"Candrila!" shouted Karan, her eyes wide with worry. The thick trees that surrounded their home created a blur of shadows cast upon shadows. The dense underbrush, marked here and there with freshly trampled footpaths by those looking for a walk off the beaten path snaked in over a dozen directions before her. Equal parts fear and fury raged in the weavile's heart. Only one of thse could be Candrila's, but finding the freshest wasn't exactly in her skillset.

The rustle of the leaves. Snapping twigs. Frenzied footfalls and high-pitched screeches. The unmistakable sound of puncturing flesh. Karan ran towards the source of the sound immediately, and nearly crashed into a meowth as it stumbled from a bush, clutching at its bloodied chest and coughing. The wildling's eyes were wild with fear, and the gaze it leveled on Karan was almost pathetic. Something like resignation lived in its eyes, but vanished as they rolled up to the canopy above them.

The cat coughed once more, spraying the ground with blood, fell back and laid still. A second later, Candrila stepped out of the bush, her chest heaving and covered in scratches and sporting a bite mark on her forearm. Her fur was blotted with dark patches of her own blood as well as her quarry's, but she was triumphant.

Karan rushed to Candrila and knelt down before her, then removed bits of leaves and snapped twigs from her daughter's fur. She ran her claws over her wounds, checking for deep punctures or lacerations and found none. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and nodded.

The good first, thought Karan. She placed a paw on her daughter's shoulder and nodded. "Good work."

The sneasel's tiny chest heaved up and down, but still she puffed it out with pride – then doubled over a second later, coughing. "He was fast…" she whined. "Really fast."

The weavile shrugged. "You get used to it. Or faster." She tapped her chin and shrugged. "Both, really." Karan glanced at the fallen meowth looked him over.

Her daughter turned her head, and asked between gasps for air, "What's wrong?"

"Could have been cleaner," muttered Karan, pointing at the four punctures on the cat's chest. "You missed his heart three times."

"Is that bad? I hit it in the-"

"Every extra second you waste fighting is another chance to die," said Karan, cutting across her daughter. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Understand that."

"I thought you said I did good?" said Candrila, her brow furrowing. She gestured at the dead meowth. "Or do you mean I just did good enough?"

Karan chewed her tongue as she stared down at the fallen meowth. "You did good enough for this fight."

The sneasel frowned and threw a miserable look at the meowth. "So, I guess I didn't do as good as I could have?" asked Candrila, deflating.

"Yes. But, you won a fight I wasn't here for." She pointed a claw at her daughter's nose and her tone became harsh. Now the reprimand. Her eyes flashed and she whispered, "Don't make it a habit. You should not be running into the forest alone."

"S-sorry, Mom."

"Mmm. In the end, you won. I can't be too upset." Karan cocked her head and studied the meowth again. Several scratches on his stomach. A few on his paws. Puncture in the arm. Her eyes drifted to her daughter. Bloodied though her chest was from the scratches, they weren't deep. Even the bite on her forearm only just broke skin – but the fact it existed at all... "But I am still upset." She gestured at the bite, shaking her head reprovingly. "It bit you."

"Yeah. I messed up."

"Obviously."

Candrila looked miserable. She stood up and stepped away from the meowth. "Are we going, then?"

"Your jewel."

"What about it?"

Karan cut the coin jutting from the meowth's head free and scraped it clean of flesh and fur with a few swipes of her claw. She stood and walked over to her daughter, then offered her the coin with a simple, "Here. A friend."

"What? Mom this is…" Candrila took the coin from her mother like it would bite her at any moment. She made a face and shook her head. "Mom, this is really gross. This grew out of a meowth's head!"

"Always keep something from the first," said Karan.

"I've killed stuff before!" said Candrila, looking up at her mother with a defiant look in her eyes.

Karan shook her head and said firmly, "But not alone." The weavile pointed at the coin and added, her voice now gentler, "I'll wrap it in leather or twine later. You can wear it around your neck."

