Guardian of The Forest

by Relic8

Set in the land of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 'Explorers' games, Guardian of The Forest tells the story of a driven Lucario whose childhood was spent in service to the famous Wigglytuff's Guild, and his seemingly endless struggle to protect innocent Pokémon from the once-fabled beings known as Humans, intent on capturing them and forcing them into slave labour in the villages.

8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven:

Shallow Waters

"Here, Pip. Try one of these," said Mist, peeling the skin off of a small, tough fruit and making it levitate towards him until it hovered right before where he sat. Pip took a brief look at it, and said almost immediately,

"No thank you, Miss. I don't really like those."

"Oh, come on now," said Mist jovially, "I know they don't look great, but they taste much better than you'd think."

"Mmm… No thanks. I had one of them before, and I felt like I was gonna be sick all over the place…"

"Did you peel off the skin before you ate it?"

"Um…" Pip shook his head.

"Well then, no wonder you felt sick," she said with a soft laugh, "You don't have to eat all of it, but do try some of it, at least. Here."

And she made the fruit break into pieces for him before making the near-entirety of them soar through the air back into her hand, leaving only one remaining in front of him, smiling sweetly as she did so. Pip could then not bring himself to say no any further. He took the piece of the fruit in his paw and looked at it curiously.

Howl watched this brief debate with a small smile. This was one of the things he enjoyed most about Mist's company; not only was she was one of most kind-hearted Pokémon he had ever known, but she was also exceptional at handling children in a way he could not fathom. His methods merely involved treating them as no more or less than an equal, the same way he treated everyone else he knew, though perhaps his choice of words and commanding nature varied depending on how old or young they were, or how close they were to him as a friend.

"Well?" she asked as Pip chewed the fruit silently, "How is it? Good? Not good? ...So-so?"

Pip did not answer immediately. He continued to chew for a moment, until finally he swallowed the piece, and gazed open-mouthed at the rest of the fruit in Mist's hand.

"Can I have some more, please?" he asked.

"Of course."

The three of them were sat at the head of the eating area, with almost no-one else present by this time except for a few who had stayed behind to continue their conversations. Occasionally Howl had caught a few of them looking in their direction, but there was no need for him to explain; it had become almost traditional for a newcomer Pokémon to sit and talk with the esteemed leaders of The Forest. Not so that they could be questioned and cross-examined, but simply to talk and establish acquaintance with one another. So whatever it was that the observers thought could be going on with Mist, Howl, and the unknown child was probably not that far from the truth.

Howl silently ate his way through an apple and let the two of them talk, his mind lingering elsewhere. He couldn't help but remember fondly how he and his fellow guild recruits had used to gather together at mealtimes like this and talk of their success with the day's mission, each always adding boastful comments and lavish details of how they (along with the other recruit they had been paired with for the mission) had barely snatched victory from within the jaws of defeat in the battle against their target; or how they had arrived in the nick of time to rescue the Missing Pokémon from certain death.

But of course, it had almost always been made-up. Even Howl had added in certain details and stories of his own days' adventures that had not been entirely truthful. But everyone had known it, and everyone had willingly participated. If they had all told the truth every day, after all, the tradition would have become dull in no time, and everyone had enjoyed it far too much to let it go. All that had really mattered in those busy, arduous times was keeping ones spirits high.

Every day after his mission, no matter how well or poorly it had gone, or whom he had been paired with, Howl had always looked forward to the upcoming evening, always looked forward to telling everyone of his triumphs, or to hear of theirs instead.

"Howl!" came Mist's voice.

He blinked and looked at her.

"Y-Yeah?" he said.

"Ugh! Were you listening to us at all? Pip was talking to you, and you were staring off into space like we weren't even here."

"Oh," he replied, "Sorry, Pip. What was it you wanted to say?"

"Just, um…" Pip said, "You remember what you said before? About how if I still wanted to… y'know… after breakfast?"

Howl looked at him for a moment, somewhat puzzled, then he remembered.

"Ah! Yes. So you still want to, then?"

"Yes please," said Pip, and Howl saw his tail raise slightly eagerly.

"I should warn you though, Pip, I' not a gentle teacher. The lessons will not end until I'm convinced you've learned all that you can from me, and today's lesson won't end until you've mastered the technique I've taught you, even if we have to carry on into the night. We'll have today's session, and if you think it's too much and you don't want to carry on with them, I'll give you one chance to tell me so. Any time after that, it'll be too late.

You still want to go through with it?"

Pip was silent for a few seconds, then he said determinedly,

"Yes, sir."

Howl smiled. "All right then. You ready to go now?"

Pip nodded.

"Sorry," said Mist, "but can one of you please explain to me what you're talking about? I don't know whether I should be concerned or not."

Howl looked from her to Pip, and realised that he had deliberately held back from naming what they were about to do.

"Pip, there's no need to be embarrassed about it in front of Mist. She won't care," he said. But Pip still seemed uncertain, so he turned to Mist himself.

"Pip here doesn't know how to swim. He's asked me to teach him, and I promised him I would."

There was the sound a stifled exclamation of outrage, and Howl smirked when he saw the expression on the little Pokémon's face.

"Oh," said Mist, then, "That's okay, Pip. There's no need to be embarrassed about that."

Pip, however, was embarrassed. He scowled up at Howl, who looked back as though he were nothing short of amused.

"That's a relief," Mist continued, "I was worried that you might've arranged something…

…Err, well, it doesn't matter what I thought. Okay then, Howl, see you later. Good luck, Pip."

The corners of Pip's mouth twitched slightly and he mumbled a shy thanks. Howl made to start towards the exit, but just as Pip also began to move, Mist caught Howl by the arm and whispered to him,

"Please don't be too hard on him. Okay?"

He couldn't help but stare.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked, watching out of the corner of his eye as Pip moved past.

"Look, Howl, I know you don't mean to be, but sometimes you can come across as a bit… harsh. It tends to put children on edge, and if you ask me, Pip can't seem to decide whether he likes you or if he's scared of you.

Look, all I'm saying is, be gentle with him. Okay?"

"But if I'm gentle with him-"

"I know, I know! But believe it or not, the downright brutal way they trained you in your guild isn't the only way to teach someone something! Just… tone it down a bit, all right? Be patient."

"I am patient!"

"Sir?" came Pip's voice. Both Howl and Mist simultaneously turned their heads to see Pip standing right beside them, glancing from one to the other curiously, "Miss Mist? What're you guys talking about?"

"-Nothing.-"

"-Nothing, Pip.-" they replied at the same time.

Pip looked at them both with one ear lowered and another upright, tilting his head to the side, making him look like the embodiment of suspicion.

"Come on," Howl said, slipping his arm out of Mist's grip, "let's go."

The lake, they found, was mercifully empty. Howl had been expecting it to be teeming with all sorts of forest-dwellers by this time, as it usually was. But to his surprise, he saw that the only occupants were a small group sitting on a shoreline far away who seemed to be engaged in no more activity than idle conversation.

'The Forest certainly is lazy today,' he thought.

Then Pip voiced what they were both wondering,

"Where is everybody?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, "The lake's usually full around now…"

"Do you think everyone's okay?"

