Customary

"You shouldn't be putting so much stress on your leg, dear. You're going to worsen your wound."

"I wasn't born yesterday! I'm no newborn kit, exposed and mewling for the safety of a nest. I know how to take care of myself."

Waiting in Lecha's reception room, Haru was beginning to have second thoughts. Despite having arrived bright and early, it seemed Nip had arisen even earlier, and was causing a heap of trouble for the poor aromatisse doctor.

He still had a limp as he rounded the corner of the hallway into the reception room, sniffing cautiously at the air. Still, he certainly seemed better than he had the day before, his strength starting to return. His fur also looked better, groomed neatly into place with not a single piece of straw sticking to it. And despite the look of discomfort on his face, he seemed determined to stand on his own, removing his paw from the wall as he stepped into the open. Finally, he caught a glimpse of Haru, locking eyes with the smaller pokemon.

"Oh, the bidoof from before. So, you did show up." His voice was quiet, perhaps a bit surprised.

For a moment, Haru was stunned into silence, disarmed by the blunt response like she had been the day before. She shook her head to clear it. No. She had promised herself now that she would get to know the strange sneasel. If nothing else, she'd do it for the possible fame, to spread her and her family's name! Resolve set, she took a firm step forward. "Of course I did. I said I'd show you around, and I intend to keep that promise."

A difficult to read expression crossed his face, but he quickly shook it away. "Fine, I wouldn't mind checking out the shrine you mentioned at least. And I could use a proper meal. Lecha only offered me vegetables and berries, and told me I needed to speak with a 'Mandi' if I wanted anything with meat in it."

Meat? Haru hesitated. As an herbivore, he always made an effort to avoid Mandi's shop, and all the unfortunate implications that came with it. The temple as well, though for different reasons. But if she wanted to get on Nip's good side and learn more about where he came from… "Alright, I guess I can help you with that."

Lecha finally appeared from the room beyond the hall, a cloth stained with berry juices in her paws. "Are you going to show our guest around town, Haru? Take it slow, would you? I've told him he needs to rest his leg, but since he insists on moving around, I suppose I can allow it as long as he stays nearby and rests frequently."

"You can't make me stay here if I don't want to," Nip argued. Lecha chose not to respond to that.

"Don't worry, we bidoof aren't exactly known for our speed," Haru joked. Her comment seemed to defuse the tension. For now.

She turned to the curtain-shrouded exit, making sure that Nip followed before making her way back into the open air. The sneasel followed close behind, blinking as he adjusted to the mid-morning light. Haru gave him a moment to gather his senses as he made his way out into the open before beginning to walk speaking as she went.

"So, this is Theran Village's central square. You'll notice that there are a lot of small vendors around here. Ruffle - that's the bellossom over there - has a stand where she sells the berries that she and Rosalei grow. The building next to it is a food shop that works with them for supplies. It's run by a swalot, but you'd be surprised how careful he is about keeping his workspace clean. There's a slurpuff that sets up shop around here sometimes but… it's really just a bunch of junk. But she'll buy some of the weirdest things from you for high prices! Don't ask where she gets all that money, you won't get an answer. Let's see, what else…"

"What about that place over there?"

Nip had paused to point at one of the larger buildings in the square. It was a mishmash of bright colors: pink, blue, and purple. Two pokemon were hanging nearby at the moment: her father and a diggersby. They were both busying themselves, running about with lumber and dirt and metal as prepped for the days work. "Oh, that's our nursery and daycare. They've been working on expanding it. Grombert - that's the diggersby over there - and my father have been hard at work the last moon or so to get it ready, and they're almost done. Tor, the blissey that runs it, lives there, along with a couple of orphaned mons that stay there all the time."

The sneasel scoffed, catching Haru off-guard. "Why would you make your nursery the brightest, most obvious place in town? Wouldn't that attract trouble?"

"Well…" She began, averting her gaze as she considered his question, and the relatively valid point. But soon, an answer came to her, making her respond in a firm, confident tone. "It makes the kids feel more comfortable, apparently. Tor also really likes the bright colors, not that you would know from the way he talks about it. Besides, it's safe here, especially in the middle of the village. We only have a few guards, but they take their job very seriously. No wildener would ever dare try to break in here.

His ear twitched, appearing unconvinced. But he dropped the matter. "So, who is this 'Mandi' I was told to see."