"Is that what you did?" asked Candrila, looking up from the coin, still somewhat disgusted and fearful.

"Yes." Karan paused and scowled, then continued, her tone dark, "Sort of. I didn't want trophies from the first three. They gave me enough."

"What do you mean?" asked Candrila, her eyes widening at the expression on her mother's face.

"Another day. First proper kill, I took a leather necklace." Her claws came up and felt around her naked neck. "Didn't come with me."

"What do you mean?" asked Candrila, frowning.

Karan sighed. "Showed up with nothing." She knelt down and pulled her daughter into an embrace. "Don't run into the woods alone again," she whispered. The overlong claws of her daughter hugged her back. "And don't you dare stray from Balsam and Syas today. Understand?"

"I do, Mom."

"Good." She let go of her daughter and pulled her away to look her in eyes that were hers as much as they were Outrider's. "I love you."

Candrila smiled. "I love you too, Mom."

Spring had found Stalwart early this year. Thea gazed out of the window to her room, watching the wispy clouds in the sky drift overhead. The verdant green of the nearby forest spilled out in the form of undergrowth that threatened to take over the cobblestone paths between the homes of the Governors' Quarter. They never quite did – someone was always beating back nature and keeping it at the very edge of their living space. An azumarill spoke with an accompanying hypno, gesturing here and there as he talked, both of them smiling and joking as they made their way down the street.

Mani? Karan knew her, but Thea could hardly say she did.

It was here the "important" people of Stalwart lived. Neither Karan nor Sava particularly enjoyed the name, but it wasn't theirs to give – the citizens had made it up themselves. Thea didn't mind it. The truth was the truth, humility be damned. Besides, she still had to share a house with Karan, Valor, Stone and Candrila. Sure, she had her own room now, but it's not like she had her own house.

She got up from her bed and pulled a leather belt from her nightstand. The many loops it bore were filled with wands of all sorts. She buckled it on and then looked fondly at the two wooden figures on the stand itself. A braixen and a delphox, both carved by Valor.

He was probably busy exploring with Stone. Some nearby area looking for valuable ores and gems? Maybe harder wood for renovations to an inn somewhere in town… Either way, they'd left at dawn.

She had slept in. Again. The delphox pulled a wand from her belt and bit the end of it as she made her way outside. She sat down in the smaller of two chairs on her miniscule porch. More and more, with each passing day, she worked harder to force herself out of bed. Every morning she opened her eyes, stared up at the ceiling and ignored the little voice that told her it was time to start the day. Roll over, face the wall and doze off again, as many times as her own guilty conscience would let her. She watched the shadows flash across the wall, moving in between the closing of her eyes.

It was hard to care, guilty though it made her feel that everyone was gone by the time she was dragging herself out the front door.

Five years in and there was so much still work to do, though it had become mostly routine. Maintenance. Things that simply went into running a town. Or helping to run one, anyway. She had to speak to Sava later today about the latest batch of citizens that had begun their mandatory service in the defense forces of the town. Her stomach turned at the thought. She didn't want to do that.

She didn't want to do anything.

The delphox stood and looked in the direction of Crag's walls, then back at the door to her home. Maybe I should just crawl back into bed. She shook her head and turned to face the day, striding down the steps of her home and out onto the cobblestone path, straight backed and alert. She wasn't two minutes into her walk towards the defense force's quarters before she was slouching again. The sun bore down on her, filled her fur with warmth, but all she did was chew her wand more.

A familiar smile drifted across her thoughts. When would Valor be getting back?

"Oh, you've saved me a trip," said a familiar voice. Thea looked up and saw it was Sava in her path. The mienshao nodded once at her in greeting. She was flanked by a corviknight and a cinderace. All three wore the colors of Stalwart wrapped around their arms or neck. Midnight blue and white. Nomad's colors. Valor's idea.

"What's up?" asked Thea, looking between Sava and the two soldiers.

