For the next two days, Arven did his best to make sure everything he did was beyond reproach. The meals were intricate with painstakingly attention to detail. Not a sprig of basil out of line. The kitchen area, as well as the cooks' quarters downstairs was swept and scrubbed spotless. And in addition to his usual chores, Arven went with Bridge to the fields again and tried to nourish the soil a little better.

He hadn't been stupid enough to outright explain about Ting-Lu to Vital, though he'd made the concession of admitting he had a ground-type Source. Using Ting-Lu's powers without having to hide its typing certainly made the work with Bridge easier. Even so, leaning over the plants with the sun on his back, Arven felt a heavy fatigue. His eyes threatened to close on their own. He couldn't keep up the pace he was at. But every time exhaustion threatened to pull him under, his last conversation with the senator would always jolt him back awake:

"I'm more curious as to what prompted you to lie in the first place."

"I...I really don't know, sir. But I'm sorry. And I swear, I won't keep anything from you again."

That much had been honest, at least. He knew he'd lied in the first place out of panic. But why he'd taken so long to own up to it, he had no clue beyond his own cowardice and stupidity.

"Promises like those are rather hollow, I'm afraid, without us dealing with the root of the problem. If you have suggestions for how I might repair my trust in you, I'd love to hear them."

Arven came up dry with answers there, leaving Vital to pace slowly about the room in contemplation.

"I see. How about this, then? Let's put the discussion to rest for now and speak again at another time."

Arven found it difficult to reply at first. The senator was letting him go? No interrogation? Not even any threats? It didn't add up. But given the chance to postpone whatever fate awaited him, Arven leapt at the opportunity. "I-I...okay. I mean, yes. Thank you, sir." He stood, but his legs were shaking so much, he almost tripped over the chair.

"Of course," Vital had continued, "when I do call you back in, I expect your utmost cooperation. Can you assure me of that? If so, you are free to go."

Arven had responded with a vehement nod. Anything to get out of that room and let his heart rate slow down a little. In retrospect, it was a short-term solution at best. And it had undoubtably backfired. Now Arven was just as tense as he'd been before, minus the benefit of knowing when the senator planned to continue their conversation.

So when Bridge poked his head into the kitchen that evening, Arven yelped so loud, it startled Ash into dropping an armful of potatoes onto his toes. Ash sucked in a gulp of air, going red in the face as he grasped his injured foot. His cheeks puffed out in his determination not to cry out at the self-inflicted pain. Bridge and Arven both watched awkwardly as Ash slowly exhaled through his teeth, his cheeks deflating, and his face doing back to its normal tone.

"Are you...all right there?" Bridge asked.

Ash gave the man a thumbs-up and began to gather the potatoes back up like nothing unusual had happened.

Convinced, Bridge turned his attention to Arven. "I've been asked to bring you to the senator's quarters right away?"

"Now?" Arven asked, as if he's somehow forgotten what "right away" meant. "But I have to-"

"We'll have some more staff come in to finish up the prep work," Bridge continued, countering Arven's argument before it got started. "That should allow you to still prepare supper on time. Now, follow me, please."

Arven hung his head and did as Bridge asked.

#

Funny, even with millennia separating the two, walking in for a talk with Senator Vital didn't feel all that different from when Director Clavell called Arven to his office for a "healthy discussion" about his class attendance. Vital didn't have a mahogany desk with half a dozen knickknacks on it, of course. In fact, he didn't have a desk at all. He sat in a large, elaborate chair on one end of the room, his hands folded on his lap, while Arven took a seat on a stool against the opposite while.

Arven swallowed hard. He kind of wished there was a desk between them now. "D-did I do something bad?" he blurted out. It was such a childish thing to say, but at least it cut to the chase.

The senator chuckled. "Not at all. In fact, I wanted to commend you. Between the meals you've been preparing, the work on the crops, and your quick thinking with the fire the other day, you've proven yourself an invaluable member of my staff. However..."

Arven winced. Of course it had been too much to hope Vital only brought him here to compliment him. The man clearly had more important things to do than that.

"...I do have some concerns that perhaps I am spreading you too thin? You've seemed quite tense the past couple days, and I understand both yourself and our newcomer Ash have not been sleeping well?"

