Xavian's eyes timidly trailed away from His Majesty to look at the rest of their class, who were all sulking or muttering amongst themselves. The Axew's tail drooped downwards, and the little Lord let out a short sigh. This was, in polite terms, a right mess.

The Heir of House Lefevre would not be deterred by a little discomfort though, that much was certain. Prince Icarus entrusted them to watch over everyone, and Xavian knew who else they would count on for assistance.

The scruffy Pikachu they had in mind was pacing back and forth by one of the lounge's very large windows, thinking aloud and miming with his hands. Xavian cleared their throat as they approached, but Owin remained engaged with his monologue.

"Could this be the end of peace among classmates?" Owin's dramatic declaration was barely above a whisper, "Or, will our heroes join together and rediscover what's most important: the Power of Frie–"

"Owin?" Xavian tapped their companion's shoulder.

"AH!" Static bristled along the Pikachu's spine as he sharply turned towards the Axew beside him. Owin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly once he realized it was just Xavian. "Oh, sorry. How long were you trying to get my attention this time?"

"Not long," Xavian put simply. "Listen, Prince Icarus put me in a temporary position of authority while he goes to, I assume, speak with Lady Rosaline. I'd like your help with something, if you wouldn't mind."

Owin saluted, a bright smile on his face. "Anything for you! Whaddya need, Milady-lord?"

Xavian's heart swelled with a bit of fondness, but they kept their expression plain. "Nothing too difficult; I just need to speak with Melrose… who has, as everyone noticed, locked herself in her room. You keep an eye on everyone out here, and tell them that if they need anything– to come and see me."

"Owin Thunderstrike, at your service!" The Electric Pokémon hopped onto one of lovely velvet chairs and stood on its back, now literally looking over everyone. Xavian figured this would do just fine, and gave their friend a small smile before hurrying along to Melrose's private quarters.

It took quite a few knocks before the Pikachu even remotely answered, and it was hardly more than a muffled "go away."

"Please let me in, Melrose. I'd like to speak with you– and, keeping the rest of us out isn't going to do you any good." Xavian jostled the door handle slightly. Obviously, it was locked, but they figured it was worth a shot anyways.

"I'm not keeping anyone out…" Melrose's pout was barely audible through the door. "Everyone else is pushing me away."

"Melrose…" Xavian thought for a moment, choosing their next words carefully. "That may be true, or feel like it is true, but right now I'm trying not to let that happen."

Both Pokémon went quiet for a moment, and Xavian worried that perhaps they were being a touch too dramatic. However, after another beat and a slight bit of shuffling, there was a click– The door unlocked, and Melrose's small yellow snout poked through. Her puffy red eyes were visible under a make-shift blanket hood. Xavian frowned, nuzzling their way inside the room and closing the door behind them. The two stood at the door for a moment, only for tears to start bubbling out of Melrose's eyes.

All Xavian could think to do was pat her gently on the shoulder. Words would come when Melrose calmed back down.

The Pikachu let out a long, hard cry as she hugged herself with the blanket. "I miss my Papa!" She blurted out suddenly, clenching the bits of sheets in her paws tight. "I miss my family, and my farm… I never should'ah come to this here school!"

Xavian placed a hand over Melrose's, trying to pull her fingers off the blanket so she wouldn't hurt herself from gripping it so tightly. "I'm sorry… You know, I miss my father as well." The little Axew sighed, slowly taking the tearstained blanket off of their classmate and draping it back over her mattress. "I'm sure this is the most time almost all of us have spent away from our families." Xavian thought for a moment, "Except, perhaps, Owin…"

Melrose sniffled, wiping a bit of snot away with her arm. "Whaddaya mean?…"

"Oh, well… Owin doesn't exactly have a family. That's why he was living at House Lefevre."

Melrose still looked a tad confused, "Really? I mean– he's so chipper for a… well, an…"

"Orphan?" Xavian shrugged their shoulders. "Oui, yes, I suppose he is. Don't worry much about it, though. House Lefevre has been a great home to Owin, and… Honestly, I don't really know what I would do without him."

Melrose whimpered quietly as she plopped herself down on the floor. "I thought I was making a pal like that. But, I hardly see Xander. And, Icarus…"

Xavian raised a claw. "I don't want to sound harsh, but I'll risk it. A best friend isn't always made in a few days, Melrose. Bonds take time."

