Celeste's eyes flickered open once sunbeams started slipping through the observatory's curtains. The little Cosmog let out a big yawn as she sat up in her bed, looking up, down, and all around for any other Pokémon. Her gaze was met by a singular Unown, the one shaped like the letter 'H', and Celeste smiled at it as she hovered off her mattress. "Mmm, good morning!" She said with a small jingle in her voice.
The Unown could produce no sound, but it bobbed its little body forward in a bow before levitating a Pecha Berry over to the Cosmog. The cluster of stardust gasped with joy before taking a big chomp out of the soft fruit. Unown H kept it hovering in place for her as it continued to sort Aster's library.
Once the Pecha Berry was nothing but a pit, Celeste attempted to levitate itself over to the Unown. The Cosmog couldn't quite get up from the floor like the other Psychic Type Pokémon could, but it still tried as hard as possible to be like them. Unown tossed the remains of the Pecha Berry into the waste bin as it turned to watch Celeste.
"Where is everybody?" Celeste squeaked while getting closer. "Why is it just you?"
Multitasking once more, Unown H floated a small piece of paper over to Celeste while also opening up some of the windows to let in more light. Celeste took the scrap in her own psychic hold and squinted her eyes while reading the simple note aloud. "Hello, Starshine. I am very busy today, but I will return later. Please do some reading, that would make me smile. From, Aster." Celeste nodded her head proudly once the note was read. "Okay!" The little nebula looked up at Unown H. "Hmm… Let's play a game!"
Instead of a proper answer, the Unown just floated a small novella over to her. The Cosmog frowned and pushed it out of her face. "But, I don't want to read 'The Last Wish' right now! I want to play!" Celeste puffed out its cheeks and crossed its little appendages. "Reading is boring. I hate sitting still…"
Unown H closed its eye and tilted its body down towards the floor. There would be no pleasing this child while following its master's desires. When it reopened its eye– Celeste was no longer in the same place she was before. With a slightly frantic glance around the room, it found her over by one of the glass windows. The Cosmog was staring down at the city of Constella below her.
Her gaze was set on distant blobs– children playing in the square.
The Unown's gaze softened slightly… Perhaps it wouldn't hurt for them to do something other than read. H grabbed one of Celeste's dolls with its telekinesis and hovered next to her, watching the Cosmog's face brighten when she saw it waving the toy. "Yay! Let's play! Let's play!"
Celeste hurried over to her toy box and picked out her favorite stuffed toy– a fabric Skitty with button eyes. "This is… Mr. Teacup!" Celeste smiled as she came up with such a creative name on the spot. "And… you're his wife!" Celeste pointed to the plush toy H was holding, which was a little Phanpy doll, and giggled. "Mrs. Applebum!" Celeste giggled even harder. "She kept the last name 'cause she's very, very smart."
Unown H nodded along to pretty much anything this child's imagination could conjure, all while puppeting the Phanpy doll when Celeste said it was talking or doing something. The narrative of this married couple's life was pretty intense, all things considered. Unown were generally unfamiliar with infancy, but even H found it odd that this kid was making a story about two Pokémon "going on romantic dates and making smoochy faces at each other." Though, H surmised that romance as a mere concept was beyond Unown as well.
"Mr. Teacup likes to stay at home and clean." Celeste announced. "His wife goes to work in the market! She shells seashells." Celeste blinked a few times, giggling at itself. "She sells seashells." Celeste glanced around the observatory, finding a stack of parchment scraps. Floating a few of them over, she gave the pieces of paper to Unown. "Here! These can be the sea shells. She finds them in Mystery Dungeons." Celeste snickered as she held 'Mr. Teacup' closer to her. "The husband is very scared of Mystery Dungeons. In the book Pap– Ah– Aster," She hugged the little doll. "In the book Aster read to me, it said Mystery Dungeons have bad Pokémon in them that hurt others…" Celeste glanced up at H with a big frown. "Is that real life?"
Unown H nodded its body, hovering the Phanpy doll back into the box before bringing the novella back over to the both of them. Celeste looked back at the book and thought for a second. "B-but! We aren't done playing!" H shoved the book a little closer to Celeste, but she smacked it hard and sped away as fast as she could from its dreaded pages. As Celeste closed in on the stairs, Unown H held her in place with a swift telekinetic hold. The little Cosmog sniffled, "It's not fair!"