"I was called to look into an issue in Crag." She shook her head, and glanced past Thea at the hollow corpse of the city in the distance. "The whispers and sounds, I imagine."

The delphox rolled her eyes. "Really? Again? The citizens are too superstitious."

Sava shrugged. "I was specifically requested. That says enough for me."

"Alright. So…putting off seeing the new conscripts until tomorrow?"

"Only if I'm not back in time." Sava nodded once more and continued down the street, turning right at the end and getting onto the main road that would lead out of Stalwart and out towards Crag.

Thea sighed as she watched her go, then looked around at the deserted street that surrounded her. "I hope you're not back in time… But now what?"

She glanced in the direction of Karan's office. "Might as well."

Valor set his backpack down and tossed the main flap on it open. He handed one of the waterskins inside to Stone, and pulled the other free for himself. As he sipped on cool water, he rummaged about inside for a bundle of jerky for the lycanroc and dried berries for himself.

The rolling hills ahead of them stopped abruptly at a quarry dotted with relaxing wildlings. Strange stone formations sprouted from the ground, forming bizarre pillars and arches that lent a purpose-built air to the otherwise wild landscape. The noon sun that bore down upon them was only slightly warm, and more than tempered by the cool breeze that rolled across the grasses.

Color exploded out of the fields in the form of countless flowers and flowering bushes alike. Sweet scents drifted across the chesnaught's nose from the flowers closest to him, and he immediately recognized one but couldn't place where it'd come from. He looked around, trying to find where it came from.

Stone called out, "Drop something?"

Valor looked back at her and shook his head. "No, uh, I was just trying to find out what that smell is."

Stone looked around the rock she was sitting on and sniffed once. "Flowers, Val. What else?"

"Yeah, but what kind? That specific smell, it's familiar and I want to know where it's from. What it's from, I mean."

She tossed a piece of jerky in her mouth and chewed, then plucked a red flower, sniffed it once and then held it out to Valor. "Only pokemon that wears perfume around us is Thea," said Stone, offering him a knowing grin.

The chesnaught's brow furrowed. "Huh? Really?" He walked over and took the flower from her and sniffed it. "This isn't it. I think?"

Stone's grin faltered. Shit, she completely misread that. Maybe. Or maybe she was just more tuned in than he was. She opened her mouth to speak, but Valor cut her off.

"These weird rumors that have been spreading about Crag are starting to pick up," he began.

"Really, just gonna- ah, whatever." She shook her head and shoved the thought into the back of her mind. "Yeah. It's… weird."

"I don't like it, but it can't be anything bad. Maybe a few pokemon found their way in – Augur just walked right in, you know."

"Yeah, but the quarry workers are seeing more than just ghost-types, Valor."

The chesnaught scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, Stone. It's not like you haven't checked it out. I've gone along a few times with you, same as Thea. I mean, Thea and I even made a few extra trips ourselves to be sure we didn't miss anything." He shook his head. "We didn't. There's nothing in Crag."

"They're hearing whispers of nonsense," said Stone, frowning. "Stuff that doesn't sound like anything. You know, kinda like how wildlings 'talk' sometimes."

"What's there to say to that? This is all just speculation and spooked workers in the end," said the chesnaught, offering her a reluctant shrug. He took a bite of oran berry and then a swig of water. "Unless something happens, we've done all we can."

"That's what worries me…" mumbled Stone.

Thea spun her wand in the air just over her hand, the wood glowing a faint purple. It would stop abruptly, then spin in the other direction with no discernible pattern. She was bored. Who wouldn't be? She threw her gaze up to the ceiling and traced the support beams of Karan's office for the umpteenth time. The barely-above-ramshackle construction of the room was unusual against the much more cleanly designed and properly built structures that made up Stalwart.

The walls were misshapen, the windows weren't properly squared off, and the floor creaked in many places. The entire structure gave the impression of being immensely old, and yet it couldn't have been more than four years since it had been built.

