Scheming in the Evening

"And so that's the story we were given and what we plan to do about it. Crazy, right?"

Toshi trembled slightly before stretching out in the straw bed, the action interrupted by a wince. "Wow, that's… a lot's happening, huh? You're so lucky to get to go do something so important, even if it is with Shimmer."

Haru recoiled a bit and let out an exasperated sigh. Of course, Toshi would find excitement in something like this — chasing a criminal through a mystery dungeon — even after the nasty injury he had received in their first attempt. With that in mind, she tried to approach his statement with tact. "Toshi… I know it sounds cool to you and all, but it's all so dangerous. I mean, look what happened to you, you could have gotten killed. I don't like putting any trust in that mawile after what she did to you but… why should I bother helping Nip, after what he's done here?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Toshi responded firmly. "If she went so far with us, how do you know she wouldn't kill Nip - someone she apparently actively has a grudge against - on the spot? Justice has to be served, but it should be served fairly."

"I… guess that's a fair point…" Haru grumbled begrudgingly. Then she spoke up. "But even if she would go that far, I'm still not entirely convinced the danger is worth it. Especially when none of us are trained for fighting. Well, except for Muse."

"Listen, you know how much I look up to the Expedition Society, right? When I'm not sure what the right thing to do is, I sit back and think to myself 'What would Expedition Head Blue do?' And in this case, I think they would say that Nip's side of the story deserves to be heard at least, even if it does end up being a big fat lie. I think most of the town guard would say the same. I think even Anu would say the same. Not sure about Whisper though, I know this must be particularly hard on her…"

Haru grunted and scraped a paw across the rough wooden floorboards. "Ugh… I… Kind of hate that have a point." She paused for a moment. "To be fair… I guess I don't really want to kill him either, not without giving him a chance to defend himself at least.

"But!" she added quickly, stamping a foot on the ground for emphasis, "I also think Shimmer, Muse, and I going into the dungeon again is a poor idea. There're enough town guards dealing with it. Pokemon that are actually trained to deal with troublemakers. I'll go with them to keep an eye on them, and because I probably have the best chance getting Nip to come along quietly. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"If I wasn't so beat up already, I'd go out there myself!" Toshi exclaimed, jumping back to his feet, only to whimper and sink back down into the straw. "I mean… it would be good practice. To be honest… I've been thinking about stepping up my training, to give me some practice so that I can get strong enough to join the Expedition Society or the Rescue Guild soon. Besides, every pokemon deserves at a second chance, even if it's under close scrutiny."

Haru deflated slightly. She wanted to argue that pokemon like them had no business working for something as intense as the society, but sensed arguing was a losing battle. "I know. I really do understand how you feel. You have a dream you want to chase, and this fits in with it. On the other hand, I just want to settle down and handle the family business, you know? Sure, fame and glory to put our name forward would be nice, but not at the risk of my life and everything Mom and Dad have been building up over the years. And all this mess keeps pulling me away from it. I feel like I'm having to do things for everyone else but myself, for someone I don't even care about."

She stepped forward, leaning in to nuzzle against Toshi before continuing. "But… I guess you're right. If I was able to end this without bloodshed and I don't, and more pokemon end up getting hurt, I would feel pretty bad about it. I've already agreed, so I'll do it this time. But you guys still owe me, big time."

The younger bidoof chuckled, nipping playfully at Haru's ear. "Thanks, Sis, I'm sure you won't regret this."

Haru pushed a paw up against his face and pushed him away, then circled back to settle in a nearby nest. "Now we just need to wait for Muse and Shimmer. They said they'd meet me here."

"No need to wait!"

Haru groaned at the chipper voice. Of course, a quiet break was too much to ask for.

Muse and Shimmer entered shortly in usual form, with Shimmer sat atop Muse's back.

"Oh, Toshi, I was so worried about you!" The kirlia cried out, jumping down from Muse's back to run over and give him a hug.

"Ow ow ow! Shims stop, please!" Toshi paused and pawed against Shimmer, gently attempting to separate them.

Shimmer was quick to let go and pull back, giving the bidoof room to breathe. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Mmm. Sorry sweetheart, I was just worried about you! I'm so glad that you're safe!"