"Oh. Right." Remember what you're doing this for, Haru. "Her shop is actually a bit of a walk away from here, so, um, if you could follow me, please?" She began walking at a slow gait, making sure that the injured sneasel would be able to keep up. Though… perhaps she was dragging her feet a bit. Until they arrived though, she supposed it would be as good of time as any to learn more about him.

"So, I know it hasn't been very long yet," she started, "but what do you think of the village so far?"

"It's… odd. You have all these… 'buildings,' as you call them. Weird dens that seem too big and open to be safe. And they're so spread out. Why would you do that?"

"I think a lot of pokemon like to have space. And with them being more spread out, it both gives larger 'mon a way to maneuver and helps keep a fire from spreading, should one of them catch fire."

"I guess… But why is there no tree coverage? Or brush? I can understand a central clearing for everyone to gather in, but trees and the brush provide cover and protect from danger. Why would you settle somewhere with so little coverage?"

"There's no trees in the center because we cleared them out and leveled the ground so we can build on it. Same for the brush, although you'll notice we have a few bushes and trees here and there for decoration. Why? Are things different where you come from?"

"Oh yes. Where I come from, we build and carve our dens out of dirt and stone and bring in brush and moss and other plants to build our nests. The nursery and children's den are built the same way, but with brambles and thorn bushes protecting the entrance. And we use harvested pelts from our hunts to line our nests and to build more mobile shelter for emergencies."

Haru came to a sudden stop, stiffening. Nip almost bumped into her. She turned back to look at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, did you say that you hunted other pokemon?"

He blinked a couple times. "Of course. How else would we get the food we need?"

"You… but you don't need to kill for that."

The sneasel scoffed. "You are a plant eater, right? I wouldn't expect you to understand. The gods blessed us with sharp claws and teeth for killing and tearing. We do what we must to survive, just as our prey does. But death is an inevitability for all living beings. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can get in Yveltal's good graces."

"Who?"

Nip looked taken aback. "Yveltal, the overseer of death and most important pokemon in the land, if you ask me and my kin. Without death, there is no rest, and pokemon would continue to multiply until there was no space left."

Haru blinked. "Nope, never heard of them. But… maybe I'm not the best mon to ask. If you ask me, I think too many pokemon follow the myths and legends too closely, and don't think for themselves. Sometimes I wonder if we'd be better off forgetting them." Nip opened his mouth to say something, but Haru shook her head and continued before he could. "But that's beside the point. Anu is supposed to be tending to Regigigas' shrine today, so perhaps you can ask him if he knows more about Yevetal. Or whatever their name was."

It occurred to Haru that she might be acting like a huge jerk. But she was still in shock, dwelling on the idea of a whole group of pokemon hunting, let alone a society, as opposed to a loosely associated group of wildeners! The idea of anyone hunting down innocent pokemon, and trying to justify it, made her blood boil. There was plenty to go around, right? Mandi's business proved that, did it not?

Speaking of Mandi's business…

"Sorry," she said bluntly, in a tone that suggested that she was not very sorry at all. "Anyways, this is Mandi's."

She stopped in front of a small, plain wooden shack. It was old, but still looked to be in good condition other than a worn paint job. Mandi probably had not spent much time worrying about that. What really sat the building apart from the others they had passed on the way, however, was the entrance. Instead of the usual open doorway, or cloth covering at best, the entrance was covered by two separate wooden doors hinged at the top. One was quite big, obviously built for larger customers, while the other one was small and looked to be made with smaller and weaker pokemon in mind. A quick glance back made it clear just how far they had walked; the town square was completely out of sight now, and the forest beyond that was barely a dot on the horizon.

Haru led the way inside. As she pushed her way past the wooden door, the movement set off a bell, prompting a voice to call from inside, "I'll be with you in just a minute!"

She heard Nip quietly shuffle in behind her. The room they stepped into was surprisingly clean, if mostly empty. There was a counter at the far end with both a tall and short portion, made from carefully carved and polished stone. Above her, she could see a hole cut in the roof that light leaked through; likely an entrance for any flying types that could not easily push one of the doors open. Beyond the counter was another doorway, this one just covered by a cloth like most. There were even a couple sweet-smelling potted plants next to the counter and a couple stools and woven mats. Everything seemed relatively normal for a shop.

