Snute stretched out along the top of her mattress, relieving the tension from her joints as she awoke.

The ninetales snuggled back beneath her covers, smiling widely.

"Hey, Silly! Chef! Wake up!"

Snute blinked. "Oh, right," she muttered. "I'm me." Recalling who, where, and when she was, her smile vanished, with her usual scowl taking its stead.

"Good morning, Aundei..." a drowsy voice soon piped up.

"Good morning!" replied the glameow.

Snute shivered in mild revoltion at the chipper interaction.

With a huff, the ninetales hopped up, nosing out of the curtain. She saw the smiling glameow and sleepy fennekin, both watching her with smiles.

Peppy yawned, rubbing at her eyes.

"Hey, Snute... You don't look so good." Peppy ventured, a hint of concern in her voice. Snute simply scoffed by way of reply. The fennekin soon continued, as the ninetales walked by. "Not a morning kind of pokémon, either?"

Aundei gave a light chuckle, ruffling the top of Peppy's head.

"Don't worry, Chef! Silly isn't an any time of day kind of pokémon!"

Giggling, Peppy leaned into the touch of Aundei's paw.

"Guess you're right... Ehehe..."

Snute wandered into the sectioned off kitchen area with a short groan. Her teammates soon followed.

Snute headed toward the fridge, Aundei skipped to the coffee machine, and Peppy stumbled over to the oven.

Snute raised an eyebrow as she opened the fridge. Two plastic containers sat on one of the shelves with light yellow balls inside. Both containers had a "P" sticker on them.

Snute looked over to Peppy. The fennekin was downing a coffee that Aundei had just finished brewing for her.

"Seriously?" came Snute's incredulous voice.

Peppy, now wide awake, tensed up at the ninetales' voice. She turned to look over, quivering just a bit.

"W-what?"

Snute pulled out one of the labeled containers.

"You just got here last night, and you already have dough proofing in here?"

Aundei smiled, ruffling Peppy's head once more. This elicited another volley of giggles.

"That's Chef, for ya'!" he explained. "Always prepared to cook!"

Peppy timidly smiled at Snute, nodding.

"Toss th-that over for me, will ya', Snute?"

With a sigh, the ninetales did as instructed. She balanced the container atop her muzzle, before carefully tossing it into the fennekin's awaiting maw.

Turning back to the fridge, Snute pulled out a bagel and the block of cream cheese. She carefully formed a sharp blade of ice, using it to slice off and spread a section of the cheese onto her bready snack. A sprinkling of bacon bits followed, then a few sliced jalepeños, before she finished preparing and walked out of the kitchen section.

Snute scarfed down her bagel in a mere two bites. With that, she wandered over to the orange curtain which had been designated as Peppy's space. After looking back to make sure no one was looking, the ninetales nosed her way inside, looking around.

The first thing Snute noticed was that, where there should've been a divider between Peppy and Aundei's spaces, there was only another curtain. Noticing the nails holding it in place at least told her what that infernal hammering was the previous night.

Shaking her head, she turned the other way to see an actual divider set up. Peppy had put up a poster there, it seemed.

Snute hummed to herself as she observed the poster. A ninetales, it seemed. She'd been seeing a lot of pictures of ninetales recently. Mere coincidence, she was sure.

The more golden coat and bulkier features suggested to Snute that this wasn't that "Alena" she'd been hearing about. The ninetales' presented hind paws seemed to be the focus of the picture, much to Snute's horror and disgust. She read the fine print on the bottom.

"Let's see... 'Limited Edition Exclusive Five-of-a-kind 2980p Salami Paw Picture Poster'... Who would waste that kind of money on this rubbish?"

"Snute! Pizza's almost done!" Aundei called from the kitchen.

Shaking her head, the ninetales rushed out from Peppy's space, before straightening her posture. She was unable to completely mask her disgust, but kept her body language largely confident as she strutted back into the kitchen.

Peppy was balanced upon a wooden stool, a pizza cooking in a wide cast-iron pan.

Before long, the three were each sat around a table, with the pizza divided up between them. Aundei took the smallest fraction, with Snute and Peppy splitting the rest equally.

Snute examined the pizza contemplatively. Delicately chopped onions lined the top, evidently fresh and crisp. Cubed potatoes scattered the surface, adorned with visible flakes of salt and pepper. Evenly sliced bacon was spread around, delicately crispy on the edges. Fluffy, creamy scrambled eggs were shredded in ribbons around the pizza, with finely chopped green peppers visibly cooked into them. A delectable layer of mozzarella and cheddar cheese stretched over a hearty base of bright red tomato sauce, with the small of garlic and parmesan radiating up from the golden, oiled crust lining the edge of the supremely crafted culinary artwork.