"Yeah," he replied with an awkward laugh. "Thanks…"

"Could we just-" Haru began, cutting off when she realized that no one was listening, Shimmer babbling on more nonsense about her love of Toshi instead, keeping everyone's attention. She raised her voice. "Could we just please discuss the matter at hand?"

That finally caught the kirlia's attention. "I'm not sure what's left to discuss? We have plenty of items leftover from today, other than the escape orb and a few oran berries that we had to use. But those are easily replaced."

Haru started to retort, but clamped her mouth shut as the aromatisse doctor entered the room, a shallow bowl in hand.

"I hope I don't hear my patients discussing running right back into the dungeon when they're supposed to be resting."

"Oh no, of course not, Miss Lecha," Shimmer said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Hm…" Lecha stared down the kirlia for a moment, an awkward silence that seemed to stretch on forever. "Well, I suppose I should get a better look at you while you're here, Muse. You left in such a hurry before I didn't get a chance to examine you properly."

"Oh no, I'm fine," Muse insisted. "I mean, my jaw is a little sore, but… it's nothing serious."

"Nonsense. I can tell you're exhausted; it's written in the way you're standing and in the clumps of missing fur. Stay right there. I'll be with you in a moment."

Muse let out a sigh and lowered her head, slumping down into one of the nests, resigned to being checked on. "Well… While we're waiting… I suppose we could discuss the fact that Umbra will be staying the night with us."

"Who?" Toshi asked.

"The mawile."

"Excuse me?" the bidoof squeaked, attempting to hop to his feet. The action was a poor choice, however, and he ended up sprawled out again, front legs trying to clutch his stomach in pain.

"What did I say about sudden movements, dear?"

Toshi whined before carefully settling himself back into the straw. "I know, I know ma'am. Sorry."

Lecha let out a satisfied huff and sat her bowl aside, turning her attention to Muse as she began to work through the absol's thick fur, looking her over for wounds.

"Anyways," Muse said, suppressing a wince when Lecha brushed up against a nasty scrape, "taking her over to the villa was an… awkward situation, all things considered."

"I imagine so. Did she say anything on the way over?"

Shimmer chimed in. "Not a word. Though I couldn't tell if it was because she felt awkward about the situation, or if she was just being stubborn. Didn't stop me from rambling on to her."

Lecha stood up straight, nudging the empty bowl in front of the absol, and walked off towards her shelves of berries and herbs.

"I got the impression that it was both," Muse said.

A moment of awkward silence followed, interrupted only when Lecha returned with a wet cloth and a sitrus berry.

"Here," she said, placing the berry in the bowl. "Fortunately, none of your wounds are deep. I'm going to clean them out and then you can be on your way. The sitrus berry will help with the pain and speed up recovery. Keep them clean and eat an oran berry tomorrow morning, and you should be back to normal within the next two to three days."

"Oh, good." Muse paused to stifle a yawn. "I should be able to sleep well then."

The absol dipped her head down to scoop up and chew on the berry as silence fell on the group once more.

"Well," Haru said, getting up to stretch. "I suppose I should head home. It's getting dark, and we're going to have to get up early to..." she trailed off, mindful of Lecha still being around. "Well, I'm going to have to get up early to catch up on work. I'll see you guys later. Toshi, you staying here?"

"Mmm, guess so," the other bidoof said, closing his eyes. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Don't worry Toshi-kins" Shimmer piped up, clapping her hands together. "Everything's going to turn out alright, and things will go back to normal soon."

"That's right," Haru said firmly, before adding under her breath, "I hope."

Despite his exhaustion, Nip forced himself to keep moving throughout the night. Or at least, he suspected it was night; he could not be certain how much time had actually passed from within the mystery dungeon, where the sky did not change. Fear that the dungeon would shift and sweep him out kept him moving. Fear of being followed, of being caught and hauled back, kept him looking over his shoulder. Fear of the death that either could cause kept him tense. Only once he made it through the second shift and into the dungeon's third division did he allow himself a moment's rest

There, he was able to turn his attention to the egg. There, as he took a moment to rest, guilt finally had a chance to gnaw its way into his belly.