"Of course they are. I suppose someone's probably found something, or come up with some new game that's sparked everyone's interest for now. Anyway, I'm not complaining. Now we'll be able to focus on your lesson without anyone else getting in the way."

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess that's true."

Howl picked up on the worried note in Pip's voice, and decisively moved towards the lake's bank, where he knelt and dipped his paw into the clear water.

The lake seemed to have cooled slightly since earlier that morning. It was not cold to be sure, but it was nowhere near as warm and enticing as he had hoped it would be.

Well, that just couldn't be helped.

Pip joined him at the bank and imitated him, dipping his paw in the water and sucking the air through his teeth as his fur was soaked through.

"It's cold," he said.

"It's colder than you, yes, but it's not genuinely cold," Howl replied.

"How cold can it get, sir?"

"Oh, it's been much worse than this. You know, one winter, the entire lake was frozen over."

"Really?"

"Yep. This whole area was once completely covered in ice and snow. Mind you, The Forest looked stunning that day.

That is… it did. Until the kids started making, uh… inappropriate snow-mons.

And drawing things in the snow.

…And writing things in the snow.

Then The Forest was stunning in a completely different way."

He ran his paw through the lake water once more and turned to Pip again.

"So," he said, "how much do you know about swimming already?"

"Umm…" Pip twisted his mouth, narrowed his eyes in concentration, then at last said, "Nothing."

Howl stared.

"Okay... I'll ask you again:

Pip, how much do you already know about swimming?"

"Sorry, sir," said Pip earnestly, "I really don't know anything."

"Come on now, you must have some experience. What about when you and your family were trying to reach The Forest? Don't tell me you managed to completely avoid travelling through water…"

"Uh… Sorry, sir, but you're right. We did. My dad, he… he was a Fire-Type, so obviously he couldn't swim, and we all thought we shouldn't ever split up if we could avoid it, so if we ever came across deep water, we'd just try to find a way around it."

Howl managed to repress a sigh - remembering what Mist had said to him about being patient.

"All right… Then, have you ever swam before at all?"

Pip was silent for a moment.

"Well… I did try to once. It was just a little while after I came here. Y'know, just before… before…"

"Before your mother left."

"Y-Yeah. I saw someone else - someone who's body was the same shape as mine swimming, and I thought I'd give it a try, but instead I almost drowned…"

"You didn't drown, though?"

"No. I managed to get back to shore."

Howl nodded.

"That's good. You seem to have guessed some of the basic idea. That should make things easier for me to explain."

Howl spent the next half hour clarifying Pip on how his natural body shape would make it easy for him to swim once he understood what he was meant to do. All he would have to remember, he told him, was that as long as he kept on moving and held his head up high, he would be able to remain afloat.

"Also," Howl said, "you're going to have to angle your feet in a certain way in order to move more effectively. Here, hold up your paw and I'll show you."

Pip obeyed, and mimicked the position Howl held his own paw in, copying his movement as he demonstrated precisely how he should strike through the water.

Howl taught him how to strike with both his front and hind legs until he thought Pip had finally learned all that he was going to through theory.

"All right," he said after a few more demonstration drills and memory testing, "are you ready?"

"Yes, sir!" said Pip, sounding confident and excited.

Howl stepped into the water and indicated for Pip to follow, walking forwards until the water was up to his stomach.

Pip dipped his paw into the lake for a second time, and Howl saw his tail give a sharp jolt.

"Come on then," he said, as though he had not noticed.

"Okay," Pip replied apprehensively, "Okay, just… give me one second."

Howl waited.

Until after several minutes when he was still the only one present in the lake, he finally approached the shore again, knelt directly before Pip and held out his paw, palm upwards.

"Here."

Pip eyed his paw warily. "You're not gonna pull me in, are you?"

"Wh-? No." Howl replied with a small laugh.

Finally the little one extended his own paw and placed it with the utmost caution into Howl's open palm.

"Yes," Howl said suddenly.

"What?! NO!" But it was too late. Howl gripped his paw tightly before he could wrench it back and tugged him with apparent ease into the water.

"You JERK!" Pip shouted as his fur was drenched in the lake's chill.

Howl was about to reply, but Pip suddenly swung his tail around and splashed a small wave of water at him, which he blocked with his paw.

"Pip…!" he said as he continued to spatter him with water,

"You might want to rethink this idea…!"

Pip continued to swing his tail with even more vigour.

"You're not going to win this game…!" Howl said, and finally, "All right! You asked for it!" And he swung his whole arm around and caused a great surge of water to lunge forward and drench Pip from head to tail.

"Aaahh! No, okay, okay! Stop it! Stop it!" Pip wailed, trying to push his way through the shallow water to escape, but Howl simply walked after him and continued to force great waves down upon him.

"Augh! STOP IT!" Pip shouted desperately, in spite of the fact that his own words were both followed and proceeded by laughter. Howl couldn't help but laugh a little as well, as he moved around Pip, blocking one escape route after another, and forced wave after wave upon him. Finally Pip scrambled onto the bank and made to pull himself up onto shore, but as soon as he was off-balance, Howl said,

"Nope!" Grabbed his hind legs, pulled him away and dangled him upside-down.

"I win," he said flatly.

"Nu-uh!" Pip retorted breathlessly, "I'm not done yet!"

"You… might want to take in your situation."

"This is nothing!" Pip panted as he tried again and again to curl upwards and land a strike at Howl's paw.

"Let go of me!" he said finally, "This isn't fair! You're cheating, sir!"

"I would never!" Howl drawled, "I would never stoop so low as to cheat a child out of what was clearly going to be a victory for them. I won against you fair and square. Now say the words 'I surrender' and I'll put you down."

"No way! I want a rematch! Put me down and fight fair!"

"No rematches. Now, 'I surrender'…"

"NEVER!" said Pip fearlessly.

"Never?" Howl repeated, a sly smile curving his lips, "Well, maybe I'll just…"

It was a moment before Pip seemed to realise just how close the water below was drawing to him.

"AAGH-No-please-okay-I'msorry-Imeanit - I MEAN IT!"

He froze in mid-air with the tip of his nose an inch away from touching the water, and Howl laughed.

"I'm just joking…" he chuckled, setting Pip gently down on land, where he slumped onto his stomach.

"That wasn't fair…!" Pip panted finally, shaking his body dry until his fur stood on end all over him, "You're supposed to go easy on me."

"Hah! Pip, the fact that you'd say that proves how much you have yet to learn about me. I don't go easy on anyone – not even children."

"You're mean, sir."

"Yes, I know. Again, you've got a lot to learn."

Pip scowled up at him, but Howl took not the slightest notice, and allowed a minute to pass so Pip could regain his breath.

"All right. Now Let's start your lesson properly. No more messing around." Howl waded his way towards deeper waters until the spike on his chest and all above it was all that remained dry.

"Here. This should do," he said, turning back, "Now, I want you to-"

But Pip, he saw, was still hesitating on the shore. He broke off in mid-sentence and waited for him to step into the water, but still he did not move.

Wearily he approached him again and knelt down.

"I'm scared…" Pip said before he could ask the question.

"Scared? Of what?"

"I… I'm scared I might drown."

