"So there we stood, looking at the guildhouse all together. The building stood, but the walls were utterly scorched," Locke dramatically recounted. "Espeon knew we had some time, but knew we couldn't push it. Quickly, he assembled a team of thirteen pokemon together, with the two of us being a part of it. We went off in the direction they left in-"
"And then you saved the whole wide world!" Pannen the minccino declared.
"Not quite that," Tamin corrected. "But we did bring some very bad people to justice."
"You still did great, though!" Pannen said.
"We've already heard this story before, why are we hearing it again?" Aika the minccino asked, leaning against a wall.
"Because Eli hasn't heard it yet," Tamin said.
Tamin sat on a velvet seat with Locke beside her, with Locke beside her and her three children in front of her. The living room was lit purely by the sunlight shining through the windows from a cloudless sky. Tamin didn't need a book in her lap to tell her children this story.
"But everyone got back home okay, right?" Elijah asked.
"Well…" Tamin said.
"Buizel died along the way, but she went out in a blaze of glory. Espeon lost most of his hearing- oh- and we almost bled to death."
"You did?!" Elijah asked.
"Not our proudest moment," Locke admitted. "But we were saved because our friends found us and got us bandaged up."
"We had to return in a wagon with others pushing it," Tamin followed up.
"Yeah. And we ended up in the infirmary for days as all the glass shards were pulled out of us. It wasn't great. Four out of ten, would not recommend."
"I don't think I want to hear anymore of this story," Elijah said.
"Aww, c'mon now Eli, you don't want to stick out through the whole story? You gotta at least hear about how all the bad guys were killed!" Aika said to Elijah.
"After we got back," Tamin said, "Espeon promoted Nidorino to being the new guild leader and retired to start a family, Locke became one of the best explorers in the guild, and he proposed to me soon thereafter. That's all Elijah needs to know."
"Yeah, that's the important gist of it," Locke said. "But anyways, that's the story of how I met your mother! Any questions?"
Elijah put her paw on his chin. He wanted to ask a question, but he also wanted to pick one that he actually wanted to know the answer to. "How'd you end up defeating Armin? He sounds like he was super strong," he ultimately asked.
"Well, the two of us actually never engaged with him directly," Tamin said.
"Yeah. It was my friends Dewott and Mienshao that got into fights with him directly and… Hunter the zoroark who finished the job-"
"Hunter did most of the work-"
"But we were always occupied with other people. What we did was still valuable, but Hunter was the one who ultimately got the title of-" Locke sighed, "the 'human slayer' that night."
"Oh, I see," Elijah said.
They fell silent for a second, waiting for Elijah to ask a question. But none came. Pannen had asked a whole sleuth of questions when the tale was shared with her, as did Aika when Tamin and Locke shared it with her. Elijah's silence felt uncanny.
"...So speaking of Dewott and Mienshao, they're free today so we were planning on going to them for the afternoon!" Locke said.
"Oh sweet!" Pannen said.
"Great to hear," Aika said.
"I was actually planning on finishing something I was reading today," Elijah replied.
"Come on Eli, let's all stick together," Pannen said to Elijah.
"Well… okay."
"We can leave at any time, so you can start getting ready," Tamin said with a smile. "No hurry, you can take your time."
"C'mon everyone, we're going to Dewott's!" Pannen declared.
The three kids scampered off from the living room, getting themselves ready. Locke and Tamin looked at each other and smiled.
Locke, Tamin, Pannen, Elijah, and Aika traveled together across the town, the wind softly breezing through their fur.
"We arranged this in advance, so this isn't a surprise meeting. I'm not sure if their kids will be knowing that we're coming over, though," Tamin said.
"Sounds good to me," Pannen said.
"Yeah. And hey, there was something I wanted to ask about," Aika the minccino said.
"What would that be, Aika?" Tamin asked.
"You mentioned Hunter 'the human slayer', but I don't think I've seen him before. Where is he? What happened to him? Has he killed any more humans?" she asked.
"We… don't know," Tamin admitted.
"Yeah, he left this town a few years ago, a bit before we had you. No one's heard from him since," Locke clarified.
"Oh, I see. Do we know why he left?" Aika asked.
"We really don't," Locke said. "It's actually rather strange. He was working at the guild one day and was one of the best explorers there (not as good as me, of course), then the next he just decided to leave. It was quite abrupt."
