Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Dare To Dream
Chapter 10
Looking Backward
"One for you, Blue! And one for you, Star!" Petal offered both Felix and Star a clean rag swaddled around some lean item. She placed the wrapped goods on the small shoddy table they all sat at.
All three of them wore soft white strips of bandage. Felix's arm and tail were wrapped in some clean white strips of cloth, Star's back was similarly wrapped, and Petal had chosen to forgo any treatment, wearing her bruises and tears on her body with pride. They had procured the cloths from Pechi the last night for a generous discount once she had explained to them she simply had too little berries and juices to spare if the case was not immediately threatening.
Earlier this morning, the group had gone to Didja to get Petal officiated on the team, much to her enjoyment. At her request, she had Felix and Star wait at a small resting area near the outskirts of the village, filled with similarly shoddy wooden tables of various heights and widths, and no seats, leaving them to sit on the ground. No one else seemed to be around. On each surface lay a crudely twisted bundle of sticks, all of which seemed to have been bent in an attempt to make an image of a great bird. In truth, they came to resemble a goose with scoliosis.
Large tarps in the colors of red, white, and green swayed from the arching tree branches above and around them, catching the sun's rays beautifully as they danced in the wind.
Star leaned over the wrapped items and twitched her nose over the sharply-sweet aroma. In an instant, her eyes widened. "Are these… steak bites?" she quietly asked, looking around carefully for any stray eyes.
"They sure are. Put a little treat in yours, too, that I know you love," Petal responded as she sat on the grass with them.
Star began tearing at the fabric with her fangs, ripping off the clean sheets and revealing the granular cubes that had meat poking out from beneath the thickly salted layers, as well as a singular small block of rock salt.
A heartfelt smile spread across her lips. "Oh! I… thank you." She began snapping up the portions of steak immediately, making bite after bite vanish quickly.
Petal scooted closer to Felix. Leaning forward, she patted his still-wrapped serving with the leaves on her head. "Come on, Blue. Pulled these from storage at my house."
After stretching out the ache in his back from sleeping on the cold hard ground again, Felix pulled the cloth closer, and begun to unwrap it. "Storage? Don't tell me this stuff is old."
"It's been a little less than a week since we cooked this stuff up, it's still good!"
He stopped and stared at Petal with a brow raised. "And how do you store it?"
"We put it in a bag of salt, then fill it with more salt and tie it tightly to dry cure it, same as everyone else with an ounce of common sense." She shot him a smug look. "Don't worry, Blue, this stuff won't kill your stomach."
Hesitantly, he unwrapped the steak bites. They were each still deeply encrusted with a thick layer of salt, mostly hiding the cooked meat beneath. He slowly turned to her as he brushed off what salt he could, wearing an uncertain frown,
She still held a beaming look in her eyes and nodded towards the food. "God, Blue, it won't bite! It's just fine, I swear."
Felix gave in to his caution, opting to retie the bag.
"Aw, come on, Blue! Riolus are fangs, right? I know you'll love it like she does!" She tilted her head towards Star.
Star looked up from her rag as she made another chunk of salted meat disappear into her jaws. "If you are not going to eat, perhaps you might consider sharing?" she asked as small amounts of spit began pooling beneath her mouth.
"Actually…" he strained as he bought time, "think I might save it for later." He stowed the bag into his satchel. "Anyways, once again: welcome to the team, Petal."
Petal puffed out her small frame proudly and flexed her leaves. "Really glad you could have me, really," she postured. "I'll be the best dang teammate other teams never had! Just you watch, I'll do anything and everything for us! I think you'll be real happy to have me along!" She playfully bowed down.
"My, oh my," Star teased, "is there anything the great Petal cannot do?"
Petal looked up. "Ah, right, you got me," she humored, "For all my charm, my wit, my cuteness, my spores, and my just general awesomeness, I am just not modest."
Felix shook his head as the two giggled at one another.
Sifting through his satchel, he pulled out the map they had retrieved yesterday and laid it out flat on the table. "First order of business as our team has grown: figuring out what this means."
The wrinkled map contained crude drawings of the surrounding land. In a corner, he found a picture of a series of triangles and a tower with a fire atop it, all with one big 'X' crossed through it. Fango Village, he assumed. Numerous lines traced themselves across the paper, going through and around forestry, and skirting along cliff sides. A few of these lines were dotted, and these ones always seemed to break off from a whole line into a body of trees. At seemingly random points on the lines, they were circled in bold red.
"Either of you want to guess what this all means?"
Petal and Star huddled closer to the map with him, eyeing it curiously.
"Anything?
Star closed her eyes and hummed.
Squinting her eyes, Petal looked up to him. "It's a map. Shows stuff, right? So all these lines are obviously routes. Even I can tell that much."
Star flicked her tails and shot open her eyes. She placed a paw on the map, running it along one of the lines that lead to Fango. "This is Route 91. Here, it passes through the Central Pass," she patted the line that lay on a depiction of a coarse stretch of terrain, but slowly began easing her pace. Her brow furrowed and her ears became askew as she looked at the portion of the map. It looked like it had been recently erased and redrawn. Beneath the sharp line and crude depictions of forestry, lay a faded line that led to the same location as the new one. "Well now… I suppose they are not perfect at map making. Regardless, this is where we are," she patted the crossed village, "and this whole map should come to represent the territory Cobb operates in."
Felix placed his hands on the table and leaned forward, studying the map. "Right, right… but we need to figure out where Cobb's holed up. Do that, then we can make a plan of attack: find ambush spots, his sleep schedule, maybe even fashion some field traps…"
"Oh, well…" Petal murmured, "you two seem way better at this thinking stuff."
Felix and Star pored over the map, looking for any indication where Cobb's hideout might lie.
Rubbing his chin with his undamaged metal bead on his arm, Felix grunted as he scoured for any patterns or tells that may betray a possible location of the bandit's hideout. Star was in a similar state of ponder, tilting her head and raising and lowering her tails in a rhythm.
"Still stuck up a rut?" a familiar voice asked.
The group turned to look at the wimpod that had come near their table.
"Well, don't you just have a habit of sprouting out of nowhere?" Petal asked.
"Only when business needs to be taken care of," Wimpod replied. He scuttled over to their table and crawled onto the surface, looking at the map below him. "Where'd you find this?"