Howl said nothing. He was somewhat bemused, but he waited for the right moment to speak.

"What makes you think you're going to drown?" he asked as soon as Pip looked him in the eye.

"I almost did last time."

"You didn't drown, though. You're still here to talk about it, after all."

"W-Well, yeah, but I almost did."

"But you didn't," Howl stated adamantly, "If it didn't happen last time, when you were alone and had no idea what you were doing, what makes you think it'll happen now?"

"I-I… I don't know…"

"You're scared because you think it's still a possibility, right?"

"Um… Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

"I see. Well, you're wrong.

It's not a possibility and it's not going to happen. Perhaps you'd like to guess why?"

"U-Umm, really? Really, sir, You actually want me to-"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"O-Ohkay. 'Cause, um… you're not going to let me drown?"

"Obviously.

There is nothing in this lake for me to be distracted by, and I'm not going to let you swim in water deep enough for you to drown."

"N-No, sir! I know! It's not that, it's just… w-well…"

"Oh? Then what is it?"

Pip twisted his mouth. He seemed awkward, as though he did not quite know either what was worrying him.

"Pip," Howl said, motioning for him to make eye-contact again,

"Pip, look at me."

He did as he was told.

"You're safe to go into the lake, and you're not going to drown. Because I promise you that if you do sink underwater, even slightly, I will catch you and pull you back up.

All right?"

"…OK."

Howl looked at him probingly for a moment, searching for any disbelief, then he nodded and backed away to allow Pip room to step into the lake.

It took Pip a short while to work up the courage to re-enter what, from his perspective, was nothing but a vast, bone-chilling ocean, but after dipping one paw after the other at a time and becoming more familiar with it, he plunged himself forwards in what looked like an odd combination of a dive and a leap. Howl could tell that the drop was shallower than he had estimated, for among the small splash he heard, there was a quiet, "Oof!"

"Now," he said, "one more time: remember what you're supposed to do?"

Pip recited each and every instruction with almost word-perfect precision.

"Very good," Howl said, backing towards where he had stood before.

Pip seemed to brace himself. Drawing deep breaths, his expression becoming set and determined. And finally he began to move slowly forwards.

Howl tensed his stance beneath the water, ready to sweep forwards at any moment. Finally Pip's head was the only part of him not submerged, and as he reached deeper waters he seemed to find that there was suddenly nothing more for him to place his foot on.

He spluttered slightly and staggered. Howl started cautiously towards him, contemplating whether he was in peril or simply having a minor struggle, but before he could take more than a few slow steps, Pip saw him coming and tried to push his way towards him without seeming to realise just what he was doing.

Howl stopped in his tracks and stood completely still, watching Pip draw steadily closer and closer. Then, as Pip was roughly three meters away from him, he gave a strangled, waterlogged cough and sank ever so slightly.

"Easy, don't panic!" Howl said, tensing up again, "You're doing fine, just keep going!"

Pip looked at him through wide eyes and fought to make himself move onward, his legs working furiously until Howl finally swept forwards and caught him around the middle just as his head began to fall beneath the water.

"Th… Thankyu-" Pip tried to say as he steered him back to shore, but he coughed and retched in midsentence. He had inhaled a lot of water. Howl made a gruff sound as a response.

"Well," he said, "that was-"

"Terrible," Pip wheezed, giving another little sequence of coughs.

"No it wasn't," Howl replied plainly, "There's no way you could've done perfectly on your first try. What went wrong?"

It took a while for Pip to respond, but after a few more coughs and shaky breaths, he said,

"I'm not sure. I think I…ah-" He broke off and heaved again.

"What went wrong, Pip? Think. You struggled a little when you started off, but once you got the hang of it, you were doing just fine. Then all of a sudden, you started struggling again. Why?"

"I-I don't know, sir! I… I couldn't go on!"

"You couldn't go on? What, as in you were worn out?"

"Ye-…Yeah," Pip said hesitantly.

"Hmm…"

Howl let his mind wander back to the moment, trying to remember clearly what he had seen from his position before he had leapt to Pip's aid.

"You were breathing pretty fast," he said finally.

"Huh?"

"Before you started flailing around like a mad-mon, you were doing very well for a beginner. Your posture was good, your paddling pace was quick, and you weren't getting distracted or going off-track. But I could hear you breathing almost all the way from the shallow end."

"So?"

"So that's what was wearing you out. You weren't giving your body the appropriate amount of oxygen. Swimming for a long time can be tiring, but the activity itself isn't that strenuous. Try taking deep breaths rather than short, quick ones like before.

Come on, let's try again. Same as last time."

The second attempt had some minor improvements. For one, Pip had no trouble with the change in the ground level. Instead, he knew what to expect and was ready for the sudden drop, paddling his way forward flawlessly and breathing - as instructed - slowly and steadily. But he had only made it to more or less the same place before his paws collided against one another, causing him to lose balance and once again sink, and once again have to be guided back to shore.

Pip seemed to lose confidence and focus with every little mistake he made, so that by the time the fourth and fifth attempts had failed he could barely keep himself afloat. After only an hour, and not even half-way through his eighth try and he began to thrash and call,

"Sir?! SIR?!"

"Calm down," Howl said, moving towards him, "You're alright. Just-"

"SIR, HELP!"

"Just calm down," Howl said again, holding out his paw, "and breathe."

Pip flung himself forward and clutched Howl's paw as if it were the land itself, and he breathed so unsteadily it sounded as though he'd truly believed he had been about to sink for the very last time.

Howl felt him quivering on the back of his paw.

He spoke,

"Pip."

No response.

"Pip!"

A quiet, "Mmph…" escaped the little one, and he looked up.

"I can't do it…" he mumbled shakily, "I… I can't."

"Don't even say that to me…" Howl replied, his voice equally quiet, though with much more force in his, "Of course you can't do it - you can't do it now. That doesn't mean you won't ever. What's worth learning is worth working for.

Don't think you're going to get any sympathy from me by whining."

"I'm not whining, sir! I mean it! It's too hard…!"

"Of course it's hard. I just told you, that's why you need to keep at it. Believe me, I've seen cases like yours more times than I can count, and if you're anything like the others, swimming will be almost second-nature for you by next week, at least. You just need to keep at it."

Pip's gaze drifted downwards, then he shook his head.

"No... There's no point in me keeping at it. I'm getting worse, not better.

Sir, please… can we… can we stop?"

He looked up with lowered ears into Howl's eyes, which were gleaming in the reflected sunlight.

"Humph," Howl grunted at last, "…Fine."

Pip felt himself being steered to shore once again, and when he was near enough, he grabbed onto the earth at the edge of the lake and pulled himself onto warm, dry earth. Stable, familiar and safe.

He heard Howl ascend the water beside him and saw him move on past without so much as a backward glance until he finally sat down by the roots of a tree deluged in the warm sunlight, rested his head against its trunk, and closed his eyes.

Pip felt suddenly unsettled.

He pushed himself stiffly upright and approached the Guardian slowly and apprehensively

He opened his mouth to speak, but then something gleamed, briefly stealing his attention, and as soon as he saw exactly what it – what they were, his breath was cut off.

It seemed as though every time he got closer to him, Howl inexplicably gained more scars somewhere along his body - but now…!

