Trials and Tribulations

"Ouch! That stings!"

Lecha clucked her tongue and shook her head as she looked over the injured bidoof. She continued to carefully wipe away dirt and grime from Haru's cuts with a damp cloth, ignoring Haru as she winced and squirmed.

"I told you not to go back to the dungeon," Lecha chided. "And what did you do? Go back to the dungeon. You have no one to blame but yourself."

Haru groaned, sifting slightly in the nest. "It's not like I wanted to be there."

"Yes, yes, you've already told me. Now hold still and let me get a look at your head there."

Her gaze shifted to the side as Lecha moved around her, catching a glance of Muse out of the corner of her eye. The absol was laying down with her eyes closed, her shoulder heavily wrapped in a pecha-soaked cloth bandage. Shimmer had draped herself against the absol's side, small pulses of healing energy passing from her hands on occasion. Jaques and Lotte had left shortly after their treatment was finished, speaking in low voices as they headed back to meet up with Jhorlo.

Umbra paced at the edge of the room, her minor cuts already treated with a couple oran berries from Twi. The illumise in question was on the far side of the room, humming as they worked on washing out the used rags.

"Why is it taking so long for them to get back?" she caught the mawile grumbling. "They better not do anything without me."

Behind her, she heard Toshi grumble something inaudible. Her thoughts cut off as Lecha's released a wave of healing energy from her palm, easing her pain and relaxing her tense muscles.

Lecha finally stepped back. "Alright, dear, get yourself an oran berry from Twi, then you're good to go." Her gaze hardened. "But be careful. No strenuous activity for two days. And keep those cuts clean. Understand?"

Haru groaned, rolling her eyes. "I understand. Nothing but stripping bark the next couple days. Got it."

The aromatisse gave her a pointed look. "Alright, off you go then."

She turned her attention to Shimmer and her guard. "Muse can leave too, so long as you don't ride on her back, Shimmer. Give that bite time to heal. And Toshi… If you want to go out to the square to participate in the sneasel's judgement I'll allow it, but come straight back afterwards, understand?"

Toshi hopped up immediately, then paused with a wince. "Finally, some fresh air! I-I mean… Y-yeah, I got it. Thanks, Lecha."

"What kinda punishment are they gonna do? You think they're going to behead him?" Twi interjected in a lighthearted tone without looking back.

"Excuse me?" Lecha squeaked, before growing more serious in tone. "Don't even joke about that. Where did you ever get such an idea?"

The illumise finally turned. "My dad told me we used to do that here."

Lecha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "That was many, many years ago. Generations ago. When the woods were wilder and pokemon were less civilized. Besides, you don't really want to see a beheading, dear. Trust me."

Twi tilted their head. "Have you seen one, Lecha?"

"No, fortunately, but I have seen some nasty injuries in my years, including loss of limbs. Those are bad enough."

"You wouldn't see one anyways," Haru said. "Usually even unincorporated villages ship their worst criminals off to the Enforcers Union. They handle any executions these days. And those are only done behind closed doors."

Satisfied with her explanation, she stood and stretched, then turned to Toshi. "Are you ready to go then?"

Toshi carefully stepped out of the straw bed and gave himself a look over. "As I'm gonna be. I don't really care too much to go but… I guess I want answers is all."

"You and me both," Haru agreed. "Simmer, Muse, you two coming?"

"'Course we are! Muse, let's escort my Toshi-kins."

"I don't need an escort," the bidoof mumbled while Shimmer shook Muse awake. He made no further argument, though.

Muse lifted her head, then stood and shook, sending stray bits of hay in all directions. She winced as pain flared up in her shoulder, but pushed through it and took the lead, walking beside Shimmer down the hall. Haru let Toshi walk in front of her so that she could keep an eye on him, watching his slow, careful movements. As she walked through the hall into the lobby, she heard footsteps patter behind her. Stealing a glance back, she caught sight of Umbra following behind.

"I'm not going to stand around and wait any longer, if even all of you can go," she growled when she caught sight of Haru staring back.

Haru elected to ignore the statement, turning her attention back to her brother as they exited the building.

The majority of the village pokemon had already gathered just outside of the square, waiting around the small building the town guard operated out of. And yet, Nip, Roselei, and Whisper were nowhere to be seen.

