Trust and Grudges
"What is he doing here?"
Haru's mouth hung open. Standing in the middle of the path along the river where her family had been cutting trees was Stati, the flaaffy guard. He yawned and stretched in the mid morning light, static sparks flickering in his wool. In front of him stood a rather sorry-looking Nip. Toshi had arrived at the same time, though he was quick to get to work gawing through branches on a felled tree.
When her mom had said they were getting an extra set of helping paws this morning, it somehow hadn't occurred to Haru that the help would be leased out through community service.
"Now, Haru, I know how you feel about this," Saku stopped rolling the log she'd been moving to shake her head. "But look at it from our perspective. Demand for lumber and firewood is up, but there's not a whole lot of pokemon who can lend a spare paw. And besides, look at those claws! A little focus, and I'm sure he can cut cleanly through some of these branches for firewood with ease."
Haru's gaze drifted over the sneasel's wickedly curved claws. Her mom did have a point, as much as she hated to admit it. Though, as she looked closer… had some of those nicks always been there?
"Don't worry," Toshi said, snapping Haru out of her thoughts. She turned to see him pressing down on the branch he'd been chewing. "I don't think he's going to be causing any trouble."
Turning back towards the sneasel, her mind drifted to the previous day's discussion, along the path to the berry fields. If what Toshi said was true, maybe Nip really wouldn't cause trouble. Though not totally convinced, she still stepped aside to let Nip by. He passed without protest, keeping his head down.
Stati, meanwhile, sprawled himself out in the middle of the path. His demeanor suggested he was lazing about, but he still kept an eye on Nip at all times, watching Saku lead him to a pile of smaller branches.
"Now, if I remember correctly, you worked with my mate some during the nursery construction project, so you already know some of the process. But I don't think you ever were involved with stripping bark." Saku stood on her hind legs and reached down, grabbing one of the branches with her forepaws. "Most of what you'll be doing won't involve that, but I would like to get you familiar with the job, just in case. Now, let's see, where to start…"
Haru drifted away from the pair – there was no need to listen in further on her mother's lesson – and returned to the log she had started working on.
Once Saku's explanation finished, the group lapsed into near silence. Occasionally, she would hear a grunt from Nip or a word of instruction from Saku, but otherwise no one spoke as the sun climbed high into the sky. A neat little pile of bark formed to Haru's side as she worked on stripping the log. A couple of bites disappeared down her gullet, but it wasn't like anyone was going to miss it. It was a nice emergency food source for some, sure, but only a handful of the locals could even digest it.
Occasionally, Haru's attention drifted to Nip. Like Toshi claimed, he did nothing to suggest trouble. For each branch in his pile, his claws glowed white with energy, then he brought them down upon the middle. Usually he struck with enough force to slice through with a single swipe, though sometimes he had to strike again to finish the cut.
But throughout the entire process, he never spoke a word, never looked up, never stepped out of line. His movements were nearly mechanical. And now that she was near him, she could see for herself just how disheveled his fur was. Clearly, he hadn't been grooming.
It was a pitiful look, but she still couldn't feel any pity for him. Not after everything that had happened.
At some point, Toshi stepped away for a break, while Saku headed a little further up the path to fell another tree. And around the same time, the near silence began to get to Haru. She considered her options: talk to herself, talk to Stati, or talk to Nip. Stati was out; the flaaffy was curled up in a manner that made it clear he didn't want to be disturbed. And she didn't want to come across as weird by talking to herself. Which only left…
No, she shouldn't. Every time she talked to Nip it just devolved into angry bickering. But the chance of conversation was so enticing…
She walked over to stand near Nip, observing his handiwork for a while. He said nothing, and barely even acknowledged her with more than a tilt of the head. It caught her off guard; considering how much vitriol had passed between them recently, she'd expected him to at least be hostile.
"Is this really all about Celebi?" she said after a while, unable to keep herself from blurting it out.
Nip said nothing.