"I kinda remember him. I only think I saw him once or twice, I don't know what he's like," Pannen said.
"Well he was a-"
"We don't need to be saying that, Locke," Tamin said. "But yes, it's a mystery to everyone on what he's up to. There's a good chance you won't ever get to see him."
"Well, alright," Aika said. "...Alright."
"We're here," Locke said.
Dewott and Mienshao's home was larger than what Tamin's family possessed, but by no significant margin. The two-story home with both a front yard and a backyard stood diagonal with the street and still carried the sheen of a new house.
The family walked up the path to the front door. Locke knocked on the door as they awaited a response. They didn't need to wait terribly long at all.
A dewott happily opened up the door to greet them with a mienshao not far behind him. He wore an everstone necklace just like Locke the luxio was. They were all invited inside with a smile.
Tamin's three children went deeper into the house to find Dewott and Mienshao's three kids. The parents stayed together to talk.
"Thanks for allowing us to come over again," Tamin said.
"Ah, it's not a problem. Our kids are happy with it as well," Dewott replied.
"They've only really got one grandparent, so we're rather limited with who they can spend time with," Locke said.
"I'm sorry that's the case, but you can always come over if they're getting antsy," Mienshao said.
"Thanks again," Tamin said.
"Say, how have you been holdin' up as of late?" Dewott asked.
"Oh, we just told Elijah the story of the House Breach mission and taking down Armin," Locke explained. "I think it scared him a bit, but it's an important one to tell."
"Nice, nice. I 'spouse that story has more weight for you than it does for us," Dewott replied.
"Yeah. How have you been doing?" Locke asked.
"Oh, it's still the same-old same-old. The kids have all been doing dandy."
"It's fine if you don't know, but has there been any more news on what happened to Hunter?" Tamin asked.
"Nothin' that I know of," Dewott said.
"Yeah. Also, you've been asking about him a lot recently, it seems," Mienshao commented.
"I just find it strange, that's all," Tamin answered.
As the parents continued talking, the children played together in another part of the house.
There were three mienfoo kids: Ishamael, Argus, and Dandelion. They all played together, threw balls, and wrestled with ropes. Except for Elijah, who mostly reserved himself and sat back.
"Give me one second guys, there's something I wanna get," Ishmael said, turning tail to go to a different room in the basement.
Right as Ishmael was leaving, Argus the mienfoo saw a red ball on the ground. He wasted no time in picking it up. "Hey Pannen!" he declared, getting the minccino's attention. "Catch!"
The mienfoo threw the ball across the room, much faster than needed. The minccino reacted quickly, raising her paws just in time to catch the projectile. "Got it!" she declared.
Pannen pulled her arm back, then threw it right back towards Argus with the greatest speed she could muster. Argus stepped to the side to get closer and caught it, immediately throwing it back. The two threw the ball between them several more times, trying to chuck it as fast as they could and a little bit away from the other so they had to move a greater distance to catch it. After catching it the fourth time, Argus changed it up. "Alright, now to little Eli!"
"Wait, what-" Elijah said as he saw Argus change his posture and throw it his way.
The young minccino first positioned himself to catch the ball. But as the fast moving object got closer, he got nervous and reflexively raised his arms to block it instead. The ball bounced off of his arms and rolled on the floor.
Dandelion the mienfoo sweeped in to grab the ball off the ground, and she quickly threw it back to Pannen.
"Oh, throw it to me! Throw it to me!" Aika yelped.
Pannen threw it back to Argus, who followed the request and chucked it towards Aika the minccino. She easily caught it, and then smiled to herself.
She did still aim it at Argus, just not directly. Aika looked towards one of the walls in the basement and did some rough calculations in her head. She then threw it at the wall, causing it to ricochet off of it and towards Argus. The mienfoo still attempted to follow the ball with his eyes, but the ricochet disoriented him. Despite the ball coming close, he narrowly missed catching it.
"Yes," Aika said to herself, clenching her paws in excitement.
"Alright, I'm back!" Ishmael re-entered the room, now holding a green flute in his paws. "I've been practicing with this, so I want to show it to you guys!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him, giving Ishmael a full audience.
Holding the instrument in his paws, he brought it to his mouth and began playing. The room fell quiet to watch him play. He was able to perform a simple song, though he missed a note every now and then. Sometimes it was from his limited expertise, other times it was from the pressure of having five sets of eyes on him.
Soon the parents came to the room as well, and Ishmael stopped shortly after.