His fur darkened and soaked flat against his strong body revealed more scars than Pip could count, all gleaming under the sun, and none more prominent than a monstrous slash directly across his chest, from his shoulder to the opposite bottom rib.

"Howl…?" he said cautiously, "…Sir?"

A single crimson eye opened and flicked towards him.

"I haven't made you sad, have I, sir?

'Cause I - 'Cause that's not what I meant to do. Please, don't be sad. It's just that I… W-Well, you know I'm awful at swimming, so I don't want to waste your time trying to when I can't even…" His voice tailed away.

"Take a break," Howl said, "The way you are right now, we're not going to make progress anytime soon. So rest now, and pull yourself together."

"Sorry?" Pip exclaimed, bewildered, then he realised Howl's mistake and said very hastily,

"Oh-no-no-no, sir, I, um… When I asked if we could stop, I didn't mean take a break, I meant-"

"I know what you meant," Howl said coldly,

"Sorry to break it to you, but you're not getting out of this that easily. The lesson is still going on."

"Oohhh! Sir, why? What's the point?"

"Why indeed?"

Pip stared open-mouthed, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

"I'll give you ten minutes," Howl continued, "In those ten minutes, you're going to come up with your own reasons for continuing with this lesson.

Of course, if you don't come up with any, you could always sit here and have to me lecture you on why you should continue, but I doubt you'd even listen to me if we did that, and in any case, I don't have the patience for it in the first place.

You can go into your hiding place if you want, and you can go anywhere around the lake, but you're not to leave this 'area'. If you do that, I'll assume you're trying to sneak away… and I will not be happy."

"Siirr…!" Pip droned when Howl rested his paws behind his head as though he were making himself comfortable, "Sir, come on, pleeaase…!"

"Don't waste your breath. This lesson is happening whether you want it to or not. If you seriously can't stand it, I won't force you to take any more afterwards. But you asked for this one."

"I change my mind!"

"Too bad. You're swimming, so just come to peace with it.

Your ten minutes start… now."

"Sir!"

But Howl closed his eyes again and gave not the slightest indication he'd heard him. Pip glowered and stuck out his tongue before turning and storming away.

"Stupid butthead," he muttered.

"I heard that."

Pip jumped, glanced fearfully back, and hurried away as quickly as he could.

Howl watched him go until he stopped somewhere between the place where the onlookers were and where Howl himself was seated. Pip paced about slightly, then Howl saw him finally lie down on his front and tuck his paws in whilst his tail continued to swing irritably from side to side.

He smirked and looked out across the lake, counting in his head as the first minute proceeded onto the next.

"Five minutes left," he called out when it was due.

He looked towards where he had last seen Pip, and noticed that the group of onlookers had left. The two of them were quite alone. At his words, Pip's ears and tail twitched, but he did not look up or respond. Howl was not concerned, and continued the countdown in his head.

Fifty meters or so away, Pip was grumbling bitterly to himself, glaring towards the Pokémon dozing beneath the sunbathed tree.

It was unfair. Stupid, pointless and unfair. Why should he have to do what Howl told him to? He had the right to refuse if he didn't want to carry on! Sure, he had asked for this lesson, but it was pointless to bother with continuing it now! He couldn't swim if his life had depended on it! Why in the world should they carry on when it was obviously a skill he was not meant to have?

These thoughts rebounded back and forth in his mind, and he dug his claws into the grass beneath him, seething. But after a few moments, he pulled them back and let out a slow breath. He had wasted enough time already. He ought to come up with at least three good reasons to carry on, or risk Howl's lecture.

Pip closed his eyes and rummaged in his brain for some kind of idea, something at least persuasive if not encouraging. He cast about the trees behind him as though hoping an idea would present itself to him out of the air, but as his line of sight swept over the vicinity directly behind him, he saw something that completely diverted his attention, and immediately halted all of his thought processes.

Four minutes left

Three minutes left.

Two minutes left.

"Pip! Time's almost up," Howl called, and again there was no responding call.

He opened his eyes and looked towards where he knew Pip to be, but there was no-one there.

"Pip?"

He stood up and looked around to the other end of the lake, which was just as deserted as this side.

"Pip?

…Where are you?"

He approached the spot where he had been and looked around all over, then he saw a pathway littered with old, dry leaves, leading straight through the trees and into a space he was all too familiar with. It was not a space that had been formed naturally; it had been created by The Forest-dwellers. Proposed, planned, and finally constructed through the diligence and nobility of all who lived there. Stronger and more craft-minded Pokémon leading the task, of course, but everyone - Bird-Pokémon and even children - had contributed to it in some way, so that part of them all would have place in its creation. And there, at the other end of the path, standing in the middle of the space was a small figure who was easily recognisable.

Howl glanced back briefly over his shoulder, checking if anyone else was nearby, before proceeding forwards along the path.

Pip's gaze moved from left to right to directly ahead, then to left and right again and again. He wasn't sure exactly what it was he was looking at. The more he studied these things, whatever they were, the more details he noticed about them, and then the less sense they made to him. There were three of these strange objects, as far as he could tell. One was ahead of him, one was to his left, and another was to his right. From what he could make out, they had once been trees. But why had they grown here of all places? And more noticeably, why had all of their branches, leaves and crowns been removed? What were those strange little symbols and markings etched into their trunks? Why had one of the trees - the one straight ahead of him - been spared the removal of its crown and have flowers planted all around its roots?

Leaves crunched underfoot somewhere behind him, and he turned sharply around.

"S-Sir!" he exclaimed, his heartbeat quickening, "I-I'm not sneaking away, I promise!"

"I know," Howl said simply, coming to a halt and looking from one tree to the other, just as he had been doing,

"I know."

Pip noticed a forlorn look in his eyes and followed them towards one tree in particular, which seemed, comparatively, to have less etchings on it than the other two. But the way it also differed from its fellows was how some of the etchings here and there had been crossed off. Direct, narrow lines drawn right through them.

Then Pip felt a spark of realisation: they were not markings or symbols that were etched into the trees; they were names! Names of other Pokémon! But why had some of them been crossed off?

Just what in the world was…

"What is this place, sir?"

Howl's eyes darted briefly down towards him, then he held out a paw to indicate all three trees simultaneously.

"These are The Family Trees," he said.

"The… Family Trees?" Pip echoed uncertainly.

"That's right. You may have figured it out already, but this isn't a natural area. At least, not strictly speaking. I guess you could call it a kind of shrine. Each tree shows the names of different Pokémon, and each tree holds to a different grouping for those Pokémon."

"What kind of grouping?" Pip asked.

Howl paused momentarily, and then pointed to the tree on the right-end side, "That tree shows the names of all who are here and accounted for in The Forest. Like Stick, Rustle and his mother, for example. They are all listed on that tree because we know where they are and know they are safe. This tree," he went on, moving towards the one with alternating dashes and crossings out, "shows the names of all the Pokémon who have been reported missing, so that we can search for them and bring them to safety. And lastly, this one…" he said conclusively, pointing to the farthest, and more noticeably different tree, "shows the names of all the Pokémon who… have lived in The Forest, but who have since… passed away."

"Y-…You mean…?"