Two ideas warred within his mind. One was of hunger. The innate need to eat to survive. Even if stealing an egg from his saviors was cruel, the ends justified the means. Though he normally did not care for the taste of egg, the deep hunger that twisted his gut squashed that feeling. His mouth watered imagining his claws cracking the egg open, lapping up the golden ambrosia that leaked out.

But moral reason and his consciousness held him back. If he were to be caught, he reasoned, he would have a better chance of surviving the encounter if the egg were still intact. He should have just stolen meat from the mandibuzz and cubone; he would have had enough time, even factoring in the longer walk there, and if they had caught him, he would have had the advantage against both of them. And would it not be cruel to kill a child that had a much better chance at a good life than any of those from his homelands? Even if some of the rules of the village seemed senseless, it still seemed like a better life than what he had been offered. For the most part.

And yet, why did it matter? Another part of him pointed out. So long as he was not caught, he would never see any of these pokemon again. Why should he care about their feelings? Once he gave them the slip, he could continue south until he found the ocean, follow it around a good distance until he was certain he was untraceable, and then settle down somewhere for a quiet, solitary life where no village could tell him that his way of life was evil, and no tribe could set up arbitrary rules that trapped him in misery.

There was one ultimate question, however, that left him more conflicted than any other.

Did eating an egg stolen from people that saved him out of the goodness of their heart make him a monster? If it did, could he live with that?

He grit his teeth, claws pressing against the thick shell. No, he wasn't sure he could.

…

But by the time he reached the fourth division, all that remained was a lingering sense of guilt, and littered pieces of shell that would be swept away by the dungeon winds.

The end of every dungeon is different. Those Nip knew of hosted a stable area at the end, a single area the dungeon winds would never touch. Legends in his tribe spoke of dungeons where pokemon like Yveltal hid themselves away, watching the world move around them. Other legends spoke of treasures and artifacts that kept the world in balance. Sometimes those two legends intersected, telling of gods that watched over world-ending artifacts, guarding them for all eternity.

But most dungeons were nothing like that. Most dungeons were much more ordinary, like this one. The dungeon led him to a large, open field of tall grass that came almost up to his neck, void of undergrowth but filled with a low, thin fog that obscured his vision. Trees were sparse here, ancient oaks occasionally sticking up out of the mist like twisted sentinels.

Though the land was mostly flat, it occasionally dipped into a crater that had long grown over with grass. As Nip carefully tread through the tall grass, taking great care to be certain he was not accidently stumbling into one of the steeper dips, he wondered what ancient battle could have left scars like these on the land. Were these truly a result of the time and space gods? The fact that a mystery dungeon brought him to it would suggest so. Yet he wondered how many details had been lost to time. Had other pokemon fought alongside Dialga and Palkia? Were they other legends? Or ordinary pokemon like him?

He shook his head to clear the thought away, nervously combing his claws through his ear feather. Now was no time to be thinking about that. He should instead be focusing on more important, relevant things. Like figuring out if he was being followed.

Could the village pokemon be laying outside in wait for him? Or had they pursued him into the dungeon? Or both, even, sending pokemon to flush him out and lead him right into an ambush? He had heard hide nor hair of pursuers since he'd entered, though he had no clue how much time had passed since his ill-planned escape. Still, the tall grass, mist, and still air of the stable division would provide him cover, so long as he stayed still, quiet, and low to the ground. With that in mind, he listened carefully as he advanced towards the center, occasionally sniffing at the air.

Several minutes passed in near silence, only the muffled sounds of him shifting through the tall grass reaching his ears. Nip could not help but wonder if any pokemon lived here. He had seen pokemon living throughout the dungeon, some of them attacking him to defend their territory. And his few excursions into mystery dungeons in the past had usually ended in populated stable pockets. Yet here? It seemed like nothing. So far at least. Perhaps there were some spaced out amongst the grass, and the fog was muffling the sound of their movements.

As he neared what he suspected was the center, he found himself in a ring of shorter grass. At the center of the ring was the biggest crater he'd seen yet. This one, however, had long ago filled with water, creating a moderate sized pond in the center. A lone, ancient tree stood at the water's edge, parts of its roots exposed by erosion.

