7: A Lesson in Bushcraft

The end of the trail was marked by a dampening of the ground. Here, the land was softer. Grass began to grow again in earnest, not just the sparse dry tufts that could be found fighting for life in the cracks on the trail. Soon, the grass was joined by trees, increasing in number, until they formed a small forest.

Even though the sun was still up, it was darker here. More places for wild Pokémon to hide. The two travellers had slowed down. Samurott walked beside them, treading lightly, watching and listening.

Suddenly, Volo stopped in his tracks. It made such an abrupt change from the way he'd been speeding ahead all day, it startled Akari.

"Volo! What's wrong?"

"Ah…!" The merchant laughed, but from the nervous way he reached up to scratch the back of his neck, Akari suspected he wasn't finding anything funny. She'd always thought he was one of those people who smiled and laughed, regardless of his mood. "It's nothing. Just a tad concerned about that Sneasel over there…"

Akari looked in the direction he was pointing. Though it was far away, she could see the small white creature darting between the trees, occasionally pausing to scratch at the bark with its claws.

"You don't like Sneasel? Okay." For most Pokémon, she thought, you could probably find a good reason to be wary of them. But this was the first time she'd heard anything like this from Volo. "Just when I was thinking there wasn't a single Pokémon you didn't love."

She was about to carry on walking, but Volo grabbed her arm. "Aren't you going to…do something? Release another of your Pokémon? To clear out the Sneasel?"

"Volo, there's one Sneasel," Akari replied, trying to find some empathy, trying to stay patient despite her tiredness. "It's way over there. And since this is their home, I don't think we should be talking about clearing them out. You sound like Kamado! We just won't camp around here."

This time, she insisted upon continuing. They weren't about to slow down now, when the sun was on its decline and the temperature was falling. Even if it wasn't as windy as it had been on the trail, the shade of the forest made it feel even colder.

As Akari expected, Volo followed her, though he still seemed anxious.

"But…your Samurott…" he whispered.

"He's fine now." Akari reached down to stroke her Pokémon's back. "Thanks to that strong potion you gave him."

"Yes, but…a Dark-type Pokémon…"

Volo was attached to his type match-ups, it seemed. Akari still found it impressive, for someone who'd spent his whole life in a place with virtually no battling culture.

She wondered if someone had taught Volo, or if he'd had to learn all of this by himself. The Ginkgo Guild merchants must have known something about battling, since she'd noticed that they carried Pokémon for their protection.

They tried to keep them hidden in the village, of course. They would never want to scare away customers. But Akari had seen Ginter's Shinx sleeping in the wagon, and the Machamp that would pull their carts out in the wild. Raising a Machamp wasn't the hardest thing in the world, since their pre-evolutions tended to be a lot friendlier than they looked, even in the wild. But it still took some skill, especially without the use of Poké Balls. Volo was the only Ginkgo Guild merchant that Akari had seen using those.

Akari wondered if she should release the only Psychic-type Pokémon she was carrying, just to keep Volo happy. But she knew it would be overkill. She wasn't sure if she should have brought it along, or whether she could even control it if she had to. Anyway, she had no intention of unleashing it on a poor Sneasel that was minding its own business.

"Types aren't everything, you know…? It's great that you know about them…" Akari cringed at how patronising that must have sounded. "But I'd trust pretty much any of my team to deal with the average wild Pokémon around here. With an Alpha, sure, I'd put some more thought into it. But sometimes, experience and strategy win out over type match-ups. That's all I'm saying."

"Right you are," Volo replied, though he didn't sound completely assured.

The forest ended at a waterfall, cascading down to become a wide river. It was crossable by a stone bridge, similar to the one between Heavenward Lookout and Wayward Cave.

The travellers decided that they would make their camp on the other side. The Sneasel from the forest didn't tend to come this far out, and even if they did, Akari's Pokémon would make good sentry guards.

But before they could rest, they needed to gather some materials. There was no Survey Corps camp here, so they would have to make one for themselves. Akari had been worrying about this, but now that the time had come, her mindset had changed. She was looking forward to learning something new.

Volo made a good teacher. Akari knew this already, from the way he'd taught her to fish last night. It was true that she hadn't put that into practice by herself yet, and maybe that was where the proof would lie. But the way he'd shown her what to do, the way he'd guided her and talked to her, had given her confidence. And, of course, there was praise, whenever she did something well. Even if she only did it slightly better than the last time, he would remark on it.

Akari had hardly ever seen Volo engaged in merchantry, but she could imagine that he made a good salesman, for the same reasons. He just knew how to put people at ease. At times, on this journey, he'd been a bit too much, but Akari was sure the same could be said about her.

"So, what do we need to get?" she asked, swinging her arms in a sudden burst of energy. "I've never done this before!"

