Chapter Fourteen:
The Violet Hour

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of howPokémonlook in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

Note: Inspiration mainly in thanks to the song title of the same name, by The Civil Wars. Also, I kept losing all progress of this chapter. I had to rewrite the first couple of pages three times.

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"[…] You need to live and breathe this stuff. The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of. No attacks tonight. Study up."
"Wait, you mean, read?"
"While we're still alive?"
-Gobber, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut, "How to Train Your Dragon"

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The sun was bright and cheery as it shone down on Violet City, alighting the sleepy forest around it with golden light that crept through branches and leaves, bushes and wilds. The previous night's storm seemed like a distant memory, the clouds no longer present like they had been the day before. But the immediate evidence of its watery onslaught proved otherwise. Puddles were littered where they could hold water. The grass and earth alike were soggy, sucking down paws and shoes alike for whosoever dared step there. Buildings were only beginning to dry as the sun rose higher in the morning sky. Yet the austere and quiet still of the day's start didn't forgo people from taking to the streets, going about their business.

Although, for all the good that has come after the storm, the quiet beauty of the city's drastically different environment and architecture couldn't really be appreciated by the tired werewolf trudging through it. Syd was snoozing against her neck under a curtain of her hair, while Riptide was slumped across her shoulders. Occasionally, he'd slip against the top of her pack, mutter a few things and readjust himself before plopping back down. Lupin continued on her trek, following the nifty little signs that pointed out the way to the Pokémon Center. When she finally found the center and lurched through the doors, there were a few trainers milling about the lobby and a clerk was working at the reception desk. She had her light brown hair pulled back, a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and a rumpled blouse and pair of trousers donning her person. She shuffled with paperwork in between clattering away on her computer before noticing Lupin standing there in front of her.

She jumped and did a double-take on the haggard appearance of the werewolf, and the weary pokémon slumped along her shoulders.

"You wouldn't happen to have any rooms open and a, uh…laundry room I could use, would ya?"

Lupin offered a tired, meager smile and could only imagine how she looked to the woman, who was still staring at her owlishly. But, much to the receptionist's credit, she didn't miss a beat at Lupin's request when the moment passed. She turned to a drawer in her desk, producing a room key and a logbook. She motioned to the book first with a manicured finger.

"Fill out the book with your name, trainer ID number, pokégear number, check in time, and number of pokémon you have on hand with you. I'll fill out your information into the computer later. The laundry room is down the hall over there, and if you want some hot food, the cafeteria's further down the same hall. Your room's up on the third floor, room C." The woman paused, offering Lupin a sympathetic smile as she placed the room key beside the logbook. "You look like crap."

"You should see the other guys."

Lupin took a pen from a cup holding a slew of them and began scribbling into the book.

"What happened? Did you get into a fight with a Quagsire and lose?" Lupin snorted. Riptide muttered something unintelligible. The woman frowned a little and added with a hint of concern, "Your pokémon look really worn out; maybe you should leave them here to heal up. What did you do to them?"

"Me? We were the ones who got attacked by an Onix last night when we had to camp out in the Dark Cave because of storm."

"The Dark Cave?" The woman's face went pale. "You camped out there? It's been off-limits for weeks because of the problems we've been having with those Onix. First the Ariados queen and now this…we really just aren't having any luck with these things stringing along, one right after the other."

"Told ya, Lady. Bad idea," Syd chirped sleepily. Lupin reached up to pat him gently on the head before pushing the book toward the receptionist. She jumped and took it without a second thought, glancing at the filled out columns briefly. She turned to her computer and began loading up her check in program. The werewolf slowly detached Syd and Riptide from her person, gently setting them on the counter to continue snoozing. She gave them each another pat, murmuring they deserved a nice, long rest and she'd be back for them later.

"Wait…did…did the Onix you were attacked by…did it have dark rock-skin? Almost black?"

The woman looked up, surprised to see Lupin already retreating with her room key in hand.

"I dunno. You tell me," she called over her shoulder as she headed toward the laundry room. The woman stared, then turned back to the woman's slumbering pokémon. Nestled beside them was a pokéball. She glanced back at the logbook in her hands.

Pokemon On Hand: 3

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"Okay, so what am I doing now?"

"You boot up the PC and then you dump that bag of rocks into it, that's what. You're not keeping that murderous rock-snake on this team."

"Hey, hey, hey. I think I did pretty good getting Slate, don't ya think?"