The Unown kept Celeste in a stern hold despite her whining. A part of it wanted to let go, but Celeste was under strict orders to stay inside the observatory. Celeste struggled for a moment or two before giving up and resigning herself to a quiet fit. "It's not… fair…"
H slowly floated Celeste back over to the bed and sat it down carefully, doing so while also wedging the book in between the Cosmog's starry arms. Celeste blinked a few bubbly tears out from her eyes, "I don't want to. I'm not going to… You can't make me!"
When Celeste looked back up, she saw that the Unown had also levitated her Skitty doll back over to the bed. H gave it a little jiggle with his telekinesis before puppeting the plush toy like it was opening the book back up for Celeste. This put a small smile on the little one's face. "Do you like to read, Mr. Teacup?" Unown made the doll give a little nod. "I don't like it that much… but, I don't hate it either. I just like it more when Aster reads to me. He's been making me read all on my own now, though…"
Unown H thought for a second. It couldn't exactly read to Celeste, and his Master did really want the little Cosmog to develop its reading comprehension. There had to be something it could do to help…
An idea sparked to life as Unown H floated the doll's hand beside the first word of the bookmarked page. Celeste tilted her head, but after a few seconds– she understood well enough. "You're going to help me read, Mr. Teacup? How very polite of you!" Celeste's tears fully dried as she entered a new giggling fit. H felt content and relieved all at once– they could get at least an hour of reading done like this.
'The Last Wish' was a decently simple story, which was good considering it was designed for young readers. Children tend to enjoy adventure stories that involve a hero making it to a destination and receiving something for their hard work. Sometimes they dip into borderline darker, more complex themes– but it was best to leave it at mere suggestion. All the crops are dead, and Pokémon have nothing to eat, but you don't exactly have to mention the famine leading to death. Some kids are ready to figure that out, some aren't, and that was okay.
Lumity the Marill lives in a cold world, one where the sun never rises– the wind never blows– and Pokémon don't get along like they used to. When she learns of the Mythical Pokémon Jirachi, Lumity leaves her hometown to find them and make a wish to save the world. A wicked Haunter named Sombra tries to stop her, but is vanquished in some not-directly-killing sort of way during the climax. If Unown H was remembering the story correctly, it was pretty sure Sombra gets petrified and turned to stone.
"I'm sorry, Grandma." Celeste read aloud. "But, I have to go. If I don't, then the world will never know sunshine. I will never know sunshine." Celeste frowned and looked up at Unown H. "Why does Lumity have to be the one to make the wish? Wouldn't it be better if a stronger Pokémon left to find Jirachi?"
H didn't really have an answer, it was just how these sorts of stories went. A young Pokémon proves themself by going on a quest and saving everyone. If a stronger force came along to solve everything, then there would be no story.
Celeste continued to read passages from her book, occasionally stopping so she could ask the Unown questions about what was going on. It obviously couldn't answer them very well, but it tried its best to keep Celeste engaged. After they had been reading together well into the early afternoon, Aster made his way up the stairs– a plethora of documents in hand and the two other Unown by his side. H set the Skitty doll down and hurriedly floated up and over to its friends. They each gave one another happy blinks.
"Ah, little starlight. It's good to see you reading." Aster gave his protege a little smile as he set everything down on one of his many desks. "How are you enjoying 'The Last Wish,' my dear?"
"It's kinda confusing…" Celeste frowned, but that frown quickly turned to a smile. "But, I really like Lumity! She's so smart!" Celeste twirled around on her bed. "I want to be smart! And brave! Like Lumity!" The little Cosmog kept twirling, which made a delightful glittering sound.
"Ah, yes. Lumity is a very good character. I remember my little sister particularly liking her."
Celeste gasped excitedly, "You have a little sister?!"
Aster laughed, "hah, well, she isn't exactly 'little' anymore, starshine. However, yes, I have a sister. I was actually planning on introducing her to you soon. Would you like to meet your Aunt, Celeste?"
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Celeste spun so quickly that she made herself dizzy. Aster levitated the baby legendary over to him and set her down gently on his desk. "I want to be friends with her!"
Aster's smile grew a little more solemn, the night in the garden weighing on his mind. Celeste was able to catch onto the clouding worry and frowned up at her guardian. The Gardevoir stayed silent, mulling over the possibility that…
No. Aster shook his head. Rosaline will see reason.
"Aster?…" Celeste whimpered.
"Oh? Sorry, star-bright. I was thinking about something." Aster's eyes lit back up as he paid greater attention to the little Cosmog. "You'll get to meet her soon enough, I promise."
Celeste perked back up. "Yay!"
"For now…" Aster grabbed one of the documents from the pile on his desk. "How about you help me with all this boring adult work?"