"Picked it up at that river spot. Found Cobb, too," Felix replied.
Wimpod glanced around the table, taking in the sorry state of the team. "I noticed. So this was his?"
"It was. The issue now is finding where might Cobb hide away," Star explained. "There is plenty of potential cover for the mook to cower; no one spot comes to mind where he would lie."
Wimpod quickly glanced down at the map, eyeing the red circles strewn about on the routes. "That's your problem: he wouldn't put his hideaway on this map. This map isn't meant for that. See these circles?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Petal asked.
"You lot aren't thinking like him- like hit-and-run criminals. I don't know about you, but these spots look well out of the reach of any quick help."
As he had said, the circles along the routes were some distance from Fango, with no other settlement close at hand.
"Wait…" Felix murmured, "are these spots where Cobb might hit travelers?"
"Travelers and wanderers aren't worth planning around, you'd find them anywhere, and they're typically alone. Makes for easy bagging anyway. No, think of what might travel through a stretch of road to a newborn village. Something big, something packed with goods, with many eyes that might dart away in a panic to help. What might pass through here?"
Star's ears slowly began pointing upright. "The caravans."
"A lot of things can be plucked from those carts… and people. Might find a good price in either, depends on who's buying." Wimpod's antennas twitched. "Who here might be able to tell you where and when these caravans appear?"
The table looked around at each other.
"Not me," Petal spoke up, "my family deals in food, not trade. We grow our stuff."
Star's brow furrowed; her eyes plastered to the map on the table before her. In a moment, her head snapped to attention. "Now that I think about it, would Didja not be privy to such a thing? I imagine his line of work would overlap in seeing transports here."
"You know… that actually wouldn't be out of place for the little guy." Felix pointed towards Petal. "Your first official order as a member of the team: go ask Didja if he has a map or something."
"Really? Just waltz up there and ask him?" Petal protested. "I'm just a new face to this whole expedition thing, and he hardly knows me! Why would he give something like that to me?"
"It's Didja."
"Do you really think he's so simple that he would just-" Petal stopped herself, staring ahead blankly. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself away from the small table. "Be right back." Without another word, she left past the clearing and towards the tower ahead, where Didja's stand would be near.
Felix rapped his fingers against the table, while Star and Wimpod sat quietly.
In their silence, Star remained firmly focused on Wimpod, keeping her eyes focused on him. Noticing this, Wimpod looked away.
She did not stop.
Wimpod finally peeked back over to her, meeting Star's eyes. "Got something to say?"
"I simply am curious," she openly pondered, "yesterday, you appeared to recognize me, yet the same is not true for me to you. Why is that?"
Wimpod's twitchy eyes narrowed as he stared her down. "Who wouldn't know you? Your parents aren't exactly unknown," he coldly replied.
"My parents are recognized for themselves and their achievements; not many would know me from them alone. I ask once more: why is it that you seem to hold a recognition of me?"
"Sounds like a question for your god."
Star opened her mouth to respond, but no words left her. Twitching her nose, she sulked back down, brows furrowed again.
After some time had passed, Petal came trodding back, a roll of paper clenched in her leaves. She made her way to the table and threw down the paper onto the rough wooden surface beside the map, then flattening the paper with Felix's help.
To his expectation, it was more of those footprint symbols and thin black etchings, all lined neatly in rows. "What's this all about then?"
"It appears to be a schedule, listing the routes and expected travel times for numerous caravans," Star replied as she eyed the paper. "Take a look at this one, for example." She patted a line on the list with a paw. "The list claims this caravan was to deliver to the Undercast 'historical assets.' It should have been a completed delivery last week. Yet, I have heard it was only the personnel who arrived, claiming they were raided."
"Three guesses to say what happened to them," Petal chimed in.
"They traveled along Route 82, here." She switched to the map and pointed at a line somewhat away from the village. Along that line, lay a red circle away from any settlement. "Cobb must have found a delivery schedule like this, or used some other low-handed means to obtain one."
Felix leaned closer to the map, looking over each circle. "And what does this mean for us?"
Star smiled. "It means we are now on equal footing with him."
He hummed a thought, piecing together what she was alluding to. A similar smirk crept on his face. "Alright, now we're in business! Where and when is the next caravan coming?"
"It left one week ago and appears its destination should be here: Fango Village. Looking at the map, it looks as though it should have made much of its journey, and should be in the Great Pass now." She pointed at a line nestled on a flat expanse of land, marked with numerous bold footprints and frantic etchings. A red circle lay below the route as Star traced her paw along the path. "The schedule claims it will be ferrying some valuable cargo, and is being safeguarded by two Expedition members."
"What, like gold or something?" Petal asked. "This thing carrying some orbs or scarves?"
Star squinted at the list. "It does not say. No information is provided on that subject."
A soft scoff blew out of Wimpod. "And why would it?"
"Doesn't matter," Felix cut in, "so it hasn't been hit yet?"
"If we wake up far earlier in the morning tomorrow, we should be able to intercept and join the caravan before it is ambushed. It is quite the distance away, so we'll be traveling most of the day," Star said.
Felix softly grunted. "And he'll spook at the sight of you… we need to catch him, but we can't be seen 'til we're real close for Petal to hit him."
"Of course, but that seems rather difficult. Where might we hide that is close enough to ambush Cobb effectively, while also remaining concealed?"
Star and Felix kept their gazes down on the table, both lost in thought.
Petal bounced her sight between them. "You guys serious? Can't we just hide in the carriage or boxes or something in the caravan? Cobb takes a peek in the cargo, and boom! We're there, I stun him, you guys thrash any goons he has with him, and we're done!"
Star's eyes lit up. "That… is brilliant! I can hardly believe it- we are certain to apprehend this villain. Wonderful idea, Petal." She pressed her cheek onto Petal's face and rubbed affectionately.
Petal rubbed the top of Star's head with her leaves. "Yeah! I'm awesome, right? So, Blue…" She disengaged from Star and looked to him. "This sound like a plan?"
Felix eyed the route to the caravan, growing fixated on the red circle that lay in their path. "Sounds like a plan. We all in agreement?" He looked around the table.
"I hold full faith in this plan," Star said.
"We've got this! Cobb won't know what hit him!" Petal excitedly added.
