Morning, Kleis thought, always arrived too soon. Whether he was sleeping or waiting - it always felt as if time bent, conspiring to short-change him on his rest.
How he wished to stay here longer, refine his plan down to the minute instead of the hour. Map out every possibility, consider every trick in his book.
But the sun was rising, the earthy smell of the stirring forest tickling his snout. If they were to make it to the village by nightfall – and better that than risk Mirage fumbling in the dark – they could bear to wait no longer.
It was time.
Kleis looked over each of them one last time. He'd stretched his legs as much as he could in the tiny space, working the soreness out of his muscles. His nerves prickled at him, but his grip on his Illusion stayed steady.
At the other end of the burrow Mirage had braced, cradling a vibrantly green orb of Solar Beam between his legs. His gaze was laser-focused on the burrow's entrance, but at Kleis's glance he returned the gesture with a brief smile and a nod. Ready.
And in his bag, a Chinchou sat. Maia'd had... reservations about getting back in it, but there hadn't been any other choice. This time though - she was lodged in securely, and Kleis had tied the bag tight over his back. Balancing her would still be a pain, but as long as she didn't flop around...
Sit tight and stay calm. That was all she had to do. Maia gave Kleis a nod, trembling but determined. He gave her an – encouraging? An encouraging look. Or his best attempt at one.
Silently, Kleis turned back, scraping at the dirt in the entrance of the burrow. Slowly, carefully, maintaining his illusion all the while. There needed to be no disturbance on the surface, no stray clumps of dirt or jostling of the earth.
It took minutes for the dirt barrier to crumble away, each one as excruciating as the last. Dim twilight began to peek in from the outside world, though Kleis paid it no heed. They were in no position to take risks.
When it was done, the hole big enough to comfortably fit through, Kleis peeked out under cover of his illusion. He winced as the slightest of disturbances rippled over the veil-
His hind legs tensed. Behind him Mirage's eyes flickered, and in the next moment the Solar Beam was twice as bright, a hair's breadth away from firing.
Kleis's ears swivelled, straining to hear a whisper of shadow against earth that never came. The forest stood unmoving.
Kleis tapped the ground with a hind leg twice and felt the pressure of the Grass-type energy recede. The Shadow Ball forming in his throat dissipated, burning.
With an effort the Zorua forced his gaze onto the surroundings.
The sun was only on the horizon, its faint orange glow washing through the forest canopy. Yet - did some of the shadows seem just a little too long?
No, Kleis reminded himself. None of the paranoia. There was a plan. Fifteen minutes to the river he was aiming for, and he could hold his illusion all the way if they were careful. So many hours after the storm of last night, the river would be calmer. Not calm, but...
If they fought, if they lost – there would be a quick exit at their back. A mostly-survivable one, hopefully.
He motioned to Mirage again, and the trio began to move; Mirage perched quietly on Kleis's back, watching their backs while the Zorua scanned the ground ahead. The Solar Beam still burned in the Vibrava's grip, though toned down as much as could be.
Kleis wished it didn't have to be, but maintaining their illusion was tricky enough with only light to worry about. Masking the presence of a move – there was a way, surely. But he hadn't found it yet.
Silently he trotted across the forest, making sure to tread on solid earth where he could. Where he couldn't he leapt, clearing mud patches and undergrowth with a silent thwip.
He'd practised this before, or a version of it. Not with a Chinchou on his back – but a fully-loaded bag was about as heavy, and much less inclined to cooperate. He'd planned for having to adjust it every now and then, actually, but whenever a landing jarred his bag he could feel Maia shifting her balance back into place.
Intriguing. The next time Kleis leapt, he pushed, springing himself further and faster. He felt Mirage's wings flare out in surprise, and Maia – he felt her move. Leaning forward, making sure her weight didn't trail behind his – when he landed she flowed with the motion, compressing to absorb the impact instead of slamming into his back like a brick.
As if she had experience with riding, the thought glanced across his mind, considered and forgotten in a flash. In the next moment he was away, his trot speeding up into a comfortable run.