Umbra ran ahead of the beaten and battered group, pushing her way through the crowd to try and get into the building. Vale and Romi blocked the entrance, however, barring all pokemon from entry. The bidoof pushed herself to walk a little faster and tried to weave between the crowd to get a better look.

"Move aside!" Haru caught Umbra snapping at the manetric and rapidash. "He's my problem. I should be involved in whatever is going on."

"Relax," Vale growled, sending a couple warning sparks in Umbra's direction. "They're just questioning the wildeners. They'll bring the sneasel out when they're done so he can make his claims and face judgement."

Umbra snarled, but clenched her fists and turned away, beginning to restlessly pace again.

Soon after, the serviper and steenee emerged from the hut, flanked on either side by the quagsire and flaffy that had been waiting outside the dungeon. The fletchinder followed shortly after.

As he looked over the crowd, the fletchinder caught sight of Haru and let out an angry squawk, opening his wings as if to attack. But a weak jolt of electricity from the flaffy stopped him.

"Let them through," the quagsire called out. "They've been cleared to visit Lecha for healing, then they'll be returning to where they came."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the crowd parted, letting the three wildeners through with distrusting looks. The steenee and serviper, in turn, did little to counteract the anger and distrust, glowering right back. The fletchinder, however, took one cautious hop before taking to the sky. "Forget this. I have family to get back to." Soon, he was only a speck in the distance.

A few minutes of tense chatter passed, the villagers milling around anxiously as they waited for any sort of news from inside. Enough time passed that the quagsire and flaffy returned, this time without the Wildeners. Lecha joined the crowd shortly afterwards. Finally, however, their patience was rewarded.

Roselei came out first, stretching in the afternoon sunlight before moving over to meet up with Ruffle on the side. She rubbed her flowers together, her gaze shifting to the doorway as she mumbled something about ice types. In response, Ruffle brushed her hand against one of the roserade's flowers, pulling it down to hold onto at her side.

Another moment passed and Anu emerged, having returned by now from the mystery dungeon. In his paws was a stack of parchment, a piece of charcoal balanced on top. Essra came next, her eyes glowing with psychic energy. Then he appeared.

Nip's forepaws had been bound together by a thick rope that glowed with the same psychic energy that glinted in the espurr's eyes, dragging him out of the hut as he tried to keep on his feet. The crowd broke out into a cacophony of sound ranging from nervous whispers to jeers at the expense of the sneasel. Once he had been brought in front of Anu, Essra cut the psychic connection. Nip stumbled. As soon as he found his balance, his ear folded back against his skull. His eyes narrowed to slits as he faced the angry crowd.

Finally, Whisper emerged with Jhorlo beside her, the two conversing in serious, hushed voices. Haru strained, leaning forward in an attempt to catch what they were saying, though she could only make out snippets.

Whisper spoke first. "You know I respect your leadership and your thoughts, but… with a trial… I more than anyone… can't do that."

"I understand your hesitations," came Jhorlo's reply. "But… perfectly reasonable… we know that he… nothing this serious in nearly a decade… have a good reason to…"

"Even so, that's... responsibility. Punishment of that… handled by the Enforcers…"

Finally, Jhorlo was close enough that she could hear his words clearly. "And we don't have an Enforcer's branch here. It would take far long for any to arrive, too. We'll have to make our own decisions."

"In that case, we'll take a vote after we hear his story, as we usually would," Whisper replied curtly. She shot Nip an unreadable glance. "As horrible as this is, we can't just skip our normal processes altogether. We are not wildeners. We don't kill first and ask questions later." Then she turned away, taking a few steps to stand beside Anu. She scowled at the sneasel but said nothing more for the moment.

Jhorlo turned to take a seat on the other side, his expression unreadable.

Haru considered the snippets of conversation, her mind drifting back to the conversation in Lecha's clinic. Were they actually considering an execution? On one hand, she thought for a crime this serious, it was certainly reasonable to consider it. On the other hand, Whisper had more reason than anyone else to call for an execution, and even she seemed against it.

Anu stepped forward, raising a paw to call for silence in the crowd. A moment passed as the clamor died down, pokemon nudging and shushing each other into silence once they noticed the lucario. Only after everyone grew silent did he begin to speak, clearing his throat.