Howl nodded.

Silence passed between them.

"What about my mum and dad?" Pip asked eventually, "Are they in here somewhere too?"

Howl did not answer immediately; instead he made a thoughtful sound and stepped back from the tree bearing the names of missing Pokémon to see it more clearly. Pip moved in a little closer as well, though most of the names were too high up for him to read anyway. What he did notice, however, was how every now and then, between all the lone etchings and crossings-out were names encircled alongside others. He looked up at Howl, hoping to ask why that was, but his eyes were busily scanning the tree's trunk, so he held his tongue. Howl kept his silence for another minute or so, with one paw resting on his side whilst the other rubbed his chin. Then at last, he knelt down and jabbed at a point with his finger.

"Here."

Pip swallowed, and looked to where he was indicating. There were the names of his mother and father, etched alongside one another and isolated from the rest of the names by a large, wide circle drawn around them. And then Pip understood the meaning behind what those circles were for.

"You're there too, you know," Howl said quietly.

"Huh? Sorry?"

Howl edged a little to the side so that Pip could move in and see better, and there, sure enough, was his own name written within his family's circle.

"Why…?" Pip breathed, his throat feeling suddenly dry and sore, "Why am I there? Sir, why am I on this tree?"

"Because no-one knew where you were," he said simply.

Pip's mouth hung slightly open at these words. He felt he wanted to speak, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He closed his mouth and continued to stare, transfixed.

"I suppose we won't be needing that anymore though, hmm?" Howl continued matter-of-factly.

Pip blinked.

"What… What do you mean?" he asked.

As a response, Howl unsheathed a silver claw and brought it to Pip's family's circle.

"We - or rather, I - know where you are now. I know you haven't left The Forest, or anything like that. You are here, safe, and one of us. Part of the family. So there's no need to keep you on the list of missing Pokémon anymore."

He was burrowing his claw into the tree's bark. He was about to cross off Pip from the list.

"No!" Pip said suddenly, and more loudly than he had meant to, "Sir, wait! Wait!"

Howl paused and looked down at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Pip struggled to find his words. He started responses awkwardly only to end them again in midsentence.

"Please," he managed to say finally, "I-I'm not sure I - Please don't cross me off!"

"Why not?" Howl asked.

"I don't - Please - Please just don't, okay?!"

"I thought you'd decided to stay with us when you left your hiding place. Or was I mistaken?"

"N-No! I mean, yes!

I-I mean…!

Ohh, I don't know, I don't know!"

"Calm down," Howl said, finally tugging his paw free.

Pip closed his eyes and forced his breaths to be steady and level, and when he seemed to be more composed, Howl asked,

"What's making you worry so much? - And don't tell me 'you don't know'. Just answer me."

Pip was silent for a moment, thinking his answer through, then he responded,

"I… I feel like if you cross my name off, then I'll have to stay here in The Forest.

…Or something."

"Isn't that what you want? Isn't that why you left your hiding place? I was under the impression you'd already made your mind up about this."

"I-I know! I-I thought so too! But now…"

"Pip, the reason I wanted you to stop hiding away was because I wanted you to stop being so miserable. That's what your mother wanted too. For you to be happy."

"But… how am I supposed to be happy?!" he burst out, his voice straining, "They're my mum and dad! And they're gone! How am I supposed to be happy without them?!"

"That's enough, Pip! Snap out of it!" Howl said, suddenly stern, "Believe it or not, the whole world is not turned against you! Bad things happen to everyone. Bad things have happened to everyone.

You'd know that if you took the time to ask the other Pokémon here."

"But… But, sir, I don't want t-"

"I'm not telling you to actually ask them. I'm saying that if you did, you wouldn't be questioning how you're supposed to be happy as if it were an impossible dream.

But, as for the answer to that question? How you are 'supposed' to be happy?

I can't give it to you. These are your reasons, your feelings, and your own answers. I can't tell you how to think. You're going to have to figure out how to be happy on your own."

Pip's ears and tail drooped, and he bowed his head.

"Then… Then I dunno what I should do," he said, "I just want them to come back… I just want to see them again… I don't think I'll ever be happy without them."

"You will," Howl said sincerely, "I know you will, Pip. I've been where you are, I know what you're feeling.

…There's an old saying, you know. A kind old lady in my hometown used to say it to us every time one of us so much as pouted. I admit, it's one of the most cringe-inducing lines I've ever heard in my life, but it also happens to be quite true…

It goes like this: 'Happiness is the one emotion that hides from us when we need it'.

…Like I said, cringe-y. But also true. Things are very hard for you these days. Which is why your natural response is to feel sad about those things. But it's for that reason that you have to be strong. Feeling depressed isn't going to do you any good. It's times just like this, when things are tough, that you need to be strong.

…Because otherwise, Pip, the hard times are never going to end."

Pip shifted a glance upwards, but could think of no response, so he remained silent.

That very silence made Howl seem to think Pip still did not believe him, and eventually he sighed and bowed his own head.

"Well…" he said, "maybe you're right. Maybe for some Pokémon, the loss is just too much. Maybe some really feel it would be easier for them to not even try to be happy again.

…But, little one, I can tell you one thing with certainty:

If I was faced with that choice; striving to find happiness or giving in to despair… I could never respect myself if I gave in to despair."

Pip raised his head a little to see Howl's face.

Howl and Pip were silent for a short while, then Howl finally said,

"All right then… I'll let you do it instead."

"Do what…? Sir?"

Howl indicated his name on The Family Tree beside them.

"I'll let you decide for yourself. Do you want to be one of us? Part of the family? Or do you want to be left alone?"

"What? Sir, you're not being serious, are you?"

"Yes, actually, I am. I'm not going to make up your mind for you on this one. Nor is anyone else. Not Mist, not your parents, no grown-ups here to tell you the right thing to do. This will be your choice, and no-one else's. And whatever it is that you decide, I will respect it as your decision."

And with that, Howl stood up to his full height and made his way towards the path, saying over his shoulder,

"I'll be waiting for you by the lake," as he went.

When he was sure he was alone, Pip looked back at The Family Tree, Howl's words playing through his mind again and again.

Pip closed his eyes and thought harder than he had ever thought in his life.

Finally, he looked around to make sure he was not being watched, and unsheathed a claw from his right paw.

It took him almost four whole tries, but eventually he unsheathed the entire set of his claws and dragged them across all at once until his name was nothing more than an untidy, indecipherable mess.

'I could never respect myself if I gave in to despair', he heard distantly. He nodded to himself, as though he were agreeing, and with one last look at The Family Tree, he followed Howl out and back towards the lake.

After an hour had passed, other Forest-dwellers began to emerge from the trees and seat themselves around or frolic within the waters - though by Howl's instruction kept their distance from him and Pip. From then on, the noise in the lake was at its usual level: Children laughed, voices were raised in indignation or exhilaration, and of course, the sound of water splattering was audible in every direction. At first, Pip had been unsettled by the knowledge of them being joined by others in the lake, but once Howl had explained, and once Pip had seen for himself that they would not be disturbed by them, he was just as comfortable as he had been before with the two of them. As they progressed, Pip was liable to some more minor blunders, but aside from a hasty apology, he made no further comments about them. Because of this, within the short hour, Pip's proficiency at keeping himself afloat was becoming better than Howl could have hoped for, and even when Pip faltered and nearly made himself sink, Howl barely even had time to react when Pip regained his balance and pushed himself determinedly forward. However, it was just that - making himself go forward - that was still not up to standard. At one point, it had been quite some time before Howl had realised Pip was almost at the exact same spot in the lake he had been in minutes ago.