Wimpod stared awkwardly back at the group when they looked to him. "What do you need my approval for?"
"Plan's set." Felix grabbed a hold of both the schedule and map, rolling them up and stuffing them into his satchel. While the flap was open, he took note of the lack of tools they had. Pushing himself away from the diminutive table, he motioned for Star and Petal to join him. "Come on, we shouldn't go in without supplies like last time."
"Oh, yeah, we need stuff," Petal said as she waddled towards him with Star, "I'll take a look around home and see what I can bring. Hey, Star, why not poke your nose around Willow's place and see if he left any goodies behind?"
Star's focus remained steadfast on the ground, ears perked and eyes burning with a found determination.
"Hey, come on, girl, focus over here." Petal poked Star's side, snapping her attention to her. "You gonna see if you can find anything we can use at Willow's?"
"Oh! Right, I will take a look." Her head hung back to the ground, deep in thought. "He will actually be stopped…" she murmured. She shook her head. "Anyhow, we should head to the square. We'll split off there. I know of a fairly high-end shop there that might carry some valuables. Felix, can we trust you to procure useful goods from there?"
"Probably not," he replied, "but I'll try and get some useful stuff."
Star stopped in place, turning behind to see Wimpod still lying on the table. She stepped closer to him. "Pardon, but would you care to join us?"
Wimpod's antennas shot up. "Why?"
"Simple curiosity; perhaps we can learn more about each other. Like, for example, why have you come here to us today? Did Riley send you?"
Wimpod looked away and grumbled something beneath his breath. He crawled off the table and made his way past Petal to Star and Felix. "No, Riley did not send me."
"Then why have you come?"
The group began proceeding to the tower.
"Listen," Wimpod protested, "do you want me with, or not? Besides, why take me?" His eyes shifted away in a scowl. "You know the crowds won't like seeing me."
Petal hastened her pace, walking alongside the group. "Because… they think you're some kind of jerk?"
He sighed. "Because I'm worse."
—-
"No, I am quite certain the New Galar Expedition Company was not founded over a decade ago. It has not even been five years since the last Illumini first proposed the idea."
"It's felt like ten years."
That had been the third lie Star was able to identify out of Wimpod as she asked him questions about himself.
When asked where he was from, he told of a black sea blotted by the fallen smog of the Darkest Days. No such sea existed near New Galar.
Star had also questioned what his name truly was, he continued insisting 'Wimpod' was his name: despite their first encounter suggesting more.
And just now, when asked why he was here and allied with Riley, he recounted his experience over the past decade of working alone in the Expedition Company, until he joined with Riley in a coincidental encounter to find Cobb.
"If you will not be truthful," Star warned, "then I see little reason to continue this."
"Finally," Wimpod tiredly exhaled.
Along the way as the group chattered down the road, they attracted many sympathetic and soft eyes towards their bandages and wounds.
Many of the same stares turned to venom at the sight of Wimpod amidst them.
Passing by some stalls and tents, a familiar person came into sight: Petal the Twelfth.
Petal's mother.
She was handing a small bag of produce to a grateful delibird before it walked away. Behind the lilligant, a machop worked diligently, frantically looking over the many fruit-filled stocking crates that lay behind their stall, desperate to locate some item. She saw them.
"Petal," the mother calmly stated as the group drew close.
"Mom," Petal replied.
The lilligant circled around her low countertop, switching her gaze between each member of the group. "Is this the team you've left for? The- the dream you've told me was more important than the trade we've passed from generation to generation?"
Petal stared back at her mother with a glower. "Yeah, this is the team. Just became an official part of it this morning."
The lilligant looked over at the group. "So, this is the great and wonderful ragtag group?" She looked at Felix and Wimpod. "The rat who filled your head with that nonsense of adventure? And a scavenger?"
Wimpod's eyes turned to daggers.
"Hey, she was the one who approached me, she already had the idea," Felix countered.
"And you, Star," the lilligant stated dryly. "Tell me: we've talked before, so you knew how reliant I am on Petal for help. You knew she has no experience in any sort of fight, save for chasing off critters in our storehouses. You knew I offered a prayer for my family's safety! You said she would be safe! Look how battered you all are, how torn she is! So tell me," she leaned forward, "did you try to stop her?"
Star tore her gaze from the lilligant, her mouth trembling as she looked for something to say. "I…"
No other words left her.
Petal's mom straightened her back, leering down onto Star. "I expected better from you."
Star hung her head.
"Mom, are you going somewhere with this? Or can we go?" Petal asked.
The lilligant raised her arm to the still-struggling machop as it hurriedly gathered some fruits off the ground it knocked over. "Yes, actually. I need your help today. I hired this good-fellow in your place today, and he can hardly remember which storehouses have what, and what the fields need each day. Could you do me this one favor before you go off on your great adventure, and show him how we used to do things? Please?"
An irritated huff rose out of Petal. "I- fine. Sure. Whatever. I'll show him some tricks." She broke off from the group and headed towards the counter.
"Thank you, darling. And tonight, I feel it's best if we share a heart to heart."
"Yeah, yeah… I know the kind." Petal disappeared around the corner of the small counter, the tips of her leaves poking out over it. "You!" The machop between startled and dropped an apple as she brushed past. "We're gonna do some learning today! Lesson one: fruits on the left, vegetables on the right! Lesson two: we have to toss them if they get bruised, so don't fumble the stuff!"
"So you're leaving right now?" Felix asked over the counter.
"She's still my mom, Blue. I'll catch you tomorrow. I'll bring stuff then." Her splay of leaves disappeared behind the counter, then reemerging with a handful of fruits clenched in them that were then deposited into a crate of fruits that lay on the ground.
"Right, well, see you soon," he called out to Petal as he walked away. The splayed leaves behind the counter flicked towards him in acknowledgement. "Uh, take care, miss-"
"Good to see you. Please, on your way," the lilligant dismissed as she went back behind the counter.
"Right…" Felix and Star continued onward with Wimpod in tow, still seemingly crossed.
At his side, Star let out a sigh. "I am sorry, but could you find your way to the shop by yourself? It's the large, dark one at the end of the road. The owner's name is Dimas, and he should be carrying a nice selection of supplies."