She tilted her head. Her toes curled into the dirt, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. Keep your temper, she warned herself. "It would be nice if you at least acknowledged that you heard me."
Again, Nip said nothing, but this time his ear flicked.
Haru let out a slow breath. "Okay, fine, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, I guess."
She turned and began to walk back towards her spot, but then Nip's voice reached her ears, quiet and monotonous.
"I've just discovered that the stories of at least one god I spent my life learning about was very, very wrong. Many of the decisions the pokemon of my tribe make are dictated by those stories. Our traditions, our lifestyle. Everything. If the other stories are just as wrong, then every decision – every decision, every mistake, every action – I made in my life was for nothing. Things I was proud of, things I justified in the eyes of a god that would be benevolent in death. Things I justified for the sake of survival…" He trailed off and turned away.
"Not that many of your recent actions were justifiable to begin with," Haru muttered. So now he chose to grow conscious? Haru wasn't sure if she believed it. His behavior just put a bad taste in her mouth.
To her surprise, he didn't give her a snarky reply. He just turned away and continued his work.
Haru bit back the growl in the back of her throat. Had he really put so much stock in the gods that he would use it to justify himself – oh wait, he'd said as much.
She wanted to press him more, try and see if he really had any regrets now and if he'd try to justify himself some other way. But before she had a chance to, she heard her name called from down the path.
"Haruuuu. Oh, Haruuuu!" Oh stars, why did Shimmer have to show up now?
Sighing, Haru turned her head towards the sound. Shimmer sat atop Muse's back, waving from a short way down the path. Toshi had returned, but was speaking with Stati. The flaaffy's expression was flat. Annoyed. Haru couldn't blame him; who wouldn't be annoyed by Shimmer's sudden appearance?
No, that seemed to just be a her problem. Stati actually seemed annoyed with Toshi.
After a moment of consideration, she hurried down the path to where the two boys stood.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Muse wants to talk with us," Toshi answered. "You, me, and Shimmer. Privately."
Oh. She didn't like the sound of that. It seemed like any time one of them wanted to talk to her privately, trouble followed. "What? Why?"
"She didn't say." Toshi tilted his head. "It shouldn't take long, though."
"It better not," Stati grumbled. "This is supposed to be a joint guard job. The fewer pokemon here, the harder it is to watch the prisoner."
"I don't think he's going anywhere," Toshi said, just as he had before. "But we're going to be just down the road, back at the house. If he causes any trouble, just give us a shout."
The flaaffy huffed and stood, stretching. Small sparks danced in his wool as he walked to the side of the path, where he could better see Nip.
Haru muttered a quick apology, then hurried after her brother. But she couldn't help but glance back, catching sight of Nip watching them, before quietly continuing to work. She couldn't help but think Toshi was right; Nip wasn't going anywhere.
The house was empty when Haru and the others arrived. At breakfast, her dad mentioned going out to make plans with Grombert for a new building project, and it seemed he was still working on that. At the entryway, she took a moment to enjoy the relative peace while the others made their way inside. The water caught in the dam swirled lazily, and she could hear the distant sound of gurgling as it tumbled downstream. For the moment, everything was peaceful.
But she couldn't stay out here forever. Pushing her way through the cloth covering, Haru waited for her eyes to adjust in the dimmer room. The other three had already taken up spots around the dining table, so she grabbed a cushion in her teeth and dragged it over, claiming a spot.
Haru's mind drifted before she could make herself comfortable. If her mom were her, she would have said something about getting refreshments for the guests. She hesitated for a moment before social niceties won over. Waddling over to the kitchen area – a simple, wooden counter with a few cabinets below, a few pots for storage, and a small brick oven – she nosed her way into the rightmost cabinet and reached her forepaws in to grab three bowls and a cup.
To the side of the cabinitents was a moderately sized wooden dispenser. She pushed the bowl under a faucet sticking out of the side, then pressed down on the faucet. There was a heartbeat of pause, then a steady stream of water spilled out until she let go. Pushing the bowl of water aside, she repeated the process until all four containers were filled.
