5: A Lesson in Song

When the slope was gentle enough to descend, Akari decided to go down on her rear. It wasn't the most graceful journey, but she longed to feel closer to the ground. She slid, shuffled, or crab-walked, depending on what the ground was like. Then she sat at the base of the slope, waiting for Volo. He went on a little further, then simply jogged his way down. Akari supposed that was easier with legs up to the skies, like his.

"Volo, we made it!"

As he passed, she held up her hand. At first, she'd intended it to be a high five - or maybe a low five, since she was sitting on the ground. Then it dawned on her that Volo may not understand what that was, but she thought he might at least take her hand and pull her up.

He did neither. He walked straight past Akari, with a quiet grunt that she might have imagined. Without pausing for a break, or even a word, the merchant set about collecting stray branches from beneath the nearby trees.

It stung, but Akari knew she couldn't keep sitting around and overthinking when there was work to do. So, she got up and joined Volo in his task.

There were no wild Pokémon around here. Akari thought it must have been due to the presence of the camp, though she couldn't remember if it had been any different when she'd first come here, when the camp location had been staked out but nothing more.

But, even though they didn't need the protection, Akari needed the company. She released Samurott who, this time, let her throw her arms around his neck. He wasn't usually a fan of hugs, but he might have sensed that his trainer needed the comfort.

At the sound of Samurott's Poké Ball opening, Akari noticed that Volo turned around. She gazed back at him and smiled, hopeful that he might say something. To her relief, he returned her smile, and nodded a greeting to Samurott. But then he went back to gathering firewood.

It's fine. He just looks tired.

When they had enough wood, Volo sat down beside the camp's firepit and began to stack the kindling. Akari brought a few more pieces - and then a few more, probably more than they needed.

As they worked, Akari took the opportunity to watch Volo out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He looked more serious than usual, and that bothered her. She was too used to seeing him with a smile on his face. He would smile in a way that seemed, somehow, intense and carefree at the same time. Nobody else in Hisui seemed to have that kind of smile, and it intrigued her.

But everyone had a right to their own feelings, and even Volo couldn't be cheerful all the time.

"So," Akari said, dragging the word out to ease them both out of their silence, "how did you get into legends?"

She had wanted to ask this for a while, because she'd wondered why it only seemed to be Volo and Cogita carrying this knowledge - or willing to share it, at least. Surely there must have been others.

"Hmm…?" Volo dropped the piece of wood that he'd been holding. He looked startled, as though Akari had asked him something scandalous. She guessed he might have misheard.

"I mean, how did you get interested in these stories?" she asked. "How did you learn so much?"

"Ah. I suppose I was raised with them." A half-smile flickered at the corner of Volo's mouth, and he spoke absentmindedly as he continued to tend the firepit. "Children love stories, don't they? Especially the ones with heroes, gods, monsters…"

Akari thought he must have been talking about the Ancient Hero, since he'd mentioned that tale a few times. But she wondered if it was possible to draw a line between gods and monsters. Some Pokémon could surely be both. All were monsters, some people in Hisui would have said.

"So, you learned them from your family?"

Volo looked like he'd turned to stone. Though it was only for a brief moment, Akari noticed it, and instantly regretted her question. But he answered, even if he seemed reluctant about it. "In part. And I learned a lot from Mistress Cogita."

Akari recalled that he'd said they weren't related, but she wondered if Cogita had had a hand in his upbringing. She certainly talked to him like a disappointed older relative might, sometimes. But Akari also remembered that Volo had cut that subject off very quickly, when she'd brought it up in Wayward Cave. Perhaps he hadn't meant to, but it had seemed that way to her.

That's enough of an interrogation for now, she thought.

The fire was ready to be lit, whenever they were ready. Clefable would take care of that, again, with her Charge Beam. Akari knew how to light a fire on her own, in theory, though whether or not she could do it was hit and miss. Not with the sun this low. And it was easier with help from a Pokémon. Just like fishing.

Before lighting the fire, they took a short walk to the nearby river. This was the place known as Lonely Springs, though Akari thought it was far from lonely.

During the day, it was patrolled by moody Golduck, with Carnivine occasionally drifting down from the surrounding cliffs. They were just as vicious, if not more so, than the ducks. By night, like most places in Hisui, Lonely Springs had its company of ghosts.

Samurott was with them, not only to take another swim, and to protect them from wild Pokémon, but also to help with catching dinner.

Akari and Volo did their own foraging, too. They had even found some good sticks, and berries to use as fishing bait. As the day began to fade, Volo taught Akari how to fish properly, how to set baited traps for Magikarp amongst the river stones. But, if it had been a competition, Samurott would still have won this one.

As they sat down by the river for a short rest after their foraging, Volo took out the fishbones from lunch and tipped them into the rushing water. This time, he also soaked the cloth and wrung it out. Akari assumed that he'd let it dry by the fire, before they'd need it again.