Peppy smiled proudly, puffing out her chest.

"My breakfast specialty! The Topping o' the Morning!"

Aundei gave a bright smile.

"Looks absolutely perfect, as always, Chef!"

Snute couldn't help but grin eagerly.

"This looks incredible!"

Blushing from the praise, Peppy lowered her head bashfully.

"Aw! Y-you guys..."

Amethyst paced back and forth quickly, breathing quickening with each step. Her eyes remained fixated upon the door in front of her, seemingly stretching to encompass the entirety of her awareness. With a misplaced step, she tumbled forward, face planting into the ground. Marco placed a paw on her back, attempting to comfort her.

"I can't do it I can't do it I can't do it I can't do it!"

The zorua sighed, taking a seat next to his quivering teammate.

"Yes, you can," Marco encouraged, stroking the espeon's back. "You've got this, Amy! I have your back."

Sniffling, Amethyst squeezed her eyes shut. She shakily stood, staring down the door.

"What if she hates me, Marco?! I said awful, awful things!"

Marco gently placed a paw onto Amethyst's cheek, eliciting a gasp. He placed a small kiss onto her nose.

"She'll understand. Taffy can get a bit over-emotional, just like you!" He cringed at the crushed look in Amethyst's eyes. "No, no! Poor phrasing! Sorry! What I mean to say is, she knows you didn't mean it. You were angry, she was angry. We all say things we don't mean when we're angry. Just don't sweat it, okay? I'll be there for you! I've got your back!"

Wiping away her tears, Amethyst gave a short nod. She smiled at Marco as she placed a paw on the door handle.

"...Thank you, Marc... I appreciate it."

Hesitantly, Amethyst pushed the door open, stepping inside. Marco followed soon after.

"Hello?" Amethyst called, the door shutting behind her. Her features fell into a frown.."...Huh. No one seems to be here."

Marco gave a shrug as Amethyst looked over to him.

"Well, I smelled something real good coming from Aundei's room. If I know Ringue, she probably dragged her mates across the hall to get in on that."

Amethyst nodded, sighing.

"Yeah, guess that makes sense. Shall we check there, then?"

"Sounds good!"

Marco reached to turn the handle. He tilted his head confusedly as it didn't budge.

"Uh, Ames? Think we locked ourselves in."

The espeon face-pawed, chuckling.

"Of course we did! Just our kind of luck, aye? I'll see if I can pick this."

"All yours, partner."

As Amethyst knelt down toward the lock, she squinted her eyes, feeling about inside with her mind.

Marco stepped back to give her room to operate. After a moment, he frowned. His ears swiveled as he sat in silence.

"Uhm... Amy?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Wha?"

The espeon ceased her efforts on the lock, sending a confused look Marco's way. Her eyes widened, however, as a rhythmic sound met her ears. Curiously, she began scanning the room with her psychic. She frowned just a bit.

"I don't like that look you're giving," the zorua admitted.

Amethyst shifted to stand next to her teammate, back to the door.

"We're not alone in here." She gasped in fright as she heard the sound of claws raking against the cabinet in the corner. She and Marco both looked over. Her face screwed into anger as realization set in, spying a meowth's tail hanging out from under the door. "Inu! For the last time, your stupid pranks are not funny!"

Marco sighed in relief, chuckling just a bit.

"Oh, he got us good! I suppose we should give some payback, right?"

Amethyst smirked.

"Damn straight."

The two strutted over with malicious, albeit still friendly intent, both pulling the doors open at once. Inu came tumbling out, face planting into carpet.

Marco prodded the meowth with a chuckle.

"Okay, buddy. I'll admit, you got us good!" He scooped his paws under Inu's arms, helping him to his feet.

Amethyst screamed. Marco dropped the meowth, gasping in horror.

"Holy shit!" Amethyst shouted. "Inu! Are you okay?!"

The meowth's entire front was torn and gashed, with his face seemingly beaten into a bloody mess.

Marco began to hyperventilate, lightly shaking the meowth.

"Please, please tell me you just stole more of Yuja's paint! Oh, god, please no! Inu! I... I... I..."

The meowth weakly smirked, giving a light chuckle.

"I-if it'll make y-ya' feel betta'..." Inu coughed, then groaned in pain. "I c-c-can say that."

