Nuh-uh," he said, his excitement gone.
"Yeah, sorry to break it to ya, it is. C'mere."
Upright watched as Doggy cautiously slipped into the room. It didn't take much sense to know what group had a talent for whisking people out of sight.
"Go," Doggy said to him and Marker. "I'll be okay, promise."
Upright complied, though doing so made his mouth run dry. His heart started to thump hard. What if Grace changed her mind? What if she wanted to take the growlithe away from the Initiative?
Upright gestured to Marker, who was so jumpy he might burst through the door to attack the raccoon, and descended the stairs.
Khridoli waited for them at the door. The innkeep gave them all a wave – the pangoro was a regular here, or else the yelling had clued him.
They stepped outside. The commander asked him about Doggy. "It'll take a moment," he said, not believing that at all.
That moment passed. Khridoli asked again, angrily this time. Upright was inches away from spilling his guts when Doggy burst through the door, the bag of money in his mouth.
"It was under the bed," He mumbled through the mouthful of coin. He received a judgmental glance from Khridoli. Nothing else came from it – a fact Upright attributed to them already being fairly late.
And just like that, they were off. Upright waited for the streets to open up an opportunity to speak with Doggy privately. He'd rather wait, but the growlithe looked shaken.
They earned a brief moment when Khridoli stopped to help a stuck carriage. There was so little time, Upright let his friend assume the questions.
"He's from the Graces," Doggy whispered. "They… they wanted me to continue smuggling relics for them. From inside the Initiative." Upright's new claws squeezed together, hard.
Doggy answered the obvious question: "I told him to go to hell. That I don't care if they tip off the Initiative." That was definitely an outcome Upright could see happening, if it wasn't for his memory of Grace's identity mark. She knew it was the wrong choice. "I'm officially all in, buddy..." that was undoubtedly true, and went for them both.
"No time for gawking!"
Upright hadn't noticed how close they were to the Initiative, he had been so distracted with checking on Doggy. Just above them was the maze of towers – some of them rotated in the center, a grinding noise he could hear from the bottom. The rows of houses had dwindled into piles of makeshifts huts and bazaar-style sstores, the main path to the Initative determined by pure luck, or the pokémon remembering to keep it clear. Later on it opened into a curved set of stairs, leading into the base of the first tower. The other exit, far into the distance and only visible by a slight angle, was far more grand: the bridge to the Outside.
Before he had time to gawk, he was being pushed along by Marker, who had doubled back to help them along. The growlithe was holding his breath.
"Remember to breathe," Upright told him. It was the least he could say.
"Ha!" His air came out in a short puff. "This is s-so cool, but…"
"Do what I do," Upright recommended.
"What's that?"
"Make yourself small and hope stuff gets explained."
Doggy chuckled and put a paw up on the first step. He collided head-on with Marker.
"Why are you two always gossiping?" The poochyena asked. "Packs know everything about each other. Everything they can and more."
Doggy huffed and slipped by. "Golly, you're a creep." He turned back, giving him an encouraging smile. "I'll fill you in on everything, I promise."
Then they were at the 'timestop' – overall, the trip took twenty nerve-racking minutes. Their destination: an empty room. The space above Upright covered all the size he saw outside the tower, reaching skyward into a shadowed void. This one tower, perhaps an example of the others, made use of just one floor. A lonely kiosk stood to the left, unattended to, and the place wasn't even well-lit; if it weren't for several other pokémon milling about, he'd swear that Khridoli had taken a wrong turn.
Khridoli turned to them. "This is the timestop. The wall over there slides open for thirty minutes, then closes for thirty minutes. We somehow made it on time," he added. His eyes scanned the group of pokémon. "Damn it!" One moment it was annoyance. The next, he was practically seething. Upright had the feeling it wasn't their fault this time – something he wished his friends would pick up on that before their hearts gave out.
"Commander!" Whoever called out then (and scared the daylight out of Upright), had a strange drone behind their voice, as if it was disembodied - no chest to mold its tone. Almost as if...
It was a ghost! Upright yowled and cowered behind Doggy. He thought the flying snail prepared him for shocking creatures, but this was something else entirely. This was a flying mass of… of what? Spirit-ness? And the way it made the air around them colder…
He knew he had no reason to be afraid because it called Khridoli 'commander', so he steeled himself for a look.
The ghost looked down on him. It's an age-old adage that the dead are full of regrets, but this one only seemed slightly sorry.
"Oh." It wrenched its head back, tipping the large hat on its head. "Sorry. We've a sort of pace here at the Initiative."
Thank Arceus – it thinks I'm surprised by its yelling.
"Ha, nice one," Upright said. "You, uh, scared me half to death. I-I'm not ready to join you, yet." I'm the smoothest around, he lamented.
The joke didn't register. "Huh, what are you on about?" The ghost asked.
'Well, you're a ghost. So you must have died at one point," Upright explained.
Marker cocked his head to the side. "Is that how it works?"
"Shut it for one second!" Khridoli ordered. They all snapped to attention, including their new guest. "Shuteye, how in the hell did he get through?"
"I begged and I begged," Shuteye pleaded, "but the Master Adventurer said that everyone gets to try out. I'm afraid he vetoed the commanders – orientation begins in a half-hour, so there's no time to rearrange the battles or follow through."
This only made the pangoro angrier. "What good will come of – ahg! And the other commanders, did you speak with them?"
"He'll be DNT'd with extreme prejudice," Shuteye said. "Forgive me, commander Khridoli. As a mismagius, shyness runs in my family, and perhaps I didn't try hard enough to convince the Master."
"Forget it," the commander said. "Your best place is Outside, not in this confounded game we've made out of our politics." Upright was moments off of asking for some context, when the pangoro turned to him. "And you. Did you know anything about this? Did he say anything about planning to try out?"
"Who?" Upright squeaked.
Khridoli nodded toward the timestop. As if by magic, really by good timing, the walls started to turn.
"Your friend from the inn wants to become an adventurer."
Upright gaped. There was one thing he remembered that might be of some help:
"And if you see me around, fulfilling my agenda, you stay far away," Daté had told him - in the alley, after dark.
He didn't mean in Pathen or Outside, he realized with mounting terror. He meant inside the Initiative!