He looked ahead, spotting the tent. "Yeah, can do. You breaking off now?"
"I am. I should do something, then I'll head to Willow's old space and see what I can scrounge up. I will meet back up with you at our little hole."
He tried snapping his fingers in acknowledgment, only to have his fingers glide past one another without a sound. Grumbling to himself, he nodded to her. "Sounds good."
"I thank you." Turning around, Star went behind them.
Looking back, he saw Star bowing her head to the lilligant, frantically repeating something in a hushed voice that he could not hear too well.
He continued on, giving Wimpod a side glance. "You know, you're free to go."
"I've always been free to go," Wimpod bluntly stated. "Riley wants you to be… informed of something, so he says. And it has to be just you that knows it. No way that red brat would agree."
—-
Having entered past the heavy, sagging entrance of the great tent, past the many bold-printed and carefully etched signs that lay and hung at the entrance, Felix, and Wimpod looked up past a modest mahogany countertop to the golden merchant behind it, and the shuckle before it.
Delicately grabbing a white rag from below the counter, the gholdengo began patiently polishing its hand as the duo observed the many pristine orbs, clean scarves, and shiny spikes that lay perfectly aligned on thinly stacked shelves around the dark room, lit by only one swinging lamp from the cross beams at the ceiling. Many golden laces and silver bird-like charms decorated the room.
Pechi extended out a tendril, picking out a set of goggles off a shelf of similarly finely-crafted specs. The pair she held seemed to be reminiscent of a hoothoot: round, red lens with black juts of cold metal jutting out.
She held the strange lens before her weary eyes, glancing through the glassware around the room before she finally spotted the three.
"Mm," Pechi murmured, "are you healing up fine, Felix? And Petal the Thirteenth?"
"We're shaping up well, and she's doing fine," Felix replied.
Pechi's mouth gaped open in an unapologetic yawn as she set the ocular device back onto the shelf. "Just a bit more, my sweet…" She turned to the exit and began sliding herself across the floor, keeping a flimsy, inattentive gaze on Felix. "Good, good. You guys are good. Good." As she came to the exit flap that bright light eclipsed from, her neck suddenly straightened and she looked towards Wimpod. Their eyes became glued to one another as they looked each other up and down.
"Got something to say?" Wimpod asked.
"Just… don't linger around the cleric like usual unless you actually need something."
Wimpod glowered. "Didn't mean to rattle folk with my oh-so threatening presence."
"Well, it tends to be unnerving for most when they see you following them afterwards." Wimpod averted his gaze. Giving him one final glare, Pechi huffed and opened the flap, briefly flooding the room with light as she left, before returning to darkness as the heavy drapes closed once more.
"What's that about, then?" Felix asked.
"Nothing. Did we come here for supplies or not?" he irately shot back.
Felix glared at him before relenting. "Right, right, stuff."
"Healing supplies: do you have any? Make sure you have enough for the two do-gooders."
Felix hummed. Flipping open his satchel and peeking inside, he spotted: the escape orb Willow had given him, some chutes he picked up at the river, the map and schedule, and the meats and apple Petal had given him.
"Nothing, so we'll need berries or bandages," he muttered, "then there's also picking up some stuff to improve the little hole we got."
"Healing items?" the gholdengo finally spoke, not looking up from its glistening fingers. "I'm afraid my shop does not carry those."
"Huh?" Felix looked around.
It was true. All around them lay an assortment of glowing orbs that hummed quietly in the modest dark, as well sashes and scopes that lay still. Nothing to patch wounds.
"This place came recommended to me by a vulpix. She said you'd be carrying a good selection of stuff."
Dimas clenched his fingers together, finally looking to him. "I would enjoy carrying those, yes. I requested a shipment of healing orbs and seeds. The delivery begins to travel here. The delivery never arrives here. I submit a formal request on where my purchases had gone. I then come to find out that the delivery had been stolen by-"
"Cobb," Felix interrupted.
"So you understand my situation, then. Frankly, I'm not sure how this keeps happening. I paid extra for more bodies to defend that cart, and they still couldn't make it. If the Illumini were still amongst us, I have no doubt she would have personally put a stop to these ruffians herself long ago."
"Illumini?" Felix asked. "I heard that name before. What's so special about her?"
Dimas gave him a deathly glare.
To his side, he noticed even Wimpod was angered. His puny eyes stayed plastered on Dimas, and his carapace seemed to quake.
Clearing his throat, Dimas recomposed himself. "I find it hard to believe anyone would not know of the Illumini, but for the unwitting: she was a fearless hero among the people, a true pillar of hope within the community. Within our plight in the Undercast, with no sun, no wind, no will of our own, she had offered to us a purpose. She gave us a faith most comforting, and led by example, making matters her own to foster an atmosphere of safety for us all in those cramped confines. When the gates of the Undercast first opened so she and an expedition team could initiate their pilgrimage, and while I cannot confirm this myself, the people and returning expedition members say the sun itself favored her, following her everywhere she traveled."
"Sounds like quite a tale," Felix remarked. "Where is she now, then?"
Dimas sighed. "She has returned to the cycle."
"Oh…" Felix softly spoke.
The air became heavy as the three stood silently amongst each other.
"So, have you got nothing else here?" Felix asked, quickly dropping the subject.
"What you see now is what I can offer; this is the last of my inventory."
"This all you have, huh," Felix remarked. He walked over to a low shelf, eyeing a blue orb that rested on it, seemingly containing a brightly glowing orb inside it. "What's this do?" He reached out to touch it.
Dimas' finger instantly snapped between Felix's face and the orb, halting him completely. Retracting his hand, Dimas pointed his finger right at Felix's head, allowing him a view of the indent that partially hollowed out the inside of Dimas' golden finger like a barrel. "Do not carelessly touch those," he ordered.
Felix brushed the finger away. "Why? What does this one do?"
"It's a sunny orb. Rather self-explanatory in what it does, and I would strongly like it to remain sellable rather than being used by careless touch."
"The girls might want that," Wimpod suggested. "Under a bright sun, the brat's fire should burn stronger, and the waitress would get a move on."
"How does that work?"
Wimpod leered at him. "How should I know?"
Felix grimaced, turning to Dimas for answers. "Is that true? Would a vulpix and a petilil like something like that?"
