Chapter Four: Consequence

"What to do, what to do?" A question for myself.

Shifting the strap around my shoulder, I stop brooding and re-examine my surroundings. A thick forest of what looks like, but are likely anything but, oak trees. "Great, I'm probably miles away from home now…"

In the process of getting the hell out of there, I may have also ran in a random direction. Running and running until I was out of steam. Not a great decision in truth, but it's kinda 'whatever' now.

Though, "That Invisabe thing…"

I'm not sure what type of pokemon can be completely invisible and cause such terror, "Some kind of nonsense, likely.", but I can't say I'm very keen on finding out the hard way, again…

Paranoid glances around the closest tree branches gives some assurance, for now at least.

"Maybe a ghost? Although…" All the water and rain reminds me of the only pokemon type I truly see. "Is there a water-ghost pokemon? Hmm." Not any I can really remember, but…

"Isn't that one fish? Hmm…"

Absently, I pick at a scab until it bleeds, then I curse myself for not letting it heal, I also curse myself for talking to me so much.

"I should get my move on."

Deciding a decent solution to being lost, is to just get more lost, I pick a random direction and walk. While avoiding the occasional fallen tree or puddle, I quickly find it harder to do the latter and resign, trudging on through. The rain, I've grown so familiar with, retaking its place at the forefront, wetting trees and earth alike.

"And me…" I murmur, shaking off the minute water that clings. "Nice weather is officially canceled…"

Soon I spot the strange tree barrier and start to trace along its wall, hoping I'm not too far from a tunnel entrance… or home.

"A night under the stars?" I wordlessly wonder, walking. "That is, if the moon ever came out."

A small glance at the cloudy sky and a 'tisk' being the last I give that thought. Fortunately, the entrance is spotted and I quickly scamper inside. Once more shaking water off me, I try to enjoy the, mostly, dry passage and continue on.

…

Time passes, and the corridor seems to stretch on forever.

…

I stop, and requiring more effort than seems necessary, I take the satchel off, letting it fall to the dirt. Sending a paranoid glace behind me, then to the path ahead, a lack of anything bad is noted. Next, I shuffle in pace for a second, getting a feel for how much my feet actually hurt… Maybe that was the deciding factor?

"Just… a quick rest…"

Decision decided, I squat down and lean back into-

"Ack, motherfucker!" I curse. Jerking to the side, I stop sitting on my tail and move it so I can rest comfortably.

"Useless thing…"

This tail is pretty damn useless actually, it's either getting in my way or knocking shit over. I mean, it can be good at pushing me through water, but newsflash; I don't live in a fucking lake!

I take a deep breath and let it out, trying to not work myself up. The damp, musty, tree tunnel air not quite helping with that.

Leaning forward, I go to massage my aching feet pads, but there's a different problem. Looking at the poor things, my paws are caked in drying mud and leaves; and I don't really feel like getting my hands just as filthy. Without any way to really wash them off I- well… actually.

Sluggishly, I push water up my throat and shoot out a weak stream to clean the grime off.

"Heh…" Forgot about that…

Sitting cross-legged, I pull my leg up and start working on a foot. After all the running around and excitement, it's a nice kind of pain to massage aching muscles. "If only they were my-"

I cut that thought off… but the mood is already spoiled.

Absently, I stop my work and, with a finger, travel along the different parts of my foot. An index tracing through the, still somewhat, dirty black fur, over course dark pads, and ending on claw tipped toes. Turning my hand over, I also find them on the ends of my fingers, small and sturdy.

"Claws… so strange…"

A stark contrast to what I've lived with for so long… It doesn't feel real sometimes. Like, if I don't focus, I can still feel my skin. The sun shining down on a body, smooth and tan. A five fingered hand brushing back locks of hair…

I put pressure on them, and sense my own touch through the thick pads. "Sensation is there, so it…"

…

"I don't know…"

Suddenly a lot more tired, I just… let go of my foot and slump back, laying on the cool, damp, earth. "Just, resting my eyes a bit…"

Reaching out blindly, I fumble around before grabbing a hold of my satchel and pulling it over, pulling close, and hugging it. Though the bag may be wet and a little stained, it's something to hold…

…

I think about… The groups that come here… "Why do they?" I mean, the most recent ones have to be after me, if that paper was any good indication. But…

"They couldn't have known about me from the start, unless?"

No, that's a stupid thought. Though, if I think about it, the frequency of invaders has really picked up in the past month or so. But, before that, one could have mistaken them for a random group of ferals, if not for the clothing and gear. Although… now they have a target…

I shift a little, trying to get comfortable. Troubling thoughts, troubling the body.

Shifting and stretching, I find an awkward angle that avoids the occasional drip from the ceiling and actually feels kinda nice, despite being so graceless.

…

I wander… Where do they come from? "I've been through so many parts of this forest…". Not all to be fair, but I'd like to think I could at least track these groups back to where they'd come from.

But when tried, the tracks are ether too fucked up to follow or seem to appear and disappear out of nowhere. "Likely just washed away by rain." I tell myself, frustrating nonetheless.