"You—you named that thing? And just as a reminder, you set us all on fire, you crazy, stupid, insane woman. FIRE. How in the seven hells did you even manage that? I'm still amazed we're all alive and not a pile of ashes that washed away with last night's rain."

Riptide glared at her from his seated position on the desk beside the computer screen. Syd chirped in her ear, pressing tightly against her neck as he preened at her hair. She continued to frown at him in return, glancing at the pokéball clipped to her belt, then back to the PC screen glowing before her. Outside, dusk was ushering in the night like a shepherd would his flock to new grazing lands, slowly but with obvious progress. He and Syd looked all the more better after some rest with the pokémon nurses and she with a nap upstairs in her temporary room. Riptide sighed, lowering his gaze.

"Look. You can't keep him on the team roster. Hear me out, before you get all huffy with me," he gave her a pointed stare when her cheeks flushed and she had an indignant response lined up on her lips. "Onix are known for their foul tempers and they're incredibly difficult to control, especially when they're being hurt and even more so, with new trainers. They rage about and it wouldn't matter who they hurt: opponent, trainer, or teammates alike. And judging from this particular one's foul temper, he wouldn't hesitate to crush you like a Caterpie, with or without the pain factor. Then he'd crush us, and he'd then go about his merry way back to the Dark Cave, or he'd stay here and wreak havoc until he grew bored or until the Rangers came to dispose of him."

Lupin shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable at his choice of words. "'Dispose'?"

The Totodile paused, recollecting himself. Then he twirled a paw in the air, as though to elaborate with more than just his words. "They'd do one of three things: they'd recapture him, kill him, or knock him out for relocation. Whatever their best choices would be. The professor is always butting heads with them regarding the inhumane option of killing them. He's more for relocation or capture. A lot of the professors are, in fact. The Rangers usually argue back that whatever option is the best given each case, they'll perform their duties with each situation that calls for it." Then the blue gator snorted. "Trust me. You're better off with me and birdbrain on the roster than him. Ever. You're too inexperienced. Onix require patience and a tougher team to keep an eye on with. We're not it right now, even if I have type-advantage. We have to play this out smartly."

"Hey! I heard that 'birdbrain' nonsense, you little blue brat! You better watch your mouth or I'll watch it for ya."

"I invite you down here to my level any time, up close and personal, you little feather duster runt."

Syd hissed and ruffled his feathers, wings rising to splay out menacingly. Lupin scowled, flicking Riptide in the snout and then Syd at his feet. They both winced back and settled down.

"Oi. Knock it the fuck off. I'm serious. Two words. Team. Mate. Put it together, and that's what you two are. Get used to it."

They grumbled and griped under their breaths, but didn't act up again. Riptide instead turned his attention back on Lupin. "Put that Onix in the PC storage system. You'll only be afforded one box because of your assistant lab tech license at the moment, but when you're a fully registered trainer, you'll be allotted thirty. One's good enough for right now, however."

The werewolf hesitated. Three was always better than two, but she didn't want to ignore the warnings she was being given this time around. That was a mistake she'd already made twice before. Riptide waited, watching her expectantly. Syd was absolutely still on her shoulder.

Finally she unclipped the pokéball resting on her belt and put it in the pokéball transfer device beside the PC screen. She clicked enter on the keyboard and the pokéball disappeared in a stream of light. On the screen, a box registered in her name appeared, and in the far left hand corner, a miniature avatar of an Onix, nicknamed Slate, appeared. She sighed, leaning back into the hard plastic chair. Riptide glanced at the screen, his eyes half-lidded. Then he turned to her and crawled into her lap and rested his crooked jaws against her chest, the tip of it touching her chin. She reached over to scratch at the spots he liked. He responded by closing his eyes and letting out a long hiss that fizzled out into a tranquil sigh, his body relaxing against hers.

After a time, she stopped, and his eyes slowly peeped open. Syd snickered.

"Welcome back, ya lazy reptile. Care to join the rest of us mere mortals now?"

Riptide shifted his gaze, if briefly, to glare at the bird, but said nothing to him. Instead, he returned his focus on Lupin and clacked his jaws.

"One more thing," he agreed. "But it can wait until morning. They might be closed by now."

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A full night's rest did wonders compared to the short nap from the day before. Lupin felt more energized, especially after a hot meal and a comfortable mattress to sink into.

Violet City was still in its discreet state of beauty and demure architecture, although now the three could enjoy it. Businesses held an ascetic setting that were neutral and functioning, while the homes held a quiet stately manner with their sloping rooftops and neutral colouration that seemed predominant in the city. They had their own sense of elegance, one that didn't stand out, but had to be studied in order to appreciate in full. Everything was downplayed and somber, but it held a regal kind of loveliness, a softness on the eyes that was both appealing and pleasing.