This would be so much easier if I was evolved and could carry more, Haru thought as she rose to her hind paws and wobbled back to the table, taking only one drink at a time. Walking on two legs was difficult, and carrying any more at once was just asking for a spill.
Once the water was served, she returned to the kitchen to grab a few razz berries as a snack, sitting them on the center of the table before taking a seat. She tipped her head back, pointing with her nose in Muse's direction. "Alright. Now, what's this all about?"
Muse took a deep breath. Then another. She closed her eyes and let out a third. Shimmer gave her a reassuring pat on the back before settling down. "Alright." Her voice was soft, and Haru could hear a quiet scraping noise as the absol's claws dug into the ground. "Do you all remember a while back, when I mentioned having a premonition when Umbra showed up?"
"Of course I do," Shimmer answered, her hands clasped neatly around her cup. "That's why we've been trying to keep an eye on her. But she's been too good about hiding surface thoughts to get anything out of her, lately. I've still been able to pick up emotions, but… I wish dad would just send her away already."
"Yeah, she's definitely bad news," Toshi agreed, rubbing at his belly. The puncture wounds had since healed over, and his fur hid the scars well, but Haru imagined he'd have the reminders of the fight for a long time. "What has she even been doing? I've only seen her around town a couple times, and I doubt your dad would let her just live in the Villa for free."
"Unless he's doing it to keep an eye on her," Haru pointed out. "Sort of a… keep your friends close and enemies closer sort of thing."
Toshi looked at her, then down at his water. "Maybe…"
Muse looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't, letting the room lapse into an uneasy silence for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and moved the discussion to the next subject. "Well… that feeling hasn't gone away. If anything, it's only gotten worse. And then… A couple nights ago, the feeling hit its peak. I had a dream."
Haru's heartbeat quickened. Her breath caught, and she found herself leaning forward. The other two looked similarly enraptured. As Muse went on to describe her dream, the visions of doom of destruction, Haru couldn't help but stare.
The more Muse said, the more she felt claws digging into her chest. She was no longer at the table. Instead, snow drifted in flurries and a biting wind chilled her to her bones. An elderly bibarel, his body mangled and malnourished and stinking like death, lay splayed out on the ground, speaking in hoarse whispers to the other adults surrounding him. A young absol lay collapsed nearby, her voice a mournful howl.
She didn't even realize that Muse had finished talking and that the discussion had turned until she heard Toshi say her name.
"Haru? Hey, Sis, are you listening?"
"H-huh?" The claws weakened their grip slightly and the memory faded. She was back in her home, the worried expressions of Toshi, Shimmer, and Muse staring at her. "I… Yeah, yeah I'm listening." Her voice was weak and shaky. "Just… remind me of the most recent bit?"
Shimmer continued to frown and tilted her head, her brow knit, but said nothing. She brought her elbow up onto the table and propped her chin on her hands, never removing her gaze from Haru.
Toshi stayed silent a few uneasy seconds longer. "We were just talking about what to do."
"About…?" Haru was still distracted. Her mind drifted back to the last time Muse had a premonition like this. She was too young to remember the details, but she remembered a young, whimpering absol clutching at her horn as the village watched a bibarel, a luxray, an absol, and a gardevoir make their way into the woods at the base of Mount Domo. A liepard leaned forward and tried to reassure the absol that her parents would be back before she knew it.
The claws tightened.
"You're doing it again. Are you sure you're okay?"
Toshi's voice snapped her out of it. She shook her head to clear the thoughts. "I… I'm fine. Really. Sorry."
"If you say so…" Toshi trailed off. "A-anyways. We were talking about what to do about Muse's visions. They line up with Celebi's claims, though with a lot more detail. This is obviously something serious that can't be ignored."