Nip glanced at the sky and across the water before cautiously inching his way towards the shore. No, no one seemed to be nearby at the moment. How fortunate, that he had found a water source. So long as he could also find food, he would be able to sustain himself down here for a while and hide until things died down.

Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, he approached the water's edge, peering down into the murky depths. Unfortunately, it was not the clearest, most clean water he'd ever seen, but it seemed drinkable enough, and it would sustain him for now.

He crouched down and leaned forward to lap up a few mouthfuls. It had a slight earthy taste. He scrunched up his nose but powered through it.

And yet, there was something that kept him from relaxing. Something that felt like a little sting in the back of his head. He paused, going still as he stared out into the water. Though the water was murky and limited his vision, he could still see the ripples in the water, could still see the shadow swimming towards him.

He scrambled back from the water's edge just in time to avoid the snapping fangs that shot up where he had been just seconds prior. The pokemon sank back into the water, staying just enough above water level to be able to peer out and get a good look at Nip. He did much similar, edging closer to where land met water, watching cautiously.

The aquatic pokemon was surprisingly vibrant in color. A gaudy pink made up most of her scales, but some were blue, yellow, or purple.

"Ah, a dark type, that explains much," the bruxish mumbled to herself. Then she spoke louder to address Nip. "A clever one you are, pulling back just in time. Tell me, what brings you to Storyteller Bruxi's pond?"

Nip gave the bruxish a skeptical, distrusting look. "Storyteller… Bruxi?"

The bruxish scoffed. "Yes dear, that is my title. Bruxi. Storyteller and lore seeker of Sunglow Thicket. I also try my fins at offering psychic advice from time to time." She waved a fin. "You may relax, by the way. I don't try to eat pokemon twice. Besides, you look much too tough to eat."

Nip wasn't sure if he should be relieved or offended by that. Slowly, he managed to relax, his fur flattening out as he stood all the way up.

"There, that's better, isn't it? Come closer. It's been a while since anyone new came to visit me. How has the world been outside of these waters?"

"Uhh…" The sneasel hesitated, rubbing his claws together. "Fine, I guess? Er… if you don't mind me asking, how did you get down here, in that pond?" He glanced up, squinting in an attempt to make out the shore on the other side. "There doesn't exactly seem to be a water source. And I don't know that it rains inside dungeons. Without something like a rain dance, of course."

"Trying to figure out the logic of a mystery dungeon? Hah! You are a funny one. Yes. You simply must tell me your name."

"Nip."

"Well, Nip, perhaps there are diglet tunnels that flooded a very long time ago, that used to connect to the world outside the dungeon before they caved in. Before they caved in, I swam in here as a wee little bruxish and decided to stay for a while, but then I grew too big! Or perhaps I was dropped into the dungeon when a staraptor tried to make off with me as their meal. Which of these stories is true? Does it really matter?"

Nip averted his gaze, hiding his frustration with the coy answer. "I suppose not, in the end. I do not plan to stay for very long anyways, so why bother?"

"I suspected as much," Bruxi said, her tone lofty and nonchalant as she swam just a bit closer to shore. "Only a small group of pokemon live here permanently. And most of those travel out into the rest of the dungeon to gather supplies or prey on forest mon that were foolish enough to wander inside. Perhaps you have noticed, but this dungeon – the stable zone in particular - is quite lacking in food. A few berry bushes grow here and there in this zone. And a fruit tree or two. But carnivores like you or I are far less common. This dungeon will not sustain you for long.

"Besides," she added with a wry, toothy grin, "I suspect there's more to you being here than just passing through, isn't there?"

At once, Nip's mood shifted from cautious to angry and apprehensive. His ear twitched and he visibly tensed, looking the bruxish over cautiously as he shifted into a defensive pose. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you working with the village pokemon? Are you just trying to stall me? Answer me!"

Bruxi laughed, sinking lower into the water, bubbles escaping as she continued to laugh even as submerged, throwing off Nip's defensive posture. She returned to the surface a moment later though. "Oh, good gods, no! You won't find many down here that think fondly of that lot. They're quite cowardly, most village mon. Only traveling into the dungeon if they absolutely have to, looking down upon the wilderner way of life, taking our possessions if we protect our territory. If you're avoiding village pokemon, for better or for worse you'll find a mon or two here that will defend you from them."