At first, Lupin had wanted to rush to the Trainer School, to register and get started, but when she arrived, the sign said it was closed.

"School isn't open on weekends," Riptide pointed out, sounding disappointed. "It's Sunday. I forgot about that. We'll have to come back tomorrow."

Disappointed, but still seeing the opportunity to fill her day with something else to do, Lupin decided that they should explore the city. Syd took this as a chance to leap into the air and follow on his own accord, while Riptide remained settled on Lupin's shoulders.

"If you'll follow me, I can show ya the highlights, straight from a bird's eye view, of course," he called from above. He banked along a tail wind and soared overhead, leading the way to the north. "We'll be heading toward Sprout Tower first. It's the tallest building here in Violet City, with the Violet City Gym at a close second. I might even see some of my old flock."

He sounded excited as he continued to fly above them. Lupin stopped only once, to pause at a vendor that was hawking wares and souvenirs from the Hoenn region. There was even some tourist-y merchandise, such as hats, backpacks, t-shirts, books, and key chains that featured pokémon she'd never seen before. Syd came in for a landing, settling on the back of her pack as she pulled her pokédex out to catalogue some of the pokémon images into it. Torchic, Treeko, Mudkip, Poochyena, Zigzagoon…those were but a few of the creatures featured in the merchandise.

There were a lot of children cramming themselves to the front, pulling at some of the shirts or posters, crying out that they liked this more than that, while others complained that they liked the Johto starters better. When one of them spotted Riptide riding along her shoulders, Lupin was suddenly surrounded by the lot of them, while the hawker in his stall watched with an ironic smile tipping at his lips.

"Hey, hey lady! Which water-type starter do you like better? Totodile or Mudkip? Is it Totodile, is that why you have one, huh?"

Lupin's tail bristled under her coat and her ears pressed even tighter against her head beneath her hat. She felt like she was in a sudden assault from the ocean, lifting her arms to keep them from being latched onto. The vendor laughed and she gave an uncertain smile as Riptide pushed up to his hind legs and let out a growling hiss. It startled several of the younger children, but the bolder ones remained where they were, their eyes glistening with wonder and awe.

"Oh, wow, so cool! They get so big when they evolve, even though they start out really tiny!"

"They all do, Thomas," a little girl countered pointedly, huffing at the boy who'd spoken.

"But a Feraligatr is cool! It's a big gator! Swampert's just a mudfish, that's not cool. I want a Totodile when I can get one! Lady, where'd you get yours, did you catch it?"

"Tell them, tell them," Riptide chanted in her ear and she felt her lips curving into a dry smile. She could practically feel the excitement shimmering off of him in waves, never mind the scent of it all. Syd chirped from the back of her pack, almost akin to an impatient sigh.

"You really are a little attention seeker, aren't you?" She muttered to him, before turning to the gathered children. "Honestly, I got him at Professor Elm's lab down in New Bark Town. I'm one of his lab assistants, and I didn't really choose him so much as he chose me. He's kept a good eye on my back when I can't do it myself."

The Totodile perched on her shoulder paused in his basking of attention to tilt his head at her, pinning her with a yellow-red stare. She reached up to pat his flat skull.

"I don't know much about the other two Johto starters, I didn't get to really work with them much, and I can't say I've ever seen those Hoenn starters in action, but I like Riptide fine enough. He's…he's a good friend."

This seemed to pacify them for a few seconds, before she saw the smiling vendor frown a little at her, the spark of ire building in his eyes. She grinned nervously before waving to the kids back toward the stall. "But-but, maybe you should give new pokémon a chance, huh? I mean, that little fire bird looks cool, right?"

She managed to slip away when they were looking, trotting down the street while Syd took off again, leading the way to the Sprout Tower. It wasn't hard to see where it was any longer. As the Pidgey had promised, it was the tallest structure in town, its uniform levels and sloping rooftops coming together to form a tall imperial looking pagoda. As they ventured closer, she noticed how quiet Riptide had grown.

"You okay there?"

She heard him huff out a breath and clack his jaws.

"Did you mean what you said back there, or were you only placating those little humans?"