Amethyst wailed hysterically.

Marco carefully caressed the meowth's cheek, looking deep into his eyes.

"We're gonna get you out of here, buddy. You're gonna be okay."

Inu shook his head, groaning.

"D-d-d... Ack..." As the meowth gagged, Marco held him upward, assisting the cat in evacuating his stomach. With a weak cough, Inu continued. "Draco-shredder... On s-ship... Leave me... Warn the others..."

Amethyst violently shook her head, her gem glowing a blinding white.

"No! Not again! I'm gonna kill that fucker! Do you hear me, Draco?! I'm going to KILL YOU!"

"Of course I hear you, with that incessant shouting."

Startled, the three looked up to spot a figure looming in the corner. The room's lights flickered, dimmed, and shorted.

A moment later, Amethyst relit her gem to illuminate the room. She was just in time to give everyone present a clear view of the dragon-claw attack shredding straight through her neck.

Left in the darkness once more, Marco felt nothing but dread. The gurgling gasp of his dying teammate and the fading breathing of his long-time friend were all he could sense in that moment.

"Why?!" the zorua choked. "Why are you doing this?!"

The Draco-shredder, through means unknown to Marco, illuminated the room to stare deep into the zorua's pained eyes. They didn't even bother to give a response as they raised their dragon-claws, working to snuff out yet another life. The last thing Marco saw before it all went black was an oddly familiar violet eye.

Peppy, Aundei, Snute, Ringue, and Yuja sat around the room's kitchen table, dining on the third pan-pizza the fennekin had made that morning.

"So, Yuja! Why didn't Taffy come back in with ya'?" Aundei asked, leaning over the table.

The smeargle smiled a bit.

"Well, something I said apparently reminded her of something she had to do. She should be back shortly."

Sure enough, the minccino came in through the door, huffing with a clear exhaustion.

"Sorry I took so long, darlings! I appeared not to have the room keys on me, so I had to drop the papers off at my desk instead!"

Yuja quirked an eyebrow as Taffy took a seat at the table.

"You gave em' to me, remember?"

"Oh, right! Ahah!" Taffy gave an innocent smile, clasping her paws together.

They were all interrupted by another knock at the door.

Snute sighed, rolling her eyes as she stood up.

"Real popular, today, aren't we?" she muttered, heading toward the door.

"Maybe it's your big butt!" Ringue helpfully suggested, much to Snute's chagrin.

"If I hear one more comment on me bum, I'm going to crush each of your rib cages with it, 'aight?" The ninetales opened the door as she spoke, soon turning to come face to face with three worried faces. "Oh, bother," Snute sighed. "What do you lot want?"

An absol, arcanine, and simisage stood at the door, all familiar to Snute. They held expressions of concern, relaxation, and suspicion respectively.

The absol, Yuku, cleared her throat, then spoke up.

"Hello, Ms. Snute!" she greeted, attempting to force a smile. "We were wondering if anyone here had seen Inu, this morning."

Snute stepped aside to allow the three in. Much to her annoyance, Lodiyo patted the top of her head. To her equal annoyance but slight satisfaction, the simisage eyed her with great distrust.

The rest of the pokémon came out of the kitchen to meet the new arrivals. As the door fell shut, Snute began to feel crowded.

"Make it quick," the ninetales groaned. "This place is too small for there to be nine of us."

The arcanine gave a grin.

"Ten, you mean," he snarked, gesturing toward Snute's backside. He gave a good-natured laugh as he received a snowball to the face.

Yuja stepped forward, looking up to Yuku with her arms crossed.

"You said Inu's missing?" she inquired, adjusting her hat.

The absol nodded, muzzle creased into a frown.

"Mhm. He left earlier to go do something, but never came back. These two decided to tag along with me as I look!"

"Truth be told," the simisage added, pointing at Snute, "we simply wish to know what you did to him."

All eyes focused on the ninetales, who merely quirked an eyebrow.

"I have not done a thing," Snute proclaimed, turning her nose up.

"Yeah, right." The simisage crossed his arms, leaning into Snute's face. He was not intimidated by the threatening growl bubbling from her throat. "Where is he, then?"

Peppy cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. She shrunk back in fear as the glares of Snute and the simisage both fell upon her.

"Uhm... S-Snute's been here all morning! So don't accuse her, o-okay?"

The simisage was about to retort, until he felt a paw on his shoulder. He turned to see Lodiyo smiling.

"Relax, Klyshio," the arcanine insisted. "Ain't no reason to suspect foul play, yet. Much less our friend, here."