"What, never built a shelter for yourself? There's something we must correct immediately, then! It's a vital skill! Most dreadful, I'd say, that the Galaxy Team doesn't teach it. Do they want their surveyors to die of exposure?"

"I think that's what the camps are for."

"Yes, well…let's hope they don't plan to build any more of those."

Akari thought that was a strange comment, considering Volo hadn't complained about making use of the Survey Corps' camps for the past two nights.

Just as she was wondering if there was a polite way to speak that thought, Volo dropped his backpack down onto the ground, opened it, and pulled out something with a long wooden handle, its wedge-shaped top concealed in some old cloth. When the fabric was removed, the blade of a small axe shone in the dim light.

Akari backed away, shocked at the sight of something her mind first interpreted as a weapon and nothing else. She'd managed to overlook the small knife that Volo had been using to carve his Pokeshi dolls, but the axe looked much deadlier.

But she was thinking with her future brain. Her city brain. And context mattered, even within the bounds of this time. This wasn't the same as seeing a guy pull an axe out of his bag in the middle of the village's main street, was it?

Apparently oblivious to the momentary panic he'd just caused, Volo looked around for his target, quickly settling on a nearby tree that had some sturdy lower branches. He raised the axe and began to swing. Once again, Akari was reminded that he was much stronger than he looked: it only took a few hacks to separate the branch from the tree.

Volo kicked the fallen branch aside, then turned to Akari, wordlessly offering the handle of the axe, breathing hard and fast from the effort of his task.

"Oh, no way…" Akari laughed and shook her head. In truth, she just didn't want to handle the axe, but she had a convenient excuse. "I couldn't even reach that high."

"Then I shall get yours, too!"

Though he was still panting, Volo went straight back, picking another thick branch to fell from the same tree. Akari found herself feeling a bit sorry for it, but Volo didn't seem the type to go damaging Hisui's trees for no good reason.

Now they had two large pieces of wood, both of them full and alive with smaller branches, twigs, and leaves.

Volo leaned his axe next to his backpack; he couldn't carry everything at once. He picked up both of the branches, lying one on top of the other in his arms and making sure they were stable. They looked heavy and awkward to carry.

Akari, weighed down by nothing but her own satchel and the near-weightless plates, felt self-conscious about her empty hands.

"What should I get?" she asked. "More wood? Firewood? Or…should I get your bag…?"

"Leave the bag. We're coming back. Wood, yes...can't have enough wood…!" With his arms shaking under the weight, Volo could hardly speak, but he moved with surprising speed as he headed towards the bridge.

At the other side of the river, once Volo had set down his heavy cargo, and Akari her pile of smaller branches and other forest debris, they paused to rest and regroup. Samurott wandered between them, sniffing at the wood and the leaves. Akari looked over what they had collected, but she was still none the wiser as to how they would become any kind of shelter, let alone a comfortable one.

Probably shouldn't count on comfort. It's not a hotel.

But it seemed they weren't done yet.

"Now, Akari…here's a treasure hunt, of sorts." Volo held his hands out in front of him, with about a metre between his palms, maybe a bit more. "We need to find four forked branches, roughly yea length. Anything that can be cut down to size will work, too. But it must have a good fork at one end. And no bendy twigs, either, unless you want your shelter to collapse!"

With Samurott following along, they headed back over the bridge and into the forest. This part of their quest took some time, and Akari worried they might not find what they were looking for before sundown plunged the forest into darkness.

In the end, she only found one branch that fit the bill. Volo found the other three, but he had the advantage of his axe; Akari assumed he must have cut some of them down. With the axe put away, and his rucksack on his back again, Volo nodded in happy approval at what Akari had found, and they returned to their would-be campsite.

Their final 'treasure hunt' was a much easier one: to collect rocks from the river. Large enough that they cannot easily be moved, but they need not be too heavy to carry, was Volo's cryptic order.

That was subjective, and the rocks that Akari brought were smaller than Volo's, but he said they would do just fine. Some would be for ring-fencing their fire, to keep it safe and stop it from spreading out of control. Others were for their shelters, although Akari wasn't sure how yet.

Now that they had everything they needed, it was getting cold and dark. Akari was excited to build her shelter, but they needed warmth, and they would need food. So, they turned their attention to the campfire first.

Volo made quick work of stripping the large branches, this time using his knife. Akari was no expert in knives, but she guessed it was something akin to a buck knife, or a hunting knife. The kind that outdoorsy types might carry, regardless of the era. Though she'd seen it before, now that she knew about the axe, she couldn't resist remarking on it, as she sat snapping small branches off with her bare hands and trying not to get splinters.

"I never knew you were armed and dangerous, Volo."

"Dangerous?" he repeated, without looking up. "Why?"

"Sorry, that was just a joke. Doesn't matter."

By the time the fire was built and lit, Akari was running out of energy and enthusiasm. And they still had to make their shelters, not to mention finding and cooking dinner.