"Almost certainly. Those who have inherited fire and those who hold chlorophyll in their veins would thrive under such a blaze."
Felix nodded his head, thinking of the potential situations where improving Star's and Petal's combat potential might be the break they need. "Alright, how much?"
"One-thousand," Dimas nonchalantly replied.
A small spurt escaped Felix's mouth, garnering a small chuckle from Wimpod. "Not to your budget?" Wimpod asked with a sneer.
"No! I can't be spending money like that!" Felix dropped his gaze off the sunny orb, looking around the dimly lit room for other options. Everything glistened and glittered, holding both an expensive air around it all. He sighed. "Do you… have anything more budget-friendly?"
Dimas looked down on him, holding a judgmental stare against Felix. Reaching down behind his counter, Dimas pulled up a small sack and placed it on the counter. "Maybe these are more to your standing."
Pulling open the sack, Felix saw between clumps of lint and crumbled up strips of paper lay: several worn sewing needles stuck in a small ball of cork, a modest ball of white thread, a bent iron spike, and a glistening rock of flint. The needles and flint in particular caught his eye. "Sure, I might take this. How much?"
Wimpod crawled up the wall of the counter, looking inside the sack as he peeked over the lip of the countertop. "You're taking scraps?" Wimpod asked. "You might as well go to the dustheap if you're looking for junk."
"Get off of there," Dimas said as he prodded Wimpod off with a finger. "I do not need a scavenger's soiled legs spreading disease on my property."
Wimpod's feelers and thorax twitched violently, then settling.
Dimas looked back to Felix. "It costs you nothing. That's simply a bag of leftover odds and ends that I never got around to disposing of. Feel free to take it with you out of my shop; I'm afraid everything else here will not be so easily procured by you."
"Well, thanks, I guess." He grabbed the bag of junk and stowed it away. "Probably not what we need, but it'll do, maybe." He motioned towards Wimpod. "Come on, take me that dustheap."
His expression went awry. "That was a joke," Wimpod said as the two went to the exit. "Nothing but trash there from building this scab of a village. Broken and useless things."
"Things that are free," Felix retorted. "I'm sure I can find some things of use in there. You just have to be keen. And while we're there, we can talk about what pinky wanted."
Wimpod crawled ahead and passed beneath the flap. Opening the flap, Felix was once more blinded by the light of the world as he exited the tent.
"Alright," Wimpod quietly spoke, "this way."
—-
Nestled between the looming stone pillars Felix had seen on his first night here, lay a heap of boards and panels, old and worn tarps, boxes, handles, and other weathered supplies used for the construction of the tower and tents here.
Long shadows were cast from the tall stone towers, as the sun had begun to set.
Felix was down on his knees, messaging his tail after it had swung into an exposed nail. Looking at it, he felt a bitterness well up inside him. It had been a week since he had become a riolu, and he still had no control over his tail.
Wading their way between broken wooden crates and splintering wooden poles, Felix and Wimpod navigated through the haphazard maze. Felix kept his eye out for anything that might be useful, whilst Wimpod begrudgingly followed behind him, crawling over the heaps of junk.
"So what does Riley want me to know?" Felix asked as he pushed aside a fallen plank of wood.
"It's Cobb, and what he does," Wimpod explained. "Riley says that Cobb's crew have been gathering some things. Like old stuff, by the sounds of it. They've been entering those dimensional holes when they pop up, and look for anything humans might've made, and snag them."
Felix stopped lifting another board they lay in his way. "Yeah? And what's that got to do with me?"
"Looks like he wants to know how they're doing."
"How they're doing?" Felix repeated.
Wimpod shrugged the layers on his back forward, a gesture Felix assumed to be a shoulder shrug. "If Riley says they have something worth stealing, then it's worth stealing," he explained. "I have it on good word that he and his gang have been moving these round chunks of rocks and pieces of it they found back to the Undercast. Seems like something we could take."
Throwing a ruined tarp off to the side, Felix found nestled in the shortgrass a shovel, broken in two just near its base. Picking up the half with the spade, he felt its heft in his hand and brushed off some packed dirt that clung to its metallic lip. He stowed it in his satchel, leaving the broken handle poking out of the too-small bag.
"Are you listening?"
"I am," Felix shot back. "Never know when it might come in handy."
"Or we'll never know why Riley took in an idiot on this job." Wimpod scurried off a leveraged board, scuttling to Felix's feet. "And I don't need that idiot to screw things for us. Understand?"
Felix scuffed at the sight. "Oh, I'm sorry, is the little bug worried I'm gonna screw up this whole operation?" He went around Wimpod, ducking under another tattered piece of canvas and going further into the center of the junk pile.
"Just you wait."
Deeper in the midst of shattered planks and boxes, Felix's foot caught on a loose piece of fabric and he fell forward onto his face, arms too slow to catch his fall. In no rush, Wimpod came to his side, merely observing as Felix got up and dusted himself off. "Thanks for help," he grumbled.
"I'm not here to help you; I'm here to watch."
"What? Didn't pinkie send you to check on us?"
"No. Pinkie has been out for a few days now; I'm here of my own choice."
"Really now? You've never seemed to care before." A thought flashed across Felix's mind. He stared deeply into Wimpod's bugging eyes. "What's so important about her that you've come here?"
Wimpod's face drew back in surprise. "Her?" he repeated.
"Star," Felix continued, "you changed your tune real quick when you saw her. You seem to know her, too, yet she claims to have never even seen you. So tell me," Felix knelt down closer to Wimpod, "what's your deal with her?"
Wimpod stared back coldly. He lay there in silence, making no attempt to move nor to speak.
Felix sighed, rising back to his feet. "Fine then. But I'll be looking out."
He continued forward, taking cautious steps over splintered wood towards a loose piece of fabric he saw tucked between a pile of collapsed boards close by. Tugging at the corner of the tan cloth, he saw how its surface had been unstained and held minimal amounts of small tears; a good condition compared to the rest he had seen.
Planting a foot on the boards and with several firm tugs, he freed the canvas from its wooden prison.
The canvas seemed to spill out before him, draping over the ground in front of him like a flood of fabric. A frown formed across Felix's face. He knew he would have to drag it across the village and up the hill to their hole if he wanted to bring it back. It was simply too large to fold and put into his bag, and even if he held it whilst folded, its large size would undoubtedly spill out onto the ground from his very short height.
