Aiden wasn't sure how he felt about the decision that had been handed down to him yesterday, but after a late night preparing and a few hours sleep, it seemed inevitable.

His brother was apologizing again. They stood side-by-side in the backyard of their house, just before sunrise. In front of them on the patchy lawn, Sandslash and Cubone chittered to each other.

"It's just bad timing, with Vin out of town and my sprained ankle. But we've got a track on the hunters and we'll need the full force to bring them down safely.

"I'm already out of commission," Arden said, tapping his bandaged foot with the end of his crutch for emphasis, "and stuck at the lodge doing dispatch, so you're a lifesaver here, Aiden."

"It's fine, totally," Aiden confirmed, hoping the tiredness in his voice didn't sound like resentment. "They're my friends. It'll be fun."

"I thought so! And I said this before, but Sam is a crack fighter. Don't let his scientist act fool you. Just worry about pulling splinters and keeping people from eating the poisonous plants. He can take care of any Pokémon-related problems."

At the thought of Pokémon, both brothers turned to the ones before them.

Sandslash leaned forward, and with a hind paw, kicked at the dirt. It looked towards Cubone.

The smaller Pokémon leaned forward, took a moment to adjust its skull helmet, then kicked at the dirt in the same way. Sandslash started kicking again, matching the Cubone, and they both kicked in unison, faster and faster. Behind them, twin clouds of swirling dust billowed into the air.

"Cubone, you're doing Sand Attack." Aiden said, enunciating the name of the ability to help Cubone remember. "That's very impressive!" The two Pokémon had been at it less than an hour.

Aiden bent forward to access the buttoned pouch on the side of his shorts. He slipped a hand in and pulled out treats for both Pokémon.

Cubone reached for the food in Aiden's palm eagerly with both claws, nearly dropping its bone club. It grabbed the nuggets and ate them in one mouthful. Already, the little Pokémon was acting more comfortable around Aiden.

"That's good, Sandslash." Arden encouraged his own Pokémon, taking a treat from Aiden and passing it to Sandslash himself. "Let's show Cubone a couple more times to make sure they've got it down."

The scaled Pokémon listened to Arden at full attention, nodded in affirmation, then began to nibble its treats. When the Sandslash finished, it nodded curtly to Arden again, then took the Cubone by its free paw and led it a short distance away. The two Pokémon continued their dust cloud generation, led dutifully by Arden's partner.

This was not the training that Aiden had foreseen for his first days with Cubone. Somehow, the summer certification course he'd signed up for, the first step on his career path as a guardian, had felt like it would never actually happen for him. Now that inability to visualize it seemed vaguely prophetic.

Instead, he would be joining Tori and Hisoka on their trip into the mountains.

He had a momentary chuckle at the situation - he'd tried so hard to give them time together, to get out of Hisoka's way.

Aiden understood why the solution made sense to everyone else involved. All hands were needed to deal with the hunters before they did any more damage to the local Pokémon populations. With Arden off his foot, the guardians couldn't spare any veterans to chaperone a school field trip. But Aiden had a Pokémon now, and he knew all the basics of the role; foraging, first aid, navigation, and camp-sense had been drilled into him by Arden since he could walk.

At least he'd given his friends space for one night.

As the first rays of the morning sun set dew drops sparkling, Aiden looked out in the direction northwest of town, towards where they'd agreed to meet last night. There was nothing to see, just the houses on the edge of town, then a field of rippling gray-green grass beyond punctuated by small copses of trees. He wondered if Tori and Hisoka made it the whole night outside, camping out. Between the two of them, there was one complete diva. He smiled.

His brother caught the cheerful expression and threw an arm around Aiden's shoulders, wobbling briefly as he found his center of balance with a crutch involved.

"I appreciate it, Aiden. I know this didn't work out how you planned, but you're still on the right path."

Arden's calloused hand clapped him on the upper arm a couple times, then pulled him close into his brother's chest. Aiden relaxed into the sideways hug and let his head fall against his brother's cheek.

Aiden didn't remember much about life with their parents, but at moments like this, he forgot about them entirely.

Arden had always been enough. He and Mabel had done everything possible to give Aiden a good life, to keep him safe and happy, and to set him up to make his own way in the world. There was no favor his brother could ask of him that he could say no to.

"And think of all the experience you'll have when you show up to the winter session, eh?" Arden shook him gently, then released the hug.

Dust swirled around their knees, thinned in a rising breeze. Their Pokémon were still hard at work.

Behind them, the door to the house opened and yellow light spilled onto the lawn - except in the shape of Mabel. She stood in the frame holding a pan in two mitted hands, the heat rising from it making the wisps of hair framing her face dance.

"Come on and eat, boys! Breakfasts' up!" she called.

Cubone and Sandslash broke off and trotted towards her. She laughed and turned back inside. They followed her.

Aiden caught Arden studying him, warm violet eyes searching his face from under a furrowed brow and familial flop of dark hair.

"What?"

Arden frowned.

"Just thinking about you, Aiden. You'd really make them proud."

"If I would, then you definitely do."

Aiden got an arm under Arden's free one and started to help his brother towards the house. He may not remember his parents much, but Arden did. He'd had them for a long time and then he didn't. Now, Aiden realized, his brother felt on the verge of another goodbye.

Graduating meant Aiden was no longer tied to the school, and a dream of guardian work meant travel and deployments in his future. This was likely the first of many goodbyes to come between the brothers.

Inside, the house smelled like fresh bread. Mugs of tea sat steeping on the table. Along the far wall, away from the oven and stovetop, Sandslash and Cubone found their bowls of kibble. Beside them, in a line, a Growlithe pup and a pair of Weedle ate happily.

Both Weedle had bandaged nubs atop their heads where their pointed stingers should be. A local had found them and dropped them off here at Mabel's clinic a few days ago. Unable to defend themselves, they'd likely stay through the summer, until they evolved and hopefully came out on the other end with no discernable impairments.

The Growlithe was a shorter-term patient. Mable had set its broken leg and was waiting for its trainer to return. In its few short days at the clinic though, it made a charming impression.

Aiden saw Arden slip Growlithe a morsel from the table more than once whenever it came snuffing around.

"I made some thickloaves and some regular rolls, Aiden. There's jelly and some other things in there too. Eat the pechas before they get too bruised in your bag." Mabel held a brown paper bag. She rolled it closed from the top down and tucked in into Aiden's pack, just below the flap.

" I made the jelly ," Arden grinned. He helped himself to a mug of tea.

"Yes, Aiden, your brother made the jelly. So make sure you brush your teeth well after you have any."

"Hey!"

"Pure sugar."

"It's too sour without it!"

The banter kept Aiden smiling. He knew their pattern by now.

He kept his head down, buttering a slice of bread, purposefully ignoring the closing distance between them, their bumping hips and foreheads, and their murmurs about who was already sweet enough. Mabel and Arden were an affectionate pair, moreso than most couples Aiden knew. They made intimacy look fun and fulfilling...when they weren't making it look kind of gross. Aiden wondered if there was a way to isolate that first bit of their experience, freeze it, and live in that gentle moment. He wasn't as interested in the part that came next for them; the grabbing and wet mouths and building tension between them that left everyone else outside it forgotten.

As Aiden bit into his bread, staring at the wall, he fought down the unwanted thought that he might one day be able to trace a niece or nephew's birthday back to these two weeks away. The walls of their current house were a big win for blissful ignorance compared to their old tents, but the distance between here and the mountains sounded even better.