Except for the smell.

Even with plants to help mask it, and the curtain to help contain it, Haru could pick up the scent of blood and the stench of death. It made her hair stand on end. Nip, perhaps unsurprisingly, seemed rather undisturbed.

Finally, after what felt like forever to the poor bidoof, Mandi emerged from the backroom, thankfully cleaned up.

The bird that waddled inside was nearly four times Haru's size, her head nearly devoid of feathers with a thick, tan, feathery collar around her neck.

"Ah, Miss Haru!" The mandibuzz said in a cheerful voice. "Never thought I'd see you visiting my little shop. Either you're here to help that sorry looking sneasel over there, or you've suddenly grown a taste for meat. What can I help you with?"

Haru thought it best to ignore the sorry excuse for a light-hearted joke. "I am here to help the sneasel, actually. This is Nip. He's from some far-off place and is looking for a... meal more to his tastes. We're hoping you could help him out."

Mandi seemed to catch on immediately. "Of course, dear heart," she said in a sing-song tone before turning her attention to the sneasel. "So, what kind of flavor are you in the market for? We have a couple rattata ready to go, just brought 'em in this morning and already checked them over for disease. If you're more a fan of the watery taste, I have a remoraid I could sell ya that Vale found a couple days back. Or I have a bit of ponyta flank left. Everything else is still being processed I'm afraid."

"Oh, I haven't had fish in forever. I could go for some of the remoraid." He paused, considering a word that stuck out in her statement. "Er… what do you mean, processed?"

"Ah, you really must have come from somewhere far off. All the meat vendors around here are required to process any bodies they bring in and check with neighboring towns to see if any unfortunate souls are missing, so their bodies can be returned for a proper burial instead of being salvaged. Enforcer's Union rules."

"Do you have no way to tell that you aren't hunting pokemon from neighboring… villages, then?"

"Hunt?" she squawked. "Oh, goodness! Everything we bring in is scavenged. It would be unbecoming at best to hunt others. Every pokemon that's brought in here died of causes out of our control. They could be of something natural like old age, or something less natural like drowning or being unfortunate enough to cross a territorial wildener's path."

"Do they have ways of knowing who belongs to what tribe where you're from?" Haru asked.

"Of course! Every tribe marks their members with something. Dyeing fur or skin with berry juices are the most common ways, but some of them use more permanent marks, like specific scars or piercings. Hunting down another tribe could start a skirmish; everyone knows better than to do that."

Haru looked the sneasel over. "So, what's your mark then?"

"We typically use half-circle markings and occasionally asymmetrical lines." Nip shifted his weight off of his injured leg. "But, er… mine were washed off during my travels, and I haven't bothered to reapply them."

The bidoof mentally stored that information away. "Interesting… but we're getting sidetracked, sorry."

"It's all fine," Mandi said. "Now, for the next question. Do you just want that dethawed to prepare yourself? Or did you have a specific preparation in mind? I assure you, Zylar is quite skilled in all sorts of preparation techniques. He can do it as a filet or on the bone. He has equipment for grilling, frying, baking… you name it."

"Why would you cook perfectly good meat?"

"To reduce the risk of contamination, dear. But I assure you, we keep everything frozen so that it lasts longer."

"Is it really that old?"

"You never know with scavenged meat. Usually, it's not that old, but we believe in playing things safe."

For a moment, Nip hesitated. "Fine, fine. Just dethaw it, I guess. And I guess you might as well cut out the bones if you're going that far."

The mandibuzz bobbed her head cheerfully a few times. "You got it! I'll get Zylar on it right away!" With that, the bird turned to shimmy back towards the back room, squawking out an order to whoever Zylar might have been, leaving Haru and Nip in an awkward silence.

Nip watched the doorway that Mandi had disappeared through, and when it became obvious that she would be a while he instead hobbled over to one of the stools, looking it over for a moment before taking a seat himself. Haru followed after, choosing one of the mats.

She was starting to feel rather uncomfortable with the whole situation. Maybe she shouldn't have offered to give him the tour after all. Without thinking, she mumbled, "How… do you live with yourself?"

The sneasel shot her an unamused glare. Crap. Maybe she should have worded that better. But the words were already coming out of her mouth. "Like… hunting. How do you live with yourself knowing you cut someone's life short. You've cut several lives short, all for the sake of eating when you could have… I don't know, not done that? At least I'm assuming you're eating, and not just hunting for sport."