"Your friend," Klyshio corrected. "I want nothing to do with them."

"Joy. We agree on something," Snute acknowledged. She smirked a bit at Klyshio's frustrated grunt.

"Whatever. I'm onto you, nonetheless."

"If I may," Yuja interrupted, "Inu had visited our quarters earlier to apologize for stealing my paint. He even stayed back to organize my wardrobe for me to make up for it."

Ringue gave a smile, bouncing excitedly.

"Oh, right! Then we smelled the pizza, and came over here!"

"I-" Aundei began to speak, but was cut off as his APER Gear gave a small chime. The rest of the explorers looked over to him.

Before anyone could comment, the rest of the APER Gear in the room rang similar chimes, with a few simply vibrating.

Lodiyo frowned, ears perking up.

"All of us? That can't be good."

Taffy, with practiced precision, whipped out her APER Gear, adjusting her glasses as she did. After a moment, she promptly dropped the device, jumping back with an alarmed shout.

The others tensed up with trepidation. Peppy hid behind Snute, who in turn protectively covered the small pokémon with her tails.

"What?!" Klyshio demanded, stepping forward.

"Th-they're..." the minccino sniffled. She fell backwards, then curling up into a ball.

Snute procured her APER Gear with a sigh, beginning to read out loud. Her body language grew more distressed as she read.

Attention, Vanilluxe Guild explorers. An incident has occurred within room 1G. Inuviele and Marco were both discovered in critical condition, with several near-fatal wounds having been inflicted upon their bodies.

We are led to suspect through circumstantial evidence that this is the work of our ever-elusive Draco-shredder. Unlike previous accounts, however, the bodies were not missing from the scene. This gives us hope that Marco and Inu may make a full recovery.

As a safety precaution, and to hopefully capture this criminal, the remote locks on each of your rooms have been activated. No one is permitted to leave without permission.

I will be checking each room one by one to make sure everybody is accounted for, and to discover the whereabouts of this perpetrator.

I urge each explorer to ping me with their location promptly. We will keep you all updated on the situation. Sincerely, Guildmaster Vanilluxe.

The room was tense with silence. Snute felt an unusual discomfort grip her heart as she looked up.

Everybody's demeanor had entirely changed. The pleasant comradery and light concern had been replaced by a palpable dread.

Yuku shook in place, eyes brimming with tears. Lodiyo and Aundei were the first to rush over, wrapping her in a tight embrace. The absol, unable to contain her sorrow, screamed loudly into the arcanine's chest. The two pokémon with her, pushing through their own pained sorrow, carefully caressed the weeping absol.

Klyshio, looking sick, faced away from everyone else. He held his hands together in a silent prayer, eyes fixated on the ground as he fought to withhold the contents of his stomach.

Taffy stared off into space, completely immobile, seemingly stoic in her uneasy silence.

Yuja soothingly stroked Ringue's back with a sorrowful gaze as the slurpuff noisily cried into her lap.

Peppy, quivering, had found her way into Snute's lap. The fennekin's teeth violently chattered as her furs all stood on end.

Despite her biases, Snute comfortingly stroked the top of Peppy's head, attempting to put the fennekin at ease.

It was after a few moments that Klyshio turned back to the group, head held low. One by one, he went over to each explorer, picking up their APER Gear to fulfill the Guildmaster's request of sending a ping.

"So..." Lodiyo muttered, drawing everyone's attention. "We're trapped up here, hundreds of feet above the ground, with a known serial killer on the loose. I've suspected it long, but I think it's safe to fully assume that the Draco-shredder is a member of this guild."

Ringue gave a light sniffle, looking up hesitantly.

"You really think so?"

Klyshio crossed his arms with a huff.

"Seems a bit of an irresponsible assumption, to me."

"Well, think about it," the arcanine elaborated. "It's very unlikely any rando would've been able to stow away with us. They're clearly skilled enough to take down some of our strongest. They can traverse mystery dungeons with enough skill to trap us. They seem to always know our next moves."

Snute let out a groan. "Bloody brilliant," sighed the ninetales. "I sure did choose a wonderful time to join."

"Cool it," the simisage reprimanded. "You're not going to die."

Snute shook her head. "Tell that to Inu. Oh, wait, you can't."

Yuku choked out another sob. With blinding speed, Klyshio's enclosed fist collided with Snute's muzzle.

Aundei cringed at the cracking sound that resulted, unable to look away as his teammate was knocked backwards into the wall.