"You played great!" Pannen complimented.
"Thanks!" the mienfoo said with his eyes closed and his mouth smiling.
"What was the name of that song?" Pannen asked.
"I don't remember," he replied flatly.
"Well… it was good!" Pannen said.
"Hey, I can do cool things too!" Argus the mienfoo argued.
"What ya got?" Aika asked.
"I can run super duper fast!" Argus said.
"And I know how to draw."
Elijah perked up. "Oh, that sounds interestin-"
"Alright, alright. Now which of you three knows how to fight?" Aika asked them, paws clenched in excitement.
Locke and Tamin glanced at Dewott and Mienfoo, silently asking them if they should intervene.
"I learned how to use the move Low Kick," Ishamel commented.
"And I learned how to use Fury Swipes!" Argus declared.
"I know how to use Knock Off," Aika said.
Tamin flinched a bit and her eyes widened by a slight amount. "Alright kids, let's not get carried away." She stepped forward.
"Yeah, it's still too early for you guys to be losing any parts of your body while fighting. Give it a few more years at least," Locke said. "Although then again, you could probably get away with losing some teeth at this point. You got a spare set coming."
"LOCKE!" Tamin scolded the luxio.
Locke giggled to himself, and Dewott couldn't help but join in with it as well. Mienshao shook her head disapprovingly. "I suppose you kids have been playing with these same toys for a while now. The park is open at this hour, how about we all head over there now? Stretch your legs and get out your energy there."
"Yeah!" Argus the mienfoo declared.
"That sounds like a good plan," Locke said.
"...Yeah, that's good," Tamin replied, seeming to be lost in thought.
"Well, it seems to be settled then," Dewott said. "C'mon everyone, let's go to the park!"
The four parents and six children walked across the town's roads. The sun still hung high, casting its light down from the cloudless sky.
Mienshao kept an eye on the kids, Tamin stared at nothing in particular while unfocused, and Locke and Dewott walked beside each other.
"So, what was the last time both of you went on a mission together?" Locke asked him.
"Oh geeze… it's been awhile," Dewott admitted. "We don't do missions too often anymore and one of us is always watchin' the kids so… yeah it's been a good long while."
"Yeah, I getcha," Locke replied. "Tamin and I got to go on a mission a week ago while my sis babysat the kids, but the mission was pretty short unfortunately."
"Yeah. I guess that makes sense with being parents n' all," Dewott said. "I'm glad I have them, but I 'spouse it'd be nicer to get out more often."
"We can still make ends meet with what we do accomplish, it's not too big of a deal. I enjoy being a mother," Mienshao said.
"Mhm. I mean I know we would've been going on less missions, but I guess I expected more than this," Locke said.
"I feel you," Dewott said. "I think Hunter leavin' probably is the cause of it. I mean, we had a great thing going on with Me, you, Mienshao n' him being the 'elite four' of the guild and we were constantly trying to outdo each other. But now that Hunter's gone… I guess I just don't feel too motivated for it anymore."
"Yeah… Things are nice without him around, but I think you're about right with that," Locke looked at the ground. "Tamin, how do you feel?"
"..."
"Tamin?"
"Oh sorry," Tamin came back to reality from her near-trance. "I'm fine with it all. No compliments here."
"Are you okay?" Locke asked.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Locke could tell those words weren't entirely true, Tamin was awfully distant. "...Well okay, then," he said.
After that, they had finally arrived at the gate to East Flame Park.
The two families spent over an hour at the park and a playground. The kids ran, jumped, and played. At one point, Aika got a ball which she held on the ground and asked for Ishmael to kick up, only for her to bull the ball away just as Ishmael kicked, which caused him to lose his balance and fall on his butt. Most people watched as Aika giggled afterwards; it was certainly the most memorable experience at the park.
Afterwards, they visited the guildhouse to follow up on the story they shared to Elijah that day. They got to see the doors to the rooms that Locke and Tamin once lived in, but they couldn't go inside. The rooms had since been inhabited by new members of the guild after Locke and Tamin got their own house. Even with the renovations made to the building, many places within it were still the same.
On the building's second story, Hunter's room still lay dormant. Since he never got his own family, he never felt the need to move out of that chamber into his own home. After his abrupt departure, the room remained there. Inside was a snapshot of time, it still was filled with possessions and decorations that hadn't been moved an inch in years. The guild had plenty of spare rooms so it wasn't necessary to repurpose the room for a newcomer. It simply remained there on the day that he ever returned- a day that had still not come.