She wondered if it would be so terrible if she just curled up on the short grass next to the fire, with Samurott for a pillow and extra warmth, and fell asleep. She had done that before, albeit only further south, not in the colder climate of these mountains.

Volo could always sleep beside one of her other Pokémon, if he wanted to; Akari was sure that at least one of them would oblige him.

But he still seemed to be full of energy, and determined to teach Akari some survival skills.

Volo showed her how to create the shelter's backbone, by taking one of the large branches and propping it up at an angle. For good measure, to help drive it into the tough mountain soil, he sharpened the lower end into a blunt point with his knife. At the base, a large rock or two would keep it in place. The other end of the log was resting in the angles of two forked branches, forming a triangle with the ground.

"If in doubt," Volo said, his voice breathy with exertion, "use triangles. They're…very strong shapes…good tension…not easy to collapse…"

The leaves that had been stripped from the branches provided some cushioning underneath, in place of a mattress. To Akari's surprise, Volo took off his cloak and draped it over the top of the structure she had just built, instantly transforming it into a cosy wedge-shaped tent that she'd be able to wriggle into.

"And yours is done!" he said with a smile.

"Volo, no. Not your coat. You're going to be freezing!"

"Not so!"

Volo had been building his own shelter at the same time, to show Akari what to do. But he went further with his own. Now he was taking smaller branches and turning them into ribs on each side of his shelter's spine. Each branch was wedged into the ground, packed tightly against the next, to create the tent's sloping walls. Wherever there were gaps, he filled them with grass and leaves.

"I realised we wouldn't have enough wood for both of us and the fire. But I can see how tired you are, Akari. And it's too dark to go searching again." He pointed to his backpack. "Don't forget, I also have my bedroll! And these shelters do get surprisingly warm! It'll trap your body heat very nicely - you'll see!"

Akari continued to watch him nervously. Well, he's lived here all his life and he's survived this long, she thought. I'm sure he knows what he's doing. And I did say that Hisuians are built differently.

Besides, if there was a real cold-related emergency, she did have one more risky ace up her sleeve: a Fire-type Pokémon. But, just as with the Psychic-type she'd brought along, she was also hesitant to use this one, for similar reasons. It was new to her team, and different to the others. It had been so hostile to her, too, on first meeting. She hoped she'd be able to control it, but that remained untested.

Akari had been planning to put Volo's fishing lesson into practice tonight, but she was too exhausted. Instead, Samurott went off to fish and came back tired, too. Akari figured it probably wasn't the fish that had put up a fight, but it was dark now, and Haunter were known to appear around here. Hopefully, the fire would keep them away from the camp.

But maybe Samurott shouldn't be the one staying out tonight.

She decided to bring him in to rest and put Blissey out there in his place, to watch the bridge, and to put off any Sneasel from trying to cross. She knew that Volo might have been thinking something snarky about type match-ups again, but Blissey was much stronger than her soft appearance and peaceful manner suggested. So far, she'd never lost a battle.

Volo barely ate. Trying to reassure herself, Akari recalled that they'd spent some moments apart while they were on the trail, and he seemed to have been munching on something while she was gone. He might have had some of his bland mochi stashed away.

Though what had happened earlier wasn't exactly a good memory, Akari had to smile. I wonder if that was why the Chimecho screamed at him when he tried to feed it.

Akari was grateful for her shelter, and quietly proud of the work she'd put into building it, even though Volo had spared her most of that, with his cloak. But it was not the same as the Survey Corps' canvas tents.

The entrances to these shelters were narrower, but they were open. Right now, it made for a pleasant social space: Akari and Volo were both lying in their tents, but they could see each other, and feel the fire's warmth on their faces.

But it meant they had no privacy. It bothered Akari, if she thought about it, but she told herself to stop being so precious.

Lying on her front, Akari propped up her chin on one hand. As she looked out, past the campfire, towards the river, she saw a flash of white moving in the forest. She returned her gaze to Volo. He wasn't engaged in his usual doll-making tonight, probably because they'd used every last piece of wood. But from his position, he couldn't have seen what Akari had just spotted.

"So, are you gonna tell me why you don't like Sneasel?" she asked. "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I was attacked by one, a few years ago." Volo, too, was lying on his front. His head was low, resting on his folded arms. His ponytail had loosened, resulting in his golden hair falling into his face, even more than it usually did. "They made me sweat out the poison, and the wound was not so terribly deep. There was no permanent damage. Only a scar."

"That sounds scary." Akari frowned, thinking about how dangerous that must have been, in this time, with its limited medical treatments. Sneasel had neurotoxin, didn't they? What would have happened if Volo had ended up paralysed?

"It may have been. I hardly remember it. I'd had a little too much to drink, and…well, that doesn't matter. I survived."