Karan said she liked it that way; it reminded her as much as the rest of the pokemon of the town that she was still one of them. The delphox smirked and snatched her wand out of the air, then opened her free paw and brought several orbs of fire to life in it. She began to spin them around her wrist. One by one they shot from her arm up to her forehead and began to orbit it, filling the top of her vision with an orange streak. "Where's Candrila, anyway?" asked Thea.

For once, she was keeping the orbs in a proper orbit around her head – and then, as if on cue, their orbit widened far too much and she crushed them into small puffs of smoke. Annoyance and defeat sparked to life in her stomach.

"With Balsam and Syas. Went berry picking. Back before dark." She scowled. "Better be."

"Oh. Alright. Uh, you done with the paperwork yet?" she said, stuffing the wand away in her belt a bit too roughly.

The Empress was not done yet. At least, that's what the curt glance she threw at Thea said. "If you don't want to be here, go find Valor. Can catch up later," she muttered, not looking up from her parchment.

"Valor's out doing shit with Stone."

"Odd you didn't go."

"Eh." She shrugged. "You could use the company, you're always cooped up in here alone and stuff. Must get boring." She snickered. "Now I know it does."

Karan stopped writing and looked up at the delphox. A rare, warm smile worked its way across her lips. "Thank you." It faded as quickly as it came, and was followed by an irritated sigh as she reached over to a metal stamp and picked it up.

"Problem?"

"When isn't there one?" said Karan, irritated. She dipped the stamp into a small container filled with a brilliant red ink and then pressed it against the parchment with a dull thud. "I've approved an increase in how much stone we pull from the walls."

"Increase? I thought the merchant's guild was ranting about how bad that would be for our trade. Then again, they're always ranting about fucking everything when even stupid little things don't go their way," said Thea, her tone becoming progressively harsher as she continued.

"They were. Now they'll rant about my incompetence." Karan raised a paw up, her claws spread out and glittering like polished knives in the candlelight. Malevolence flashed across eyes, but she closed them a second later and settled on making an irritated grunt. "Diplomacy."

"Makes the world go round," offered Thea, settling into a cross-legged seated position in mid-air. "You know that. You can't cut the merchants in half just because they call you an idiot. Imagine how Sava would react." She jabbed the air twice for emphasis.

"Never get to intimidate anyone," complained Karan as she folded the order up, then sat back in her chair to rub her eyes and sigh. "It solved problems."

"When you were a psycho-bitch?" asked Thea, her tone teasing.

Karan let out another groan of displeasure. "Yes. It did." She sat forward again and turned her attention to the delphox. "You don't forget old habits. Just unlearn them."

"You've done a good job! You should be proud."

The weavile considered the delphox for a moment, then nodded. "You too."

Thea waved the comment off. "That's Valor's doing. I can't stand the way he looks at me when he's disappointed. I feel like a fennekin again every single time." Thea shrugged. "So I try not to disappoint him."

"Vines around your neck," said Karan, smirking.

"What? Oh, come on, don't act like Stone! Nothing like that, Karan," said Thea, shaking her head vigorously. "You know how he is. Disappointing him sucks. He gets so sad looking when you do."

Karan threw her head back and let out a single, high laugh. "Bleeding heart." She collected the documents she'd stamped and got out of her chair, then made for the door and threw it open, then looked back at Thea.

"Well? Come on. Need a drink. You too."

"Wait. Um…" Thea tugged on the fur growing from one of her ears. "You ever feel…out of place?" She really just asked Karan that. She flailed her paws uselessly in the air, trying to tug the words back, and stammered, "Wait, wait, wait, no. Forget that, that was- gods above Thea, what kind of stupid question was that?" She stamped her foot, charring the rug beneath her feet. "No! Gods damn it, I'm sorry Karan, I-"

The weavile's face went blank and she cocked her head, then slowly raised her enormous claws. "Out of place? Not at all."

The fox's shoulders sagged and she shook her head, groaning all the while. "Let's just get some fucking drinks first."

