A number of days had passed since meeting Moon officially. In that time, there hadn't been a request for The Phantasies to dive into another Dream. Perhaps other Dream Eaters had been called to action or there hadn't been any instances of Pokemon falling comatose. Whichever it was, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There had been times when they hadn't been sent out for nearly a month.
It was the late afternoon, and Clarity found herself at the Amber Haven Library. Dozens of wooden shelves lined the walls, each a different size and color. For instance, in the north end of the library there stood a towering reddish bookshelf taller than an Aggron. Beside it was a tannish, box-like shelf that was barely larger than Clarity herself. Next to that stood a white shelf somewhere in between the previous two shelves' heights. The whole library was like this, the walls entirely made up of these mismatching shelves. Tables and chairs occupied the center of the building for visitors to use at their own leisure. Private rooms resided in more secluded parts of the library, which were often used for study sessions amongst the students of the town, friend groups who wanted to play tabletop games without disturbing the public, or book clubs that didn't want to use their local restaurants as their meetup spot.
The Meowstic sat at the very center of everything, behind the main desk, a hardback book levitating in front of her. She momentarily glanced at the clock behind her to see that the library would be closing in ten minutes.
"Have somewhere you need to be?" asked a voice beside her. "A Dream to dispel, perhaps?"
Clarity placed a leather bookmark where she had last read and closed the book with her telekinesis. As she set the book down, she looked over to the one who had spoken to her: an Espeon. The Espeon was leafing through a catalog with her own telekinesis while writing notes on a sketchpad. She didn't seem to be paying attention to Clarity, but the Meowstic knew better.
"Not that I'm aware of," Clarity answered simply. "My only plans for the rest of the day were to read more of my book. We decided that this would be what we read next for book club and I'd rather finish it soon. I prefer having all the time I can to digest the story to provide adequate commentary with the others."
"Oh? What are all of you reading this time? Last time I believe it was The Great and Beautiful Wonderland, was it not? Did all of you enjoy that?"
"I'd rather not discuss how that book went. This book, on the other paw, seems much more promising. It's titled The Hunter's Dream."
"Oh? Why, I know that book. I read it when it was first published, in fact. It's a wonderful read. One of my favorites, actually."
A soft smile formed on Clarity's face. She closed her eyes as she imagined the opening of the book in her mind. She saw the main character, a weary but formidable Lycanroc whose rocky brown pelt had been dirtied black from his travels, speaking with a Gallade in a dark, dimly lit room. The Gallade was veiled in shadows so one could only see the vague outline of his form He spoke of a cure that the Lycanroc sought, for he was gravely ill, and a contract to be signed should the Lycanroc desire the cure. Clarity shared this with her coworker telepathically as she let the scene play out for the two of them. She could hear the Espeon humming in contentment and approval, which made the Meowstic smile just a little more.
"I always found it rather interesting that the Lycanroc doesn't have a name," the Espeon shared. "It's not much of a spoiler, but the Lycanroc is never named for the entire book. He is only 'The Hunter'. What do you think of that curious creative choice?"
"Oh, I don't mind it at all," Clarity said. "In fact, I think it adds to the intrigue and mystery of the story. Why, that's perhaps what impresses me most about this story; the enigma that is its setting. We don't know why there seems to be a witch hunt in the midst of the town The Hunter is in, why this blood he received is able to cure his illness, what exactly the beasts that roam the city streets are, and why The Hunter simply doesn't leave even after countless perils."
"Yes, that was one of my favorite parts as well. I always do love deep intrigue, and you do get answers eventually. However, I will say that you won't get those answers directly. You'll need to read between the lines to find some answers. The author wasn't keen on making everything easy to understand."
"Oh that's quite alright. I do love a difficult narrative; it's why I read stories like this in the first place. Simple stories with simple narratives are rather nice and enjoyable, but there really is nothing more satisfying than rising to a challenge."