"But there's no denying you've improved," Howl told him once they were seated on the bank for Pip to rest.

"I was still terrible, though," Pip replied in one breath before shivering copiously.

"How many times do I have to tell you you were not terrible?!" said Howl, a little impatience seeping through, "If you were, you would know by now. Trust me, I'd have made it perfectly clear."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing. Stop trying to belittle your own achievements."

"I'm not belittling anything, sir!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes. You. Are.

You have so little self-confidence that you don't even want to believe you've improved. That's being what's called a 'defeatist'. I'm not going to waste my time teaching a defeatist, Pip, so you'd better hurry up and pull yourself out of this nose-dive."

"W-Well, OK, yeah," said Pip uncomfortably, "I guess I am better than I was before, but not by much. I mean, what does it matter I can float if I can't even go anywhe-"

"Oh pipe down!" Howl snapped, somewhat more angrily than he'd meant to.

"Sorry," he added when Pip looked surprised, "Just… stop talking so pitifully, will you? Have more respect for yourself."

There was a pause.

"Do you have any idea why you weren't moving forward, though?" Howl asked.

Pip was no clearer on the matter than him. They debated the problem for a while before finally coming to the realisation that if there was a direct cause, it must have been in how Pip was positioned or how he was angling his feet.

"I could have you swim and try to correct whatever it is whenever I see it…" Howl said thoughtfully, "but that would take time. Not to mention we'd increase the risk of you sinking if I was constantly diverting your attention.

So…"

Pip watched his mentor contemplate their solution, and finally he nodded and moved away, signalling for Pip to remain where he was, and when he returned he was carrying a small log.

"Oh no…" Pip groaned. He had seen logs being used to assist certain Pokémon move in water before, (those certain Pokémon mostly consisting of infants and those whose body-shape made it difficult to swim at all) and he knew exactly what Howl's plan was now.

"Do I have to use that, sir?"

"Unless you have a better idea, then yes, you do," Howl said, placing the log in the shallow water and pushing it down to check its buoyancy.

"But, sir, it's embarrassing…!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. Will you survive the ordeal?"

"Yes…?"

"Then you're using the log."

Howl flicked his wrist, beckoning to him, and Pip groaned as he obeyed.

Howl held the log in place as Pip stepped into the shallow end, and once he was stood directly before it, he let go. The log bobbed up and down in place, and Pip felt his cheeks burn in spite of the lake's chill.

Howl's plan was for Pip to hold onto the log so that he could remain afloat, and whilst he did that, he would use his hind legs to move himself forwards so that Howl could see if he was doing anything wrong with his basic paddle. This idea worked very well once Pip got over the embarrassment (or seemed to), and every now and then Howl would get him to try and swim without the log, only for Pip to overbalance, accidently plummet his face underwater, and for Howl to immediately help him back on, each time to see him glancing about to check if anyone else had seen.

The lesson continued with consecutive breaks all through the afternoon, and all the while Pip was getting better and better, more familiar with the details and more accepting of his own progress.

At one point, when they'd had yet another unsuccessful attempt without the log, Pip had noticed that they were being watched from the shore.

"Over there…!" he whispered, tilting his head and pointing with his ear somewhere to the left. Howl looked, and saw on the shoreline that there was indeed a child watching them. And not just any particular child, but one they had both seen earlier that very day.

"Isn't that…?" Pip began uncertainly.

"Yes… that's Stick," Howl affirmed.

Stick was sitting at the very edge of the water, alone, and apparently not yet aware that she had been spotted. She didn't seem to have any special reason for watching them. She did not seem all that interested in what was going on. If anything, she looked merely at a loss as to what she should be doing.

Howl let go of the log and began to wade towards her, Pip paddling after him. Stick saw them coming and backed away, though not as if she were about to run for it, more as though she was nervous.

"Stop! Stay right where you are," Howl said before she could move any further.

Stick froze.

Howl knelt down before her and asked,

"What are you doing?"

"Mmm…" She made a small humming noise as a reply, but gave no words or expression.

"Why are you watching us?" Howl ventured, then, "…Is it Rustle all right?"

"He's fine," Stick said at once, "Rustle's fine. He's sleeping now, he's with his mum."

"I see."

Stick seemed to wish she hadn't spoken, for now that she had, she couldn't choose not to answer when Howl spoke to her.

"So why are you here now, then?"

"I dunno," she mumbled, "I'm bored. Nobody wants to play with me."

"Not even any of them?" Howl asked, gesturing behind him to the distant others who were still frolicking merrily in the lake.

"I don't know any of them," Stick replied, shaking her head. Then she caught sight of Pip beside him and said,

"Oh! It's, um… you. From before."

Howl looked from one to the other, and saw each wearing a familiar, but slightly awkward expression.

"I suppose I should introduce you two. Stick, this is Pip. Pip, Stick."

"Hi," said Stick reservedly.

"Hi," replied Pip in the same voice.

They looked at each other in mutual timidity before Stick finally went on,

"So, um… sir, would it be okay if I joined you guys? I mean, if you don't mind…"

"I'm afraid not. We aren't playing right now, we're…" Howl hesitated for only a split second, then said simply, "…in a lesson."

"Oh…" said Stick, sounding crestfallen, "Well… can I maybe-"

"Help? Watch? No, you cannot," Howl said, "I don't want Pip here getting distracted by anything."

"I won't get distracted!" Pip piped up suddenly, "Sir, she seems nice, and she said she doesn't have anyone else to play with. Let's let her swim with us, I don't mind!"

"It's not a matter of whether you mind or not, Pip; it's a matter of whether you'll be able to concentrate with her swimming around beside you," Howl said, turning to him. Both Stick and Pip responded to this at exactly the same moment,

"-I promise I'll concentrate!-"

"-I promise I won't distract him, sir!-"

Howl looked from one to the other resignedly. He did not want to have to include any unnecessary presences in a lesson that was strictly bound to Pip, the student, and him, the teacher. 'No,' he thought, 'Stick will just end up getting in the way or doing nothing at all.' It would be better to refuse her.

"Stick," he began, but then an idea came to him. Perhaps he could find a use for her. Her body shape was more-or-less the same as Pip's. And after all, if he told her she could not help them, and if she really did have nothing better to do, it was likely she would only continue to watch them from a distance. Not to mention, she had already endured enough hardship for one day, and while he hardly thought being turned down in an offer to help was going to be any additional hardship, perhaps it would be kinder for him to simply give her a distraction, something to take her mind off of her traumatised friend.

"…How are you at swimming, Stick?" he asked.

"U-Um, I… I'm OK, I guess."

"No, no 'guesses'. Can you swim or can't you?"

"Y-Yes, sir, I can swim."

"Show me."