"How's that going to help you?" Wimpod asked behind him. "You going to try throwing it over yourself and hope Cobb doesn't have object permanence?"
Felix's brow furrowed. "Object what-now?" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Point is: I want this to not get dirty- well, not anymore dirty than it already is." He swerved his head around, looking for anything that might help him.
A wooden crate caught his eye.
"Are you always this dense? How does a tarp help with bagging Cobb?"
Felix rolled up the tarp into a massive ball that he had to peek around as he made his way to the crate. The crate's top had been pried off and lay to the side, while the crate itself was nearly twice his size. He threw the tarp inside, then threw the top back on.
"And what are you doing now?" Wimpod asked impatiently.
Felix bent over and dug his hands beneath the crate, and found that he could comfortably lift it, much to his surprise, though he had to look behind himself to see anything. "Just making a little home improvement."
—-
"Whaaat are you doing?" Star asked with her eyes firmly glued on the crate Felix clumsily carried up the hill to her.
Felix took deep breaths, forcing himself to the crest of the hill in one final effort with his cargo.
Finally at the front of the rock they had been sleeping under for days, where Star laid now, Felix dropped the crate onto the ground, kicking up some dust.
"Felix, what is all this?" Star got off the ground and began circling the box, staring in disbelief. "Pardon my asking, but… Why? All this?"
Felix planted a foot on the side of the crate and tipped it over onto its side, letting the top panel fall off with a plap on the ground. "We're moving up in the world!" He grabbed the tarp in the box and fetched the bent spike in his bag, using it to slice off an amount of tarp he was satisfied with for a blanket his size, then throwing the smaller piece back into the crate. He knelt down on the ground in front of the crate and began tearing off the grass and scooping out soil in a small circle shape. "Help me out here, I want to get a fire going."
"I-" Star sucked in a deep breath, then blew out a small lick of fire into the air. "Very well." Using her paws, she was able to quickly kick out the dirt from the circle faster than Felix could have hoped for, throwing the soil into the air in a frenzy. After achieving a comfortable depth and radius of bare ground, she stopped. "Felix, in the name of all that is pleasant and righteous in this world, what exactly is all this?"
"It's a little box!" he excitedly exclaimed as he affectionately patted the crate. "This thing can be our little home for a bit! No more sleeping on the dang ground!"
Star's gaze grew more concerned at his each word. "This is not quite what I had in my mind when we agreed to improve our conditions," she lamented.
Felix folded the canvas and threw it on top of the crate, then putting the lid on top to hold it in place. "Here, watch this," he instructed as he dug through his bag. "I thought of a neat little idea." He pulled out the flint and some wood shavings and splinters.
"Why do you have all this…" Star murmured to herself. Regardless, she joined his side as he stuck the splinters into the clearing they made and stuffed the shavings below it. "So, what is this idea?"
"Back when I first enlisted with the Toreros, they taught me a thing or two for surviving out in the field. Things like wildlife, treating injuries, and how to make fire."
"Ah, yes. I believe I am familiar with the process." She looked over to his hand and observed the flint he held. "I see the flint, but are you not missing something else?"
A small smirk crept across Felix's face. Raising a free arm over the wood stack and shavings, he began striking the metal oval that resided on his arm with the flint, spending a myriad of sparks down onto the wood below. After a few strikes, a small glow began blowing within the shavings. Felix began chuckling. "Still got it! Having a fire is crucial to survival in the wild. We can use for cooking food, it can keep us warm, maybe even dry-"
"Felix," Star interrupted.
"What?"
"Trust me when I say I know what good fire can do."
Felix thought for a moment, staring at her emptily. "Oh, well, it's still nice to have." He lowered himself down to the ground and began softly blowing on the ember, making it glow brighter with each soft breath. "In a minute, it should become an actual fir-"
Star pulled her head back and flung out a spit of fire forward onto the wood, making it roar to life. Felix jumped back as the campfire burst into a small blaze in front of him, falling back onto his rear as he stared at the blinding fire in front of him.
Just beside the campfire, he saw Star wearing her own small smirk. "Sure," he mumbled as he got up, "rain on my parade, why don't you." He went to the crate, taking the cut piece of tarp and laying it out inside the box, then sitting on the edge of his new home.
The fire settled in a moment, becoming a comfortable flare of respite; the warmth banishing the cold that had enveloped him just moments before, replacing it with a blanket of security.
Star calmly walked over to him, lying down in front of his feet that hung outside the crate. Her tails raised and fell one after another as they stared deeply into the heart of their fire.
"You know, you can lie up here if you'd like," Felix offered, patting the open space next to him.
"I thank you for the offer, but I prefer to lie here: at least I can feign having a shred of dignity out here. Should I guess you found all this in the scrapheap?"
"And if I did?"
Star sighed.
The two sat in silence once more, enjoying the comfort the fire released as it illuminated their humble shelter.
The scent of crisping wood never had felt so welcoming.
Felix clasped his hands together then dug through their bag, pulling out one of the dingy tubers he had unearthed a few days earlier, and the cup he had found yesterday. "You know, they taught us other things, too."
"Like a guide to shipping-crate-based housing?"
Placing the cup in front of him, Felix began crushing the tuber between the palm of his hands with an ease he had not expected, grinding the chute into a fine, gray dust over several moments as Star watched curiously. "These little plants are called sootfoot roots. Can be ground into real powdery stuff." He fetched the spike and tore off a small piece of fabric from the excess tarp, then dumping the powder into it and loosely wrapping the pouch with a small amount of twine. "Watch this."
Star leaned her head forward.
Felix stood up and pulled his arm back, aiming the pouch at a small opening a small distance away. "Smoke bombs are a great thing: we can use them to cover a retreat or an advance. This just might save our hides." He threw the pouch at the ground, letting the sack collide with the grassy terrain as its loosely-tied opening ripped open. The bag feebly puffed out a small out of haze into the air, not at all thick enough to hide in, while the rest of the grounded contents simply spilled out onto the grass.
Star stifled a small chuckle, instead blowing out a faint wheeze from her nose and looking away to hide the smile on her face.
Trudging over, Felix blew out an exasperated breath as began shoveling what soot he could back into the bag.