It was a few minutes shaved off – if he didn't trip. Kleis reminded himself of that. This portion of their journey had no good fallback options in place; the moment they were discovered they'd have to leg it.
It was an appreciated measure of breathing room nevertheless, after the razor's edge of the previous night. And one which seemed to become more necessary by the minute. As the sun rose, as more and more of the shadowed forest came to light – was it Kleis's imagination, or did the wisps that remain grow ever darker?
Maia was tense, but she had to be to keep her balance. Mirage too was motionless except for the occasional flick of a wing. Yet-
It was all around them, penning them in. Corralling them into a trap. Lurking, watching; waiting for them to slip-
Kleis blinked, and the shadows were still. He shook his head, felt Mirage poke a questioning leg against his side.
No, he shook his head again. False...
False alarm.
Steady. Steady. We're on pace.
A few minutes later, the trees began to thin. The sea of green above them crumbled away, revealing the brightening sky and the strands of clouds lolling above.
An earthy scent tickled Kleis's snout. The river awaited just ahead.
It was a rather wide one, all things considered. Relatively languid, but only in the sense that any debris Kleis hit on the way would knock his breath out instead of his consciousness.
Good enough. He'd travel faster down it than if he ran, and that was the important part. Though, jumping in right away would mean a fighting retreat where Kleis was occupied with trying to survive.
If they had to escape too far downstream, if Mirage couldn't fend off the shadows by himself – it was a recipe for disaster. Kleis turned left and continued along the riverbank.
It was rather flat, conveniently enough, free of any foliage that shadows might gather behind. It was also rocky and slick with what had to be floodwater, which made for a precarious mix of too much friction and not enough friction at the same time.
Kleis watched his steps. Especially now that the sun was making itself known; if there was ever a time for the shadows to emerge, this would be it.
Where were they? The Zorua frowned. Surely-
Was that something moving in the corner of his eye? No, just a stick bobbing down the river. Kleis tamped down his paranoia, squashed it as forcefully as he could. Yet still it squirmed.
Nothing to do except keep his illusion up and keep moving. When the- If the shadows came out of hiding the three of them would get in the first hit instead of the other way around.
Soon, the dusky yellows and deep blues of the sky gave way to blooming orange. The long shadows of the forest began to recede.
They were in there. He knew it, the forest felt wrong. How exactly eluded him, but – he could feel it. Something foul on the air. Sounds that echoed too little among the trees.
Paranoia. From all the stress and trauma. He had to stay the path.
And behind him the visage of a friend loomed, mocking. Was he going to ignore his senses, now? Close his eyes and walk them off a cliff?
But he'd made a plan. He'd accounted for-
'Had he?' the forest whispered in each drip of water, each flutter of a leaf. It felt-
As if a gaze was pinning him down. No, a hundred. A thousand. So many their weight was a tangible thing.
He was still, Kleis observed. Had he – no, he wasn't supposed to stop. The click-clack of claws against stone was gone, a leg poking urgently into his side-
What an inconvenient place to halt, came the thought from far away. Out in the open, bare for all to see. He was shivering, trembling as if mired in a blizzard. His skin felt icy, but his fur – he'd made sure to dry it off, so why...?
A forest breeze grazed his snout, wet and cloying, and it was all Kleis could do to not retch. But he had to keep going, the plan-
Was going to change. Vertigo caught him, and his attention wavered just a step too far. A pressure lifted, sliding out of Kleis's grasp-
On the riverbank, a trio of Pokemon appeared.
From the treeline, a silent wraith emerged.
And a beam of grassy light carved a gouge into the forest.
He was on the ground. A Shadow Ball burned at his throat, nothing more than formless energy.
"Kleis!" the Zorua heard far away. He tried to prop himself up, stand and fight-
"Kleis, what's wrong? Don't- everything's fine, you don't have to-"
He needed to. His paws scraped against the ground, kicking but – weakly. Not enough. Why – why was he-
"Listen to me. Breathe. Don't lose yourself," a calmer voice cut in. Fins kneaded at his fur. "You're safe. Everything's under control."