His sudden change of heart combined with an equally sudden request that was almost like an order seemed to momentarily flummox Stick, but she obeyed him all the same, and once she was in the shallows, she began to push herself forwards.

Yes, he had been right! Stick's paddling technique was exactly the same as Pip's was!

"Good," he said as she swam back to shore.

He helped her up and then looked from her to Pip, who was sitting beside him, and then to Stick again.

"All right," he said, settling his decision, "Stick, you may help us in this lesson.

-But!" he added swiftly before either child could react, "That means you're going to have to take your role seriously. Let me make this clear for the two of you: this is not time for play. Pip, you are the student, Stick, you are the… assistant, and I am the teacher, thus putting me in charge of the both of you. You follow the commands I give you, when I give them to you, without question. But listen, I'm not telling you to be so serious about this that it becomes an unpleasant experience for the two of you. Relax. Enjoy yourselves, but if I tell you to stop doing something – such as, 'stop messing around', you stop immediately.

Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Understood, sir."

"Good. I'm trusting you two to be grown-up about this. Don't make me regret it." Howl stepped back into the shallow waters and told them both to follow suit, then he told Pip to swim with the log towards a designated area and for Stick to go with him.

"Now, Stick," he said once they were assembled, "I want you to swim the way you did before to Pip's left and right. Take it easy and don't rush it, and if you need to stop and rest, let us know immediately. Pip, watch the way she moves, watch how she angles her feet in particular, then when she stops, it'll be your turn to try. Keep an eye out for anything she might be doing differently to you."

And so the final hour of the afternoon passed on into the evening. Most of the Pokémon who had earlier been eager to enter the lake had left by now, though some lounged on the warm grass to dry, but the only Pokémon who retained enough vigour to remain in its waters were the three who had been pushing themselves since before the sun had even begun to set.

Subconsciously, Howl became aware of a dull ache in his stomach, but he was so focused on Pip and Stick that he didn't properly register it. What he did register was that both children were becoming slacker and less proficient by the minute.

"Come on, you two! Pick up the pace!" he barked, and in the instant that his lungs were empty, he felt a dull blow in his gut more intense than any of its recent discomfort.

"Ugh…" he growled, clutching his stomach. Then he felt it gurgle beneath his palm.

"Well… I suppose I did skip lunch."

He looked up unsteadily to see Pip and Stick still resolutely carrying out the orders he had given them, and even at a short distance he could see that they too were reaching their limits. He drew a deep breath and forced himself to move swiftly towards them, ignoring the ache in his stomach crying out in protest. He lifted Pip and Stick with one paw around the middle each and carried them back to land, saying to them as he did so, "I'm sorry. I completely lost track of time…"

As soon as he let them gently down, they slumped under their own weight and groaned weakly.

"How do you feel?" he asked, foretelling the answer.

"My stomach hurts…!" Pip moaned.

"I'm hungry-y-y…" Stick whimpered.

"I'm sorry," Howl said again, "I should have…" His voice gave out as his stomach gave another pang.

"Right…" he said, forcing himself to stand upright, "I'll go and see if I can get us some food."

Both Pip and Stick moaned as he spoke.

Not waiting for a response, he gathered his remaining energy and forced himself to sprint away.

At last, at long last, Howl slowed to a walk as he reached the spot where fruit, berries, mushrooms - food of all sorts from all over The Forest was gathered and prepared before mealtimes.

He stopped for a moment and tried to steady his breaths before looking around for a familiar face.

"Howl!" came a voice from somewhere to the right. He turned towards it to see Knoll - Mist's younger sister - running joyously towards him, her arms out wide.

"Hello, Knoll, good to see- Oof! …Thanks for the hug."

"I haven't seen you all day today, or all day yesterday!" she said, withdrawing her face from his stomach and looking reproachfully up at him,

"Where've you been?"

"I've been busy."

"You're always busy!"

"Yes, well-"

"You said you were going to spar with me days ago!"

"I… I did?" Howl asked hesitantly. He couldn't remember promising any such thing, though he wouldn't be surprised if he had done.

"Yes, you did!" Knoll insisted, "I've been training and training, just like you told me to, but I don't know if I've gotten any stronger! When're we going to spar?!"

"All right, all right, calm down. I keep my promises, we will spar someday soon. But you must understand, Knoll, I didn't give you any specific time for it because I knew that something would come up - and so it did. But when I have an afternoon without any errands or lessons, I promise we will spar then. Just be patient."

He gently unwrapped her arms around him and she nodded glumly.

"Ohkaay…"

Howl nodded too, and realised as he did that there was something different about the her.

"Have you grown even more?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have!" she replied, "I was wondering if you'd notice!"

"I can hardly believe how much you've grown over the last year alone. It won't be long before you evolve now, Knoll, and when you do, you'll plunge the whole forest into confusion as to who the Gardevoir we've known all this time truly is."

"Yeah," she said, sniggering,

"I am gonna have sooo much fun with that!"

"You most certainly will NOT!" came a voice from close by.

Howl looked, and saw that Mist was sitting at the space where the food was taken out of one pile, rinsed in water, and then placed in the pile of clean food.

"Wha…" he began. He looked down at Knoll and then back to Mist before finally collecting himself and approaching her.

"What are you doing here? You're not on mess duty tonight," he said.

"I know," she replied, without looking at him, "But Ebony said that she's not feeling well and, 'doesn't want to contaminate the food'. So that left me as the only one simple enough to volunteer to do it in her place."

"Simple isn't the word I'd use. How long have you been here?"

"Oh…" She gave a small huff, "All morning, maybe? …Probably. How's the lesson been going?"

"It's been alright. Pip wasn't feeling confident at all when we started, but once he saw for himself that he was capable of doing it, we started making progress much more smoothly. He still hasn't quite got the hang of it, but he's getting there."

Howl leaned forwards and picked a bunch of berries by the stalk out of the pile of clean food.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't pick at it!" Mist said in outrage.

"But I'm hungry."

"Yeah, well, you're the one who made the rule about the whole mealtimes thing, you can't just go and break it!"

He sighed and looked longingly at the bunch of berries before moving to replace them, but-

"No, no, no! Don't put them back!" Mist cried indignantly, "You've touched them! They're not clean anymore!"

"So… I can't eat them… and I can't put them back. What do you want me to do with them exactly?"

Mist made a scornful sound before snatching the berries out of his grasp and rinsing them in the bucket again, muttering under her breath.

"Howl?" she said eventually, "Who is that boy?"

"You mean Pip?"

"Yes, Pip. You talk about him like you already know him, but I've never seen him before. He's not a new arrival, is he?"

Howl considered his answer for a moment, then took a deep breath, and told her everything he knew about the little Eevee. Everything right from the journey he had made searching for The Forest with his family to how Howl had finally tracked him down and convinced him to re-join the rest of them, leaving out only what concerned him and Pip alone.

"So where is he now?" Mist asked when he had finished, "Has the lesson been concluded yet?"

"No, of course not."

"Oh, why not, Howl? He must be exhausted by now!"

"It's not the exhaustion that's ailing him, it's the hunger. He's a good kid, he can cope through being tired."

"Wait, what?!" she exclaimed, turning sharply to face him, "What did you say? He's not feeling well?"