Nip was silent for several moments, staring down the Bidoof. When he finally responded his tone was cold. "No. Hunting for sport would be cruel, but there is no way that we could have sustained everyone on this 'scavenging' concept. Not while competing for territory with rival tribes as well." He paused to shake his head. "Death is inevitable. And while I agree that killing for sport is wasteful and wrong, taking a life to be able to live is just the way the world works. Just as we hunt other mon to survive, other mon would kill us if it meant they would live."

She quickly sensed that she would get nowhere with this. So, she opted to drop the subject, turning her head. It was silent again, for a time. Hoping to brighten things up, she asked, "so, what is the climate like where you come from?"

For a moment, he seemed to consider whether he wanted to answer. "Cold," he finally said. "Well, cold in comparison to here, I mean. Where I come from, snow is not uncommon by this time of year. It was forested, where I lived. Live. To the north, there are mountains. We don't travel up there - Tempest always warned that the tribe up there was even less receptive to outsiders than us."

"Hold on, back up please. Who's Tempest?"

"He was - still is, I suppose - my mentor. A majestic ninetales. He was adopted into our tribe at a young age, orphaned after his father, Snow Weaver, vanished. He never really talked about it, so I did not force the matter. He taught me much of what I know."

"Including how to hunt?"

The blunt interjection earned Haru another sharp glare. She muttered a quick apology, if only because she had not meant to bring the issue back up.

"If you must know. He taught most of my hunting skills, yes. And most of my battle skills as well. I would consider myself a seasoned fighter, and one of the better in the tribe, thanks to him."

Thankfully, before she could stick her foot further in her mouth, Mandi returned to the counter, this time followed by a cubone in a cloth apron, carrying a bundle wrapped in wax paper. Haru recoiled when she noticed the bloodstains on the cubone's apron.

Nip rose from his seat, meeting with the cubone across the short counter.

"Your order," the cubone said quietly. "It's ready. Take it."

"Ah, thanks. Er… what's your name, again?"

"Zylar."

"Thank you then, Zylar," the sneasel said before backing away with the package in his claws, already starting to tear into the paper.

"Pleasure doing business with you two!" Mandi chirped. "Now, about payment… That would be ten poke for the meat, add five for the dethaw, and two for the cut… that'll be seventeen poke."

Haru glanced back to the sneasel - who had paused to stare dumbfoundedly at Mandi - as it suddenly occurred to her that he probably had no money. Did they even use poke where he came from? Who knew? With a sigh, she pulled off her satchel. Fortunately, she always carried a little with her when she was around town. She dumped a few of the coins onto the counter, carefully counting out just enough for the meal. A glance back revealed that Nip had already sank his teeth into one of the slices of meat almost ravenously, without even cooking them! How weird. And kind of gross. Very gross, actually, to her.

With a quiet thanks to the shop keep she moved to exit back the way they had come.

Stars, please let the rest of the day go better.

Fortunately for Haru, most of the remainder of her tour went off without a hitch. She had the opportunity to show off some of the other shops, the guards' hut and yard where the town guard trained and where many of them stayed, and even showed him the sprawling fields of berries and vegetables at the town's edge. Nip had seemed to be in awe of just how much food they grew there.

But as the sun began to descend from the sky, there were still a few things left to show. Still, she had saved the temple for last, hoping that he might open up more about his home while there.

The two were now on their way up the path towards the temple, Haru leading the way, with Nip trailing a bit behind, his limp more pronounced than it had been in the morning. She paused when he started falling too far behind.

As he finally caught up, she spoke up. "Do you need a break? We can stop for a bit if you need to."

The sneasel responded with grit teeth and shook his head. "I'm. Fine," he huffed. He glanced up the street and, noticing a building up ahead, pointed it out.

"Is that. The place?"

Haru turned her head to the building he was pointing at. It was more isolated than most of the village's huts, and far bigger too. The land around it was surrounded by a carefully placed wooden fence, four uniform horizontal planks making up each section.

"Oh, no that's not the temple. That's Mayor Jhorlo's house."

"Is this… Mayor Jhorlo one of your village elders?"

"Er… No. He's just our Mayor."