She felt a fuzzy warmth within her chest as she continued imaging pieces of the story, this time skipping to the most recent section she read. Here, she imagined the Lycanroc encountering a horrid monstrosity, one of the beasts that the townsfolk were deathly terrified of. It was a true chimera of Pokemon, with claws that belonged to a Weavile, gnarled antlers like that of a twisted Sawsbuck, and the stature and fur of a ghastly night Lycanroc. It towered over The Hunter and shrieked with a wretched, inhumane wail as it charged at him, the cobblestone ground quaking with every movement it made.
"Funny, I had always imagined that creature had longer fur," the Espeon said with a purr to her voice. "But I do like this interpretation. It seems more diseased this way, which is more fitting for reasons you'll understand soon enough."
"Don't spoil it," Clarity warned with an amused little purr of her own. "I wouldn't ever forgive you."
"Oh, wouldn't dream of it, dear. I'm quite content to wait for the day the curtain lifts in this story and how hysterical you'll be."
"I'll be sure to be as dramatic as possible for you then, when the time comes. I wouldn't want to disappoint a fellow Hunter's Dream reader."
Just then, the clock struck the top of the hour, and a soft bell ran throughout the library. All of the visitors in the library, whether they were browsing the shelves, settled in the private rooms, or tending to themselves quietly at the tables, slowly got up to leave. A few Pokemon came up to the main desk where Clarity and her coworker sat to return the books they had been borrowing. The two of them collected the books one by one, stacking them in a pile behind them to be returned to their proper places on the shelves after everyone departed. Clarity took a small cursory glance around the library to find a few careless Pokemon had left books on tables, but the number was less than ten. It wouldn't keep her in the library for too much longer than normal.
"Hello, hello, hello Clarity~"
The Meowstic heard that cackle of a voice echo through her coworker's ears. She watched as the Mienfoo in front of her stepped away after handing over his book, allowing a certain Mismagius to appear before her. He waved his tassels playfully in the air as he swooped closer. Clarity sighed as she detached her mental connection from the Espeon and latched onto her spectral visitor. Immediately she saw flashes of thoughts, blurry and hasty, darting across his mind before disappearing into the void. It reminded her of falling stars on a cloudy night, brief streaks of light seen in gaps amongst the haze.
"Hazel," she said cordially.
Thankfully, everyone had returned their books already, so he wasn't holding up a line. Clarity's coworker had left the two to themselves, having left to take a small portion of the books back where they belonged. Clarity tied the remaining pile with an invisible telekinetic hold and got up from her seat.
"Oh you needn't do that!" Hazel said with a little giggle. "This won't take long, not one bit! I promise, I'll only take five minutes of your time at most! If I wanted a nice long talk with you, why I'd rather not find you at your job. That's simply not right, you know."
Clarity, though confused, released her hold on the books. She remained standing though. She had been sitting for too long and could use a change in posture. Pleased with this, Hazel clasped his tassels together and slowly bobbed up and down.
"Moon's parents informed me earlier today that Moon would like to spend some time with you before going into a Dream," he said. "She's very curious about all of you and she wants to get to know you better."
"I thought she only wanted to venture into Dreams with us. Does she not think she'd spend meaningful time with us there?"
"Oh I'm sure she thinks she'll have a wonderful time with all of you inside Dreams, but I think she's being a little shy. I also thought about it, and I am starting to wonder if it's best you spend a day or two with Moon before Dream-diving. Best to get to know your teammate outside of danger and excitement, yes?"
Clarity didn't want to agree to this. She barely wanted to bring Moon into Dreams in the first place. Now she was being asked to allow a child into her life outside of being a Dream Eater?
Her hesitant thoughts must have leaked to Hazel or he saw little shifts in her demeanor, because he tilted his head and gave her a sympathizing look.
"I know, this is hard for you. I myself was quite surprised Moon wanted to spend time with you, considering you're not very inviting to any of the children you've saved. Why, most of them tell me that they were frightened of you after meeting you!"
Glimpses of memories appeared in his mind. Flashes of a dozen children, all different species and demeanors, all of them shyly admitting that they hid behind their parents when Clarity had been around or pretending she didn't exist. Clarity reeled back her telepathy, distancing herself from the intrusive images and focusing only on the thoughts he projected to her.