"Stop it!" Lodiyo barked. Everyone, including the dazed ninetales, turned at the sound of the arcanine's commanding tone. "Snute, don't be a dick! Klyshio, keep your temper under control!"

Vanilluxe floated back and forth within the medical bay. Lefty appeared deeply stressed and concerned, whereas Righty held a face of silent contemplation. The latter was the first to speak, glancing over to the group of pokémon with them.

"It's been fifteen minutes," proclaimed the vanilluxe head. "Every single active member of the guild has responded, save for Amethyst."

Kysen, Tab, and the raichu assistant were sitting next to the beds of Inu and Marco. The two patients had just barely clung onto life, but even "barely" was a massive relief to them at that point.

Kysen mulled over the guildmaster's words with a stoic silence. The absol's face remained as neutral as it could, given the circumstances.

"I don't want to give up hope," Kysen started, "but I don't think we should cling onto any delusion of Amy being okay."

The raichu scoffed, waving a hand.

"We don't need any of your pessimism, Kysen!" growled the mouse. "We have to believe she's okay!"

Righty gave a short sigh. "It's not pessimism, Aoy. It's realism. We don't need to stop trying to make sure she's okay, but it will only hurt more to find out she's not if we deny the possibility."

Lefty nodded solemnly, a single tear falling from their eye.

Each pokémon jumped in alarm as they heard laughter, followed by a coughing fit. They turned to see Inu sitting up in bed, smirking at them as a bit of freshly coughed blood trickled down his chin.

"It can't hurt as much as I am, though! Ahaha!" laughed the meowth. He then howled in agony as burning pain shot through his body.

Angrily, Tab hopped up onto the bed, carefully laying Inu back down.

"Inuviele! You mustn't exert yourself!"

After another round of giggling, the meowth closed his eyes.

"Inu, seriously!" Aoy shook his fist angrily. "You're quite literally on death's doorstep! You can't be joking around like this!"

"Psh. Killjoys."

Righty sighed, shaking their head.

"Look, Inu, just take it easy, okay?" After receiving a pained nod, they continued. "Great. Game-plan time. Lefty, Kysen, you stay here to guard the medical wing. Send a message out to everyone regarding the situation with Amy. Aoy, come with me to check up on everyone. Got that?"

"Yes, guildmaster!" everyone replied in unison, though Lefty with a smirk of irony.

Satisfied, Righty began shifting and fidgeting in place. Aoy could not help but cringe, shivering in disgust as a moist crack rang out. Vanilluxe split in half, leaving two vanillish to go their separate ways.

"Still haven't gotten used to that," the raichu sighed, following after Righty.

Ringue and Peppy stared each other down, eyes mutually fixated into a glare.

The four-in-a-row board between them remained over half-way full, the two pokémon in a stalemate. Aundei, Lodiyo, Yuku, and Taffy watched from the sidelines, all in suspense.

The minccino had a tournament bracket set up on her APER Gear. She and the other spectators had all lost their games up to this point, leaving the two active competitors as the finalists.

Snute had watched from the corner for a while, but eventually got bored, walking to the kitchen to get something to eat. She had an uncooked sausage set onto a bun before long, topped with mustard and diced onions.

She tapped one paw on the ground thoughtfully. Her ponderance was briefly interrupted by Ringue's victorious whoop and the cheering of the others, but otherwise remained undisturbed.

"That serial killer's getting more bold." She subconsciously raised a paw to rub at the still healing wound on her neck. "Two injured, one seemingly killed, all in one day. And, somehow, they're hiding it all somewhere on this very ship. Perhaps I was foolish to confront them those days ago."

The ninetales sighed, resting her chin on the table as she pondered in silence. She took a bite of her sausage, chewing with thought. "Guess it shouldn't have taken this much direct experience to shake me up in the first place. Either way, I need to do something about this prick before they ruin my plans."

Snute's rumination was interrupted as Klyshio walked in, snapping his fingers to gain her attention. She looked up with a raised brow.

"What?"

The simisage crossed his arms, glaring.

"I'm going out there to confront the Draco-shredder. I know we're not exactly on the greatest of terms, but you've gotten the jump on him before, and seem to have the right... courage to help. You in?"

Snute squinted, tilting her head. The simisage's face remained serious.

"Are you daft?" Snute finally exclaimed, exasperated.

Klyshio gave a shrug, shaking his head.

"Figures. I should have expected the one to sneak-attack both her foes and friends to be a coward."

Snute groaned, waving a paw dismissively.