Shimmer continued to stare at Haru with that scrutinizing expression, making Haru shift uneasily in her seat. Was she reading her emotions right now? But then she seemed to think better of it and her usual smile returned. "Agreed, I don't want my dear Musey to keep going through these awful feelings." Shimmer reached over and gave a flustered Muse a pat on the back. "Oh, and making sure the village is safe is important, too. I guess."
It took a moment for Haru to realize that Shimmer's latter statement was meant to be taken as a joke. "Isn't it obvious?" She said, her voice still wavering. "We tell the pokemon in charge – Whisper and Jhorlo – what's going on. What Muse saw and felt. She gives them updates if anything changes, but otherwise we keep doing what we're doing. Live our lives. Follow instructions and prepare to the best of our ability."
"I mean, I told Whisper already," Muse mumbled.
"Great," Haru said a little too quickly. "Already halfway there."
"But," Muse continued, reaching up a paw to rub at her horn. "I'm hesitant to tell anyone else. I… I don't know who else I can trust. It took all my courage and faith just to tell who I already have. I almost didn't even tell you guys. Not because I don't trust you, but because I was afraid doing so would put you in danger."
"And I understand your concerns, but I'm glad you told us," Toshi said. "Anyways, we can't just do nothing. I mean. Sure, we should tell more pokemon - this is more than the four of us can handle - but we can't just keep doing the status quo. That's what leads to the bad future, I bet."
An image of Umbra holding Nip in her back maw, staring scornfully at her flashed in Haru's mind. Then she pictured Toshi splayed out on the forest floor, oozing blood from Umbra's bite. The claws constricted. She couldn't breathe. "You don't know that," she snapped with a fierceness that surprised her. "Last time we acted on Muse's premonition, we nearly got killed!" She slammed a paw on the table to emphasize her point.
Gasps, then silence followed her outburst. Shimmer and Toshi stared with wide eyes, while Muse flinched back, her shoulders hunching.
A moment passed before Toshi spoke up. "I mean, yes… but what would have happened if you guys didn't go? What if Umbra had killed Nip? Or what if something worse happened? What if by letting her run amok, it led to bigger disasters?"
This again? Haru thought she was over their disagreements on Nip, but the words were flying out of her mouth. "I wouldn't trade his life for any of ours. If we hadn't intervened, Umbra probably would have left and then the whole issue would be moot!"
"Y-you don't know that for sure," Toshi stammered, eyes wide.
"Yes I do!" She slammed both her paws on the table again. "Why are you so willing to throw yourself into danger again and again? For pokemon that don't deserve it, and now for some. Some god that was less useful than a bag of wet parchment."
"H-haru," Shimmer tried to interject, but Haru was too deep in her rant to notice.
"It's like you're asking to get killed! The world isn't as noble as you think it is, and if you just keep running into trouble, you'll never get to join the Expedition Society."
The heartbeat Toshi's jaw dropped open, she knew she struck a nerve. Immediately, guilt made her stomach twist. Why had she said that? Why? It was too late to take it back, and it was too much. Her breathing light and shallow, she spun around and rushed through the cloth entrance to her house.
"H-Haru, wait!"
She ignored Toshi's call, her head whipping back and forth. She needed an out. She needed to get away. Her attention turned to the bubbling river. Without a second thought, she dashed towards it and sprang into the water. The world became muffled around her as she dove. Then she let the current carry her downstream while she wallowed.
It was unclear how much time passed. But eventually, Haru had to climb out of the water, before it swept her too far downstream. She flopped down on the bank, eyes closed as she let her fur dry out in the light. She groaned as she realized she'd left her bags on. Though the outside was waterproofed with a waxy coating, the contents were probably damaged. She resigned herself to dealing with that later.
Her head still swam with negative thoughts as she lazed about. About Celebi. About Nip. About grandpa. About her outburst. She wanted it to all go away, but it wouldn't. In a daze, she got up and began to listlessly make her way back towards town.