"There is a point to be made that understanding one another would create better synergy and coordination in a Dream," Clarity conceded with a deep sigh. "It would help prevent injury or death if we knew more about her."
"Then you agree to allowing Moon to spend time with you?"
"Unwillingly, but yes. Though not on a day I work, unless she wants to shadow Nibiru or Griffith. I doubt she'd be content to sitting at a nearby table while I attend to this desk for hours at a time."
"Oh but of course! I do try not to drag Dream Eater affairs into your life when you're supporting your livelihood. Why, I do feel rather terrible when an emergency comes up and I have to beg any of you to attend to it after you return home from your normal jobs or gods forbid, ask you to leave in the middle of a personal affair…"
He tittered at that, to which Clarity found herself puzzled. She had pledged herself to Pontifex the day she took his blessing, hadn't she? She knew that meant that her life was no longer hers; it was his now. If she was needed to dispel a Dream when she was in the middle of her library duties or attending a play, she'd drop everything in a heartbeat and do just that. Everyone knew she was a Dream Eater and they knew where her priorities were. There was no Dream Eater more reliable than her.
"My next day off is tomorrow. Griffith has the day off as well, and though Nibiru will be out most of the day, he'll have the following day off if she wants to spend time with him. Will that suffice?"
"Oh, so soon? I would have thought you wanted more time, but if you want to meet her so soon, then very well! I will let her know tonight and let you know in return when she intends to visit."
The Mismagius gave her a cheery smile, then did a small twirl in the air.
"See you again soon, Clarity! Thank you for all you do! And give Griffith and Nibiru my regards!"
With that, Hazel swooped away, leaving the library just as Clarity disconnected her mental link with him. She breathed out a long sigh as she rubbed her folded ears with her paws. She knew she could have delayed a meeting, but she decided it was best to get this over with. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could get Moon to realize that this was all a terrible idea and she'd no longer want to help with fighting Nightmares. Or maybe Moon would be intimidated by Clarity as all of the past rescued children supposedly had, and withdraw because of that.
Maybe. Hopefully.
It was the next morning, and Clarity sat with Griffith on a wooden bench in the midst of Diamond Park, waiting for Moon to arrive. The two of them hardly ever came here despite it being a popular meetup spot in Amber Haven, probably because it attracted children. How could it not, when it had a vast and expansive playground built for children of all shapes, types, and sizes in mind? There were colorful slides at least twice Griffith's height, merry-go-rounds that never seemed to stop twirling, a large sandbox that currently had a crude imitation of Rapture being built within it by a couple of dedicated children, countless trees to scamper up and climb or leap upon the branches, a shallow but wide pond to splash about in, and countless other joys that would attract any young Pokemon.
It wasn't terribly noisy today, considering there were perhaps only ten children total with their parents either playing with them or keeping a watchful eye from afar, which Clarity was quite glad for. It meant there wasn't too much noise bustling through Griffith's ears. She leaned back in her seat as she stared at the merry-go-round, which had a Bulbasaur spinning it around while a Psyduck and Phanpy hung on tight, all giggling and screaming with glee.
"Why did you want to meet Moon here again?" Griffith asked, content to watch passing clouds instead.
"It felt right to meet somewhere public," she answered. "Besides, I'd rather not have her terrorize our home. You know how children are when they're too excitable."
"Oh yes, absolutely. Don't know how my parents kept their sanity when I discovered my telekinesis."
"They didn't. Multiple times I heard them whispering about how they wished you were a Buneary instead of a Ralts."
"Sure they did."
She heard him mentally laugh away the remark, though she still heard his panicky thoughts for just a moment.
"When is Moon supposed to be here?" he asked quickly.
"Soon. Hazel is bringing her, and he's usually punctual. I doubt we'll have to wait for longer than ten minutes."
"And what do we plan on doing after she arrives? Do you know how long she's staying with us today?"
"Until sunset I believe. And as for what we could do, I figure she can tag along with us on our little outing today. She supposedly wants to understand us, and joining us at Sunset Dunes is perhaps one of the best ways she can do that."