"Bruxi! Bruxi!"

The two pokemon whipped around at the high-pitched chirp sounded in the distance, still clear enough to hear, even in the fog.

"Case in point. Why not take a moment to listen to what dear Blais has to say?"

The call of the bruxish's name sounded twice more before the pokemon arrived at the pond. There were three of them, all looking worse for wear. A fletchinder swooped down first, nearly losing his balance when he landed. A few feathers were bent here and there, and a few scrapes left behind dried blood. And he was absolutely filthy, dirt and dust and even a twig sticking to his feathers. Two fletchling landed shortly after the fletchinder, looking no better. The worse looking of the two fletchling leaned against the other, standing on only one leg. Its other leg hung at an awkward angle.

Once they caught sight of the sneasel, they both took to the air again with shrill, panicked tweets.

The fletchinder got one look at Nip and squawked in alarm. "You- You're the sneasel they were looking for, aren't you? What are you doing here?!"

"Calm down, Blais," Bruxi said in a calming voice. "The sneasel will not harm you. Please, tell us what happened. Start from the beginning, if you will."

You don't know that, Nip thought to himself, though he relaxed his posture enough to appear non-threatening. A moment later, when no more sounds came from him, the two fletchling returned, landing just behind Blais, and huddled together behind him anxiously.

Blais looked to Bruxi, then to Nip, and took a few seconds to preen anxiously. "W-well… We found one of those neat orbs recently, when we were out looking for supplies. We found a gust trap and placed it there to protect it from being stolen until we could come back for it, and then left to search for more supplies in that area."

"Why not just take it with you?" Nip questioned.

"I had to make sure we could carry any more important stuff back," the fletchinder countered. "Regardless of that, we'd only gotten halfway to the next field when we heard the trap go off. We raced back as fast as our wings would carry us and saw a bunch of those town pokes there, trying to take it from us! They said they were looking for a sneasel. We tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them. They knocked us all out, and when we came to, they'd already left, and they took the orb with them! I wanted that orb! It would have looked beautiful in my tree!"

The bruxish hummed in thought. "The only one that's come through today is the sneasel here. What pokemon were they, if you don't mind me asking?"

"There were two bidoof, a kirlia and one of those, umm…" Blais hesitated, trying to think of what the last one might be, making a curved motion in the air with his beak. "Four legs. They had a horn like that."

"An absol?" Nip suggested, a pit forming in his stomach.

"Yeah, that's the one!" one of the fletchlings chirped out.

Nip's throat felt dry. Not a mawile – not Umbra, and not just any village pokemon, but instead those four were pursuing him. Possibly among many others, for all he knew. Umbra could be in the dungeon as well, for that matter. At best, he could hope they might slow each other down.

"What did you do to make them mad enough to chase ya in here anyways?" Blais asked in an accusatory tone, experimentally flapping his wings before wincing. "Steal an egg or something?"

Nip visibly tensed at the accusation, an action that did not go unnoticed by the fletchinder. Blais squawked indignantly. "You totally did, didn't you! Why I oughta chase you back out of this dungeon myself!" To punctuate his words, Blais spread out his wings in an attempt to appear more intimidating, a few cinders escaping the side of his beak as he squawked.

In response, Nip crouched, a low growl sounding from the back of his throat. But before either of the combative pokemon could jump the other, they each received a spurt of water to the face.

"I will not have fighting at my pond," Bruxi said, her words coming out firm and dangerous. "Sneasel, you would do well to explain yourself. Neither Villager nor Wildener take well to egg theft around here, perhaps even less so than hunting."

"It's not like I go out of my way to poach eggs," Nip grumbled, shaking water from his fur. "In fact, I much prefer the taste of most meat over eggs. I just… was in a tight spot and thought it was the best solution, alright?"

The fletchinder turned his back, though he did turn his head to keep one eye on the sneasel. "And why should I trust you?"

Nip closed his eyes and turned away slightly. "You have no real reason to. But in all honesty, it really did seem like the best solution… at the time."

"Whatever." Blais' remark was punctuated by a couple flaps of his wings. "I'm going to go get some oran berries out of the stash. And maybe see if old Chimes is around and can do something about Fleet's leg."