As she walked and tried to process her emotions, distress turned to bitterness. What made Muse so certain the information Celebi fed them – or the lack thereof – could be trusted? How did she know her dream was related? Maybe she didn't have a premonition at all. Maybe she just thought she did because she was over-focusing on some stupid, useless god.
The image of the elderly bibarel crossed her mind again. No. No, she couldn't take that risk. Maybe it had nothing to do with Celebi, but Muse would know what a premonition felt like. And Muse wouldn't lie about something as serious as this.
Even if she thought the conclusions were stupid, Muse's heart was in the right place. She needed to apologize after she'd relaxed for a bit. Maybe a stiff drink would help. She didn't drink often, but right now the idea appealed to her.
Before long, she arrived in the village square. Maybe now was a good time for that drink. And maybe some food, for that matter. But her stomach still roiled from the aftermath of her outburst; there was no way she could eat right now.
With a sigh, she pressed onward, promising to stop for a bite later. Her dad was in town. Maybe she could talk to him about this?
No, she knew what his answer would be: to talk it out with Toshi, but also to visit the teachings of Regigigas for further guidance and wisdom. The first, she could agree with. But the latter…
Another sigh, another violent shake of her head. Maybe she'd just find a nice tree to rest under for a while. Somewhere where she could clear her head. She should have just stayed by the river. The quiet bubbling would have given her something to focus on. To ground herself.
She almost turned around right then, but then sounds from nearby caught her attention.
Looking up, she saw a few villagers hanging out near the entrance to the temple. From the way they shifted, but stayed silent, it seemed like they were watching something. As much as she wanted to avoid anything that had to do with the temple, curiosity got the better of her. Quietly, she slunk forward, until she was past the taller pokemon and could better see what was going on.
Anu stood at the temple entrance, his head bowed and paws held to his chest just below the spike. His tail drooped low, but wasn't quite tucked between his legs. Across from him stood the team Haru had seen at the tavern yesterday: a charmander, a charizard, a girafarig, and a raichu. The latter two stood stoically at the back, while the charmander stood at the front, her tail flame blazing. The charizard looked uncertain, gaze constantly swapping between the charmander and Anu.
"I… I'm sorry," Anu said, "but my decision is final. I… I cannot take you at this time."
"And why not?" The charmander's response came out in a frustrated, high-pitched growl. "You won't explain anything! Why are you treating us like this?"
"We…" Anu's tail twitched. "We are dealing with a serious inter-community issue. It is nothing that requires intervention from the incorporated powers, but it means I cannot be away from the village at this time. I apologize but…" he trailed off. "All I can offer you is what I've already told you."
Haru knew Anu well enough to know that there was something he was hiding from the explorers. But she suspected it was just the situation with Nip. Afterall, they'd needed to ask for extra volunteers to watch both him and Tempest, and now Vale had mostly been acting under Jhorlo to keep an eye on Umbra. They really couldn't spare anyone right now.
The charmander's tailflame flared and she opened her mouth to say something, but the charizard spoke first.
"Su. It's not worth it." Then the charizard turned her head up to look at Anu. From the way she was hunched, it was clear she wasn't happy, either, but she clearly didn't want to escalate the situation. "Thank you for your time, teacher."
The other two still stayed quiet, though they shifted uneasily.
Anu dipped his head. "I apologize that you came this far for nothing, but I do wish you luck on your travels."
With that, he turned and disappeared inside, and the small crowd began to disperse, until it was only Haru, a couple of straggling villagers whose gazes ranged from concerned, to uneasy, to outright distrusting, and the expedition team.
"What do we do now?" the raichu mumbled, just loud enough that Haru could hear.
"The locals clearly don't want us here," the girafarig answered. "Should we just go looking for the shrine ourselves?" He lifted one front hoof, then the other, shifting his weight with nervous energy. His tail-head waved back and forth, as if trying to watch for trouble.