She thought for a moment. "You have been a pain in my ass since the day I met you. You can be rude, smug, and a very unappealing know-it-all and sometimes you don't bother being humble about it." She paused, however, letting that sink in before continuing. "But, in spite of those shortcomings…you're a pretty brave little guy. You…you didn't have to stick it out with me. I know you were scared of me since…well, since the full moon, but you stayed and…I'm grateful for that. And when you're not being a showoff and a smartass about what you know, you're smart and it shows. You spent only half a year with Professor Elm and look at what you know already. I didn't really get that impression from the other two. I don't think I could've asked for a better partner."

They were approaching the tower now, and the land around it was littered with gardens and ponds, beautiful fauna covering every spare inch of ground they could afford, all behind the pagoda's simplistic, yet graceful and elegant entryway. Syd landed on the arch high above them, peeping at them to hurry up. In the sky close to the tower, a dozen or so Pidgey fluttered about and Syd paused to watch. She saw from the agitated bouncing in his step, and the way he paced back and forth.

"You can go ahead. Go say hi to your family, Syd," she called to him. He screeched back in exhilaration and took off with an excited beat to his wings, hurtling toward the other birds. Riptide remained quiet as Lupin followed the winding trail through the garden toward the Sprout Tower. Along the base of the building, twin statues stood on either side of the doors. They were reedy and thin in body, almost akin to vines, with a bulbous, flowery head. It looked almost comical.

In the middle of her studying, Riptide bumped his skull against hers, surprising her out of her thoughts.

"You're not half bad yourself. You know. For an older trainer."

"You expected a kid to pick you up, huh?"

"Something like that," he admitted. "They're easier to manipulate. Not that you're difficult, mind."

"Hey!"

He croaked out his rattle-laugh and head-butted her gently again. "Thank you."

She smiled, turning to the doors, her hand along the handle to pull it open. "No problem, Rip. Just try to curb the smug croc act every once in a while? It makes you more endearing."

"I make no promises."

"Pain in my ass."

"Of course. You need it every once in a while."

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The rest of the day turned out uneventful. The upper levels to the Sprout Tower turned out to off-limits to non-registered trainers, and even her junior lab tech license couldn't grant her access to the higher echelons. After they left and managed to call Syd back, the three wandered around, and even made a stop at the gym. However, the leader, Falkner, was out training for the day, and his junior trainees were off as well.

"Does everything stop on the weekends?"

"It's the slow season for gym leaders. Granted, not everyone comes directly to Violet City to earn their first badge. Some start in Ecruteak, others in Olivine or Cianwood or even Blackthorn City. All over Johto, in fact. There is no strict order in which you can earn your badges. Every gym leader has a rotation of teams, depending on the skillset and strength of an opposing challenger. If you had three badges, for example, he'd choose stronger pokémon team than, say, if you came at him with only Syd and me and no badges. He'd choose lower-leveled pokémon, partly as a battle tactic and partly as an instructional battle, seeing as it would be your first badge being earned."

"Sounds like a pain in the ass to maintain."

"It can be," Riptide agreed. "If you were aiming to gain badges, that is."

Lupin didn't respond to it, and he didn't press the issue. They retired for the night, with Syd perched on a newly acquired bird stand delivered to the room, while Riptide sprawled on the bed as Lupin wound down from the day's slow events. The rest of the night passed by and morning came all too soon, but Lupin was brimming with excited energy just beneath the surface. At first, she had decided to come to Violet City to attend the school course on a whim. The longer she thought on it, the more she considered its pros versus cons, she felt surer about gaining her license. And, finally at the behest and pestering from Riptide, Lupin had called the professor about her decision while they were Catallia City, but the remaining elements of paying for the course were still in the air.

After that chat, the professor had gotten off the phone, telling her he'd help take care of that issue. She hadn't heard from him since, and it didn't hit her to call him until she was standing in front of the trainer school, minutes before it was scheduled to open. Crap.

She stood there, torn between going ahead inside when it opened and hoping it was taken care of versus leaving to go somewhere private to call the professor about it.

Her decision, however, was made for her, when she heard someone rapidly approaching, long before she saw them. She turned toward the noise of puffing breathlessness to find a portly man hoofing it her way down the street. His brow was sopping wet with sweat and his hair flopped over as he came to rest by the front door, fumbling in the pockets of his slacks for keys. They tumbled out of his hands when he managed to snag them and Lupin bent quickly to pick them up.

The taller portly man paused, gaping, then cried out with a lunge toward her when she offered him back his keys.

"Oh, you must be—Professor Elm mentioned you were coming, but you're three days behind, we were expecting you so much sooner—Mademoiselle Ferus, I presume, oui?"