Griffith gave a short mental laugh while his face remained placid. She saw flashes of images in his head of how imagined the trip would go and how Moon would supposedly react. She saw the Zorua staying thirty feet away from the duo out of fear or digging holes, searching for something.
"Does she even know about blessings and where they come from?" he asked her.
"I don't know. We'll be finding out soon enough now, won't we?"
"Imagine working with Dream Eaters, not realizing you're working with borderline legends. I almost want to not tell her if she's unaware, just to see what happens."
"We are not doing that."
"But what if we did?"
"Griffith, no."
"But what if?"
She was about to continue their little banter when she noticed a familiar Zorua and Mismagius near the merry-go-round, the two of them making their way toward her. Clarity sat up on the bench while Griffith turned to watch Moon draw closer. The Zorua was running now toward the two, a giddy look on her face.
Within a few moments, she closed the distance and stood up a little on her hind legs, resting her front paws against Griffith's gown. Her tail wagged softly behind her. Outwardly Griffith didn't react, inwardly Clarity saw he was startled by the close proximity and abundance of cheer.
"Hi Griffy!" she said, a big smile on her face.
"Oh, you know my name," the Gardevoir laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah! Dad told me you're the one that saved me from the Nightmare! You're really big!"
"I… thank you, I suppose."
Clarity couldn't help but stare at him. She hadn't seen him this way before in some time, but she couldn't say she was too surprised. He never spent time around children, or too many Pokemon in general for that matter. He had only a small number of Pokemon he spoke with and none of them were as bubbly as this little Zorua.
Moon put her paws back on the ground as Hazel swooped over, joining the group.
"Good morning!" Hazel greeted. "I see Moon got ahead of me a bit. I can't really blame her when she's been so excited to see both of you."
"Yeah, because they're my heroes!" Moon said. "Thank you for taking me to them, Hazel!"
"Oh it's no problem at all!" Hazel said. "Clarity, Griffith, thank you once again for letting little Moon spend a bit of time with you today."
"Her parents want her back at sunset, yes?" Clarity asked, pointedly hurrying the conversation along.
"Just about. Do you mind taking her home at that time? I would myself, but I'm afraid I have something to attend to."
"No, we wouldn't mind at all."
"Splendid! Then I must be off! Moon, you be good to these two, okay?"
"I will, I promise!"
The Mismagius gave his regards, then departed from the group, leaving the lively Zorua with Clarity and Griffith. Griffith was still sitting stiffly, unsure of what to do at the moment. Thankfully, the intrusive voices that usually came when he was overwhelmed weren't manifesting. Not yet, anyway. She'd need to keep his unwanted thoughts at bay considering her usual method of settling him down wasn't an option when they had Moon with them. She reached toward him with her telekinesis and wound it around his chest before pulling him upright a bit. The movement did the trick, as he blinked and put on a soft smile.
"So what are we gonna do now?" Moon asked, watching him with her bright, blue eyes.
"Well, Clarity and I were actually going to go on an outing that we do every week or so," he told her. "Ever heard of Sunset Dunes?"
"Yeah! It's that big desert with sand that's pink, right?"
"And do you know what else is special about that desert?"
"Uhhhh that it's far away?"
Griffith laughed a little at that. He stood up and looked to Clarity, mentally giving her a knowing look. She gave a mental snort in return as she got to her feet as well, heading for Amber Haven's teleporter. Griffith followed after her and beckoned for Moon to do the same.
"Suppose you'll find out when we arrive then," he stated. "I have a feeling you'll be learning quite a bit while we're there."
"Wow! I've always wanted to go there!" Moon cried as she kept at Griffith's heels. "Thank you! I won't eat the sand, I promise! I heard it doesn't taste good even though it looks like candy."
Clarity had no idea how this child thought the sand looked anything remotely similar to candy, but didn't question it. She was a child, and they were nonsensical after all. At least she seemed relatively well-behaved. She instead wondered how the Zorua would react to what she'd witness in the dunes very soon.