"I know that!" Melrose huffed as her cheeks crackled with static. "It's just–" The Pikachu deflated once again. "Nothin' is going the way I thought it would, lately…"

"You grew up very sheltered, oui? I can't say my upbringing was much different." Xavian looked out of Melrose's window, enjoying the view of the garden in the afternoon sun. It reminded them of their own yard and greenhouse, and the pathway leading to the nearby Mystery Dungeon Xavian's father hunted in. The very Mystery Dungeon Xavian had met Owin in months prior.

"You know, when I found Owin all alone, we didn't exactly become instant friends. I took him for a raging lunatic. However, even while he accused me of being a foul minion of evil…" Xavian rubbed their hands together, slowly sitting down on the floor next to Melrose. "I could see the bruises from the ferals who had gotten to him before me. In his eyes… he was only a scared kid. Even the most annoying Pokémon deserve help." Xavian chuckled softly, thinking back on the whole experience fondly.

Melrose glanced back at Xavian. "Xander and I sorta found eachother like that… only, he was the one to save me from ferals. I felt like we really clicked, and I still consider him my best friend even– if we only met about a week ago." The Pikachu tugged at her scarf. "Maybe that's just plain silly…"

Xavian gave Melrose a soft smile, "as much as Owin is my best friend now, I really didn't want to admit it for what felt like ages. As someone who didn't have many friends outside of noble obligations, I wasn't exactly inclined to open my heart like that. I thought it was all kiddy-stuff." Xavian took a small breath. "What I'm trying to say is… these things take time."

Melrose stirred uncomfortably.

"…And, they're hard to get right." Xavian placed a hand on Melrose's shoulder, her fur being much coarser than Owin's, and gave the Pikachu a small massage. "I should apologize for what I said to you before, about Icarus needing to watch who he associates with. I didn't mean to come across the way I did, but it still upset you. I'm worried it stuck with you all this time."

Melrose sniffled and rubbed her nose again before turning to the Axew close to her and smiling slightly. "It's alright. I did scurry before you could really say anything else… I maybe just wanted an excuse to be mad."

Xavian tilted their head, curious of the Pikachu's confession. Melrose hardly seemed the type to like being upset, to be granted catharsis by fury, but then again– "Is that why you keep stirring up trouble?"

"Wh–" Melrose casted an angry glance at Xavian, making the Dragon Type flinch, but… she would soften hardly a second later. "I am stirring up trouble, aren't I?…"

"I wouldn't call attacking classmates, storming off suddenly, and shouting at the Prince anything else, Melrose." Xavian said with a trace of amusement. "You've had a rough time since arriving at the academy, haven't you?"

It took Melrose a moment or two before nodding, her sulking ears bouncing with her head.

"I know what would help," Xavian said while squeezing the Pikachu's shoulder gently. When Melrose looked back up at them, Xavian gave them a sweet smile and gestured towards the door. "I know it hasn't been very long, but there are Pokémon out there who really like you– for you. That's more than I can say about myself."

Melrose frowned. "I can't think of a single one of 'em who don't like you."

"Are you kidding me?" The Axew giggled as they stood back up, bowing towards Melrose as they would any other noble. "They like Sir Xavian Lefevre, darling heiress to House Lefevre." Xavian's tail twitched with amusement. They stood back up straight to adjust their bowtie. "Every noble has a 'presentable' version of themselves, one that must hardly ever falter. Childhoods are cut short to instill etiquette into us as early as possible. A few years ago, sitting by my father at a dinner, I realized I would never feel like a kid ever again."

Xavian glanced back at the door, thinking of Owin likely still standing up on that chair. Perhaps he had fallen off by now, inciting laughter from his crestfallen classmates. He would just pick himself back up and walk it off…

Melrose had stood up behind Xavian, nudging them with her paw. Xavian looked back at her, frowning at the sight of more bubbly tears pouring down her cheeks.

"I wasn't the one to upset you… was I?"

Melrose shook her head no before planting it against Xavian's shoulder, letting tears roll down the Axew's scales. Xavian reached up to pet at her ears, not sure what else to do as they quietly stood in the room together.

"I ain't used to bein' around Pokémon who are just allowed to hate me if they wanna." Melrose mumbled, almost too quiet to hear. "Everyone back home… if we got inna fight… there wasn't any hate, not really– even if you said it, you never ever meant it. Papa would always make sure we talked it out. Papa would… P-papa…"

Melrose hugged Xavian, which took the Axew by surprise. Electric Types always moved so quickly, even during little things like hugs and handshakes. Xavian hugged the Pikachu back once they had fully adjusted to her surprise embrace.