"We…We have… gathered..." He hesitated, cleared his throat again, and continued, choosing his words carefully. "Apologies, I am… not the best at speaking to crowds, as you all know. And this situation is… not easy for me, to say the least. I am sure you are all gathered today to bear witness to the trial and sentencing of this sneasel."

"We already know he's guilty!" shouted the flaffy from the back of the crowd. "Get on with it!"

"I understand your feelings," Whisper said tersely, "but our laws dictate that we give accused pokemon a chance to defend themselves."

Anu turned his head to give Whisper a grateful glance. "Ahem, right. Let me, let us review the story so far." He paused to look down at the parchment. "Three days ago, this sneasel, Nip, was caught in the act of egg theft and was chased out of town, fleeing into Sunglow Thicket with the egg. There are… Three crimes were known to be committed, other than evading arrest and assaulting a guard. Our e-"

He cut off and took a deep breath. "An egg was stolen from the nursery, along with a bag and a handful of supplies from Lecha's clinic. This bag was fortunately recovered, though the egg… He also assaulted a child in the nursery, as brave Aves tried to stop him."

Anu turned to address the sneasel directly. "Do you deny any of these claims?"

"I…" Nip hesitated, eyes darting to look towards the lucario, then back to the crowd. He lowered his head slightly. "I would argue it wasn't 'assault,' but rather 'defending myself'... I… think they attacked first."

The lucario glanced over to Whisper with a pleading expression. She let out a sigh before stepping forward, speaking up in a much clearer voice. "You 'think'? How do you not know" Nip said nothing, so she continued. "So, you contest the assault?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Fine. What about the other accusations?"

Nip sucked in a breath, tensing. He stayed like that for a moment, prompting the crowd to break into hushed whispers. Haru caught herself leaning forward, breath bated as she waited for his response. Would he tell the truth? Or dig himself into a deeper hole?

Finally, though, he turned his head slightly away, ear and ear feather pressing back against his skull. "I… guess not…"

"See he admits it!" the flaaffy bleated above the crowd as a wave of murmurs broke out.

"I told you he was up to know good."

"That's why I never help strangers."

"Oh, don't get so high and mighty just because you're selfish."

"Settle down!" Whisper barked waving a wing towards the murmuring pokemon. The crowd quickly fell silent, spooked by the lead guard's harsh and commanding tone.

Satisfied, she turned her attention back to the sneasel, narrowing her eyes. Her tone shifted ever so slightly, a hint of danger under the command. "I'm only going to ask this once… why?"

Shrinking back from the fighting type's thinly veiled threat, Nip was slow to reply. "Well... it just… seemed like a good idea- no, it was a poor decision even then… but it seemed like my best option at the time."

"You better explain before I-" she cut herself off, steadied her tone, and started over again. "Just… Explain."

Nip's gaze shifted to the mawile just a few feet away from him, eyes fixating on the dangerous set of jaws just waiting to snap him up. "I was… hungry. And I was in a hurry. Not thinking clearly. Trying to think of the fastest way out of town that would also give me something to eat. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone… elsewhere. But at the moment, I thought that the nursery was the closest and least guarded place I could go."

"And why exactly were you so keen on leaving so quickly, and so okay stealing an – stealing a child – from a village that had taken you in, saved your life and offered you shelter?"

Anu stepped forward, placing a paw on the hawlucha's shoulder. "Dear… isn't that kind of a loaded question?"

Whisper pulled away ever so slightly, clenching and unclenching her claws. "Well he can still answer it, can't he?"

"Let me take this one, Whisper. I know this is hard on you. It's hard on me too. But take a second to calm down." Anu turned his head to Nip. "Answer the question, please."

Nip jerked his head in the direction of Umbra. "I think you already have that answer. Because I knew she was nearby."

He turned his attention to Nip "So… Why were you so keen on getting away from her?"

"Because she wants to kill me!"

Haru, as well as a few other villagers, turned to look at Umbra. The mawile raised a hand in front of her and closed her eyes. "I only plan to carry out a reasonable punishment for the type of crime he committed," she responded curtly. "If that means death, then so be it."

"A reasonable punishment? Yeah right. I don't know what kind of lies you've told, how you've spun the story, but this has all been about your ego! You're only here because of our personal squabble, aren't you? That's why they sent you of all pokemon after me!"

Umbra scoffed. "You're reaching, Nip. And jumping to conclusions. Typical."