"Oh, Mayor is his title. I see. What is a 'mayor?'"

"He's sort of like… the guy in charge of making sure everything runs safely and efficiently here," Haru explained.

"Oh, so he is not an elder, but his function is similar to one. I understand."

"I… guess? Are these elders something important in your tribe?"

"The tribe's leadership is made up of the elders," Nip explained. "Pokemon that have been fortunate to survive into their twilight years, that choose to impart their… wisdom. To the rest of the tribe."

Haru took a moment to digest that. And to digest the hesitance in his voice. "Are you okay?"

He blinked at her a couple times. "It is nothing important, it's fine," he finally said. "Well, I have no need to learn about this mayor's house. The shrine must be further ahead?"

"O-oh. Of course." With that, Haru took the lead again, traveling in silence for some time until another building came into view.

This one also stood out from most of the other city architecture. While most of the houses had been built out of wood and clay, and occasionally cobbled together stones, this building was made of slabs of carefully carved stone. It was square in shape, with intricately designed pillars, depicting the stories of Regigigas that she'd heard her whole life. Stories of the titan dragging the continents and islands into place, of him forming the golems. Of the golems taking their place resting in the mountains, protecting Regigigas' "Tomb," the shrine supposedly somewhere deep in the peak where they slumbered. Haru could not help but have her doubts.

Nip, on the other hand, seemed entranced by the design. By the stone building and all its art. The two made their way up the ramp leading into the building through a huge open entryway.

The inside was lit with a combination of candles and of the luminescent plant life that many of the villagers used in their home. The building was mostly empty, save for a pair of pokemon. The first was a reserved lucario, a broom in hand, sweeping away dirt and leaves that had managed to blow in through the entrance. The second was a hawlucha, her arms crossed as she spoke quietly with the lucario. She was the first to notice the visiting pair, tilting her head up slightly to signify to the lucario that they were no longer alone. The lucario turned his head to look back towards the duo, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Haru, is that you? I never expected to see you here."

It seemed like that was the theme of the day. "Good afternoon, Anu, Whisper." She nodded her head in the direction of both pokemon. "I, um, this is Nip. The sneasel we found the other day. He said he's on some sort of spiritual journey, so I offered to show him the shrine."

Only then did Anu seem to notice the sneasel standing beside her. "O-oh, o-of course! Good afternoon, sir." He paused when the hawlucha, Whisper, interrupted him, mentioning something to him quietly before taking her leave. She brushed her claws against the lucario's shoulder before she left. Whatever she said, it seemed to fluster Anu.

He turned his attention solely to the sneasel. "A-Anyways. So, tell me, what made you make this journey you're on. Are you a follower of the great Regigigas? Or perhaps of his titanic creations?"

Nip quietly shook his head. "Not directly. The name Regigigas is… vaguely familiar, though I know little more than that."

The lucario seemed taken aback for a moment but smiled regardless. "I suppose I should not expect much more from a foreign mon. Every part of our world has their own culture, after all. It's to be expected that pokemon from other places would have limited information about Regigigas. So, tell me. Who do you follow?"

"My tribe follows the legends of the trio of balance. However, Yveltal is our patron deity. Our neighboring tribes though, the ones we are friendly with, pay tribute more specifically to Zygarde and Xerneas."

The lucario smiled weakly. "I'm afraid I haven't heard of them. I would love to hear more about them sometime, but I'm afraid now is not the time, as I need to finish clearing the shrine of debris before the evening patrons come in to pay their respects."

Now it was the sneasel's turn to act surprised. "Really? No one down here has heard of them?"

Anu shook his head. "I don't know for sure, but I would be surprised. Not even the passerby explorers have ever mentioned them. Where did you say you were from?"

"The northern mountains. On the other side of… I believe your healer called it the Great Misty Canyon?"

The lucario let out a hum. "Oh! That would explain it. Last I heard, the Expedition Society only just started making plans for a permanent outpost on the other side. Information is… quite limited, if they haven't been there yet. Not many explorers travel north of the canyon.

"Regardless, you are free to stay here for a while, if you would like. We have a small room to your left for visitors that wish to pay their respects to their own deities." Anu gestured to another large doorway to the side him, leading to another dimly lit room. Haru could make out a handful of candles on a stone slab, as well as a few other items that she couldn't identify from here.