"I don't wanna be a farm girl. I wanna be an explorer. But, what if I– I'm not–"

"Hey now– Deep breath." Xavian inhaled slowly, waiting for Melrose to do the same before both of them let it out. "One problem at a time, oui?"

The Axew would carefully pull themself away from Melrose, making sure she didn't feel Xavian was leaving her behind. "Let's go join our classmates. Together, okay?"

Melrose's eyes locked onto Xavian's extended hand; slowly, she would take it in her own paw.

Melrose couldn't help looking solemn as she was guided back out to the common area to the rest of her classmates. Her eyes stung from crying and her nose was caked in a small crust of snot. The Pikachu felt like she looked the ugliest she ever had, and the feeling got worse when everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her.

"Mel!" Owin shouted from across the room, hopping off of his furniture perch and rushing over to his friends. He gave Xavian a playful salute. "Nothing to report, Milordy! Everyone mostly just sat there in silence. It was… really starting to bum me out, actually."

Melrose glanced back at Xavian, who was chatting happily with the very Pokémon they were talking about just a minute ago. Seeing the smiles on both their faces… Melrose glanced down at the floor and rubbed her arm.

Then, a small idea popped into her head– her ears bouncing upwards as if they were inflated by it. "Hey, Xavian? Think ya could… maybe get everyone's full attention for a moment? I kinda want to try somethin'."

"Oh? Alright, Melrose." Xavian shuffled to the middle of the room and cleared their throat. With how quiet it was, they caught everyone's attention in an instant. "Excusez-moi, mes amies. Melrose has something she wishes to say to everyone."

The sniffling Pikachu made her way over to Xavian, who bowed out of the way once Melrose had everyone's attention.

"Uh… hey, y'all…" Her voice croaked, a side effect from all that wallowing– however, she kept going. "I just– I wanted everyone to know that I'm real sorry about all the messes I keep makin'." Neptune audibly scoffed, which made Melrose bite her lip, but she wouldn't let this stop her. "I've been a jerk."

"Pfft, no you haven't!" Blitz waved his wing dismissively.

"Yeah, I have…" Melrose said while shooting a side glance at her avian classmate. "I tried to beat up Neptune, I keep snappin' at our class leader– things like that. And, y'know what, even if you're also a real jerk–" The Pikachu's head swung towards the ghostly noble who was casting his judgemental glance intensely. "That ain't no excuse to try and zap you into next week. So, Neptune, I'm sorry."

Eyes now all on the snobby Frillish, young Atlantis kept all his snark to himself. Instead, he would scoff one more time as he turned his head away. "Just don't let it happen again, peasant."

Xavian cleared their throat loudly, casting a glare at Neptune as they walked back over to Melrose's side. "That's enough of that. Lower class than us or not, we're all students at Red Academy. In these walls, we're equals."

Melrose's smile returned as she looked at the Axew beside her… but it faded once Neptune's voice pitched in yet again.

"You're only saying that because you got in with a commoner at your heels." The Frillish waved a tendril at Owin, who was holding back sparks of his own. "We got into this school because we deserve to be here."

Blitz fluttered from his perch across the room and landed next to Melrose. "We got into this school because we earned it."

Silence again. Blitz and Neptune were staring daggers into each other, but Xavian wedged themself in between their invisible lasers. "Enough, no more othering! We all belong in this Academy." Xavian glanced at Melrose with smiling eyes before continuing. "Our year is the most diverse class yet, and we should celebrate that!"

"Affirmative!" Flick trilled as his polygonal limbs twirled. "Lord Lefevre is both statistically accurate and pleasantly optimistic."

There was some jubilant chatter starting to shroud the room, but before it could go on for too long– Melrose waved her arms around to regain everyone's attention.

"Saying sorry wasn't the only thing I wanted to do! I, uhh…" As everyone quieted down, Melrose had to swallow back a bit of anxiety. "I know this might sound kinda stupid… like, one of those things they do in stories that no one ever does in real life… but, I would like to start over–"

Melrose stood up on the table that was the centerpiece of everyone's introductions on the first day of school.

"Hi y'all! My name is Melrose! I was raised by my Pa, Gaius, in Happy Apple Farm. I miss my family a mighty ton, but… I'm sure y'all miss yours too. It's very nice to meet everyone, and I can't wait to be a student here at Red Academy!"

Enough silence passed to make Melrose's ears droop, but soon– Owin rushed over and shook his fellow Pikachu's paw.