What? Kleis wrenched his head – pain met him, dull and thumping. He threw his gaze to the corner of his eye. But there was nothing there. Just a listing tree, its trunk bearing a rough smoking hole.
"Kleis? Don't-"
"Breathe. Slowly now. Just focus on my voice. Um – Mirage, can you get his bag off?"
A weight wriggled out of his bag, and Kleis slumped to the ground. Slowly, something else was dragged out-
"...-"
"Yes, Kleis?" came the calm voice again.
"-Book?" Kleis managed, heaving.
"The ground here is dry-"
No, he tried to say, violently shaking his head. A paw lifted off the ground, the Zorua lurching himself forward.
"We can leave it in if you want! Don't worry. Just... listen to my voice. Breathe. Mirage?"
"I'm- trying-"
The straps binding him loosened, then lifted away. His chin met the ground. Dirt itched at his snout, trying to force a sneeze through his halting breaths.
One made it through. Then another. Kleis felt-
Something lifting his head gently before setting it down on rough fabric. Rough, but familiar.
"Come on," the voice said, firm. "Breathe in. Hold it there. Breathe out."
Kleis followed it.
"Breathe in. Hold it there. Breathe out."
Kleis closed his eyes. Focused on the earthy smell of his bag. The Oran stains that refused to wash out.
"Breathe in. Hold it there. Breathe out."
It smelled like- like-
Like home.
"Breathe in. Hold it there. Breathe out."
In that void he existed, the steady voice and the soothing smell his only windows into the outside world.
Time passed.
And passed.
That was a panic attack, wasn't it? Some part of Kleis's mind faintly realised. He'd just had a...
"-Hold it there. Breathe out." The voice sounded strained now. But it went on.
"Breathe in-"
"You can... stop now, Maia," the Zorua got out. With a shaky grunt he levered a leg under himself, prying his body up.
"...Alright," Maia responded simply. "If you feel something like that again-"
"I will try not to."
She paused before giving him a strange look. "That wasn't what I meant. If you do, stop for a bit. Catch your breath."
"Y-yeah. What she said." Mirage hovered closer. Worry lining every scale on his body. He twitched, as if contemplating saying something-
"I'm alright," the Zorua pre-empted with as much conviction as he could muster.
Mirage only blinked in response. "Kleis, you just-"
"We have a long way to go," he barrelled on, turning his eyes – no, not away from Mirage. Or Maia. Towards their destination, that was it.
Downstream.
His legs still felt like jelly, and so he fumbled reaching for his bag. He tried lifting it up, but – the travel log inside was weightier than he could manage.
"...Kleis-" Mirage began to say.
The words met the sound of a Chinchou sharply gesturing something with her fins, dying out before they could make themselves known. But Kleis could hear the echo well enough.
"Help me put my bag on," the Zorua managed after a moment, a current of shame tightening his voice. Unwilling to meet his friend's look of... of...
"Please."
The forest was beautiful in the morning.
A sea of verdant leaves, rich with colour under the summer sun. Clear blue skies, marred only by wispy clouds dancing through the air.
The long shadows of dawn had long since given way to midmorning light. It glistened over the rushing river, over the puddles freshly sowed across the forest floor.
Kleis kept his eyes forward.
They were on a good pace, the three of them. Kleis glanced at the position of the sun in the sky, noted it relative to the direction the river was flowing.
Reaching the village by dusk or sooner was reasonable, he thought. Then Kleis stopped thinking of it and kept on walking.
It was a quiet journey. On his back Maia laid silently, fidgeting every once in a while to look at something or another.
Above him, Mirage flittered. Not in front, or behind, or so high he was a speck. Not practicing his usual loop-de-loops, or picking up and judging each leaf he laid eyes on.
He simply flew. It was so painfully out-of-place-
Kleis put one paw in front of another. Then the second paw in front of the first.
Ignoring a problem only made it worse, a voice in his head bugged him. Kleis knew it to be true.