"Oh, um...that. Ash was having some nightmares the one night. Woke us both up. I think he's better now. Sir. Thanks for the concern."

The senator frowned. "I fear my position of authority here is doing neither of us any favors. Your fear is palpable."

"I-I..." Arven tensed. If even the senator could tell how scared he was, his fear must have smelled like a banquet to Ting-Lu. The Treasure of Ruin was going to have a near impossible time keeping himself from feeding on Arven's emotions like this. "...I don't mean to sound short or anything. I don't want to be any trouble."

"Oh? What trouble do you think you would cause?"

Arven completely froze up at that question. He could feel Ting-Lu awake and alert, though the Pokémon said nothing.

Vital shook his head. "I apologize. That was a poor choice of words. I meant to reassure you, but..." He stroked his chin, his brow furrowed and his eyes focused on the blank space in front of him. "...perhaps there is a better approach for such things?"

"A...better approach?" Arven asked. There were still plenty of ways to read "not friendly" from the senator's words. But at this point, he was about ready to lose control of both Ting-Lu and his bladder. Whatever Vital had to suggest, it had to be better than the current situation.

The senator nodded and closed his eyes, humming softly to himself. If Arven had just arrived in Michina, he might have thought the man was meditating in the middle of their conversation. But he'd been around long enough to know there was more to it than that. Vital was summoning his Source-his Pokémon- to physically appear beside him. Arven held his breath. A white light appeared and began to take shape, like the glow of a Pokémon emerging from its ball in slow motion. The light puffed up like a cloud, then solidified into a distinct silhouette-a bipedal, aquatic creature with a ruffled collar and a horned shell for a crown.

The light faded. It was a Slowking. Which actually made a lot of sense, given Vital's position of authority, even if Arven pictured him with something more regal looking.

"This is my Source," Vital said simply. "You may already be aware, but he possesses traits of both the water-type and psychic-type. And he is much more skilled in the latter than the former, hence why I am unable to water the crops sufficiently on my own."

Slowking gave a deep bow, thought whether in greeting or apology for its shortcomings, Arven couldn't say.

Vital continued, "Lucky for us, it is the latter powers I would like to propose using. I believe I can get it to calm your mind through a series of meditation exercises. If you are willing to try them?"

Arven straightened. Calm his mind? Well, he might not have been great with battles, but he knew mind-calming was one thing Slowking excelled at. If Vital was willing to use that ability for Arven, he had no idea how much he'd be helping him right now. Which lead to another big question.

"Why would you do that? I thought you were said you were going to ask me about my Source again."

"I said we would discuss it when I am ready, and I am not ready yet. And to be frank, neither are you." Vital folded his hands on his lap. "I'm not heartless, my boy. Nor am I witless. I can tell you're afraid of me. The words of someone under duress are useless when compared with the words of someone who trusts me. I'd prefer for you to be in the latter category than the former, if I can manage it." He unfolded his hands and leaned back in his chair. "From a purely selfish standpoint, it can only benefit me if my staff remains both physically and mentally healthy. But of course, if you'd rather not try this method, I will respect your wishes."

"N-no, that's okay," Arven said. If for no other reason, he wasn't sure if refusing was a real option. He got the feeling Vital would "respect his wishes" on the same level that La Primera would "respect" Penny's desire to binge anime over repaying her debt to the Pokémon League. "We can try, but, um...what do I do, exactly?"

Vital smiled. "Close your eyes, if you will, and listen to my voice. I'll guide you into the meditation, and you can take it on your own from there."

Arven wasn't quite sure what that meant but closed his eyes all the same. Since Vital's voice was the only sound in the room, it was sort of impossible to avoid step two.

"I want you to picture the chair in front of you where I'm sitting," Vital began. "But instead of me, I want you to visualize someone from your childhood. The person you trusted the most."

"The person...?" Arven swallowed hard. His first thought was to envision Mabosstiff sitting in the chair. But that brought up kind of a goofy image of Mabosstiff trying to lean back in the chair and sit in it like a person. Probably not the tone Vital wanted him to go for. So Arven tried again with a different image, one of a person who only halfway existed.