"Oh, piss off. Have fun getting yourself shanked."

"Hmph."

"No! Nuh uh, no way."

Klyshio stopped abruptly as Lodiyo blocked the exit with his large body. Raising an eyebrow, the simisage looked into the arcanine's eyes.

"What?"

Shaking his head, the arcanine sat.

"As much as bootylicious over there might want you to, I ain't gonna let you go out and get killed, son. We've dealt with dangerous situations before, but most of us aren't equipped to deal with something of this scale. Especially someone as new as you." As he lectured, Lodiyo booped Klyshio on the nose, eliciting a snort.

"Do you expect me to just sit around as my friends are slaughtered left and right? Is not happening, pally." Klyshio jabbed a finger into the arcanine's chest, then getting right up in his face. "If you're suggesting we shouldn't do anything-"

Shaking his head, Lodiyo spoke to interrupt.

"What I'm saying, Kly, is that you should start coming to train with me. You're going to need all of the advantage you can. I don't want you to face down this criminal scumbag, but if you intend to at all, I'd at least like you to go in standing a chance."

"And what makes you think I don't stand a chance?"

Klyshio's eyes widened as he was lifted off the ground and thrown across the room. Snute growled as the loud noise broke her concentration, snarling toward the two others.

The simisage dazedly got up, shaking his head. Fuming, he angrily shook a fist at Lodiyo.

"What the hell was that for?!"

Lodiyo smiled warmly.

"Amy could have done that to you with her mind alone, yet she..." the arcanine's smile fell as he spoke. "She may no longer be with us. You get what I'm sayin'?"

Sighing, Klyshio dusted himself off with a nod.

"...Yeah. I get you..." After a moment of thought, he looked to the arcanine with determination. "When do we start?"

Lodiyo smiled brightly.

"Tomorrow." He turned his head to Snute next. "Of course, my offer extends to you, too, Cheeks. If you're interested.

"Screw yourself."

The arcanine laughed heartily, smiling bright.

With the lights dimmed, Snute laid flat on her front, glaring toward the wall. With it being decided that the rooms would stay locked until they arrived in Yaoscr town, some of the others had insisted on having a slumber party. A movie droned on in the background. Some half paid attention to the TV, some talked to each other, some did their own thing.

Ringue's eyes were sparkling with wonder. The slurpuff's gaze remained fixated on Snute, who glared back with one eye.

It was after fifteen minutes of this that Snute finally hissed out a query.

"What?"

Ringue smiled giddily.

"It's just... So big!"

Sitting up abruptly, Snute growled.

"What did I say about the bum jokes?"

Raising her paws, Ringue shook her head vigorously.

"No, no!" she dispelled. "Not your butt! Your snout! I hadn't noticed until you laid down, but that thing is, like, freakishly long!"

Snute snorted, turning away.

"Why did you think I'm called Snute?"

Tilting her head, Ringue put a paw to her chin.

"I just assumed it was your name."

Grumbling, the ninetales laid her chin back down.

"Well... I suppose it is, by now." She remained silent for a moment. Upon seeing Ringue's still confused expression, Snute relented with a sigh. "My real name is Lucille."

Smiling once more, Ringue hopped around.

"Oh, oh! That's such a pretty name! Why don't you use it? Not that Snute isn't cute, of course, because it is, but I'm curious, you know, because it's a bit weird to use a nickname like it's your actual name, because most pokémon will introduce themselves by their real name, and put it on the paperwork and everything, but you didn't, so it just makes me curious I guess, I mean, some people calls me Void, you know, because I eat a lot, like a void does, do you get it, but everyone still knows I'm Ringue and Void isn't my real name so I just wondered about you because of that!"

Snute stared in disbelief as the slurpuff rambled on and on without a single breath or pause taken between thoughts. The ninetales would have been immensely annoyed by the bombardment of questions if it weren't so impressive. Taking a moment to consider her response carefully, Snute settled on vague honesty.

"My name brings back painful memories. My nickname brings back uplifting memories. Both points in my life are long gone, but it's nice to cling onto the one that hurts me less."

Nodding, Ringue hugged Snute. This elicited a growl.

"Oh, I see! I'm sorry for asking! I'll keep calling you Snute, then!"

"Whatever."

Lodiyo looked over, snorting in amusement.

"She's right, though. That's a real long snoot, you've got there, Lucy!"

The ninetales looked over with an infuriated glare. Her lip visibly trembled.

The arcanine bowed his head.

"Yeah, s'pose that was too far. Bless your heart, Snute."