He kept on walking.
Perhaps if it were an hour or two ago, Mirage would've buzzed closer, reaching out uncertainly. And Kleis would hear, and tense, and-
It was no longer an hour or two ago. So the Vibrava kept his distance.
Perhaps, just perhaps – they would say nothing all the way until night fell. The very notion twisted something in Kleis's heart, but...
The Zorua kept walking.
Until, of course, something happened.
"Um," came a quiet voice, almost a whisper.
Kleis swivelled a ear in its direction.
Maia cleared her throat before speaking again. Louder.
"Um. How much further are we going?"
"One hour, most likely. Then we take a break."
A simple answer for a simple question. Kleis turned his attention back to the road ahead when no reply seemed forthcoming.
"...That's not what I meant," came the reply regardless, a few seconds after. "I was asking more about distance?"
"...Was my reply not about distance? We're an hour away."
"But that's about time," Maia said. Kleis tilted his head at that. "What if you were, um, walking slower?"
"...Then it'd be one and a half hours. Most likely. But we can maintain our pace at the moment."
"I think Maia's talking about the sun-time thing?" another voice butted in helpfully. Mirage had flown in close somewhere in the conversation. "That one you use when you're planning really long trips."
"That kind of distance? In that case, it's less than a minute, so it's irrevelant."
"A minute?"
"Timewise," the Zorua clarified. It took him a few seconds to realise it wasn't much of a clarification. "If we move one sun-minute's distance directly eastwards the local time would be exactly one minute ahead of the time here."
Was that enough? But – ah. Kleis supposed it wasn't a concept many Pokemon had to deal with on a regular basis.
"Since we live on the surface of a giant sphere orbiting the sun-"
"I – I know how it works," Maia sputtered. "With timezo- Um, with time being... relative."
"Just making sure." Kleis shrugged. "Sun-minutes are mostly something adventurers use. Or messengers. Not many Pokemon learn them otherwise."
And - now that he thought of it – where did Maia's penchant for riding come from? It was an odd skill for a member of an almost exclusively waterborne species to have. Kleis fought the urge to give Maia a pointed side-eye. Mirage was probably doing it for the both of them already. Not overtly, which he appreciated-
"Have you travelled before, Maia?" the Vibrava barged into the conversation proper with all the bluntness of a falling tree. Kleis tried not to wince; it had been the perfect time to end the conversation and continue on.
"I've travelled. Um. But not like... this," she replied, gesturing vaguely to the towering trees as Kleis pretended he didn't hear.
"I'd bet!" Mirage went on. "How's it like down there? Lots of swimming?"
"Less than you might think," Kleis blurted, out of instinct if nothing else. "Waterborne travel is vastly different from land travel. Currents are a huge factor, I believe."
"Um. Yeah." Maia shifted. "How is... land travel like?"
Wasn't that a question to ask them. A travelling Rescue Team. Kleis's ears perked up.
"There's a lot to cover," he started. "It depends on what exactly you're looking-"
"It's awesome," Mirage summarised.
"...Mirage, wasn't it just yesterday that you were complaining about how tiring it is to fly around all day?"
"Yeah! So?" he replied. "I can still say that travelling is awesome."
"Your words were, and I quote: 'I hate flying around all the time. My wings are going to fall off. Can't we rest a bit and catch up later?'"
"Pshaw. Details." Mirage buzzed happily. "And you're just looking at the boring part. What about, y'know, foraging?"
"Foraging?" asked Maia, shifting to hear the Vibrava better.
"Foraging, yes," Kleis continued where his friend left off. "You would be surprised how nutritious some plants are. It's a matter of finding the right ones."
"Yeah! It's kinda hard sometimes though. Accidentally picked some poison berries that one time."
"The ones that looked like Pechas, I recall? Rather amusing."
The Vibrava let out a snort. "Right? You'd think the poison berries and anti-poison berries wouldn't look the same!"