He was holding her hands, and the keys shook in her hands as she contemplated ripping away from him, but she faltered at the mention of her name and the professor. Riptide hissed menacingly, snapping his jaws at the man and he laughed instead of shirking away like most would. Syd shuddered, his tail feathers whipping back and forth as he eyed the man with equal fervor and suspicion. Faintly, Lupin finally nodded. The man grinned, his cheeks still ruddy from his run.

"Oh, where are my manners—yes, of course, Monsieur Earl Dervish, director and teacher for the Pokemon Academy here in Violet City. I am to teach you in the upcoming course. Professor Elm helped arrange it; I owe him a bit of a debt and hope to clear it with this favour."

"You…owe the professor?"

That seemed a little hard to believe. What kind of favour would a school teacher need to have ended up owing a famous professor?

He seemed to read her thoughts, because Dervish laughed suddenly.

"Oh, so grim, mademoiselle! Do not worry, ma belle étudiant. It's just a favour to repay him for having helped me get my academy started up here in Johto. I immigrated from Kalos, but here I am now!" He smiled easily at her, and it put her somewhat at ease, especially when he finally released her hands and took his keys from her with hearty thanks and unlocked the front doors.

He waved her inside.

"Come, come! Most of your registration is almost completed, but I must have your signatures on some paperwork."

"Wait, wait. I didn't need him to do all that for me—really, I can pay at least half the course costs—"

"So grim once again, Mademoiselle Ferus—this isn't for you, solely, it's also for him. He had requested this as a favour for him, and you are merely in the crossfire. Now, come with me, to my office! We don't have much time, students will be here within the hour."

"Wait, when does my course start?"

She followed after him into the building, passing through hallways of polished wood and sliding doors. Some pictures hung on the walls, a few of Earl Dervish himself with a multitude of pokémon at different points in his life. One such photograph showcased him with a male dancer's uniform on, and a large lion with a fiery-looking mane, almost as though the fur itself was made of fire, seated beside him. The lion itself was elegant and huge, with soulful yellow eyes and a healthy coat of fur that practically glowed. Dervish himself was younger, and slimmer in stature, the ideal body type one would expect of a male academy dancer. Perhaps he was in his late teens, early adulthood, but he had the same winsome smile and twinkle in his eyes in the picture as he did now.

Dervish chuckled as he noticed her straying attention and when she looked back at him, he motioned for her to follow again. She obliged, with Syd cooing quietly and preening at his feathers and Riptide craned his head to stare at the small, dark classrooms they passed by.

"All in good time—although now is as good as any time," he said, stopping before a door and slid it open. He motioned for her to step inside first and closed the door behind him as he entered after her.

"Your class starts today."

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By the end of the day, Lupin was burdened with three textbooks, a fresh notebook, writing utensils, a course outline and policy letter of expectations of her, as well as some mind-boggling concepts to wrap her head around. The first day had been an introduction of sorts to ease her into the pace of things, but surrounded by the other adults—ranging from her age, a little older, and even a little younger—and their pokémon were disconcerting enough distractions as it was. Lupin kept staring around her, only paying half her attention to the introduction of the course. She felt out of her depths there, knowing that everyone around her had more knowledge than she did.

And yet, she was grateful for the quiet translations Riptide would provide her—when he could, that is. There were times when he was silent, as though mulling over the information himself and was learning as he went just as she was. Syd remained quiet the entire time, except for the softest trill, coo, or murmur. Earl Dervish was working with the adult classes for the course, while his other teachers handled the younger generations.

Sprawling out on her bed, Lupin carefully arranged all the books, pamphlets, and paperwork she had been given. Riptide was snoozing on the werewolf's pillow as Syd pecked at the food dish that he was perched upon, occasionally pausing to glance at Lupin or Riptide. For the next hour or so since their release from class, she'd spent her time thoroughly reading through the paperwork, making marks on things she didn't quite understand or needed better clarification on.

By the end of it, she had everything put back in her pack and she laid back, expelling a long sigh. Moments later, a bony pair of jaws clacked on the top of her brow, a low hum emanating from its owner.

"Can I help you?"

"You make a good jaw rest."

"I'm sure I do."

"You're the perfect height when laying down. I'm sure when I'm bigger, you'll make a good arm rest."

"Don't push your luck," she replied, closing her eyes. "How big do Feraligatr get?"

"My mother and father were pretty big. Feraligatr in general usually are. They're taller than humans." He paused. "Most definitely taller and heavier than you ever will be."

"Even with my furry snout in place?" She grinned. He snorted.

"Even then," he replied. "When…when is the next full moon?"