"Can I ask you a big question, Volo?"

"Ask away!" Volo sat back, crossing his legs in front of him. He gently bounced his knees, both of them this time, in unison.

"You know why I want to meet Arceus. To see if it can send me home. But…what about you?"

"Why, for the same reason I simply had to linger nearby, to see Mighty Dialga and Mighty Palkia, when you faced them at the Temple of Sinnoh! How many people can claim to have seen the gods with their own eyes? And who wouldn't wish to meet the Creator? Would that not be a life-altering experience, in itself? Do you not feel changed, Miss Akari, by what you've experienced in Hisui so far?"

"I guess so." She knew so. She'd been thinking about it, earlier that day. Before I nearly fell. Her stomach lurched at the memory.

"Well, that is what I seek," Volo said with a resolute nod. "Knowledge, satisfaction of my lifelong curiosity…and transformation."

Akari smiled warmly. She wasn't sure how to describe what she felt, but there was something about seeing a person so dedicated, so enthusiastic, over such a pure and simple goal. Even if there was a touch of hubris in there somewhere, it was a child's hubris. After what Volo had said, about being raised with these legends, she wondered if this was a childhood dream, one which had grown larger as Volo had carried it into adulthood.

"So, you wouldn't even ask for anything?" He doesn't want money? Love? Blessings?

"Ask for something? No. Not in the same way as you, at least. But I shall certainly have some questions to ask, I should imagine!" Volo laughed and shook his head, as though he had just said something silly. "Well, who wouldn't ask questions of the All-Encompassing Deity, if they had the chance?"

"Yeah, I guess." Akari thought that there were probably things that humans couldn't and shouldn't have known, but that would be for Arceus to decide, if they got that far. If it exists.

"And somebody should hold it to account, no?" Volo's fidgeting seemed to intensify; the rustling of his clothes became louder as his twitching became faster.

That was unexpected. Akari's smile became a puzzled one. "Hold…Arceus? To account?"

"For making such a cruel world, yes!" Volo jumped to his feet and beckoned with a nod of his head. It was getting dark. "It's very beautiful, of course. No doubt about that. But it's cruel."

As she stood up and followed him, Akari still felt surprised to hear that, coming from someone who had always seemed so in love with the world, and with the joys of being alive to explore it.

But then again, this was Hisui. She had already experienced some of its cruelty herself, and she hadn't even been here for half a year yet. If Volo had been born and raised here, how much more had he seen?

As they lounged by the fire after dinner, gazing up at the stars once again, Akari sighed contentedly. Samurott's side made a comfortable cushion. She felt a twinge of pity for Volo, but when she turned her head to look at him, he didn't seem to be in search of comfort.

Just like last night, he was sitting forward, elbows resting on his knees, engrossed in carving another Pokeshi doll.

"I know you can carry your Togepi around," Akari said, though she'd never seen him do it, "but this is the benefit of evolution. You get to lie on your Pokémon instead." She reached over to stroke Samurott's head, just to make clear that she was joking. He was much more than a pillow.

"And they keep you well fed." Volo laughed through his nose. "At least now I know to thank Mister Samurott, and not you."

"Hey…I caught one fish tonight. You saw me."

"By yourself...?"

"I will next time," she said with a smirk. "That is, assuming I had a good teacher. If I didn't, it'll be his fault, right?"

Although she knew that Volo was just teasing, once their smiles had fizzled out, Akari glanced at him again. This time, she looked concerned. He'd only eaten half as much as her, at best. He'd insisted that she eat the rest of his fish, or at least give it to her Pokémon, or else it would go to waste.

Akari had to assume that he wasn't a big eater, though it took her by surprise, considering all the walking he must have done. She'd expected him to be ravenous. Maybe it was all that water he drank that was filling him up.

He's a grown man. He doesn't need some kid trying to take care of him.

Akari turned onto her side and looked at Volo, thinking about her many remaining questions, but not knowing where to start, not wanting to accidentally hit a painful spot like she thought she might have done earlier.

While she was trying to decide, she began to hum - faintly at first, but then with more purpose. She couldn't remember how the verses went. She was probably getting it all wrong. But when she got to the chorus, the bit that she definitely knew, her hums opened into shaky words, sung in a warbly voice.

"Oh…we're halfway there…oh…livin' on a prayer…"

Volo laughed, and Akari couldn't blame him. She was a terrible singer. But it was a warm laugh, and he stopped carving for a moment to beckon with his hand, encouraging her to carry on.

"Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear…oh…"

"So, that's your song!"

Volo went on laughing for a few seconds, slowly lapsing into silence. He resumed his whittling, but only for a moment. It seemed that Akari's song had distracted him. He looked up, like he was searching the stars for something to say. Now and again, he would take a breath to speak, but the words didn't come.