"I think it's great that you're still so warm towards Pokémon. Despite what happened, I mean."

Akari thought of Kamado, and of so many others in the village, who had stories of Pokémon attacking people and communities. Some of those stories were not even the teller's own, but just something they had heard from someone else, who'd heard it on the wind. It became difficult to know how many people there had truly had a bad experience of their own, and how many simply feared the possibility.

"Well, I suppose it helps that I didn't see it. I was walking in the dark, back to the place where we were staying, and this creature just…" Volo lifted one hand, shaped into a claw. Thanks to the firelight, it cast a monstrous shadow on the ground. "Landed on my back, like this. I wasn't carrying my bag, you see - if only I had been, it might have protected me! I didn't even know it was a Sneasel. The healers said so, judging by the wound and the poison it had left. I wonder if they shouldn't have told me, hmm? Then I wouldn't have known what to fear!"

"Oh, so you weren't…trying to feed it?" Akari had imagined Volo, tipsy, waving some berries in a wild Sneasel's face as he tried to befriend it. After what had happened that day, with the Chimecho, she didn't think she was being too harsh by assuming it had happened that way.

"No! Completely unprovoked, it was! But I'm sure it meant no harm. Just protecting its territory, perhaps."

"Not everyone would see it that way."

They were quiet for a while. The combination of the fire's crackling, and the roar of the nearby waterfall, created a sound that reminded Akari of white noise. Along with her tiredness and her aches, she was sure that she would sleep. The fact that she was lying on nothing but leaves, and that she had no means of shutting herself away into solitude, slowly faded into insignificance. She could already feel herself drifting.

When Volo spoke again, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming. She felt like she had already been asleep for a while, but maybe it had only been a minute or so.

"How's the shelter?" he asked. "Ah, were you already sleeping? Do forgive me."

"No…" Akari lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "It's fine. Warmer than I expected. But what about you?"

Volo was the one without a coat, after all. In response to her question, he grinned and rolled something along the grassy ground towards her.

It was a glass bottle, filled with a dark liquid, a cork stopper in its neck. Akari reached out for it and examined it, but with no label, she couldn't be sure exactly what it was. But she figured she could take a good guess. Sure enough, when she uncorked it, the intense smell of alcohol burned her nostrils, enough to make her turn her head away and cough. Her eyes watered.

"Volo, this smells like it could kill someone."

If he'd said it was for sterilising wounds, she could have understood. Well, maybe it was for that as well, if he knew that alcohol could be used that way. But it didn't smell like something anyone should be drinking, that was for sure.

"I made it myself!" Volo was too proud of his brew, it seemed, to be insulted by Akari's reaction. "And it does quite the opposite, if I may say so! It'll warm you up. And help you to sleep…though, to be fair, it seems you were doing perfectly well with that, until I interrupted…"

"Seriously? You're telling me this is, like…some Ginkgo Guild moonshine?"

"Try some!" He mimicked lifting the bottle to his lips. "See if I'm wrong!"

Akari's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, though her shock quickly turned to laughter. "Do you know this would be illegal, where I come from? I'm not old enough to drink!"

"Well, that sounds miserable. I don't think I would have survived my apprenticeship, without a little tipple now and again!"

"Apprenticeship…?" Considering how young people were when they started working here, combined with what Volo had just said, Akari had to ask, even though she was mentally steeling herself for the answer. "Oh, no. How old were you?"

"Hmm, perhaps I was somewhere around twelve or thirteen, when I officially started…? It's difficult to say. I don't keep track of my age."

"Twelve?" Akari took another look at the bottle. "In my time, whoever gave this to twelve-year-old Volo would get in so much trouble."

"And this is a world you wish to return to, is it? Well, there are no laws here, so you may as well make the most of it!"

Akari could imagine that someone in the village might have had something to say about that. But none of those people were here, and Volo was. Akari didn't want to be rude. Nobody needs to know, right?

She placed the bottle to her mouth and tilted it, trying to take as little as possible. It set her lips and tongue on fire. She didn't know what alcohol was supposed to taste like, so she couldn't judge it on that level, but it was mostly just burning, with a sour undernote.

She began to cough so quickly, and so hard, she wasn't sure if she'd even managed to drink any, until she felt its heat making its way down her throat. Not what she'd call nice, but she had to admit that she could feel a toasty glow, once it got to her stomach.

Definitely not worth another sip, though.

Akari corked the bottle and rolled it back towards Volo. She was still spluttering.

"I don't know how you drink that," she said, when she could speak again, "but I see what you mean."

Volo took one large swig and then put the bottle away. Akari was relieved at that. She wasn't sure how she would have felt about making this trip with someone who was getting drunk every night, but a mouthful for the sake of warmth and sleepiness couldn't hurt.

Just like the axe, just like the knife, things had different meanings here. She was still learning.