There has to be though, there has to be a place they come from… Outside of the forest? "Even some of the ferals around here have a nest or barrow they call home… home? Home!"

Eyes snapping open, I spring up and grab my head in pain, blood rushing back to it. "Ugh, I can't sleep here, it's too dangerous." I remind myself, itching a scar on the back of my neck.

I give a couple quick shakes, trying to force energy back into my body and to shake off any dirt clinging to my damp fur. It's useless though, my pelt is remarkable at keeping me itchy and filthy.

Moving around now, I put on the satchel at the same time my feet start complaining. The worst part is, I'm in agreeance with them; eyes blinking blearily. Regardless, I finally get my move on and march down the path ahead, trusting the tunnel isn't actually endless.

…

…

"Huh?"

The pounding of the rain above is interrupted by a building commotion ahead. Fatigue taking the back seat in anticipation of conflict. I stop and wait, there's no point in hiding. The odd and kinda uniform structure of these tree tunnels allowing eazy spotting down the line.

Squinting, there seems to be almost a carpet of blue and yellow spots heading my way. Nervous, I take the problem solver out and… put it away. Within seconds, I realize what I'm seeing and smirk.

A small herd of ten or so Surskit dash in and around my legs as they pass. And I let them, discovering a while ago that I actually don't mind the little bugs that much. They don't mess with me, I don't mess with them. "Dumb, but harmless." Though, I can't help but finger my scalchop as they go, a sweet scent following in their passing.

Looking forward down the tunnel again, a different blue dot is on approach. This one a bit taller, some red fins, and a wide open crocodile mouth. "A Totodile? probably."

A thought hits me and I send a quick glance back at the fleeing water-bugs, realizing what is happening.

It takes the, would be, predator an embarrassing amount of time to finally notice me; stopping around ten or so feet away. The totodile turns its head slightly, so it can properly see around its large open maw, and jumps back in surprise. I can't help but smirk again, watching as the crocodile starts hissing and waving its arms in the air.

The display may have been intimidating… If I wasn't over twice its size.

Pooling water, I shoot a quick stream into their mouth; causing the totodile to close its maw and wince away, coughing. Letting the remaining water drain out of my jaws, I take a couple steps forward and let out a quick yell.

"AHH!" Goes my warcry.

Totodile backpedals in fear, before turning tail and running back down the tunnel; making distressed crocodile noises as it goes.

I let out a small laugh, leaning backwards and popping my back, before walking after the blue reptile.

"Heh, maybe they know the path back?"

The headache and shifting ground faded away a while ago, after I ate that oran.

"If only the same would happen for Sylveon…"

Kaa is next to me and we both wince as our peer descends into another coughing fit. But, just like the other ones, he wipes his mouth off and continues forward, us following behind.

"If you would tell me, then do you think Sylveon will be okay?" Kaa whispers.

My mouth opens and closes, no words come out. I'm not sure what to say, I'm not even sure what to think. But, I try to give my friend reassuring nods anyway.

Kaa's only response being his signature grin, even if it didn't look the same.

Our attention is pulled back to Sylveon as he starts puking up more poison, forming another small red and purple puddle on the ground.

"It's getting worse…"

…

"Mister Sylveon…" I speak up, deciding on something and pulling away from Kaa.

I'm suddenly in the familiar position of watching him pant over a pool of his own sickness. Shuffling from foot to foot, I wait for something to be said. But with him facing away, and not even a glance back, I wonder if he even heard me?

"Mister Sy-"

"Yes! Yes, I hear you. What-" More coughing, followed by a mean glance back at me. "Is it important?"

"Is it important? Am I just going to make him more angry?". A drop of purple slides down Sylveon's jaw, and I remember that even the strong need rest.

"I'm, I-I mean, I, uh-" I start, before swallowing the nervousness down. "I think we s-should take a quick break."

Rapidly losing my nerve, I can't hold his gaze anymore and quickly eke the rest out.

"A-also me and Salandit are getting kinda hu-ungry, and w-well… you aren't looking very good M-mister… y-you should rest a little…"

There's a moment of silence and I regain enough bravery to look at him. The glare is still there, but it seems… softer?

There's a sigh, then Sylveon begins looking around at the surrounding woods.

"Fine…" He starts, and his voice loses most of its edge. "We'll take a quick pause in that little opening there."

Following him, me and Kaa stay in step behind; not daring to rush ahead.

Within no time, we all settle into a circle. Sylveon resting against a moss covered rock, Kaa laying on top of a big fallen log, and me sitting just below him, fiddling with my tail and its flame.

I poke a finger into the fire, searching for the tip of my tail, hidden within. Soon though, I pull my hand away, the heat getting a little uncomfortable.

"That makes no sense… It doesn't hurt my tail, but it does hurt my hand?"

I huff a little at that. "Have I ever actually seen the tip of my tail?". I think back some and… maybe? I don't really remember. A glance over at Kaa's tail and I could see the tip is right there, so easy to see! Then look back to the fire on mine. Well, there was that one time I tried to put the flame out with water…

I cringe a little at the memory. "Yeah, don't do that again."