"You would think, yes. Maia – be careful not to touch anything too colourful. I believe there's a variety of of plant around here which has particularly rash-inducing needles. Not a big problem since you have scales, but don't get anything stuck under them. It's a pain to remove, or so I hear."
Kleis gave the Chinchou a concerned look. She replied by pulling a face.
"Got it," Maia said, looking as if her next meal might stab her. And then explode. "...Anything else I should know?"
Kleis thought for a moment.
"...Plotting the journey? I'm the one in charge of that though."
"And it's boring," Mirage chimed in. "So much thinking. You don't understand how many things he thinks about when it comes to this, Maia. I have no idea how he manages to do it every day."
"Practice," Kleis said simply. "And – ah. Tell us when you need to take a soak, Maia. I'll factor that in as well."
No response.
"A what?" Maia replied, trying – and failing – to hide her surprise.
"It's a thing Water-types do. You didn't know?" Mirage looked just as surprised. "No water makes you grumpy."
"A severe understatement, but yes. The high humidity from the storm has taken the edge off, most likely, but sooner or later you'll need to spend some time in actual water."
Kleis paused. Looked at Maia's very – complex expression.
"I have to-" she began, voice tight. "Does in actual water mean...?"
"Submerged. Immersed. For an extended period of time. Not just drinking – it would let you survive, granted, but your mental wellbeing would dip considerably. Have you not... had experience out of water before?"
"I - No, I haven't. Is this something I have to do every day?"
'Of course,' Kleis would've said, if Maia didn't sound so... stunned. If Mirage wasn't glancing to and from Maia restlessly, wringing his legs together in a fidget as he flew.
"...Chinchou do better out of water than some other species. Say, Lumineon. So – yes, every day, give or take."
"Oh."
It occurred to Kleis that perhaps a Water-type would be more enthusiastic about spending time in water. But – a restriction was a restriction, he supposed. Especially if she was running away from something as he suspected.
He said none of it, of course.
"There are ways to alleviate the issue. Using Water-type moves on yourself, for one."
"...Like my Aqua Ring?" Maia asked.
"No. Not your Aqua Ring. That would be – not as egregious as Mirage, but close."
"Hey!"
"You use the distilled power of the sun to roast berries," Kleis said with an eyebrow raised. "That is far too much effort for something easily accomplished otherwise. Maia, something like a Water Gun will bring out enough water. You don't need to waste your energy using a healing move."
"I've only done that three times!" Mirage cut in again, outraged. "Don't listen to his slander, Maia."
"It's three more times than zero, I would note."
"Well-" The Vibrava threw up his legs. Kleis nodded sagely.
And Maia... Maia looked as if she was considering something. Thinking of a question she didn't know how to ask.
"Um. How do I-"
She seemed to bite her tongue, wincing.
"What's on your mind?" Mirage prompted.
"How do I – fight?"
"You don't know how to-" Kleis started before shaking his head. "No, I suppose it makes sense. I forget it's not a common skill, at times."
"It's fun! And, uh, important," Mirage said, looking back the way they came. Mount Steel's peak had long since vanished under the horizon, but...
"...How much do you know about the basics, Maia?" Kleis asked.
"Um," she replied, "nothing?"
The word stopped Kleis in his tracks.
He... checked the sun again. It wasn't time for their break yet – but it was close. Their endurance later would take a hit, but nothing they couldn't handle.
He took in their surroundings. Lush green trees, the gentle splashes of flowing water. A small clearing just ahead, big enough for a round of light sparring. A few berry trees just across the river.
Fresh crisp air, alive with the smell of the forest. A Chinchou on his back, criminally underprepared – and a Vibrava above, buzzing more and more excitedly as he tracked where Kleis was looking.
"It's a rather important skill to have out here in the wild," Kleis found himself saying after a moment. Maia replied with a faint nod.
Mirage - he was practically glowing. Metaphorically. Or perhaps literally, in a few moments; Kleis could already feel him drawing grassy energy from the trees.
"We're teaching her how to fight?"
"We're teaching her how to fight."
"We're teaching you how to fight!"