Star recomposed herself, sticking her chest out once more. "You know, I am not too sure about the 'smoke' aspect of this trick of yours, but it certainly bombed."
"Yeah, yeah," Felix dismissed as he returned to his seat in the crate, holding the refilled sack. "Been a while since I made one of these. Probably need to work on how much soot is here and tightly packed it is. I'll workshop it tonight, I really want to get these to work."
"And how about that?" She pointed her snout at the splintered handle protruding from his bag.
"Oh, this?" Felix pulled out the broken shovel. "It has a good heft to it, don't you think? Might be good for gardening, though I'm probably going to use it to clobber folk," he joked.
Star's smile faded. "Felix…" she dropped her voice, "you're a riolu now. You do not need to rely on such brash methods to combat our foes. All this punching you do, and more punches and kicks, and now a broken shovel?"
"Hey, in my defense, I've found that with enough punches, problems stop being problems," he countered with a weak smile.
"I am being serious, Felix. By the sound of it, you were not able to use force palm yesterday, even when faced against Cobb. What would have happened had I not appeared? What would have happened to you? To Petal?" Her ears began to pull back.
Felix opened his mouth to let out another half-hearted joke to calm her down, but found no words. He could see her worry worn plainly across her face. "I… you're right. Sorry."
"I am not looking for an apology. But I do want you to learn." She got off the ground and stood before him, eyes fixed with a steadfast resolve. "Get up."
"Wait, why?"
"Get up."
Feeling her pressure, he stood up. "Okay, now what?"
"I am going to attempt to guide you into using force palm. Close your eyes, and clear your mind."
"Wait, now?" he protested, "seems kinda late to be doing-"
"Felix."
"Right, right." He closed his eyes, and tried to clear his mind.
He could not find any peace in his head as thoughts clashed with one another in light of the day's events. His thoughts bounced between his encounter with Cobb, the vicious sneer and power the wolf wielded. He thought back the plan they now held, and the new directive Riley had in mind. And now learning of a power alien to him. All obstacles.
His home came to mind.
His face began contorting as he fought against the tide of his mind. "Not working."
He heard a dry leaf being crushed. "Do not try to force a clear state of mind; focus on the world around you. Become attuned without sight."
At her instruction, he began to focus on his senses, save for sight.
The comforting air of the fire that enwrapped him. A gentle breeze blew past him, which he could hear swaying the leaves around him. Many chirps rang out in the distance, calling to one another. He relaxed.
"Good," Star softly spoke, "now focus on your palms. Feel the surge of life you hold in them."
He clenched his fists, trying to feel for any power. Deeper and deeper he immersed himself into the depths of his own mind.
His surroundings had tuned out now. Only aware of his own breathes that swelled within him.
Yet that was all he could ever feel. No matter how still he sat, how calm he was, no inkling of latent power dwelled within this cage.
Felix opened his eyes and kicked the dirt below him. "Blast it all, couldn't feel a darn thing," he lamented. Blowing out a frustrated sigh, he sat back down. "I can't even raise my own… tail, let alone get a feel for this 'aura' junk."
Star sat once more near his side, letting her tails rest on the ground. She hummed. "Perhaps you are right: maybe we should start small. You have only been a riolu for a week, and I cannot fathom what it must be like to be in a body different from what you would be used to."
He fidgeted his hands together as he dueled with a thought within himself. No matter what angle he looked at his situation from, the mystery of his predicament still eluded him, much to his displeasure. He dropped his hands to his side, and stared deeply into Star's eyes. "Tell me," he murmured, "why did I become a riolu?"
Star opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She looked to the fire and became lost in thought as her eyes followed the embers that floated away into the dusk sky.
"Got nothing?"
"No, it is just… a personal idea of mine. I am not too sure if it would be what you would care to hear."
"Tell me," Felix asked as he slid himself off his spot onto the ground near her, "just tell me something."
"Well, alright…" Star lowered her head towards him, seemingly showing off the two red, white, and green feathers she had always worn tucked behind her ears. "You have no doubt seen me wear these, correct?"
"Yeah, all the time."
"And you likely know that I hold a religious belief."
"It's fairly obvious," he admitted. He fiercely blinked as he saw where she was going. "Does your religion say something about this?"
Star bobbed her head from side to side as she searched for an answer. "Something akin to that," she affirmed. "Felix, in your time as a human, were you aware of a land called 'Johto?'"
Felix's lips sputtered as he thought deeply. "Can't say I have."
"Well, in this region, before the Darkest Days, there existed a community of humans, who had come to worship a great phoenix, known as Ho-Oh. These feathers you see on my person come from the very same being."
"Wait, really? There was some great-" Felix stopped himself, noticing Star giving him a small glare. He motioned for her to continue. "Go on- tell me about it all."
"These humans, unlike many others before them, had come to survive the wilds with Pokémon, not against them."
Felix felt a small tingle crawl up from his back like a cold shock, but remained focused.
"Long before the Darkest Days, there existed a humble village amidst bush and foliage at the base of a mighty mountain. One day, enticed by the sweet smells of smoked meat, a jolteon, vaporeon, and flareon had emerged from the thick undergrowth and bonded with the villagers, and became their guardians. The proud jolteon had driven away both beast and man that carried ill-intent from the village with righteous thunder. Becoming one with water, the vaporeon would drive schools of fish to their shores, bringing scores of meat to them all. As for the flareon, it wielded awe-inspiring flame, and scorched areas of the forest nearby, reducing the land to soot and smoke."
"How in god's name does that help anybody?" Felix blurted. Star leered at him once more. Clearing his throat, he meekly motioned for her to continue.
"Together, they prospered. Soon, other wildlife had come and harmonized with the people, fostering a community of merit and warmth. In time, they had come to construct a tower that reached the heavens, which became the grand home of the three elemental beings in celebration of what they had brought, and what they had changed." Star's head drooped; a sorrowful frown took hold of her. "But the heart of nature grew cold, and the world shivered for it. During a scornful summer wrought with treacherous typhoons that flooded the land, and the life around their homes began to behave strangely, one after the other. It started small: mere spasms and staggered breathing from pokémon they found in the nearby forests. The villagers thought it a simple bug passing through. But that assumption crumbled once the foam had appeared."
