The week had dragged on slowly for the snow vixen. It was always rough, when a new team was formed and they began to learn about each other. Rivalries would flare up, disputes over strength and courage. She'd seen it time and time again, and knew they could turn an otherwise compatible team into an absolute trainwreck.
And never before had she seen an ego the size of Teravolt the Luxray's.
A groan escaped the Vulpix's lips as, yet again the electric type began to brag out his superiority over his teammates, and how they were all weak compared to himself. The jovial Goodra stepped forward to the younger man, trying to defuse the situation before it even became one.
"You are correct, my friend. Your raw physical prowess far exceeds any of our own. But there are situations where brute strength may not be the answer, and may lead to serious problems for you. That is why everyone here has a role to play. While your excellent strength will be a boon to us all, you need guidance in how to properly use it. I have noticed in our sparring that you can be, to put it bluntly, incredibly brutal with your allies..."
"Ain't my fault you weaklings can't take a hit! What do you want me to do, baby you all?!"
The vixen sighed. "Believe it or not, Tera. Sparring matches are not real combat situations. And does not require you to actually hurt your teammates. I know, what a shock that must be. Not hurting others! Who would have thought that was an option!"
"Pffffft, they're never gonna get stronger if they don't put themselves in any real danger. I'm doing them all a favour, you should be thanking me!"
"Now, that ain't right at all darlin'. Hurtin' those younger then you ain't a favour, it's bullyin'. We're a team, we shouldn't be hurtin' each other, now should we?" Cassandra folded her flippers across her chest, glaring at the abrasive electric type.
Tera simply scoffed again. "Gimme a break, bullying? I'm toughening these wimps up. Especially you." The Glaceon barely regarded the Luxray as he spat the accusation.
Lumi's face darkened with worry. She'd seen it before any of the others had, it'd been obvious to her from the outset. The day following their first session, he'd come in late. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have rung any alarm bells. But the bags under his eyes, and the distant, almost vacant expression on his face had. It'd been almost two weeks since their first session, and he'd gotten worse every day. Something was wrong, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up without causing trouble between the two of them. She hadn't spoken to him properly in all that time, how was she supposed to just spring on him that on him?
"Huh? What?" The ice type suddenly snapped back into reality, almost as if he'd been miles away. This only served to infuriate Tera even more.
"You're not even listening to me!? What the hell is your problem, huh?!" Kaguya reeled back in surprise, blinking rapidly.
"I- What? What did I even do wrong? The Glaceon snapped back, angrily meeting the Luxray's glare.
"You're weak and I'm making sure you know it."
"If I'm weak, how do you explain the fact you've lost our last 4 sparring matches?" The electric type snarled dangerously.
"Lucky streak, it'll run out eventually!"
"Lucky streak, huh? Sure, that'd explain me. Doesn't explain the fact that you've not beaten Elias once."
"ALRIGHT YOU TWO, ENOUGH!" The Vulpix lunged between the two Pokemon baring their fangs at one another. Kaguya moved away, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, while Tera continued to snarl.
"What the hell am I even doin' in this place!? I don't need training, I'm plenty powerful as is! To hell with this, I'm outta here!" With that, the Luxray spun on his heels and marched out of the training hall.
Lumi let out a sigh, slapping her paw into her face with a groan. Another one of these types. The 'Oh, I don't need training, I'm super strong and cool and awesome and I can do anything!' type. She'd need to find him later, but for now...
The Vulpix grabbed the Glaceon's cloak, dragging him outside into the courtyard away from the others. "What the hell was that all about?" The Glaceon cast a sidelong glance at the angry Vulpix, tilting his head.
"What was what?" He asked, confused.
"That. You don't get that angry, you never have before. What the hell is going on with you?!" Kaguya regarded her with an odd glare before, shrugging softly. "This isn't a game, Kaguya. Please... talk to me, Juniper's been worried sick about you, and I'm starting to worry too. You look dreadful, just like when you didn't sleep during the storm. And it keeps getting worse."
"Never said it was a game, Lumi. There's just not a whole lot to discuss. Not with you both, at least." That stung. To hear something like that from him, when she'd thought he truly enjoyed spending time with the both of them.
"Not with us? Why?"
"Because my feelings and burdens aren't yours. Or Juniper's. Or Sunshine's. Or anybody's. They're mine to carry. Nobody else's." The Vulpix flattened her ears, lowering her head.
"Don't you trust us...?" That cause a visible flinch and a deep grimace to cross the boys face.
"Don't put words in my mouth. It's not a matter of trust."
"Then what is it!?" The Vulpix cried out angrily, glaring daggers at the Glaceon. "What is it that you're so afraid of!?"
"That it will cost me everything I have." Kaguya hissed through clenched fangs, a glare of equal intensity upon his face as he met the vixen's challenge.
"...What?" Lumi was baffled by what he'd said. How would it cost him anything to just tell her what was wrong?
"...You know what? Fine. You win. Later tonight, after we finish up here. Just follow me. We'll go somewhere nice and quiet and you'll get all the answers you want. From there, you can be the judge of what happens to me." The Glaceon scowled darkly, walking back inside the training hall and leaving the confused and hurt vixen behind.