"Enough!"

Whisper moved forward to stand between the two bickering pokemon, shooting each of them a dangerous glare. "Both of you. Calm down."

She turned her attention to Nip, ignoring the look Umbra was giving her. "Let me get the story straight. Umbra claims to be tracking you down because you attacked their nursery. Is this correct?"

A long pause stretched out as Nip stared at the hawlucha. He turned his head away a moment later, ear and tail drooping. "It was… a very poor lapse of judgement. After seasons of strife with my tribe, all of my anger and frustration spilled over. At the time, I felt like I was saving those poor souls from a life of restriction and suffering. By the time it occurred to me that there were better ways of doing that, I'd already gone through with it."

Uneasy murmurs broke out into the crowd. Whisper gave Anu a look and began to speak in an urgent tone.

"What kind of monster thinks like that?" Haru heard the quagsire whisper.

"One that's sick in the head," flaffy replied.

Haru thought for a moment. She… kind of had to agree with that. Why would anyone ever think killing a pokemon was saving them? She pawed at the ground anxiously. Yet… Something didn't seem right. There were still questions unanswered. Questions that might just make his crazy story make a bit more sense.

"Was it really bad enough to make murder seem reasonable?" She blurted out, perhaps a bit louder than she'd meant to.

At once, everyone nearby turned their eyes to look at her, including Nip, Anu, and Whisper. The flaffy leaned in towards Haru, perplexed. "Are you trying to defend him?"

Haru took a quick step back. "Of course not! I just… Something doesn't add up here. Either there's some part of the story we're missing, or he's completely dangerous and immoral. And…"

She paused, thinking back to the day she spent taking him around town. Sure, it could have all been a ruse to get on their good side and get everyone to let their guard down. But then again, there were the broken bits of prayer she overheard at the shrine. Had that all been a ruse too?

She turned her attention to Whisper. "Pardon me for speaking out of line but… I'd like to ask something."

The hawlucha tilted her head upwards for a moment. "I suppose we can open up the floor for questions from everyone now. Go ahead."

She dipped her head. "Thank you, Whisper." She turned her attention back to Nip. "So what's the truth? What's your deal? When you first came here, you claimed to be on a pilgrimage. Instead you're a fugitive on the run after a heinous crime. And yet your behavior here from before Umbra showed up doesn't match your behavior after. You say she's feeding us lies, but you don't deny any accusations."

Realizing that she had started to ramble on, Haru finally asked her question. "What I'm trying to ask is… Why'd you do it? What made you feel like killing unhatched eggs was doing them mercy? And why are you so certain that Umbra is chasing you for personal reasons?"

Nip frowned, turning his head away with a sour expression. "Umbra was the beginning- the root of my falling out with the tribe. She was supposed to be my mate. Not that she ever treated me like one, let alone an equal."

Uneasy murmurs broke out in the crowd, pokemon wondering what this could possibly mean for the situation as a whole, or if it could be believed. As Haru turned her head to get a better look at everyone's reaction, it seemed like the only pokemon that might be unphased by this information were Umbra and Jhorlo. The two were watching Nip, each with an unreadable expression.

"Settle down!" Whisper raised her voice over the clamor, waiting for the crowd to it was silent enough, she turned her attention to Umbra. "Is this true? Are you two mates?"

"We were," Umbra clarified. "Obviously that was considered null and void after what he did."

"It should have been ended a long time ago!" Nip snapped. As he continued, his voice began to waver. "How many times? How many times did you throw me out of our den because you wanted nothing to do with me? How many times did I ask the elders to reconsider our arrangement because you were too proud to, before things took a turn for the worse?"

Nip turned his attention to the crowd. For a second, he locked eyes with Haru before addressing everyone else. "You want to know why I felt I was saving pokemon from suffering? Because of what I suffered through: seasons of struggling to better my place in the tribe before the pairing ceremony, only to be assigned a mate that hated me! Whenever I went for advice or help, saying that we failed to get along, I was told they would work things out. But they never did. And then? And then that's not even the worst part!

"They wanted to know why we hadn't produced an egg. They wanted proof we weren't infertile. And if one of us was… if I was, I refused to lose everything I worked towards in such a humiliating way. So, I decided to lose everything on my own terms: by leaving. But not before preventing the next generation from suffering the way I did. Was it a poor decision? Maybe so. But at least Yveltal would watch over them in the afterlife."