The afternoon sun of Stalwart had become partially obscured by the soft gray clouds that had rolled in from the east. Not quite the promise of rain as much as the suggestion of it. The only street that led through the Governors' Quarter was devoid of foot traffic now. The main road, less than two dozen feet away, bore several passersby. The sounds of their conversation and laughter grew louder in Thea's ears as they set off towards the only bar in all of Stalwart.

Karan's presence cut a path through the crowd that Thea followed in the wake of. Pokemon on both sides nodded at the Empress as she passed. Off-duty soldiers saluted. Some of them did the same for Thea. The delphox waved to the soldiers she recognized, but settled on simply nodding at those that she didn't.

The buildings along the Trader's Path were dual-purpose. Shops with homes nestled above them. A smithy, a wildfish monger, a bakery. Services of all kinds, from a fledgling post office manned by a pelipper and his wingull staff all wearing ridiculous red hats brought from who-knows-where, to Stalwart's oldest and largest general store. A wizened kecleon ran it;a transplant from Treasure Town.

He'd introduced coin to Stalwart, though it was still minted at Treasure Town. It had been adopted by Stalwart but was used almost exclusively for transactions with traders. Most citizens simply continued to barter or requisition supplies. It made sense – everyone chipped in somehow, which meant everyone was due their share.

Thea's mouth twisted into a tiny frown. "Hey, Karan?" she asked, catching up to walk side by side with the weavile.

"Hm?" She threw a glance from a single red eye.

"You think that coin will… well, I don't know if replace is the right word, but-"

Karan nodded. "Know where that question is going. Probably."

"Why?"

The weavile gestured to the skeleton of a two-story house being built between a shop selling dried berries and another offering furniture. "Many reasons. Stalwart grows from those not born in it. New ways filter in. Convenience. Trade." She shrugged. "Coin was used in Lumiose."

"Really?"

"Usually slips of paper. Sometimes…" She formed a rectangle with her claws. "This thing. Plastic? Something like that."

"Uh…what?" asked Thea. Whatever that word was, it was utter nonsense to her.

Karan shook her head and waved the question away. "Forget it. Point is, we shall see." She pointed ahead of them. An enormous sign hung over a comparatively small bar. The Golden Grepa. A stylized, brilliantly yellow grepa berry was painted onto the board beside the lettering. The weavile beckoned for Thea to follow.

They were close to the edge of Stalwart now, in what one could call the "historic district." As historic as four years allowed something to be, anyway. The oldest proper buildings were here, many of them combinations of homes and vital services. Grain and berry distribution. The "Butcher's Three" – three different businesses dedicated to processing wildling meat. A water authority. The primary trade house of Stalwart – the secondary house at the other end of Trader's Path was still rather small and the area around it much sleepier.

Several merchant wagons were hitched outside of the trade house.

As Thea followed Karan into the bar, she found that most of the merchants were drinking here. Pokemon wearing a variety of fancy and unusual cloths, leathers and silks, all of them brightly colored, were seated at one of the largest tables in the cramped establishment. The upbeat conversation that pulsed in the air was infectious. Thea sat down on a stool at the bar proper beside Karan and watched as an audino, a shuckle and a tangela took and mixed orders.

The dim interior lighting, largely coming from candles set in the walls or hanging down in small fixtures from the ceiling, made the dark wood interior appear that much darker. It was the afternoon, and yet the long shadows and partially obscured faces of all the pokemon present made it feel like it was nearly midnight.

Music barely broke through the din – simple percussion and jaunty strings. Thea looked around, trying to find the source, and eventually caught a rillaboom and ariados in the far corner, doing their best to fight against the sea of voices. At least they looked to be having a good time.

After waiting for several minutes, the audino took notice of Thea and offered her a friendly wave – then froze in shock when she saw Karan and rushed over. "E-E-Empress, I had no idea, I-I-I'm sorry, we're just so busy!"

Karan nodded. "Attend to your customers, I can wait."

"You are a customer!"