"He's very hungry. He's starting to feel weak and limp. But, I suppose - as you say - I can't decide to suddenly break my own rules. He'll just have to endure it until dinner is ready."

"But…!" Mist began as he stood up and made to walk away.

"You cold-hearted, spiteful…! Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" She snatched a couple of fruits from the clean pile and thrust them into his arms.

"Go!" she said, pushing him away, "Go! Food! Take it and go! Go now!"

He staggered as she shoved him even more insistently, and hurried out of her reach and back the way he'd come without another glance in her direction.

Once he was out of earshot he smirked to himself.

"Well, that was easy."

His stomach rumbled at that moment, and he broke into a run, not wanting to keep Pip and Stick waiting any longer.

The setting sun was almost completely obscured by the trees, the sky above was strewn with dark-grey clouds, and there was a light breath of wind in the air. The weather was showing all the signs of it being another rough night. Nevertheless, Howl could not help but feel impressed by the effect that all these combining elements gave the lake, the great tree in its centre, and all the greenery within reach. The waters were tinted a delicate shade of gold to match the setting sun, and even the clouds looked impressive in the water's reflection; drifting eerily across like large puffs of smoke straight from beacon-fire.

He saw Pip and Stick where he had left them and set course towards them, and as their forms grew clearer, he noticed some things looked different from when he had left. Firstly, Pip and Stick were not in the exact same space they had been, and they were both on their feet, panting heavily and trembling. As he picked up their gasps more clearly, he thought he heard a small note of merriment in their voices.

Was that the log he could see behind them? But it had been left in the water when he had carried them to shore… hadn't it?

Stick heard his footsteps and looked up.

"Sir!" she cried, a beam spreading across her face.

"Sir!" Pip echoed, his expression identical and full of excitement as they both hurried to greet him.

"What? What is it?" said Howl, bewildered by the way they were both gaping up at him and struggling to find their voices.

"H-H-He…!" Stick stammered desperately, looking towards Pip.

"I-I…!" Pip began, before they both cried in unison,

"-I did it!-"

"-He did it!-"

and laughed together as though every trace of fatigue had not ever existed.

"Wh… What do you…?" Howl began, and then he saw how drenched their fur was.

"I did it!" Pip cried again, "I swam, sir! I swam without the log!"

Howl felt a little leap in his chest.

"You did? Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Pip replied, unable to keep his voice quiet, unable to hold back his pure delight.

Stick had recovered her breath and said,

"We thought we should do something to keep our minds off how hungry we were, you know? And even though we didn't, like, decide to get back in the lake, we both just went in and kind of swam around slowly.

And Pip fell off the log-"

"-No I didn't!" Pip cut in, but not angrily.

"OK, OK, Pip let go of the log," Stick continued, "and was trying to get back on. I tried to help him, but I couldn't go very fast, and he was trying to get hold of the log, but it kept on moving away as he got close!"

"So then," Pip took over, "I just held my breath and tried to totally focus on floating and kind of moving a little bit towards it at a time, and I didn't even know I was actually swimming until Stick said so!"

"You swam?" Howl repeated hesitantly, "Without the log?"

"Yeah!" said Pip, looking happier than Howl had ever seen him.

"Here, I'll show you!" he added, running towards the lake's bank. Stick followed him, but before they could go any further, Howl called,

"No, wait! Before you show me anything, you two, eat these."

The pair of them looked impatiently at the fruits, and began to protest imploringly, but Howl said, with a familiar steely-edge to his tone,

"No, absolutely not. You're both running on fumes and look like you could pass out at any minute. Eat before you push yourselves any further and show me then. That's an order."

Pip and Stick both moaned and reluctantly came back as he set the fruits down on the ground.

They ate quickly, hardly taking time to chew before forcing entire mouthfuls down and hurrying onto the next. Howl wanted to tell them to slow down and eat properly, but he could see how eager they were to show him, and by that point there was hardly any food left for them to eat conservatively.

When they were finished, he wearily gave them permission, and they hurried to the water's edge, barely able to contain their excitement. Howl sat down at the bank and watched as Pip rested his front paws on the log, as per usual, and paddled further into deep waters with Stick leading the way. Finally they stopped and headed in separate directions, Stick heading to the right and Pip to the left until they were meters apart. Then they stopped and turned to face one-another.

Howl saw Pip glance in his direction and he raised a paw in response.

Finally Pip slipped clumsily into the water and remained floating in place. Both Stick and Howl kept silent and waited.

The log began to drift slowly away from Pip, who still did not move.

"C'mon!" Stick's voice called in the distance.

"OK!" said Pip's in response, but in spite of it, Pip himself remained floating for ever more, even as Stick continued to urge him forwards.

"Go!" Howl called finally, "Don't hesitate! Just go for it!"

There came a little exclamation of surprise from Pip which reached even the shore, and finally, with many loud splashes and spits proceeding it, Pip's outline began to move. Stick gave a cheer, and Howl felt his heartbeat begin to quicken.

Pip drew almost level with Stick, who continued to cheer him on, but Howl called out, "Now see if you can make it back to shore! Swim back here!"

Pip slowed for a moment, managed to turn towards the shallow end, and then proceeded to do as instructed.

Slowly and steadily Pip and Stick's outlines drew nearer. Stick's eyes were on the back of Pip's head whilst Pip was holding his face up and out of the water's reach, his eyes looking down his nose as Howl offered them his paws. Stick let her feet rest on the underwater earth as she accepted Howl's assistance, but Pip drew his closer to his body, determined to swim every second he could before finally being pulled onto land.

"Well done, Pip!" said Howl fervently as Pip rolled onto his side and breathed as though he had just run across an entire plain without a moment's rest.

"You did it!" Stick cried joyously.

Suddenly there came more cheers, more congratulations, and as Howl looked up, he saw that those who had been lounging across from them had also been spectating the experience, and they too were applauding Pip for his success.

"Well done, Pip," Howl said again, "Very well done. You didn't give up, you didn't whine at me for making you carry on, and you saw it through right to the end. I imagine we'll make a professional swimmer out of you yet."

Pip did not have any strength left to respond, but he looked up heavily and managed to shape his expression into a smile.

"And you," Howl went on to Stick, "You have my thanks, Stick. Even though you say you had nothing else to do, it was still very kind of you to help us. And without your help we'd have probably been here for a lot longer."

"Oh, it's okay… I really didn't do anything helpful," Stick replied.

"Oh, I disagree. You giving Pip a visual example of what he should be doing was very helpful. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Don't you agree, Pip?"

Pip managed to raise his head off the ground a second time and nod forcefully before letting it gently down again.

There came a call from the end of the lake towards the eating area, and it was from a voice they all recognised. With cheers of elation, the group of loungers made their ways towards it with sudden energy and enthusiasm, and Howl helped Pip to his feet.

"Come on, you two," he said, "Let's go and get dinner."

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Wow, this one took a while for me to write - a month and a half, maybe?.It probably felt like just as long for you to read, eh? Let me know your thoughts in a review - both positives and negatives are welcome. I don't think I'll be making future chapters this long, unless people specifically want me to? Thanks a lot for reading - the next chapter is already a work in progress, should be finished soon. See you then!