He turned his head to stare Nip down with a glare that could penetrate the soul. "Don't expect me to stick out my neck when they come looking for you. If they hadn't already wronged me, I'd sell you out for a single oran berry."

Bruxi watched as the flying type took to the air, kicking up dust as he took off. Then she turned her attention back to Nip. "You'll have to excuse him. He has a lot on his mind, taking care of his younger siblings."

"Really? Those two were his siblings?"

"Mhmm? His parents are… well, not around anymore. Why, does this surprise you?"

"Things are different back where I come from. There, we don't…" Nip trailed off, his ear flicking. "Well, it probably does not matter to you. I plan to rest here, perhaps find something to eat, and then I will be on my way."

"Mmm, running away from your problems, yes?"

"I'm not-" Nip started, but the bruxish cut him off with a spritz of water that barely missed his face.

"Oh, hush darling, it's written all over your face. I may not be able to read the mind of a dark type like you, but I know a troubled soul when I see one."

Nip had nothing to say to that. So, he clamped his mouth shut and instead focused on wiping as much water out of his fur as possible.

When he failed to speak up, the bruxish turned away, swimming back a little way into the water. "You may rest here if you would like, but if you wish to eat you will either have to stick to plants, or else leave. The stable zone has a bit of a truce, of sorts. No one will bother you here, but if you try to hunt here, they'll turn on you in an instant. The rest of the dungeon is fair game though, and everyone knows it."

"You tried to attack me at first though," he pointed out, eliciting a chuckle from the water type.

"Oh, fair enough, but can you really blame me? I'm confined to this pond. Surely, I have to find food somehow, or else rely on the good will of others." She paused, humming in thought. "It's the price we pay to live free of the rules of villages and towns."

With barely a splash, the bruxish disappeared back into the murky pond waters, leaving Nip alone with his thoughts.

He decided to claw his way up into the tree nearest the pond, claws digging into the ancient bark as he scrambled up. From here, he was at least partially shrouded from view by leaves, and could get a better look out over the fields of grass. Although the fog still limited his vision, he could at least see further than before. Silently, he thanked Yveltal that his feathers were more of a mint-green, instead of the more common red variant; it kept him from sticking out like a sore paw.

Now that he could see further into the mist, he could catch more signs of movement. A rattata running here, a bounsweet bouncing there, an ursaring flattening the grass as they lumbered through, a poochyenna playfully pounced after a butterfree in the distance. Bruxi's parting explanation rang in his ears as he watched. Though all these pokemon were safe here, leaving for food meant risking their life. A pokemon that was a friend here could be an enemy if they crossed paths elsewhere.

What a terribly lonely way to live, he thought.

And yet, had he not given everything up for this? When he had left hom- when he had left his tribe in a fit of anger, he knew what he was getting into. He knew he was leaving the protection of many for a life alone on the road. He had no one to fend for but himself, but also no one to stand up for him.

He always considered himself a loner; he never expected that he would actually miss the companionship of pokemon - or at least some pokemon - that cared.

When Nip finally drifted to sleep, he dreamt of a barren cliff of dry grass and dust, an ocean soaked crimson by the setting sun, and the ebony silhouette of a pokemon soaring across the dimming sky as stars began to twinkle.

If Umbra could describe Theran Village in one word, it would be "strange." There were a lot of things in the sleepy community that she found odd and unusual.

She found it strange, first of all, that a bidoof and an absol would work together, fighting in one unit. Or even live in the same community, for that matter. The psychic type - kirlia, she thinks she called herself - the kirlia's place in the food chain was harder to place, but she suspected the companionship between a kirlia and an absol would be strange too. Psychics were uncommon in her region, so her lack of familiarity was understandable, at least.

When she thought about it, their whole community was strange. She could not think of one tribe in which herbivores and carnivores lived in harmony with each other, and only of a few large groups of herbivores that banded together.

Even the way they made their dens was strange. Instead of dug out and compacted earthen tunnels or painstakingly carved caves, they built their own of stone and felled wood, with no brush and undergrowth to protect and hide the entrances, leaving their homes exposed.