Several pokemon murmured uneasily amongst themselves as Nip's words hung in the air. Certainly, that explained a lot of his history, as well as the hostility between himself and Umbra. But was it enough reason to change how he would be judged? Even if it was an explanation for what he did to the tribe, it wasn't an excuse. And it certainly did not excuse what he did to them.

Muse's voice raised above the chatter. "There's something I would like clarified, please."

Most of the talking died away, pokemon turning their attention to the absol on the edge of the crowd. She shrank back nervously at the attention, but an encouraging pat from Shimmer helped her find her courage again.

"When you talk about how badly you and Umbra got along, why did you end up with her in the first place?"

"Yeah," a diggersby from the back of the crowd said. "Why'd you guys even become mates if you hated each other so much?"

Nip scowled. "I thought I made that clear. Neither of us had a choice. Mate pairings are chosen by the tribe elders based on three things: egg compatibility, expected tribe standings, and personality. The first two have the most bearing, as the reason for choosing mates for pokemon was to ensure the healthiest offspring for the survival and wellbeing of the tribe. New mates are expected to produce at least one egg by their second warm season together. Do you understand what that means?"

Haru took a guess, anxiety twisting her stomach into knots. "That you two were together for two cycles before you, er... left?'

Nip let out a grunt, shifting his bound arms uncomfortably. "More or less. Can you imagine what it's like, spending so long being treated as inferior, only to be told that you're expected to get along and produce offspring or else lose the spot in society you spent your adolescent years fighting to reach?"

No one had anything to say to that. At most, a couple of pokemon shifted uncomfortably.

Nip narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and put on his best pleading expression. "That's why I'm begging you to let me go. I didn't want things to turn out this way. I don't want to stay around and cause any more trouble. I just want a second chance at living. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Not technically, Haru thought to herself, but just letting you go after everything you've done? How do we know you won't just do the same thing to the next village you come across? This was your second chance, and you blew it!

Fortunately, she didn't have to come up with an answer, as Umbra spoke up in a sharp tone.

"Your reasons don't change the fact that you committed crimes!"

Several other pokemon murmured in agreement, sending a ripple through the crowd as they discussed the matter. Anu and Whisper spoke together in hushed voices, then moved over to speak to Jhorlo. Vale and Romi both approached the group as well. Haru could not make out what they were saying, but she could see that Vale in particular seemed displeased, a scowl on his face. Jhorlo looked perhaps a bit annoyed, but otherwise seemed as neutral as he had before.

Finally, however, the group broke apart. Anu stepped forward and raised a paw for silence. When things were quiet enough that he would be heard, he spoke.

"It is true that Nip has committed grave crimes. Not just against our community, but against another. It is my opinion that we cannot just let him go in good consciousness. That said, I personally would not feel comfortable releasing him into Umbra's custody, with the murky knowledge we have of the situation as a whole. But it is not my decision to make. Not alone. So, as is tradition, we will open it up to the village to decide what to do."

Whisper stepped forward next. "We have come up with four ideas. We can let him go, if that seems like the best solution. We can release him to Umbra and let his punishment be handled by his tribe. We don't have the means to jail a pokemon long-term here, so instead we could contact the enforcers branch in Oltree Village and have them pick him up and decide what to do."

She paused with a scowl. "Or… Due to the… situation we unearthed during this hearing, we've decided to offer one other option. Although I personally don't care for this option, I will yield to the village if it is the majority. If you will it, and if he is willing, we can keep him here to undergo rehabilitation. He'd be paired with a guard at all times of the day and be locked up at night. During the day he would be expected to either work around the square to help with village improvements, or else go through education on how to be an upstanding citizen. He would only be released when he has shown through good behavior that he has changed." She paused. "And if he doesn't show improvement… we'll revisit our decision."

"Whisper and I will be abstaining from the vote," Anu announced. "Umbra will not vote either, as she is not a member of this community. Anyone else who feels uncomfortable deciding can also abstain. Now, if there's anyone who believes his story and is in favor of letting him go, please step forward now."

Haru stood on her hind legs so that she could get a better look at the rest of the crowd. A couple pokemon exchanged awkward looks or hushed whispers, but none stepped forward. She looked back to Nip and noted that he'd shrank back, his ear twitching nervously, his pupils huge and round like saucers.