On foot, it would have taken three days of non-stop traveling to reach Sunset Dunes. By teleporter, it only took twenty minutes, and that was only because of the distance between Diamond Park and Amber Haven's teleporter. Once they stepped off the metallic tile, they found themselves at the outskirts of the desert. It seemed to be an odd choice, having a teleporter nearby a vast and sprawling desert far removed from civilization, but there was a good reason for it. Just like there was a good reason for why there was a teleporter in The Empty Woods that was as silent and lifeless as a hollowed out Shellder shell.
Sunset Dunes, as Moon had said, was a peculiar kind of desert whose sand was indeed pink. Not overly pink as Nibiru was, but a subtle shade of it that was more apparent when viewed under the moonlight. Of course, in the late morning daylight that was the present, the interesting coloring of the sand was still noticeable, especially if one was expecting the ordinary golden or brown grains that were usually found in deserts. Sloping hills two or three stories tall stretched across the vast land with a few cactus and shrubs dotting the landscape to break up the monotony of endless sand. The sun beat down on the three relentlessly, but thankfully it wasn't scorching hot like some of the summer days The Phantasies would visit on.
At first glance, the pinkish sand would be the only odd aspect of the desert. However, if one continued walking and trekked further on, they'd notice odd little things here and there. Scorch marks streaking across large stretches of land. Steaming glass twisted into unstable arches and monoliths standing taller than even the dunes itself. A few cacti that seemed to be in the middle of exploding, frozen in time, the water that they once held now frozen solid and jutting out at multiple points. Ferals were non-existent, even though this should have been a prosperous land for a few species. Not even birds flew overhead. The desert was desolate, empty, abandoned.
Yet Griffith and Clarity walked past it all without giving it any regards. Perhaps because they seemed so unfazed by it, Moon didn't comment on it either. However, Clarity did notice the Zorua always staring at whatever it was they passed by, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Wispy, stream-like formations of clouds hung above in the bright blue sky as the group made their way into the desert. Clarity and Griffith both walked above the sand, keeping their feet aloft a few inches while Moon trailed behind them, caring not about the dirt clinging to her paws.
"How are you guys doing that?" she wondered aloud as they moved along. "You know, floating and stuff."
"You don't know how psychics work?" Griffith asked in return.
"Oh no, I do! I know you guys can move stuff with your minds, but like how? Do you make things you can walk on that I can't see or do you make like hands that hold you up?"
"Not quite. Your guess about the hands is almost right, but you're a little off."
He conjured up multiple strands of his telekinesis just then, all of them floating around his head like eels in the ocean. They were invisible of course, though Clarity could sense their locations thanks to their telepathic bond. The Gardevoir sent out a little pulse of power into each of the strands, and for just a second, each of them could be seen as a thin, golden string of light no longer than Griffith's arm. The Zorua gawked at the floating strands before Griffith withdrew the light.
"When we want to move something around or manipulate it somehow, our psychic energy looks like this. It's a strand of power and depending on how hard we pull on the string or tie it around something, we have a number of creative uses at our disposal."
One of the strings darted toward a nearby cactus and looped around a particularly thick needle jutting out of its prickly skin. The strand yanked the needle, and it was torn out of the plant instantly. The string brought the needle to Griffith and softly deposited it into his open palm before the psychic energy dissipated into the wind.
"Coooooooool," Moon cooed. "So, uh, are you walking on a string right now then?"
He nodded and pulsed the golden glow into the psychic strands beneath him. For just a second, Moon could see that beneath his feet, there was a bundle of strings weaved together to make a walkway. It consistently moved beneath his feet and kept pace with him, never falling behind his stride. Moon seemed to pause at this.
"Hey, why don't you just use hands for everything?" Moon then asked. "Sounds easier than using string."
"Because it doesn't work that way. I've tried turning it into hands, but I had to weave the string into that shape and it took far too long for my liking to accomplish something I'd be able to do with it as only a string. Or multiple strings, if you're strong enough."
"I dunno, I think it might be better to use hands. Using strings and tying them around stuff to do more things sounds too hard than just making a big old hand."
"You're a funny kid. Maybe you would be a great source of entertainment at the next Blessed Celebration."
"At the what?"