These pokemon had so little sense, it was no wonder Nip had such an easy time wreaking havoc.

The mawile stretched out in the straw bed with a yawn, situating herself on her belly, and dug deeper into the herbage. Even this was odd. She thought back to her own bed back at home. Sure, straw and twigs and reeds built up a base, but it was also carefully lined with fur and feathers to keep out the cold.

She would love to be back there, instead of halfway across the land chasing after a pokemon as ungrateful as Nip.

But as she closed her eyes and tried to put that… that… scavenging… egg stealing… cretin out of mind, a soft scratching at the - oh what did the kirlia call it, a door? There was a scratching at the door that caught her attention and made her spring to her feet.

"Who's there?" she called out, voice on edge.

"Please come out," a voice mewed from the other side. "Mister Jhorlo would like to see you."

At the name of the leader of sorts around here, she relaxed, if only slightly. She took a second to brush out any stray bits of hay that might have clung to her fur, then approached the door. She pushed the wooden latch that kept it shut, then cautiously pushed the door open.

Two purrloin stood outside, one on each side of the door, waiting for her to exit. She edged her way out, carefully looking both ways to be certain it was not a trap. Once she was certain though, she stepped all the way out so that she was between the two of them.

The two turned in unison, the one to her right raising a front paw. "Follow me, please," he said, voice firm. "Jhorlo's room is this way."

He took the lead, guiding her down the wood and stone den's tunnels, and up an incline to the second level. They passed by an opening along the way, wooden boards bound together to create a place to overlook the sleepy village buildings below. And then they were back into the dim tunnels, rounding a corner until the moonlight was out of sight, coming to a stop in front of another door.

The lead purrloin sat down on one side, bowing his head. "We have arrived."

The second one sat on the other side of the door and motioned in the same way. "Mister Jhorlo is waiting inside for you."

Umbra could not help but hesitate in the doorway, her training and caution coming back to her. Here she was, without ally in unfamiliar territory. For all she knew, she was walking into an ambush.

Relax, she chided herself. No one here has been particularly strong. As if they could defeat me. She elected to ignore the fact that she'd avoided fighting the lucario and rapidash earlier. After all, their appearance brought the fight from four against one to seven, and even she had to hesitate at those odds.

Now resolved, she took a confident stride through the doorway.

Th room was much more lavishly decorated than the nice, though sparse, room she had been placed in. An opening in the back of the room allowed moonlight to filter in, lighting the room partway. For those dark corners the light did not reach, luminous moss had been placed in jars, giving the majority of the room a dim, blue-green hue. The walls had been painted a deep purple, with an occasional painted design breaking up the monotony.

To her left, a wooden block - or perhaps a chest - rested against the wall, several old-looking trinkets neatly lined up on top. At the center of the room was a low-rising wooden platform, the top carefully sanded and glazed down into a smooth surface. Atop the table was a candle, a bowl filled with water, a well of some sort of ink or dye, and some type of parchment. On the floor on her side of the platform was a plush object made of material that reminded her of spinnerak silk. And on the other side sat Jhorlo, nonchalantly grooming down the fur along his shoulder.

"Ah, there you are," he began, looking up towards her. "Please, come stand across from me at the table. Or if you prefer to sit, feel free to do so on the pillow."

Umbra wordlessly followed the instruction, hesitating and brushing her fur before taking a seat on the plush object she suspected he was referring to. Even then, though, she stayed attentive, listening for the first thing that might sound off.

If Jhorlo noticed her discomfort, he said nothing of it. He leaned forward to lap up a couple mouthfuls of water while waiting, then sat up straight to address the mawile.

"Ah, apologies, I did not think to have a cup of water brought in for you. I'll have someone bring you some to your room after we talk, is that alright?"

Only then did Umbra realize how parched she was, having not drank since before she'd entered the mystery dungeon that morning. But thirst would show weakness, so instead she responded, "that will be fine."

"Good, good. Then with that out of the way, how about we get down to business, yes?"

Wanting to appear nonchalant, Umbra reached up to scratch behind her undamaged ear. "Oh, of course. Though I cannot imagine what sort of business you have with me?"