The charmander shook her head. "No, it's too risky, and we're bound to raise the ire of the locals if we go somewhere we're not supposed to. Maybe we can find a wildener willing to take us to the shrine. There are still those among them that follow Regigigas, aren't there? They might even have information different from what we got here."
Haru tilted her head, staring at the strangers. Unease churned in her stomach, and she felt like she had a migraine coming on. And yet, she couldn't help but ask, "What's so important about going up to that old shrine?"
At once, all eyes turned to her, and that unease deepened. As she glanced from side to side, she realized that the remainder of the crowd had already gone back to their own business, leaving her alone with the strangers.
"That's to say… I mean…" Nervously, she shuffled her paws. "What's so important about going up there that you can't get here?"
For a moment longer, nothing was said as the explorers exchanged glances with each other. Then finally, the charmander stepped forward, digging into her bag to fish out a badge. The center was shaped like a teardrop and made of a bronze-colored metal. Blue-silver wings sprouted from either side, misshapen like they were formed from water. On the tear drop, the shape of a vaporeon's head had been stamped on the center, with the word "Expedition" printed on the bottom.
"I'm Suli," the Charmander said. "We're a research team from the Expedition Society researching the effects of mystery dungeons, their origins, and the myths surrounding them."
Haru tilted her head. "If you're wanting to investigate mystery dungeons, there's a small one not far from here. Sunglow Thicket. It's about six zones or so."
The charmander smiled, but there was something about the gesture that seemed off to Haru. Something not quite right. Like it was stiff and rehearsed. "Yes, we already visited it. The base floor was quite fascinating, really. Looks like the result of a powerful battle. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find any concrete evidence of that so far.
"But one of the other things we're doing is looking into local legends and records. The lucario – Anu, I think his name was – was able to provide us with some valuable insight. But there's still gaps. And we don't even know if it's accurate." The charmander sighed and shook her head, her tailflame dimming. "We wanted to go up to the old shrine and see if anything there was different, but Anu refuses to take us."
Haru huffed. All of that lined up. "Well, I don't think you're going to have much luck getting anyone to go. Everyone is currently really worked up over Cel—" She cut off, realizing a little too late that Celebi's appearance was something she probably shouldn't talk about.
But it seemed it was too late to take it back. Even after cutting herself off, all four of the pokemon had trained their eyes on her. Haru took a few uneasy steps back. "I mean, um…"
"No, no please stay." The charmander held her hands up in front of her in a gesture unfamiliar to Haru, though she got the feeling from the rest of the body language that she was trying to be placating. "We're not looking to cause trouble. But please, can't you tell us more?"
"No. No, this is local business, nothing you should be worrying about." The words tumbled out of her mouth as she tried to think of an excuse to leave the conversation."
The charizard stepped forward. "Su, should I…"
But the charmander shook her head. "No." She let out a long breath. Then she looked around quickly before lowering her voice. "Listen, miss…"
"Haru," Haru answered, answering truthfully out of habitual politeness.
The charmander tilted her head, giving Haru a confused smile. "Listen, Haru, I don't know what's going on that's got everyone here on edge, but I promise we're not here to cause trouble, just doing routine explorer work. But I will admit there is…" She trailed off, then continued in a lower tone, "There's more to the situation than what we've said. Would you please hear us out? Come with us back to our room. This is a… sensitive situation."
The way the charmander moved set Haru on edge. Through the haze of her growing headache, her mind screamed at her to refuse. To run away. But she pushed her worries away. These were explorers. Explorers that came across as shady, but explorers nonetheless. As one of the major governing bodies of the incorporated towns, they had a duty to serve the pokemon around them, and behave themselves, even outside of their territories. If she couldn't trust them, who could she trust?
"Okay," she said after a long moment of silence, "but only for a few minutes. I don't have a lot of time to spare, anyways."
The charmander's tailflame brightened, and she looked at Haru with a cheerful expression. "Great! If you'll just come with us back to our room, I'll explain everything."