After the visit to the guildhouse, it was evening. The two families went to the town's cafe to close off the day, so each of the children could get a warm drink. The three mienfoo got tea, Pannen and Elijah were happy with regular hot chocolate, but Aika's taste buds were more particular as she got a more specific hot chocolate with more ingredients added.
The two families waved goodbye to one another, and they went back home just before sunset. Pannen, Elijah, and Aika were all happy; though Elijah would've preferred a calmer day to let things set in.
They got back, Locke opened the door to the house, and the three minccino quickly ran inside. Locke and Tamin walked in, and Tamin closed the door behind her.
"That was a pretty good day, huh?" Locke said to Tamin.
"...Yeah," she replied, hardly even turning to look at Locke.
"Is everything alright?" the luxio asked.
"Yeah, don't worry. Sorry, I just haven't been feeling it today," Tamin said. "It's still sometime before the kids' bedtime. I think I'm going to write a letter to my siblings, it's been awhile since I've done that."
"Sounds like a plan. I'm going to… watch the kids, I suppose," Locke replied.
"Have fun with that."
"Thanks."
The cinccino walked off to her own room. For the first time that day, she was alone.
The room wasn't far off from the other rooms, it was in no way disconnected from the house. Even still, it felt a long ways away when she was inside of it. As Tamin shut the room door, it felt like the rest of the world paused.
Tamin hopped onto a desk, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. For a moment, she held the pain and looked at the blank page with trepidation. That moment seemed to extend on for so very long, and the desire to turn back was strong. Tamin could not continue, nor could she stop. Eventually, she forced the pen onto the top-left of the paper.
"Dear Deater,
I write to you with heavy words. Everything on this letter are things I planned to take to the grave, but I have realized I couldn't get through without sharing these things. So before you continue reading, I really must stress: do not share this with a single soul. If you feel you cannot keep a secret, then stop reading further.
Hunter the zoroark has been gone for years now. For the community, It's still considered a mystery of what exactly he was doing or thinking. That's not entirely true, as I know what happened. I write this letter to explain his actions, not to forgive them.
After his girlfriend Eno was killed by Armin, Hunter never truly recovered. He could still make a smile, but I could tell things weren't right. He tried dating her sister Sesha, but that never worked out. His sister kept that bridge burned, Locke kept being short with him, no woman connected with him like Eno had done, and he remained saddened. With so little positive support, it should've been expected that he would relapse into his old, disgusting ways at some point.
There were two- perhaps three times in which Locke came home, but was subtly different. Even in retrospect it was very hard to pick up on, but he would ask things he'd already asked before and he would take just slightly longer to respond to things than normal. On one of those nights, things ended up with us both in the bedroom after I had spent a long day. I will spare you all the details, but we were both caught up in the moment and emotions kept escalating fast. I'm sure you can imagine that myself.
The very night afterwards, Hunter the zoroark had an immediate and very fast change, and that was the day he abruptly left the town with no former indications of it. I now realize that it wasn't Locke who I was with that night.
After that moment of relapse and doing those things, Hunter's regret was immediate. He was utterly disgusted with himself and realized he could never look us in the eyes again, and so he fled the town as fast as possible. That was what happened to him, and this is the first time I've ever shared this with another person, not even with Locke.
I must reiterate that you are not to tell this to anyone else, because this is not where the story ends. Not long after that night, I had my second child. I hid my worries and kept my reactions right, I did my best to ignore the possibility. But as she has grown up, the truth became clear to me and I can no longer deny it: Aika is not Locke's daughter.
I haven't shared this with anyone else before. Locke doesn't know, and not even Aika herself knows this. Some may say I'm evil for not sharing this to others and having Locke raise Aika along with Pannen and Elijah. But you and I had our childhoods stolen from us by our abusive parents, and I refuse to make Aika feel anything they made us feel. She has a right to a happy childhood, and I am willing to keep secrets and deceive to ensure she has that. Regardless of her origins, I will give her everything that I never had.
This letter is my confession. I might not be able to keep this a secret forever, so if this all blows up, then at least you understand my reasoning."
Tamin looked down at the letter again as she put the pen down. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, trepidation once again taking hold of her. Once the ink dried, she folded the paper and began putting it into an envelope.
End of chapter 1.