Did he really expect us to let him go? Haru thought. He'll be lucky if no one snaps his neck in the middle of the night!

"No one? Very well. Let's… move on to the next, then. Is there anyone in favor of turning him over to Umbra?"

More awkward glances were cast, and for a moment, it seemed like no one would step forward for this either. But then Vale stepped forward, the manetric's snout scrunched up in a scowl.

"Oh, to heck with it. He shouldn't be our responsibility, and who knows what the enforcers will decide to do. Yellow's known for being a bit too forgiving for my tastes. I say let his peers decide what to do with him."

A few others murmured in agreement. More pokemon stepped forward: the quagsire, the flaffy, and a vibrava, as well as Zylar - the cubone from the butcher shop - Romi, and Roselei. Jaques and Lotte stepped forward as well, the latter leaning against her brother's shoulder to steady herself.

Anu carefully counted out the pokemon in his head, pointing to each one as he tallied them up. "That's… nine in favor of releasing to Umbra. Let's move on then. Those in favor of releasing him to the enforcers?"

Haru stepped forward, having already made up her mind. But as she glanced back, she realized that Shimmer, Muse, and Toshi – none of the people she knew best had stepped forward. Even her parents were hanging at the back of the crowd. She tilted her head, honestly surprised.

She wasn't alone, though. Tor and Essra stepped forward, as well as a pidove, a slurpuff, a mienshao, and a swallot.

"I don't feel right releasing him to Umbra, with everything that has come to light," Tor mumbled. "But I don't feel safe leaving him around here." A couple of the others murmured their agreements.

"We have none in favor of releasing him, nine in favor of releasing to Umbra, and… seven in favor of releasing him to the enforcers?"

Haru chanced a quick glance to Nip while the Lucario spoke. The sneasel appeared tense, hunched. His mouth moved, but no sounds escaped him. Was he shaking?

"Finally, would anyone in favor of rehabilitation and community service step forward."

Shimmer and Muse stepped forward immediately, followed shortly by Ruffle and Mandi, as well as a plusle, a buneary, a psyduck, a meowstic and a ribombee.

Toshi hung back on the edge of the crowd. He reached a paw out like he was going to step forward, but his expression was torn.

"Nine…" Anu brought a paw up to his face, his brow furrowed. "We have a tie then…"

"In the event of a tie," Whisper began, raising a wing to place it on her mate's shoulder. "We typically have the mayor cast the final vote. Jhorlo, do you have an opinion on the situation."

The purugly stood up, a rumble in his throat. "Of course, I do," he purred. "I believe I already talked about it with you, Whisper. I had already carefully considered the situation, and this new information does not change anything for me. If I must break a tie, then I vote to-"

"Wait!"

Everyone's attention turned to the bidoof that made the outburst. Toshi waddled forward, his head held high. "I'm sorry, I was struggling to decide what to vote for, or if I should vote at all. But I have to follow my heart, and my heart says to follow what I think Society Head Blue would say. If it's okay, I'd like to cast my vote now."

Anu and Whisper shared a look, then looked to Jhorlo. The purugly's expression was unreadable, but he dipped his head.

"Very well," Anu finally said. "You are a member of this community too, and you have a right to vote. What is your decision?"

"You know Blue is a big part of my inspiration, of why I want to join the rescuers or the expedition society so bad. And I believe that… Blue would want to give someone a second chance to prove themselves. That's why I'm voting for rehabilitation."

The lucario blinked, taking a moment to digest the verbose explanation. "Well… We…"

Whisper stepped forward and interrupted him, her response blunt. "We could have done without the long-winded explanation."

She continued, speaking in a louder voice. "That brings the vote for rehabilitation to ten. As such, the community has spoken, and the sneasel's rehabilitation will begin tomorrow. So long as…" She paused, turning to address Nip. "Are you willing to learn our ways and make an effort to be a better pokemon?"

Nip took a deep breath. His gaze darted to the side before settling on the ground in front of him. "If the alternative is going with Umbra, I'll do anything."

"Very well." Whisper turned back to the crowd. "If you would like to be involved in choosing tasks for him to work on, please meet me in the Guard's Hut shortly. Vale, would you take the sneasel back to his cell for now?"