She spun around on her heels and hurried ahead of the group, headed back towards the tavern. Haru caught the other team members exchanging nervous glances. Worry knotted her stomach. Was she doing the right thing, giving these pokemon a chance? The last time she'd done so, it hadn't ended well.
They're explorers, she reminded herself. Not random nobodies from the middle of nowhere. It's fine. You can trust them.
With her nerves steeled, she followed behind the charmander.
Haru had never had a need to stay at the local tavern, so she'd never seen the inside of the bedrooms. But it was exactly what she expected. It was sparse and empty; a pair of nests lined either side of the wall, with a storage chest at the very end of the room. Beams of sunlight shone through a single window, and a handful of moss jars affixed to the wall to brighten up the dark corners. A couple of bags were strewn about the room, with dungeoneering supplies, rations, and equipment peeking out of the top. As far as Haru could tell, everything was in order, and the explorer's story lined up.
Unlike many of the homes and businesses, the room had a wooden door to protect the privacy and belongings of the pokemon. The smaller flap was currently latched shut, likely since most of the pokemon in the room were too big to use it.
As everyone filed in, the girafarig, the raichu, and the charizard all took up bed spaces. For the charizard's bedding, the normal straw had been swapped for a bed of occa leaves, if Haru remembered her berries correctly. But it was the only one of its kind in the room. Maybe Suli shared a bed with her? Maybe they were mother and daughter. Unusual for both of them to be on the same team, but not unheard of.
"Allow me to introduce my teammates," Suli said, lounging against the chest at the end of the room. "This is Skorch, Topaz, and Remer." She gestured to the charizard, then the raichu and girafarig. "Together, we form Expedition Team Brushfire."
"Uh huh," Haru said. Taking a seat with her back to the door. Through the still growing headache, she recognized that they had positioned themselves so that there was no one between herself and the door. But with the small flap latched, she'd have to contend with pushing the big door open if something did go wrong. She forced the instinctual desire for deep water to hide in out of her head and said, "Go on."
"As I said before, we're here investigating the origins of the mystery dungeons. Unfortunately, their formation was so long ago that there are few surviving accurate accounts. All we have to go off of is geography and legends." Suli paused, turning around to open the chest and dig around inside it. When she turned back, she was holding a map in one hand and a tattered book in the other.
"We've been going from village to village in the area, investigating nearby mystery dungeons and speaking with locals about their legends. Our goal is to compare and contrast all these stories and try to find patterns in the stories that line up with mystery dungeon formation."
"I see," Haru said, watching the charmander's every movement. "And what does that have to do with the old shrine?"
"As far as we can gather," Suli started, spreading out the map in front of her, "that shrine is one of the oldest surviving structures in the area, dating back nearly five centuries — oh, excuse me, you might not be familiar with that terminology — 500 cycles." She gestured Haru closer, pointing at the map. "While a lot of it is damaged or in disrepair, from what I understand the shrine has depictions of older stories that have fallen out of common knowledge carved into it. We want to see how that lines up with what we know.
"And who knows?" Suli looked up. There was a spark of excitement in her eyes that reminded Haru of Toshi when he talked about joining the Expedition society and going on adventures. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll be able to figure out where Regigigas — or any of the titans, for that matter — have been hiding for this long. Or if they exist at all, for that matter. But based on what you started to say earlier, I get the feeling that they're more than a myth?"
Being reminded of her slipup made Haru uneasy. The conversation shifting to gods only made the unease worse. For the second time that day, she fought to stay calm. "I went up there a couple times as a child," she began, ignoring the prying tone in Suli's voice. If she was hoping to find out more about Celebi, then she was out of luck. "It's been a long time but… from what I remember, there wasn't anything special about it.
"Besides," Haru added as her tone turned bitter, "what's the point in focusing so much on finding legends? It's not like they're doing us any good, anyways."
"The charmander glanced up at Haru with undisguised curiosity. "Oh, What makes you say that?"