"You do this every time, Rose." The weavile rolled her eyes, but smirked nonetheless. "The usual."

"You have a usual?" asked Thea, looking over at Karan in surprise. She really didn't hang out with Karan much, or Stone for that matter. Maybe that's why she felt so out of place.

"Here often enough." Karan shrugged at the delphox. "Hate paperwork. Hate stuffy merchants."

Thea looked meaningfully around the bar. "So you drink where they hang out?"

The weavile's smirk grew smug. "Of course."

"What would you like, Thea?" asked the audino, looking up from the drink she was mixing.

"Still have mead, Rose?" It had been over a year since she'd come.

"What kind of bar would we be if we didn't?" asked Rose, feigning offense. "Standard, double-honeyed or the seasonal blend?" At the look of incomprehension on Thea's face, the audino added, "Crushed cheri, crushed magost and slices of ginger are added to the brew. It's spicy and sweet." She set a glass in front of Karan and nodded once at her, grinning all the while.

"The seasonal sounds good." Rose nodded at Thea this time and hustled away.

Karan took a sip from her glass and let out a contented sigh. "Very good."

"What is it?"

"Double-pecha and rawst. Sweeter than usual; rawst must be underripe."

"Is it supposed to be bitter?" asked Thea.

"Very. Pecha is a finishing taste, not the main attraction." She took another sip from her glass and smacked her lips.

"Here you go, Thea," said Rose, hurrying back over and setting a large mug of golden liquid in front of the delphox. "Just give me a shout if you want anything else!"

Thea thanked her as she bustled away and took a sip from her mead. Honey, the sweet taste of magost... She coughed and looked down at it, her eyes wide. The powerful taste of cheri and ginger stuck out over even the alcohol. "Gods above, don't try this Karan, you'll melt."

The weavile laughed. Five years later and it was still strange to hear. "Too hot?"

"Almost. Good though." She took another sip.

Karan turned in her seat to face Thea and held her glass towards her. "Clink." Thea obliged her, then sipped from her mug when Karan took a sip of her own. The weavile set the glass down on the bar and said simply, "So, Crag."

The delphox gave a start. "Crag? I thought-" She caught herself and shook her head. "Right, yeah, what about it?"

Karan frowned. "Rumors about whispers. Ghosts. Strange happenings."

Thea scowled and dismissed the comment. "Superstitious nonsense. A family of ghosts moved in and pulled pranks or something. Probably some displaced villagers that lost their home and thought Crag looked good. The place is a quarry, who's going to say no to them if they start living somewhere discreet?"

The weavile frowned. "Heard you investigated."

"Yeah, I did. Went with Stone and Valor. Even went with just Valor a few times to double check." She scoffed. "Waste of time. He thinks there's something wrong, but you know how he is. Would rather be cautious than dismissive."

"Very upset over superstition," said Karan, giving her a piercing stare.

Thea tugged on the fur coming out of her left ear nervously and chewed her tongue. "It's like I was saying back in your office! I just feel so out of place… For the last few years, this feeling would just come and go." She frowned. "I don't know what caused it. Stalwart. All of you." Her expression grew miserable. "I don't feel like I belong," she mumbled to her knees.

"Look at me." Thea obliged the weavile, though it was difficult. Karan's stare made her stomach churn, it was so intense. "Nonsense." She gestured to the bar and out the door. "This is what remains of Crag." A single claw pointed at Thea. "Your home, your fellows."

"But this isn't-"

The door to the bar flew open and a very strained looking corviknight barged in. Thea recognized him as the one from this morning that was with Sava. "Is the Empress in here?" he shouted, his voice breaking above the din of conversation and music. The bar fell silent.

Karan slipped out of her seat and walked up to the soldier. "What is it?"

"Something terrible has happened in Crag. The workers are evacuating it."

Thea rushed up beside Karan. "What do you mean 'evacuating it'? Oh, for fuck's sake, did I just curse us all?"

"Explain on the way. No time to waste," said Karan at once.