Akari wanted to tell him that it didn't matter, and to carry on with his Pokeshi doll. He didn't need to say anything about her terrible voice and a song that meant nothing to him.

But, at the same time, she was curious to know what he thought. She knew what it was like to travel back in time, and to see things she'd only read about in history books. But she had no idea what the reverse was like. To see or hear things from the future, with no frame of reference. She wanted to hear herself through Volo's ears. Eventually, he seemed to find something to say.

"It's…very rousing, that song. Like a call you might hear on…on the eve of a great battle, I might say." He looked at Akari intently, like she was a puzzle he wanted to solve. "Why did it come into your head, I wonder?"

"I have no idea. It's a tune, but it's not like I've been hearing it round here. Just one of those things." Akari sat up, struck by a sudden idea. Something she could ask, without sounding too nosy. "Do you know any songs, Volo? You could teach me some, and then tomorrow night, wherever we end up camping, we could sing them together. Might help to scare off the wild Pokémon, huh? Or they might like it? Depends if you can sing, I guess. I can't, obviously. In case you were still wondering, after that performance."

Volo smiled instantly.

Oh, so there must be something, Akari thought to herself. Maybe a song that was special to him. Something from his childhood? A song about myths and legends? Or maybe it was something cruder, like a drinking song, and Akari would get to hear a different side of him. Something less refined, a song he would never share with customers.

Akari was sure that the Ginkgo Guild could not have been as squeaky clean as they tried to appear. If they ever travelled together in those Machamp-pulled wagons, what did they sing around their campfires? What did they talk about? What made them laugh?

But then Volo's smile turned wistful. He lowered his head and went back to carving. "No, I have none."

Akari looked down, disappointed, but she nodded. She understood. Volo might have been shy, or afraid of being judged, even though he'd just heard her own attempt at holding a tune. Whatever memories had made him smile just then might have also been sad memories. Music can be like that.

In her search for something else to talk about, preferably something light-hearted, Akari noticed a small drawstring bag by Volo's feet. She'd seen it before, usually hanging from the side of his rucksack. She also thought she'd seen it in his hand, earlier, when they were foraging by the river. She'd always assumed it was for money, but Volo wasn't working now, yet it looked full. Its sides were bulging, the string barely holding it closed. Whatever was inside looked lumpy, not like coins. But if it was food, Volo hadn't touched it. Akari wondered if it was for his Pokémon.

"Did you sort breakfast already?" She was trying to be subtle - and probably failing, she thought. She nodded at the bag. "You're so prepared, Volo."

"Why…yes." Volo nudged the bag out of sight with his heel. Then, with speed that nearly made Akari flinch, he leapt up. He let out an exaggerated yawn, raising his arms above his head in a stretch. One hand still held his knife, the other the half-finished Pokeshi doll. The poor thing didn't even have a face yet. "But we should rest, Miss Akari! Tomorrow might be another difficult day. Though, I hope…not difficult in the same way as today."

Akari frowned. "Oh…uh, okay! I…I think I'll stay up with Samurott a bit longer, but, uh…yeah, you're right. I'll sleep soon."

Volo seemed to hover for a moment, like he was changing his mind about going to bed, and Akari had to wonder if that yawn and stretch had been genuine. He didn't look tired right now. Akari thought he might be feeling what she often felt, when her body was tired but her mind wide awake, or vice versa, and she didn't know which one should win.

Just as she was about to say something, Volo grabbed his belongings and ducked into one of the tents, letting the flap fall closed behind him.

Akari glanced at Samurott. Was that weird to you, buddy? But her Pokémon was dozing by the fire, either oblivious or too tired to care.

She didn't want to turn in for the night just yet, but it felt strange, staying awake outside Volo's tent. For a few minutes, she heard the faint scrape of his knife against wood. She tried not to take it personally, that he had preferred to finish his Pokeshi doll in the quiet darkness of his tent, instead of in her company.

Then it stopped, and she heard nothing more, other than occasional cough and rustle of fabric. Maybe she'd been hoping to hear the click of a Poké Ball, and Volo whispering to his Pokémon, but there was nothing.

Akari withdrew Samurott, went into the other tent, and tried her best to sleep. Body tired, mind awake.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she felt herself falling.

When she awoke, Akari wasn't sure whether she'd slept. Not properly, anyway. But the dawn was here, and she stumbled out of her tent.

Here at the Mountain Camp, at the eastern edge of the mountain range, she didn't feel like such a morning person after all. With nothing to shield the camp from the sun, it was too bright. Too early.

Akari began to stretch - and sure enough, she ached all over, just like she'd expected - but before she'd even finished, a cup appeared under her nose. It smelled both bitter and sweet.

"Berry tea!" said a cheerful voice. "And…a surprise!"