"Oh, just a seasonal party I attend with Clarity sometimes. It's rather soon, now that I think about it. I'll need to check the calendar when I get home to confirm the date..."
"It sounds really fun! Think I can go?"
"Probably not for this one coming up, maaaaayybeee the next one."
Clarity, of course, knew Griffith was lying. The parties he mentioned were only for blessed Pokemon, and Clarity didn't exactly want any children running amok at the celebration anyway. She kept quiet though, keeping Moon oblivious to the truth.
The three trekked for the desert for a time, leaving the teleporter far behind and moving deeper into the land where the dunes grew taller. After they had traveled a good thirty minutes away from the teleporter, Griffith and Clarity stopped at the summit of a sand dune. Clarity dispelled the psychic strands she had been walking along and gently settled onto the sand, but not Griffith. He seemed content to remain hovering a few inches above the ground.
"This should be far enough," he stated as he clasped his hands together. "Ready, Clarity?"
"Always am," she said simply.
"What are you guys gonna do?" Moon asked with a tilt of her head, watching the both of them with a curious gaze.
"How to explain… hmmm."
Griffith considered a few things for a moment, then summoned a bident into his hand. Moon's eyes bugged out at the sight of the weapon. She crouched low, fangs exposed, and the makings of a threatening growl escaped her throat. Clarity reflexively took a step back. Moon quickly stood up straight and flattened her ears before averting her gaze from the two of them.
"S-Sorry," she muttered. "It scared me. I don't like it."
"It's fine," Griffith soothed, if with an unsure tone to his voice. "You have a right to be frightened anyway; this is a blessing from Pontifex. It's not something to be trifled with."
"Who's Pontifex?"
"Pontifex is the legend once known as Darkrai. Clarity, Nibiru, and myself are what you could call his acolytes."
"I don't get it. I learned about Darkrai in school, but I heard he died a long time ago, like all the other legends. But you're saying you got blessed by him?"
Griffith stared at her blankly. Clarity could hear the thoughts in his mind; first disbelief that her school hadn't taught her about how the legends influenced the present when it was such an integral part of his life, then realization that his own school had never taught him this either. Not until he was much older anyway, and even then, his parents were the ones that gave the most explanations.
He turned away from Moon and looked out into the sea of sand. He took his bident and hurled it into the dune next to theirs. It buried itself deep into the sand and upon impact, all the sand grains were slowly sucked into the weapon. The dune grew smaller and smaller with each passing second until before long, the entire hill had been devoured. Where the dune had once been the bident remained, a pulsing, black void where the points of the weapon met the ground. It wasn't fading despite having taken in all of the dune and only continued to suck in all of the sand in the surrounding area. The desert would be just a little smaller now.
Moon watched this, the slightest hint of a grimace present on her snout.
"You're correct; the legends all died around thirty years ago," Griffith said as he looked back to the Zorua. "However, though their bodies are long gone, their spirits are still bound to our world and are brimming with power. Without a body though, they have no way to use this power and influence the world as they did when alive. That's where Pokemon like myself come in."
He crafted another bident and hurled it into the next nearest dune. The pull from this bident was weaker and it took a few seconds longer for the sand to be drawn into the void, but it wasn't anything to scoff at. Another dune eradicated, erased. Just like that.
"In return for serving under their name, Pokemon like the two of us can receive a fraction of a legend's power, a blessing. This blessing elevates us and essentially makes us demilegends, as you can see with what I'm doing now."
"So you guys are really strong because legends gave you power," Moon said as she continued to watch the dunes shrink. "Can anyone get power if they find a legend to talk to?"
"Not quite. Not everyone's body is capable of handling divine power, and some legend's power is stronger than others'. If your body can't withstand the strain… you die."
"Is there any way to know if you can't handle power before you try taking it?"
"Not yet. No one quite knows what factors into if you can adapt to the power or not, though usually if you're fully evolved, your chances of surviving are greater."
He made another bident and this time, hurled it far into the distance. It traveled over a few dunes this time before plummeting into a spot behind a slope, somewhere out of their line of sight. Clarity could sense a bit of strain coming from Griffith, but he hid it well.