"I appreciate it, thank you." With a dip of his head, the sneasel limped past the lucario and into the room.

In hopes of passing the time, Haru turned her attention to Anu, who had returned to sweeping. "So," she started, "How are things with you and Whisper? I believe your egg should be close to hatching, right?"

The lucario looked up with a surprised expression, then quickly busied himself with sweeping again, a tiny smile on his face. "We were talking about that, actually. Whisper things we have another moon or so to wait. She was heading over to check with Tor when she left."

Sensing how flustered Anu was, Haru just gave him a quick hum before turning her attention to the display beyond. The main statue on the shrine was of Regigigas. Unlike most everything else, his statue had been molded from bronze. Or at least coated in it. Metal could be a bit hard to come by. And metal-workers were even rarer, so getting the statue built had to have taken a lot of work and money.

A few offerings lay at the feet of the statue. She still had no clue what Anu did with those, but she remembered them disappearing from time to time when her dad used to bring her and Toshi, back when they were younger.

In front of the statue of Regigigas were three smaller statues of his titans, the golems of rock, ice, and steel. Unlike the first statue, these were only made of stone, though they had been painted. Or at least, they had been at one time; much of the paint that had covered them had chipped and weathered away over time, and never been replaced. Anu once told her there used to be more, but their names and appearance had been erased from history, for reasons no one knew.

Her attention turned up to the wall behind the statues. Although there was little light to make them out with, she could see the bits of the paintings of the creation trinity, and the single egg painted in the middle. Of all the gods, those were the only ones she could believe might exist. No other explanation had come up for the creation of mystery dungeons, after all.

Deciding to not dwell on stories and memories that would sour her mood, she began to make her way over to where Nip had gone, to see if he had finished whatever he was doing.

He had not. As she approached the room, she could make out the outline of the sneasel in the dim light. He was sitting with his legs almost crossed, his claws in his lap. She suspected that his eyes were closed, but she could not tell from here. As she got closer, she began to make out bits and pieces of something that he was mumbling.

"Do I disgust you, Yveltal? …I don't know how much longer I can keep running. Yveltal, if you hold any favor for me still after what I did, let me make it someplace safe."

Haru backed away slowly. Perhaps it meant little. Perhaps she should not be quick to judge. But something about that sentence rubbed her the wrong way. She forced herself to calm down. It was probably nothing. She hoped.

She waited by the entrance, ruminating on the feelings until the sneasel finally emerged, a hard to read expression on his face.

"Thank you for waiting for me," he mumbled.

"No… no problem," she said, trying to not avert her gaze. "We should… probably go back to Lecha's, huh? It's getting late, and she'll probably want to apply fresh bandages."

He grunted an agreement before beginning to make his way back down the ramp. Haru followed behind at a slower pace, her mind dwelling on what she overheard, and what little she knew about Nip. He had said before that he was on a spiritual pilgrimage. Perhaps it had some truth to it, but what he said suggested he was running from something, or someone. And based on what Anu said, there was no knowledge of Yveltal down here, which would suggest that he was not here to find something about them. So, it raised the question.

If he was not really on some sort of pilgrimage, what had he come all the way here for?

Twilight was perhaps the liveliest time of day in the forest. As sleepy pokemon made their way back to their nests and shelters, out came the kricketot and kricketune, singing their evening songs. Out came the volbeat and illumise, dancing their twilight dance. And out came the nocturnal pokemon – hoothoot and sneasel, murkrow and morelull – all waking for evening activity.

As dusk began to settle in, a particular kangaskhan was settling down in her carefully constructed shelter. Today had been quiet; no pokemon had been foolish enough to try fighting her. No threat had been stupid enough to trespass on her territory. Few would have the nerve to try fighting a kanaskhan. Fewer survived to tell the story.

But as she tried to settle in, a sense of unease overcame her. Something was wrong. It took only a few seconds before she realized the forest around her had silent silent. No chirps, no buzzing, not even the rustle of a rattata dashing from bush to bush. She gently rubbed a paw over the egg hidden in her pouch, as if worried it would no longer be there. Slowly she stood back up, sniffing at the air, peering deep into the undergrowth.

Suddenly, she heard something burst from the bushes behind her.

By the time she spun around, they were already upon her.