Topaz and Remer had been lounging in the corner of the room. But Haru realized they were now staring directly at her. More unease churned in her gut. "Well, what I mean is, looking for more information on the mystery dungeons is good and all, but what's the point of bringing legends into the mix: No one's seen them in hundreds of cycles – i-if they exist at all." She tittered. "They haven't exactly done anything to help the world with its problems. Sounds pretty useless if you ask me."
Suli stared, her eyes keen with interest. "It sounds like you have a bit of a bone to pick with the gods. Why?"
Haru wasn't sure she liked that look. "That's none of your business."
Oppressive silence hung in the air as charmander and bidoof locked eyes. Haru's head pounded. Why were they so interested in her issues with gods? No one had ever been this interested. At least, no one who wasn't trying to get her to reconsider.
It was Remer that broke the silence. "I think we can trust her, Su. Maybe she'll be able to help us. Her reasons don't matter."
Suli turned. Haru could see the tension in her coiled muscles, as if ready to bolt. "Are you sure? If we tell her, there's no going back."
"Tell me what?" Haru's heart felt like it could explode at any beat.
"I'm certain," the girafarig answered. A beat of silence passed, then he said, "If we keep on at the pace we're going, we'll never get anything done."
The charmander's tail flame dimmed. Her teammates leaned closer, equally tense, breath held as they waited for the answer.
Finally, Suli sighed. "Fine." She held up her hands in the same placating gesture as before. "Just… don't freak out, okay?"
A deep breath, then the charmander stood up straight. Her form seemed to wobble, like heat waves on a hot summer day. It built up more and more energy. Then, all at once, a white and red body exploded out of the charmander.
The pokemon that stood in her place was tall and lanky. Wiry, pale grey fur covered the pokemon's torso. Long, curved claws — longer even than Haru's teeth — dug into the wooden flooring. Along her arms and legs were red bumps that could be mistaken for raw wounds at a glance. A vulpine face poked out from behind a thick, rippling red and white mane.
Suli was a zoroark, but she was unlike any Haru had ever seen.
Instinctually, Haru shrank down and took a step back. Zoroark weren't necessarily dangerous. In fact, so long as you didn't run into a hungry wildener zoroark, she'd heard they were quite friendly. But there was always that one story in the back of her mind, that one warning to be careful about following strangers. That a suitably powerful zoroark could cast illusions that hid your screams.
Haru didn't know how true that was, but she was afraid she was about to find out.
But the zoroark showed no signs of aggression. In fact, she seemed quite relaxed.
"Please, forgive me for deceiving you," the zoroark said in a slightly deeper voice. "It was not our intent to cause trouble but… well, there aren't many zoroark like me, so I don't like to reveal my form if it's going to cause fear."
"O-of course," Haru said. Her headache had lessened slightly, making it easier to think. Yes, this was shocking, but not necessarily cause for alarm.
The zoroark gripped her satchel tighter. "What I've told you is mostly true. We really are an exploration team looking into the formation of mystery dungeons. And we really are trying to piece together the true stories of the gods, but there's more to it than that."
She glanced back down to her map. "Have you ever wondered why the world is the way it is? With so many problems that don't have easy answers, some of which make you question the benevolence of the gods? Make you question why they're viewed as good when they've caused so much strife?"
Haru stared with wide eyes. "Of course. I mean… the most obvious one is the meat issue. How could a benevolent god just force pokemon to kill each other to live?" A pause. "Of course, that's if they even exist in the first place."
The zoroark bobbed her head in agreement. "Exactly. And yet, there are good things about the world, too. Are these the work of chance, or benevolent gods making some things better, but not everything?"
A deep breath, then the zoroark reached out, offering her forepaw to Haru. "And that's where our research comes in. Allow me to reintroduce myself. My real name is Susana. My team's goal is to put together a better picture of the gods and which ones are benevolent. In doing so, we hope to find these benevolent gods, and ask their help to make the world a better place. But at the same time, we hope to expose the wicked ones for what they truly are."