"Sounds dangerous…" Moon said quietly as she pawed at the ground. "I don't know if I'd get power from a legend if I could die from it."
"It's why there's not too many Pokemon that take blessings in the first place when there's a risk like that," Griffith stated. "If I recall correctly, maybe only one in two hundred living Pokeon have a blessing. I imagine it's also why they don't tell you in school about blessings. Don't want children invading the resting grounds of legends and potentially dying when they don't fully understand what they're getting into. Even if I doubt Pontifex or the others would give you that power."
Clarity remembered her last conversation with Pontifex and recalled how unconcerned he was about Moon being a Dream Eater. She wondered if he actually would have rejected Moon if she approached him for a blessing. She did recall a time when she still had trouble using her telepathy and couldn't quite get all of her thoughts into someone else's mind. She could only send fragments of sentences and all too often the meaning of her words would be butchered. She had felt so powerless, and went straight to Rapture's domain to demand a blessing. Surely divine power could give her flawless telepathy and fix everything, especially Rapture's. Theirs was the strongest of all blessings, after all. But Griffith's mother had found out and stopped her before she could get far and brought Clarity to her senses.
If his mother hadn't intervened, would Clarity have reached Rapture and received a blessing despite her young age? Clarity honestly didn't know the answer to that, and she didn't like that. She kept quiet though, even though she could tell Griffith sensed her uneasiness. He wasn't looking at her and was in the process of tossing another bident, but she felt his mind's eye on her and something trying to brush away that memory of hers from her thoughts.
"What's it like, having a blessing?" Moon wondered.
"As though there's always a fire inside of you," Griffith answered. "A blazing fire that always builds and builds and your body is a fire pit that only barely keeps it contained. Which is why we're here, power purging, in an empty desert where no one will be hurt or bothered by us."
"So you're like… making the flames smaller?"
"Essentially. Using our blessings in general makes the flames smaller, but we don't always use them enough as Dream Eaters."
"What happens if the fire gets too big?"
Griffith didn't answer. Moon stepped a little closer to the Gardevoir. He pretended that didn't bother him a little.
"Do you die?" she asked again.
"... Yes."
Clarity noticed something strange. She noticed Griffith's empathy picking up on Moon's emotions. The Gardevoir had expected she'd feel uncomfortable at the idea she was around two walking bombs, but she didn't feel that way at all.
What he sensed instead was disgust. Repulsion. A deep, seething loathing. A hatred that could have only become this strong if it had festered within someone for years and years.
It was so powerful, in fact, that Clarity had to pull back on her mental connection with Griffith a bit so she didn't have to take in the bitterness. Now she could only hear the things he wanted her to hear. And to think this was a water-downed version of the bitterness inside the Zorua.
"Are you alright?" he asked Moon, visibly taken aback.
The Zorua didn't turn to him, instead watching the dunes slowly disappear into the black holes Griffith had made across the desert. The cheery, lively expression she always had was long gone and only a vacant one remained. It was as though she were nothing more than a husk of the child they had been conversing with moments ago.
"Moon?" Griffith tried again.
The Zorua blinked, then she turned to Griffith. There was still a blank look to her, but it didn't appear as unsettling.
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," she answered. "I just feel weird knowing you guys have power that kills you if you don't let it out sometimes."
Griffith exhaled softly, and Clarity deepened their connection again. Moon's resentment had faded away, but it didn't stop the faintest hints of certain voices echoing in his mind. Voices he was thankfully ignoring, though she didn't know how long he'd be able to keep that up.
"What else are we supposed to do?" Griffith asked simply as he turned away. "We need that power. We can only do so much with the meager power we hold as mortals. Tell me that I can actually conquer Nightmares with only my paltry Gardevoir capabilities."
"Do you really think you're capable of nothing without a blessing?" Moon asked in return.
He didn't answer, and Moon didn't press for one. She only watched him as he hurled another bident into the distance, tail swiveling softly behind her. However, Clarity heard his answer clear in his mind. He would never admit to it, even if confronted, but it was his answer. It had been his answer for a very long time.
I don't think it; I know it.