Celeste's frown returned. "…Do I have to?"
Aster laughed into his hand. "No, no. You don't have to. You can keep reading, or play with my assistants if you prefer. However, I wasn't going to make you actually do any of the boring stuff. I was just hoping you could do the ever important job of keeping me company."
Celeste giggled, now bouncing up and down in place. "I can do that!"
"Brilliant, little star. Let's take a look at all of my responsibilities today, shall we?"
Aster scanned through document after document, organizing them by their priorities and sorting out which of them deserved a call to action. Nothing much was actually happening in Constella, or even all of Adstrum, that required a great deal of Aster's current attention. The Gardevoir would occasionally try to explain what he was looking over to Celeste, but for the most part, everything seemed to go over the Cosmog's head. Aster didn't mind; it was a good way to get her exposed to these sorts of responsibilities early on.
"Ah, Celeste, look at this. See the wax seal on the front?" Aster turned the letter towards his protege, and she poked the front of it with her celestial appendage. "The design can show you where the letter came from before you even open it. This seal in particular belongs to the Constella Police force. I wonder what Ms. Jennifer needs…"
Celeste watched as Aster silently read the letter to himself. The Gardevoir's face shifted from its usual neutrality to a state of concern– his eyes widening as he read further.
"Impossible… It– it couldn't be."
"What is it?" Celeste tilted her head, which was her whole body, as she worriedly glanced up at Aster.
Aster couldn't answer her. A Pokémon with amnesia… not a feral… If this is a human– The Prime Minister steadied himself. I must see this child in person. I cannot be too safe.
"Asterrr…" Celeste jingled her appendages up at the Gardevoir's face.
"It's nothing, my dear. Only a young Pokémon who wishes to see if I hold any records of his forgotten past. Absolutely nothing for you to worry about." Aster floated over his pen and dipped it in ink, already constructing his reply letter. "I'm going to try and help him figure out who he is."
"Really! That's so nice!" Celeste cheered.
"Indeed it is." Aster mumbled.
Icarus sat up suddenly in his bed, taking a series of panicked breaths.
Another nightmare.
Holding on tightly to his chest with his claws, the Prince scanned the state of his bed. Sheets were kicked all over, his blanket was now spread on the floor, and the Dialga plush had somehow ended up tossed all the way across the room.
Icarus released himself and saw the bed frame had deep claw marks now engraved in the wood. He would be embarrassed if he wasn't so viscerally horrified.
Still shaking, Icarus hopped off his mattress to begin tidying things. Though, he wasn't feeling particularly inclined to neatly tuck his linens… so tossing everything onto his bed was going to have to do for now. It only took a moment or two, and he saved retrieving his doll for last. Scooping the plush toy carefully into his claws, Icarus stared into its beady eyes and let himself whimper quietly in the sanctum of his dorm.
They're getting worse. Perhaps it would be worth speaking to someone about this…
A sudden knock on the already rattled Prince's door sent a sick shiver down Icarus's spine. His head whipped as a growl escaped the Tyrunt's snout. "What?!" He asked harsher than intended, but was far too shaken to kick himself about it.
Xavian's timid voice came from the other side of the door. "A-apologies, Milord. You m-might want to come out here! There's a bit of a situa–"
The distinct sound of shattering porcelain cut the Axew's voice short, and Icarus could feel his self involved panic contort immediately into inquisitive fury. The young Prince tossed his doll haphazardly towards his bed before shoving through the door, and the Axew Lord below him motioned frantically with their claws towards the common area.
Icarus asked no questions as he stormed his way across the hall; shouting, snarling, hissing, and other sounds more befitting of ferals than a class of the kingdom's best reached the Prince's ear drums—the vile spitting didn't stop even as Icarus reached the scene.
Melrose, who could be mistaken for a swirling thunderstorm, was hunched on her four paws atop the central coffee table. The static electricity charging through her fur made the mouse Pokémon look ravenous and twice her actual size. Her eyes were dead set on Neptune, who floated idly across the room with his tendril arms crossed.
"You ain't nothing but a whole-lotta big talk!" Melrose snarled through gritted teeth, her tail lashing and sending sparks from its tip. "Take everything you said back right now, or I'll zap you into next week!"
"You're a barbarian." Neptune stated plainly, glancing towards the shattered vase on the floor below him. "It would do you good to learn your place, commoner! You're the one who owes me an apology for the clear lack of respect and blatant hostilities. It's as if you were raised in a barn." A sly smirk crept onto the corners of his translucent lips. "Oh, wait. That's right."