Yeah, Volo's definitely more of a morning person than me.

"Thanks…?"

Akari still couldn't see properly, but she took hold of the cup, and her hands appreciated the heat. The heat?

She moved to sit down by the fire, but the pit where it had been burning last night was cold and black. But the tea smelled good. Never mind. When she took a sip, it was cool enough to drink, but it had definitely been hot at some point. She drank until only the dregs were left, then put the cup down for the sake of rubbing her eyes.

Now, finally, she could focus on Volo. He was sitting an arm's length away, bright-eyed and smiling.

On the ground next to him was a wonky Pokeshi doll. Its features had been carved in a way that made it look confused, one eye higher than the other, like it was eternally tilting its head in a question. It could have been either comical or creepy, depending on how you looked at it. But Akari supposed she couldn't judge, since Volo had finished it with barely any light to see by.

She was so distracted by the doll, it took her several seconds to realise that Volo was offering something to her.

"What's this?" she asked as she took it. "Looks like, uh…a caster fern…?" The leaf, too, felt like it had been warm recently.

"That it is, Miss Akari! But you should open it!"

Akari unfolded the leaf - never an easy thing to do, since caster ferns loved to be wrapped up like this - to find several small discs of - "Wait. No way. Is this…potato mochi…?"

After her brief burst of excitement, she realised that these sure didn't look like Beni's famous mochi. They didn't have the nori decoration, and they were dry and plain, not glazed with any kind of oil or sauce. Akari felt bad for even thinking it - where's a guy supposed to find seaweed in the mountains, or oil and sauce in the middle of nowhere? - but they just didn't look that great. Even so, she picked one up and began to eat it. Volo's smile could have rivalled the sun.

"Of a sort, yes! Did you think it was only your Mr Beni who knew how to make these? Oh, no, they're an ancient recipe! Sootfoot root, you see…'sootfoot, humble root'…there's an old verse all about it!…'mash the root, knead the mash, then once more heat it over'…" Volo got up and strolled away as he continued to ramble. "Don't worry about me, I've already had my share! 'Sootfoot, humble root, harvest it and peel it…'"

He's very awake today, Akari thought.

Well, they were edible. And they were filling, even if they tasted of starch and a pinch of salt and not much else. Akari had sometimes wondered what Volo would eat when he was out on the road; at least she knew the answer now.

As she looked around the camp, she saw Volo's tent, its flap neatly tied up, just like the other night. He was stacking up his rucksack and bedroll, all ready to go. Nothing was out of place, other than Akari's empty cup. There was no sign of all the work he must have done to make these. They suddenly tasted better, and Akari continued to eat in quiet, confused awe.

How did he kill the fire so fast? How did he even start it, without making a sound?

Akari thought she must have slept, after all. She must have been dead to the world, for Volo to do all of this without waking her.

She had questions, but they were the kind that didn't feel right to ask. Like a surprise party. When someone made it happen, you weren't supposed to ask them how. It wasn't her birthday, but she had nearly ended herself yesterday. Maybe Volo was just trying to make her feel better. But at what cost to himself, though…?

"Volo, this is amazing, but…did you even sleep?"

"Why, I retired before you did! Don't you remember? And could I have so much energy, Miss Akari, without sleep?"

I guess not.

Akari watched Volo going off towards the river, her empty cup in one hand, last night's fishbones in the other. Now that it was morning, the Golduck would be out again. Maybe not on this side of the river, but you could never be sure. And they could be so angry.

"Volo, wait!" Reaching into her satchel, she released Samurott. "Let's go with him!"

Samurott was faster than her. Trailing behind them, Akari saw Volo turn to her Pokémon and say something, almost as if he was expecting a reply, but Akari couldn't hear him. They looked happy, anyway.

She got to the river just in time to see Volo putting the fishbones to rest. He wasn't quite so ceremonial this time; he almost threw them in. Just as Akari was about to say something - what did those fish do wrong? - she noticed that his hair looked a bit different. Though it was pulled back into its usual folded ponytail, and mostly hidden under his cap, it was a shade darker, and shining.

Damp?

Akari wondered if Volo had taken a dip in the springs, too, before she'd woken up. That was none of her business, of course. It was difficult enough to be discreet and modest when travelling together like this; she wouldn't have blamed Volo for taking advantage of the privacy while she was asleep. She could smell herself - smoke and sweat and earth - and she would have done the same, if she weren't worried about getting hypothermia up here.

Apart from the cold, wild bathing in Hisui was a dangerous game. Either she was coming to the wrong conclusion, or Volo's Togepi and Gible were a bit more reliable than he'd let on. That was no big deal. Akari still didn't mind her Pokémon bearing the brunt of the work, in terms of protecting them both. She was just sorry that she'd missed out on seeing those two.