The manetric huffed, shaking out his fur. "Fine. Don't blame me if things go downhill though. Just remember how I voted."

Whisper crossed her wings in front of her and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Now, Vale."

Vale lowered his head and complied, stepping forward to push Nip back towards the hut with his snout. "Come on now, I don't have all day!"

Nip paused and looked towards Toshi. He blinked at him once slowly, then allowed himself to be herded away.

Once he was out of sight, the crowd began to disperse, most pokemon leaving in groups of two or three, or else heading into the hut. Jaques and Lotte moved to speak with Jhorlo. Vale emerged a moment later and joined the two. Jaques left with Vale a moment later, speaking quietly, while Lotte and Jhorlo instead approached Umbra.

Haru headed towards brother. Shimmer and Muse were already by his side.

"That was really cool there Toshi, coming in there and deciding the vote at the last second!"

Toshi turned his face away sheepishly, rubbing at his face with a paw? "You think so? I mean, I was just trying to do what I thought was right…"

"Of course, I do! It's the type of decisiveness I expect out of my future mate!"

His face fell slightly. "Ha ha… yeah, sure… Could we maybe not talk about that right now though? This whole discussion we just had makes it feel extra awkward at the moment."

Muse shifted her attention away from her charge and the uncomfortable bidoof and caught sight of Haru, locking eyes with her. "Ah, there you are."

Haru quickly closed the distance between them. Toshi and Shimmer turned their attention to her as well.

"Hey, Haruru, what gives?" Shimmer asked in an overly cheerful voice.

"What… gives?"

"Yeah, why didn't you vote with us?"

Haru gave the kirlia a flat expression. "What, I can't make my own decisions?"

"Of course you can," Muse cut in. "I think what she means is… Shimmer wants to know why you'd vote to turn him over to strangers?"

"Because that's the enforcer's job? To deal with criminals?"

"I suppose that's true," Muse mumbled. "But… I would have thought that you, out of everyone, would have wanted to rehabilitate him? Considering you spent the most time with him out of everyone here."

"Spent the most time- I spent… like… two days with him, Muse. Total. Maybe a little more, but not much! And I don't have time to run around worrying about him. I have more important things to do! I-"

Shimmer interrupted with a giggle. "I think Haru is just taking this personally!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you feel personally betrayed that you spent time explaining how things go around here, hoping to learn stuff from him, and then he went and did a crime. Isn't that right?"

"No, it's not!"

"You say that, but I'm not so sure!" Shimmer's voice came out in a sing-song tone.

"That's… not really fair," Toshi mumbled, but Shimmer was still preoccupied and didn't notice.

"Anyways, I wanna get back to the villa before dark. Just think about it Haru, and I think you'll find that I'm right. You know kirlia's can sense emotion, don't you?"

"You sure do a lousy job of it with Toshi!" Haru snapped.

"Woah!" Toshi held up a paw. "Please can we all just calm down?"

Haru took a long, deep breath as Shimmer and Muse began to walk away. "Fine. Come on Toshi, you need to get back to the clinic. And I want to go home. I'm sore, tired, and now I'm angry too."

"Look on the bright side though," Toshi replied. "Now that Nip's caught and everything's been decided, things should go back to normal, right?" He paused, scrunching up his snout. "Or… relatively normal at least."

Haru closed her eyes, considering for a moment. "You know what, you're right. I mean, things might be a little odd around here, with everyone keeping their eyes on Nip. But at least I'll be able to get back to my normal schedule. No more running into dungeons, no more fighting, no more getting burned by angry birds."

She shook out her fur, then nuzzled up against her brother. "Thanks for trying to help me feel better, bro. I know you tend to like adventure and shaking things up, so I appreciate it. C'mon, let's get you back to Lecha's."

As they began to walk away, Haru glanced one last time back at the guard hut. As much as Toshi's words helped her feel better, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to Shimmer's words. Was she taking things personally? No, that was ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason for her to take things personally, after all.

If one were to follow the Gorbyss River from Theran Village downstream, they would eventually find themselves at the eastern coast. By coincidence they would also happen to find one of the oldest known settlements: Brinash Town. In years long past, it had been a tiny settlement of only a few dozen pokemon, but as the years went by, it grew to be one of the largest and most important cities in the land.

It also happened to be the location of the Expedition Society Headquarters.