"You'll have to refresh my memory a bit, I don't remember if you explained all of this already. My understanding of your story is that you're here hunting down that no good sneasel, Nip, yes? Tell me, what do you plan to do once you catch him? Be honest, if you please."

Umbra let out a quiet hum. How much did she need to share? "Once I catch him, I must make sure he faces justice for what he did to our kin."

The purugly stared her down. And then he chuckled. "Hmm hmm hm… Quite the vague answer, you've given me there. But your sense of justice and the village's may not align, you see."

When Umbra said nothing in response to that, he stood up and began to pace along the other side of the table. "It would do you better to answer me honestly, you know. I'm actually on your side, despite what you might think. Sometimes the village pokemon can be far too soft." His voice took a dangerous tone. "The fact that you walked free after your little fight is proof of that, if my daughter and her friend's side of the story can be believed."

He stared for several heartbeats, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air before returning to his casual tone. "What if they just let him go with a slap on the wrist, as they did you? Perhaps my late mate would have been alright with that. But as she's not around anymore, I have my own way of running things. I can help you get to him before they do, so that you can enact your own justice, but only if you'll be truthful."

Umbra remained quiet while listening to his speech, carefully considering his words. Only when it reached an end, and he stopped to look up at her expectantly, did she speak. "I suppose you may have a point. Very well. If you must know, I was told to try and drag him back to our tribe to face judgement. However, if that was impossible, I was given permission to kill him, so long as I bring back proof of his demise. We are nearly a moon's journey from my tribe, if one were to head directly there. I think my decision is obvious."

"Looks like I was correct then, I suspected as much." The purugly sat back down, voice coming out silky smooth. "In that case, I do believe I can help you out. I'll have Jaques and Lotte accompany you. Should you get there first, you should have the chance to enact your plans. There's just… one little catch."

Umbra narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Explain."

"Oh, I don't think it'll be anything major," he added quickly. "No problem at all. My only request is that you leave the body behind. I suspect you wouldn't want to travel with a corpse, after all, and I'm sure poor Mandi could use more stock. It's so hard to scavenge enough food for all the carnivores in town, you see.

"Besides," he added, his voice rumbling with an amused purr, "I've always wondered what sneasel tastes like."

"Excuse me?" Umbra growled, slowly rising to her feet. "Do you have any idea how disrespectful it would be to leave a tribemate to be scavenged? Yveltal's code says that any pokemon that's been a friend to you should be given proper burial."

Jhorlo scoffed. "Like I would just scatter his bones about. What kind of pokemon do you take me for? I don't know anything about this 'Yveltal,' but if it really bothers you that much, I can promise that our scavengers will bury whatever's left once they're done, as they always do. But even if they didn't, do you really think he deserves that, after what he did to the pokemon of your tribe? Or is there something more you're hiding?"

"Of course there's not!" she snapped, her second set of jaws clamping tightly. She leaned forward, her tiny claws digging into the smooth surface of the wood. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at the purugly, who stared back with an even, smug grin and a glint of moonlight in his eyes. Then she forced herself to relax and lean back. "No, everything I've said thus far is truthful. I… suppose you have a good point though."

For a second, she swore she saw a glint of light in the purugly's eyes. He stepped closer to the table, placing his paw in the well of ink, then pressed it firmly to the paper. Even in the dim light, she could see the bright red pawprint it left behind. He then sat back down, placing one paw next to the well. "Well. Do we have a deal then?"

She hesitated only a moment longer. What difference did it make to her what they did to Nip? Or rather – to his body, once she had enacted revenge for her tribe. Once she killed him, he'd be out of her - and her kin's - fur. She could take his feathers as proof and wash her hands of this whole ordeal, returning to the home she loved.

She placed her hand into the thick ink, then pressed her palm against the parchment, next to his print and below rows of randomly placed dots. "Well, Jhorlo, I think we've come to an agreement."

The purugly let out a pleased rumble. "I must thank you for your cooperation, Umbra. I'll have Jaques and Lotte prepare to leave with you first thing in the morning, and get you outfitted with a bag to carry your belongings. Get some rest; you have a big chase ahead of you tomorrow, and you'll need to hurry ahead of the rest of the villagers."

"Of course I will, Jhorlo. I won't let this opportunity go to waste."