"Foam?" Felix leaned closer.
Star nodded. "White foam sopped from their jaws, and their bloodshot eyes fell onto friends, human or not. The villagers and their companions fought bravely against this disease, which they had named 'the Froth.' But their hopes fell to despair as the companions at their sides soon too frothed. Even their guardians, the three elementals, had succumbed to the Froth and attacked the humans they once called equals. In their panic, they locked the three in the tower and set it aflame, letting it collapse in smoke and ash."
The tinder in the fire snapped, shooting out sparks that quickly faded into the open air.
"The villagers had come to enter a time of great floods and pestilence. In their dread and lamentations, they offered a fervent prayer to the heavens. Soon, the dark and raging clouds had parted, revealing the blazing sun behind the black tide. Once more, they dropped to their knees and offered prayers for salvation, for them and their children. Hearing their wish, the sun cried, and from the golden teardrops, one had sprouted wings, and soared across the heavens with a brilliant rainbow in its wake. The rivers, once swelled, became tranquil. Trees bore such vibrant colors never seen before. The typhoons that had haunted their shores were banished, and the Froth that festered from horizon to horizon- eradicated in the light! In one final gracious act, Ho-Oh descended upon the ruins of the old tower, knelt its head to the smoldering rubble, and bestowed a blessing. A brilliant light shone beneath the fracked wood, and from the wreckage rose three beasts of thunder, fire, and water- reborn. But the people were frightened by such a display of power, and cast stones at them. In Ho-Oh's mercy, it left, accompanied by the beasts, guided by the wind, but not before gazing to the heavenly bodies above and releasing a commanding knell."
Felix murmured to himself, dumbstruck by what he was hearing.
"In time, the people rebuilt and reflected on what had occurred seasons ago. They believed themselves to be subservient to this divine intervention, and pointed their fingers to the great mountain that their village rested on the foot of, believing it to be the roost of the phoenix. One day, a great fox descended from the steepled heights of mount Silver, joining the villagers below. The humans believed this nine-tailed fox to be an emissary from the great phoenix, and offered her gifts and prayers alike. To their cries, their woes, their praise, the fox would gaze starward, to a well of stars that rested in the night sky: the well of souls. She howled questions of rebirth, questions of worth. She gazed at the forests around them that regrew season after season, the rivers that refilled every tide, and finally, to the rebuilt tower. The village came to understand. They, as with all life, were bound to eternal return. They were to be reborn time after time again, until they have lived their perfect life." Star finally took in a deep breath, calmly breathing after her story had concluded.
Felix let the air sit quietly between them, giving Star a chance to catch her breath. After a moment, he spoke. "And what does that all have to do with me?"
Star looked up, her eyes becoming fixated on the darkening purple sky. "Look up there," she whispered.
He looked up. Above in the expanse of the dusk sky, a cluster of stars could be seen directly above. Behind them lay a swath of yellow, that spread into space and spiraled out.
"That is the Soul Well," she continued. "When we die, our spirits join the stars above. There, our souls are cleansed of the mire of the world, and then we are reborn anew, destined to continue this cycle of eternal return until we live our perfect life." She dropped her gaze. "Felix, I do not suggest this lightly. Your circumstances are by far most unusual: you claim to be a human, but now find yourself a riolu in a land foreign to you, from events unknown. You hail from a time before the Darkest Days, a calamity the world had been ruined for witnessing."
He looked to her, ears listening intently to her every word.
Star's lips trembled as she searched for the right words to say. She leaned forward, each word slow and deliberate. "Do you think you may be an anomaly in this cycle of return?"
Felix dropped his stare to the fire, blankly staring at the flare.
"And if you are, when you return home, would it be the same as you remember it?"
Felix pulled his head back, eyes clinging to the fire in front of him as he thought deeply at her words. A cold sweat began to form across his body.
"Felix?"
"I… I don't know." He dropped his head down, planting his face in his paw-like hands. "Can I tell you something?" he whispered.
Star scooted closer. "But of course."
"Right, right… Remember that night with Caelum? The house and all those odds and ends?"
"Quite vividly."
"Well, it's just…" A hand curled into a tremoring fist. "That room, and all that history, and that note… That note came from the Mesagoza House of Defense Affairs- it had the stamp and everything. And it talked about pulling our forces back from Eastern Unova. Eastern."
"Eastern…" Star repeated. "There was an Eastern and a Western Unova after their civil war, occuring a couple years before the Darkest Days. I gleamed as much from recovered documents myself. Why? What is so vexing about Eastern Unova?"
"There isn't an Eastern Unova," Felix dryly said. "Back in the Toreros before I was sent to that thing, there was just Unova, not some Eastern and Western split. I mean, I have heard that there was some bad business brewing in Unova with that dragon they had, and that they were at each other's throats, but…" He paused, now wanting to admit it.
"... But now time has passed, and the bad blood finally spilled over."
"...And how much time has passed?" he muttered softly.
"The events of the Darkest Days occurred… well over… a…" Star stopped. Her eyes fell to the ground, mirroring Felix's own downtrodden look.
"Star, tell me," Felix ordered. "I need to know."
Star sucked in a breath, then blowing out softly as she steeled herself. "The Darkest Days occurred over a century ago."
The two sat in silence; the ambience of the early night surrounded them with crackle of flame and gusts of cold wind.
Star finally looked up to see Felix blankly staring ahead, his glazed eyes locked forward. Not breaking his stare, Felix slowly dug his hand into his satchel, pulling out another sootfoot root. He grabbed the bent spike, and tore off another piece of canvas.
"Felix?"
He crushed the root between his palms, grinding it into a fine dust. "There's… there's only one way to know for sure." Tensely, he poured the soot onto the piece of cloth. His wide-eyed gaze fell onto the bag, carefully watching the amount he poured. "I… we just need to get Cobb. Get the money. Then I can go see." He wrapped the new smoke bomb with twine.
Star's tails fell flat to the ground. "We will get him, don't worry. Trust me on this."
Felix grabbed another root and performed the same process on it. "We just need Cobb. We just… need Cobb." Reaching down, he grabbed the hilt of the broken shovel, dragging it across the golden-tinted grass to him. Raising it up, he looked at his disfigured, blurry reflection on its dirtied metal surface. "That's all that matters."