She felt a powerful set of jaws clamp down on her leg. She let out a howl and tried to shake the pokemon free, swinging her leg wildly. The pokemon did not let go; if anything, they bit down harder. She caught a glance of cream and black in the fading sun. She could not easily reach down to bite, so she did the next best thing she could think of to do. She took a deep breath, focusing energy into her left hand. It became alight with fire, a technique she had learned from her father. In one swift strike, she struck the jaws that had clamped down on her leg. The blow was just enough to dislodge her assailant, sending them flying in an arc when she swung her leg again.

The other pokemon landed on their feet a short distance away, finally giving the kangaskhan a chance to look over her opponent. She was tiny, only coming up to the kangaskhan's thigh. But just as big as her body was the massive second set of jaws that protruded from the top of her head. Besides the black and cream, a red curved design had been dyed into the fur on her chest. Another design, a spiral, had been dyed around her right arm.

The kangaskhan let out a huff. "Try to attack me, eh?" she roared. "You ain't any bigger than that sneasel I smashed up. You'll crumple just as easy!"

For a second, the mawile seemed caught off guard by the statement. But then her resolve strengthened. She dashed forward head-first.

The kangaskhan was faster. When the mawile had almost reached her, she spun, swinging her tail in hopes of knocking her attacker off balance. It connected, tripping up the mawile and throwing off her momentum. But it did not keep her down for long. As soon as she had her balance, she dashed again, this time springing up. The kangaskhan brought her hands up defensively, protecting her chest from the brunt of the steely headbutt. Even so, despite the small pokemon's stature, the force of the blow made her skid back a few inches, kicking up leaf litter and dust.

By the time the mawile landed. she had already begun her next attack. As the mawile sprang again, this time with her second pair of jaws arced forward to bite the kangaskhan focused just long enough to allow her hand to become alight with flames once more. Jaw made contact with flame. The kangaskhan felt jagged teeth graze her arm, only for them to be knocked away as her fist connected. The mawile was knocked sprawling backwards, bouncing in the grass. She did not move.

The kangaskhan let out a triumphant roar and turned her back.

Then she felt a blow to the back of her head.

She whipped back around. The mawile was gone.

Another blow, this time to her flank. She tried to whip around, but the mawile was already gone again. Another blow to the head. She let out a frustrated roar, snapping at the air.

She turned her head back. The mawile was already upon her, striking her directly in the stomach with anther headbutt, knocking her off-balance. As she desperately tried to regain keep her footing, she felt teeth snapping at her heels. She stumbled, falling back onto her back.

The mawile was on top of her in an instant. She felt teeth sink around her neck. At any second, she expected the pokemon to rip her throat open.

But it never came. Instead the mawile remained there, staring her down with a cold look in her eyes.

"I had planned to kill you," the mawile began, "but… something you said interests me."

The kangaskhan tried to raise a fist. The teeth sank in deeper.

"Do not try my patience. You said something about a sneasel earlier. Tell me, what did he look like?"

Sensing the danger, she and her unborn child were in, the kangaskhan began to stutter, fumbling over her words. "I-I- yes! The-the sneasel! He was kind of a gre- a grey brown! W-with weirdly colored feathers. Y-yeah, they weren't red like they usually are!"

The mawile narrowed her eyes. The jaws dug a little deeper. "And what did you do to him?"

"He- he tried to steal my egg! S-so so I made sure he wou-wouldn't be able to do that again, see?"

The pressure relieved slightly. "Did he, now? Tell me, did you kill him?"

"I-I don't know, he tried to drag himself off but- I never saw the body, I swear! I just left him to be picked off. He might'a survived!"

The mawile seemed to consider it for a moment before finally pulling her jaws away, only to strike at the kangaskhan's shoulder, digging fangs in and ripping a bit of flesh away as she tore it open, making the normal-type shriek in pain.

"Something to remember me by," she grunted with one last look at the kangaskhan before hopping down. "If I see you again, you won't escape with your life."

She began to walk away, leaving the kangaskhan to tend to her wound. She could have killed her; she had planned to in the first place. But it would have been such a waste, with only herself to feed. And besides, the kangaskhan had given her valuable information, valuable enough that she considered sparing her life a fair trade.

Nip was nearby. And if he was alive, he could not have gotten far.

Edited 6/25/2020. Two scenes from this chapter were moved to chapter 2.