"…less than a week. I made a calendar, to keep track of them all."

Riptide was quiet for a long time. Syd listened passively, and whatever comments he may have had, he kept them to himself for the time being.

"What're you going to do?"

"Might have to cut it close. Go out into the woods right after class, and hoof it back in the morning."

"You'll be exhausted," he pointed out. "We barely made it to town the day after the last time its happened."

"I know."

He made a soft noise in the back of his throat, one of discontentment, dissatisfaction. She reached up to rub at his head. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure. What if you get caught? What if someone tries to fight you in the woods? What if—"

"What if I got hit by a bus while crossing the street tomorrow?"

He fell silent.

"I don't have much choice. I can't skulk around the city. Well, I mean I could, probably. But it'd probably be a piss poor decision to do so." She allowed a beat to pass. "And I'll get hungry. I don't want to accidentally hurt someone or their pokémon. There were deer out in the woods the last time. I can find some more."

"You mean Stantler? You hunted pokémon?" Riptide reeled in horror at first, lurching away from her. Lupin tilted her head to look at him, her brows knitting in worry.

"No, no. I don't think I did, they didn't attack me, at least. That's what would've happened if they were Stantler, right? They looked like regular deer. It didn't…it didn't have those knobby things in its antlers."

The Totodile relaxed some. There were mundane animals that lived side by side with pokémon, of course. Regular cats, dogs, fish, birds and the like ran about as rampant as pokémon did. Deer were no exception, but they weren't as crafty and wily as Stantler could get. Or so he's heard anyway, he'd never really seen them in action. They also had a tendency to steer clear of normal deer herds, although there were the occasional oddball exceptions. They'd seen the big horn pokémon roaming the forests just before they had hit Violet City, and around the fringes of the road from Cherrygrove, but they never ventured closer. He didn't know whether to believe her or not and he couldn't recall the scent of blood she'd been flecked in the morning she came back. He'd never had a whiff real good of Stantler before, but he hoped and trusted she was truthful.

"You should stick to the north, than. It's too dangerous east of here."

"I know."

"And stay away from the city. If someone saw you, they might mistake you for a pokémon."

"Rip. I know."

"No, you don't know. You don't remember being what you are, you—you don't remember anything about yourself, how can you sit there and say 'I know' when you don't?"

She stared at him, studying the blue gator, huffing with his jaws gaping open as he stared hard at her. Over to her side, Syd's wings beat furiously and an instant breeze kicked up. She felt a weight settled on her stomach and she looked up, distracted. The Pidgey stared back at her, head cocked to the side.

"I don't know much of what's going on or what you're planning, Lady, but you should know that you don't have to pretend that things are all right with you if they ain't." He hopped closer. "Leatherhead over there's got a point. If you don't know something, it's all right to admit something. Saying you know something when you really don't, it can land you in a heap of trouble. Just lookit the mess at the Dark Cave and that Onix. We nearly got crushed like a buncha Weedle and Caterpie. I'm not saying it was entirely your fault, but you made the decision to stay there for the night. You're the trainer. We look to you, ya know? But we get to put in our word about things. Or at least, we should."

He tilted his head to the other side, ignoring the mutters from Riptide in response to the 'leatherhead' name.

"I dunno what a werewolf is, or what it entails to, or what's gonna happen…but if you need us, just ask. Don't try to keep it all locked up inside ya. Could get messy later on. My cousin Vinny had troubles like that. Bad ending." He paused. "So why don't ya start fillin' me in? You been kinda quiet on the whole nonhuman business concerning you and those perky li'l ears and bushy tail of yours there."

Lupin hesitated, her tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth as she regarded the little bird for a while longer. Her ears had pressed against her head over the course of his little speech and the Pidgey chuckled, hopping forward again to tug at her bangs.

"Ah, don't look so glum. Everybody needs help sometimes. Even blue boy over there."

The werewolf smiled and brought a hand up to cup the back of the bird's body, and she got a good whiff of feather dust. He gave another playful tug of her hair. She sighed.

"Okay, just…bear with me, okay?" She paused to reach for her bag, yanking out the Book. Syd fluttered back to his stand as she sat up and Riptide crawled into her lap, resting his jaw on her knee. She rubbed at the back of his head, her fingers running along each bump and dip of his back's hard, protective plating. She glanced back up at Syd and motioned to the book.

"This is…kind of where I know a little about myself. But not as much as I'd like…"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Note: Not much has occurred here, except for moving along of the story, introducing some characters and generally just...yeah, pushing things forward. There'll be more next chapter.