Here, an arcanine made his way through the busy streets, rushing, yet taking great care not to mow down any of the other pokemon along the way. Several stalls called out in an attempt to catch his attention, hoping to sell wares to the obviously brave and powerful pokemon. Surely, he needed dungeneering equipment, right? If only he would stop here, they'd give him the best deal on orbs he could find in town. But he ignored every call, every offer.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Soon, a building familiar to him came into view. One that stood out amongst the other building s in town. For one thing, it was by far the largest building, and painted with vibrant colors to attract attention. A huge banner hung from the front, a design of a vaporeon's face painted on it, with the words "Expedition Society" underneath.

The arcanine carefully stepped around the teams of explorers making their way out of the building, narrowly dodging a litleo that burst out in front of his shinx and meowth partners, and passing a grumpy solosis and his overly-eager frillish partner as they made their way outside. Several pokemon milled about on the ground floor, most looking over the job or announcement board.

He ignored all of that; he hadn't come looking for a job.

Instead, he made his way up a ramp at the back of the room to the second floor. The library was not his destination either, so he continued on to the third.

By this time of day, the live-in quarters were nearly silent, most pokemon having already left for their missions. He made his way down the hall, past the apprentice rooms and the ranked rooms, until he came to a set of large double doors. Here, a pangoro blocked the way. She walked up to meet him in front of the door, a scowl on her face.

"Do you have business with Society Head Blue?"

The arcanine bowed his head. "Urgent business."

"You'll have to come back later. Blue left for the Great Misty Ravine three days ago. Can you leave a message?"

The arcanine glanced to the left and then the right before leaning in. "Mago, listen. It's me, Maneth. I've come with a message from Progne. If Blue isn't here, then we need to talk."

The pangoro's eyes lit up with recognition, though she continued to frown. She pushed one of the doors open. "Of course, come on in."

The arcanine passed the pangoro and entered the room. Blue certainly had not changed over the years; the room was in a way, both clean and cluttered. No trash or other filth could be seen in the room. And yet trinkets and baubles lined every available space.

Maneth heard a click behind him as the pangoro closed and latched the door.

Only then did Mago's frown vanish, replaced by a coy smirk. "Hmph. If you came back after all these years, something must be going on. You can shed your disguise now; we're all alone."

Maneth let out a huff of air and turned his head. "Can't be too careful in my position, you know? Can't risk being followed." A second later, the arcanine seemed to melt away, leaving a smaller black and red beast in his place. The zoroark shook out his great mane, clutching a satchel close to his body before standing up on his hindpaws.

"Let's make this quick then. Why are you here?"

"Like I said before, Progne sent me. They received a distress call about seven days ago. From one of the lessers, Tinny. Someone - or something - is chasing him."

The pangoro frowned and grunted. She made her way to a shelf in the wall and bent down to pick up a piece of charcoal and some parchment. She grumbled under her breath about how small the charcoal was, but with some effort began to jot down notes. "Something?"

"Tinny couldn't name his attackers. He said there was a honchkrow and a girafarig, but there were also other pokemon that he didn't recognize."

"How could Tinny not recognize one of Mew's creations?" Mago asked incredulously.

"We don't know! He had to cut the connection before we had a chance to get his location or a description. Progne asked me to see if Blue could mobilize the Society and Red his Guild, have them keep an eye out. But they also wanted to warn them to be careful. We don't know what these pokemon are after."

"If they're chasing down a lesser god, it can't be anything good."

He paused to adjust the strap on his bag. "Exactly. I came here first, but I'm headed south to Red's guild next."

"Progne could always contact us directly, you know. It would be faster."

Maneth grumbled, scratching behind his ear. "Sure would make my job easier, but you know why they won't do that."

The pangoro let out a groan, setting aside the parchment and charcoal. "I know. It's still a pain. I'll get someone to let Blue know he had an urgent visitor."

Maneth blinked and flashed a lopsided grin. "That's a relief. Really. Anyways. I need to get going then. I have a lot of ground to cover." He closed his eyes, concentrating, and the illusion of an arcanine filled his place once more. He approached the door, then paused. "Listen, I know this is ironic coming from me but… may the original one's favor shine on you all."

Mago let out a single amused chuckle. "You're right, that's rich coming from you. But may it shine on you as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an announcement to plan out."

A/N: Last updated 9/24/2021