It wasn't his father, exactly. Even from a pretty young age, he knew neither of his parents were reliable. But with as absent as Turo was, a younger Arven had built him up in his mind. Imaginary Turo wasn't a deadbeat dad who never came home. He was an adventurer, out protecting the world from who knew what kinds of dangers. And once he had faced all those dangers, he would come home and be with Arven again. And Arven would be able to tell him anything. That was the version of Turo that Arven envisioned sitting in front of him. And as he did so, he could feel some of the tension in his muscles ease. He knew logically it was Slowking's psychic power, channeled through Vital. But even so, it sure felt nice to get some relief.

"Arven," said the version of Turo seated in front of him. He gave his son a warm smile. "I'm so glad we finally have the chance to talk."

"Y-yeah. Me too, I guess," Arven answered. Even if he was finally getting a less-tense conversation, it was still an awkward one.

But Turo sat there unfazed by the strange situation, waiting for him with all the patience in the world. "Tell me about your day, Arven," he said.

"My...day?" Arven asked. It was such a weirdly normal question. And Arven found himself tapping into that childhood mentality, where small feats felt like conquering the world.

"Well, I made a pretty good breakfast today, if I say so myself," he began.

"You always were skilled at cooking," Turo said. "What else?"

What else? Hmm... "Well, then I went out into the fields. I was trying to help the crops grow, only..." His chest tightened a bit, and he was about to shift to other topics. But Turo's kind and understanding smile encouraged him to continue. "...only I didn't do so great at that."

"I'm sure you'll improve with practice," Turo said. "These things take time, and you're in a stressful situation. Don't berate yourself. And be proud of what you were able to accomplish."

Arven rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you're right. Actually, I did stop a fire from growing out of control the other day. Which would have wreaked the plants up pretty bad. So I guess if you think of it that way, I did more for the crops than a lot of people have."

"You certainly did," Turo said. "But how did you manage to put it out so quickly?"

Arven lowered his head. He still hated to admit when he'd been dishonest, but Turo clearly already knew his Pokémon's typing wasn't fire. It would only be more embarrassing to tell an obvious lie. Especially when this whole conversation was taking place in Arven's own head. "I, um...pulled up some dirt and threw it on. Y'know...with Ting-um, with my Pokémon's powers."

"Ah," Turo nodded knowingly. "Of course."

#

Arven had no idea how long he and the illusory version of Turo in his head were chatting. But he finally came to when Vital voice's prompted him to wake up. The vision faded, and Arven found himself sitting in the senator's quarters once again. Vital hadn't left his fancy chair, and now Bridge stood next to him as well. Their expressions were both painfully neutral.

A line of sweat made its made down Arven's back. "Wait. Was I...speaking aloud for any of that?"

"What?" The senator's eyebrows rose. "Oh, no. Of course not. The point of the exercise is to give you a space to privately unload your thoughts to a trustworthy figure. If myself or anyone else was listening in, it would utterly defeat the purpose."

Arven nodded. The senator did seem genuinely upset that Arven thought he'd been listening. But then, it wasn't as if Arven had gotten a lot of one-on-one time with Vital. The man obviously cared very much for the town and its residents, but he could also have a great poker face and Arven wouldn't know it.

Without meaning to, Arven's gaze darted to Bridge. Who was probably closer to that imaginary version of Turo than anyone else Arven had met in a long time.

Bridge nodded, looking equally upset at Arven's distress. "I just arrived myself to take you back to the kitchen. But I assure you, whatever words you spoke were purely in your own mind. Neither of us heard you utter a word."

Arven exhaled slowly. Maybe he was being paranoid. Maybe he even had good reason to be paranoid. But at least for now, the fear had eased up from that all-consuming part of his mind. His defenses were down, if only by the smallest bit, for the first time in days. Maybe even in months. And he had to admit, it was a nice feeling.

"Thank you very much for the help, sir," he said as he stood and gave the senator a bow. He did the same for Slowking as well. "And you, too, Slowking."

"Sloooow..." Slowking replied with a big, goofy grin.

Senator Vital smiled and waved at Arven as Bridge guided him out the door. "My pleasure."