"Nice to meet you, Melrose! My name's Owin Thunderstrike!" Owin struck a pose, and a spark of static left his fingertip as he did so. Melrose giggled.

"I am Xavian Lefevre, of House Lefevre. However, just Xav is fine." Xavian gave Melrose an amused smile and a short bow of their head. "I'm Owin's best friend, and I would get used to the posing if I were you."

Melrose giggled again, a bit louder this time, and soon other students started to join in their game. The little Pikachu's eyes started to fill with tears again, but this time it was different. Overwhelmed with emotion, Melrose let herself laugh and laugh as almost everyone poorly pretended to meet her for the first time.

There was a knock at the door before it cracked open slowly. Ms. Adeline was standing beside a cloudy-eyed Icarus, and the laughing quickly came to a halt.

"Aww, don't stop having fun on my account." The Clefairy gave everyone an exaggerated frown before opening the door wider. "It is time to come back to class, however. Best not to keep your Instructor waiting, hmm?"

Melrose hopped down from the table and followed everyone as they filed into the hall. She couldn't help casting a glance up at Icarus, who looked… tired.

Adeline took her usual position ahead of everyone and steered the students to Keldeo's classroom. The Mythical Pokémon beamed brightly once everyone had arrived, waiting for them to all take their seats before giving Adeline an affirmative nod. The Clefairy closed the door on her way out, not paying any mind to the Keldeo's wink.

"Good Afternoon, students! I hear you've all had a fairly eventful morning!"

Melrose watched as Icarus sunk into his seat.

"I've been told to let you know that Ashe is going to be just fine, but we're gonna keep her under close watch for the rest of the day. Combat isn't an easy thing to practice. Trust me, hah, I know." D'artagnan jostled his mane with a flip of his head. "You'll get used to it. And, I bet my class will help!"

It was difficult to pay attention to Keldeo's lecture when all Melrose could think about was Icarus. She ran all sorts of hypothetical conversations and apologies in her head, but none of them seemed right. There was no way Icarus even wanted to talk to her, especially from the look on his face. And still, Melrose couldn't completely combat that feeling that she was wronged– that Icarus should say sorry first– but, the Pikachu doubted that was going to happen. Something about Icarus being the one to ask for forgiveness first seemed implausible.

Keldeo's voice started to fade back into Melrose's focus. "Most E and D rank outlaws are complete jokers. Nothing to really worry about, even as a civilian. The ones that do slip off with someone's cash or valuables are usually apprehended within hours. I've even found a petty crook knocked out in the very Mystery Dungeon they ran off to hide in."

"Mister D'artagnan?" Sabre said while raising his hand. "What rank is Team Outlier?"

"Team Outlier?" The Keldeo scoffed. "A bunch of over-hyped nonsense echoing out from our sound boxes reaching the minds of our youth. They're hardly more than a bunch of jokesters themselves."

"But…" Sabre looked displeased with his instructor's answer. "My big brother said they've managed to break into Castle Drakkenburg–"

"Yeah, maybe for like, a few seconds!" Keldeo took a sharp breath before regaining his already minimal professionalism. "Team Outlier is made up of several small-time bandits. They're only able to stir up trouble because their leader is S rank. S rank and… unidentified."

"It sounds to me like you have something personal against them." Icarus spoke, his tone drier than Adstrum's desert region. "A failed arrest, Sword of Justice?"

Keldeo's nostrils flared, but he responded to his Prince with a hearty laugh.

"The Outliers are all bark and no bite. They pop up, give a little media scare, then go back into hiding. If Captain Rosaline, the Police, or Guild Association actually thought finding them would be worth the resources– we would have bothered digging them out by now. But, they aren't."

"Then, shouldn't there be no trouble arresting them?" Icarus almost smirked, but it faded fast. "The Swords of Justice are a Master Rank Team, am I not mistaken? Your irritation at their status and creation of civil unrest suggest more than enough reason to–"

"ANYWAYS," Keldeo laughed louder as he marched towards his desk. "C and B rank outlaws are when experienced Defense Teams get deployed. They usually have true bounties on their heads, and receive more than a slap on the wrist upon arrest–"

Melrose stopped listening again, watching as Icarus's tail flicked to-and-fro. Frustration suited His Highness much more than apathy did, but there was a glint of something else in the Tyrunt's eyes that Melrose couldn't help but notice. He clearly wanted to say something, but couldn't bring himself to for whatever reason…