Hours passed in silence as the team waited for word from Lumi about the situation with Tera. Cass and Eduardo had begun to play music some time ago, in order to help pass the time, but still nobody spoke. Elias and Melody sat together to the side, quietly murmuring between themselves with worry plastered openly across their faces. Kaguya leaned against the wall of the dojo, his eyes closed as he lay quietly awaiting any news.
The door opening, followed by laboured breaths alerted them all something was dreadfully wrong. "He's gone! He's taken a bounty board notice and he's gone and-!"
Kaguya called over, trying to soothe the panicking Vulpix. "Breathe, Lumi. Deep breath in. Hold it. And release." The vixen followed the boys instructions, collecting herself slowly as her breathing became less ragged and panicked. "There. Now, try again."
"Ok... Tera's gone. After leaving here, he stormed out into the lobby, grabbing a bounty board notice for a band of brigands in a nearby dungeon and stormed out. Everybody just thought he was an explorer, so nobody challenged him on it."
A growl of frustration sounded from the now standing ice type. "Damn idiot, he's gonna get himself killed...! Have they sent anybody after him?" A shake of the vixen's head followed.
"There is nobody, everyone's already out on their missions for the day! There's nobody left!"
"B-but that means... he might-"
"No." All eyes snapped towards the Glaceon, baring his fangs in a snarl. "Nobodies dying today, there are still people who can go after him."
Lumi tilted her head, baffled at the boys assessment. "What are you talking about? Everybody's-"
"I'll go." His response was snappy. He'd long since made up his mind.
"Absolutely not! You'll be putting yourself in danger, you don't know what your up against-"
"And that means I should leave him on his own? We don't always agree, but we're still a team. So I'm going."
The Vulpix got in the way of the determined Glaceon, blocking his path. "This could cost you your chance at becoming an explorer, Kaguya. You're disobeying a direct order. Is it worth that? Worth giving up your only chance to provide a better life for your daughter?! You're not ready for what's out there, it's not your job to take on something this dangerous!"
Kaguya glared down at the Vulpix in his way, and sighed. "How would I ever be able to look Sunshine in the eye again if I allowed somebody to die for my own benefit? How would I ever be able to look at myself again?" It took every fibre of his being to not flinch at the words he spoke.
'You liar. You already can't.'
The Vulpix sighed in defeat. Knowing she couldn't convince him. "Now jus' hold yer Rapidash a second there, darlin'. We ain't gonna let ya just up and vanish on us now too, are we? I'm comin' with you. Ain't no use in fightin' it." The Primarina made her way beside the boy, grinning at him.
"S-she's right, now isn't the time for fear. One of our own is in serious danger! I'm coming too, no matter what you say!" Elias walked up beside the boy who sighed softly.
"What am I gonna do with you guys..." The Glaceon shrugged and spun to the others. "Alright, listen up. I need you two to stay here and help Lumi with anything she needs. There's gonna be a lot of questions asked, so I need you to help her with that alright? Elias, Cass. We're heading out. Where do we need to go?"
Lumi fished a map out of her satchel, opening it to show the group. "Ok, so we're here-" The Vulpix circled the small town upon the map. "And the dungeon he's rushed off to is here-" She circled another area not to far away from town. "Shale Depths. It's about a 15 minute walk North-East from here. The dungeon itself isn't too dangerous, but the bandits that've taken up residence there are. They're absolutely ruthless, terrorising local travel lanes, holding up traders and travellers for their belongings. There's even been reports of a few Pokemon outright going missing. Vanishing into the night with only a splatter of blood found to indicate there'd even been somebody there. No bodies ever turned up, but we're certain that this band had something to do with it."
The Glaceon rolled the map back up, placing it into his own satchel as he nodded. "Understood. We'll stay on guard then. If they're truly this big a threat, dealing with them now will be a good thing for everybody. Alright you two, lets get a move on."
"Wait a minute!" Kaguya turned back to the Vulpix, who had her eyes downcast. "L-look... I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to upset you so much earlier... I'm just worried about you... Juniper and I both are... you haven't been yourself in a long time..."
For the first time in almost two weeks, the Glaceon's eyes softened as he approached the clearly hurting girl. "I know... I'm just bad at expressing myself when it comes to negative feelings. And I lash out as a... defence mechanism I guess. I don't want to be a burden to others, and-" The Glaceon was silenced when the vixen grabbed the clasp of his cloak, pulling him down to eye level with her.
"You're not a burden! Not to me, or Juniper, or anyone. Don't. Don't you... ever say that, you hear me? Your voice matters, your feelings matter, YOU matter. Don't you dare forget that!" The Vulpix realised only after her little tirade just how close she'd put herself to the boy.
Taking the initiative, she leaned forwards, pressing her lips softly against the startled Glaceon's. The 4 spectators gawked at what they were seeing.
Slowly, the Vulpix pulled back from the boy, blushing bright red as she mumbled. "Don't you dare go getting yourself killed... come back to me, to us, in one piece with that idiot with you." She turned away before he could respond, walking back out of the room.
Stunned from the sudden display, Kaguya shook himself back into reality. "Uh- Uhm. Right... let's- Let's get going then. Onward to Shale Depths!" He couldn't keep his voice from cracking slightly.
'What the hell was that all about...?'