Melrose's foot tensed up as she readied herself for a powerful leap. Ashe gave her a terrified look, shouting as her fluffy tail stood up on its end. The Minccino reached her paw out towards her friend, but couldn't break through the intense electricity in the air. Everyone watched as Melrose lunged at the ghostly Water Type, yowling with a wild might. Neptune's eyes widened, but the Frilish did not move from Melrose's frenzied path. Instead of the fragile jellyfish Pokémon being struck by lightning, a fast-acting Icarus threw himself in the way– absorbing the attack with his stone scales.
Silence overtook the room as Melrose tumbled to the ground, freezing in place once she realized what had just happened. A Tyrunt snarling loudly at her before turning his head up at the crowd. Icarus roared, electricity still bouncing off of his rough hide. "What in Arceus's name is GOING ON HERE?!"
Everyone kept quiet. Eyes were dodging interlocked gazes, and nobody dared move a muscle. Once Icarus turned his head back down towards Melrose, the little Pikachu's nose twitched and static bounced around her cheeks. Neptune was the next victim of the Prince's scorn, but his expression remained calm.
"Your Grace, I was enjoying a pleasant conversation with Florence about our class teams, when all of a sudden this country rat interrupted and began screaming at me."
Melrose clenched her fists and jumped to her feet. "That's not–"
The feathers around Icarus's neck puffed out wildly, but even as his flaming eyes struck Melrose– the Pikachu did not stop.
"That snotty– no good— pompous–" Melrose's cheeks sparked. Her accent was now growing thicker and thicker as she rambled. "His Lordship was sayin' all sorts-o-things 'bout how commoners don't belong in this here school! Gabbin' 'bout how his mock-team was the best, and that Team Rising was gonna fail! But, I told him– mah team's a goodun! And… and, I told 'im you and I were a great team!" Melrose stomped forward. "But, he said you and I ain't even friends!"
Neptune scoffed, floating past Icarus to point an accusatory tendril at the Pikachu below him. "A Prince such as Icarus would have no reason to associate with a commoner like–"
"Enough." Icarus cut Neptune off, tail lashing. "Did you say all those things, Atlantis?"
The Jellicent stirred, turning his head away from the Prince. "More or less. I used significantly more intelligent language than this country bumpkin did. However, Your Highness, Melrose assaulted me. You just saw how she made a second attempt!"
Icarus glanced back down at Melrose. "Is this true?"
"Milord, you can see for yourself if you–"
"I asked Melrose." Icarus grew stern. "Is what Young Atlantis said true?"
Melrose clammed up, looking down at the floor and avoiding Icarus's eyes. Her mouth opened slightly. "He…"
A quiet pause as Melrose patted the frizzled fur on her arm down.
"…But, he was the one–"
"That's not what I asked, Melrose! As your Prince, I expect you to be honest with me. However, you're blame shifting!"
Melrose trembled, tears forming in her eyes as she stared up at Icarus. She clenched her fists tightly, nose twitching, and cheeks sparking brightly as she could no longer hold herself together. "You–"
"I what, Melrose? Go on! Tell me!"
"You!– You're!–" Melrose dimmed, sinking into herself. "My friend… aren't you?…"
Icarus stopped growling… and slowly pulled away. He was now cripplingly aware of how everyone was staring at him. Suddenly, he was frozen.
"I– As Prince, I'm expected to attempt to get along with many types of Pokémon–"
"That's not what I asked." Melrose sniffled.
At first, Icarus took a shocked step back… but then, a deep growl erupted from his throat. "How, Fucking, DARE YOU!" Icarus roared at a deafening volume. "YOU CANNOT TURN THIS ON ME, PIKACHU! All I'm trying to do is MEDIATE. I'm sure things are different in the countryside, but you cannot just get into dangerous physical altercations with other Pokémon! With your classmates!" His tail lashed and his nostrils flared. "You want people to stop insulting your heritage? Then, stop behaving like a FERAL!"
Melrose broke into a sob as Icarus kept yelling at her, but the Dragon Type stopped scolding her to take a break and point his aggression towards Neptune. "A Lord should know better than to behave like this. Don't let it happen again, Atlantis."
Neptune didn't say anything, he just blinked slowly.
Icarus glanced at everyone else while clearing his throat loudly. "Breakfast starts soon. Compose yourselves and be ready to leave in ten minutes. Have I made myself clear?" After no verbal objections, Icarus stormed back to his room. Slamming the door behind him, the Prince slid his back against the wall and fell to the floor– thumping onto his rear end.
What just… happened?