…

Poking a finger into the-

"Hey, eat up, we're not sticking around for long."

Quickly dropping my tail, I look forward to the half sliced apple placed in front of me.

"Oh, ah… Sorry…" I apologize.

Second glances at the apple remind me of how hungry I am. Even split in two, the normal apple looks really big and my tummy growls in anticipation.

I start eating.

Seeds are spit out whenever they are found and I have to hold the delicious fruit still as I eagerly eat it; quickly finding my hands and face dripping with juice.

Taking a moment to lick my hands, I look up at Kaa, watching as he carefully eats his half slice. Even though he's older than me, I'm still slightly taller than him and bulkier too. But that doesn't stop Kaa from eating just as much as me.

"Where's he gonna store all that apple?" I muse, funnily

Swinging my gaze over to Sylveon, I see… that he hasn't really eaten, eyes clamped shut and body tensing.

Barely a bite has been taken out of his food, and a bad feeling builds.

"Are you not hungry, Mister?"

He shifts some then… his eyes blink open, as if remembering he wasn't asleep.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I'm-" More wet coughs, more bad feelings. "Huff, just… finish your food, okay? Five more minutes and we're continuing on."

I try to, I really do, but I'm suddenly not very hungry. Instead, I start fiddling with the remainder of my food, occasionally sneaking a peek at Sylveon, and thinking about what he said.

"Mister Sylveon? Why do you want to go so soon?" I ask, knowing how awful being poisoned is. "Shouldn't you rest and try to get better?"

Raising their head back up, Sylveon gives me a look before sighing and settling back down.

"We're in the Berry Woods, kid, it's not unlikely to find a pecha tree out here."

I blink a little, before realizing he's right. "That's really smart, I should've thought of that.". Kaa speaks up then, stealing my attention.

"If you eat an oran, then won't you feel better faster? Even if it doesn't cure you." He offers, while licking his lips. "If you look at my brother, then you'll see he's all better."

Our peer suddenly cocks his head back, confusion on his muzzle.

"Brothers?" He asks, before letting out a quick cough. "I mean, yes, I could eat one right now to help recover. But it's also not so easy as that."

Sylveon moves to slightly face us, eyes closed but still talking.

"This is honestly something you should have learned by now, but… eh…" He began, giving a small shrug with ribbons. "Getting poisoned will make most types of healing less useful. Whether it's from berries or-"

Me and Kaa are left listening as he's interrupted again by his own sickness.

"Huff, just, most types of healing, okay?"

I close my eyes and try to retain Sylveon's words of wisdom. "Poison makes healing not so good, and being poisoned is really bad; unless you're the bad guy.". Nodding my head with a smile, I reopen my eyes and look at our peer. His eyes back open, gaze switching between me and Kaa.

"Are you and Charmander actually brothers?" Sylveon asks, his question not directed at me.

Quickly, I find myself also looking at Kaa; curious, nervous.

"If I'm being honest, then I guess not…" An anxious glance was shot at me as he said that. "But if I remember correctly, then Master Marowak said that 'friends are the', uhh… 'they're the family that we choose', and if there was anyone I wanted to be my brother, then it would be him!"

Kaa ended his reply looking at me, grining.

"Yeah! Me too!" I agreed, switching to Sylveon.

…

"'Friends are the family we choose' huh? I haven't… actually heard that one before."

"Heh, if you think about it, then we're the ones teaching you stuff now! Even if it's just, kinda, about us…" Kaa noticed, laughing and rubbing the back of his head.

Sylveon didn't reply to that time, just crossing his front legs and looking down at his paws.

…

We sat there in silence for a second. "Is he still mad at us? We were having a really nice talk though… so maybe not?".

…

"Do you have a brother?"

…

Sylveon blinked once.

"No, I don't."

"Aww, he doesn't have a brother? Oh! Maybe he has a sister!?". Curiosity and excitement at the opportunity to learn what having a family is like!

"Do you hav-"

"Times up." Sylveon begins, abruptly. "We've been here long enough, and I don't want to stay in this dungeon forever."

With that, our peer puts away his barely eaten apple, we finish ours, and start following him again. The coughing is still there, Sylveon occasionally stopping to endure, but I'd like to think the short rest made him feel better.

I do still want to know if he has a sister, ideas of what it would be like filling my head. Then, a stray thought enters my mind and I wonder what it would be like if Kaa was a girl? How that would affect our friendship if he was all girly.

I stop watching the ground as we walk and start studying the colorful scales on Kaa's back, then looking at our team bandana about his neck.

"Kaa would then probably want me to wear all kinds of cute bows and ribbons and all that stupid stuff!". But… Sylveon has bows and ribbons, though, and he's cool…

"Hmm…" I hum to myself, trying to figure out what is cool and what isn't.

Look to the left, then to my right.

"Hmm…"

Again I look to my left, tracing the totodile's half washed tracks with my eyes. Raindrops dancing on my head, as I consider following the crocodile some more.

"Haven't seen it for a minute now. Is… Is it still running?". I chuckle somewhat, imagining the little crocodile running from something that isn't really chasing it. A lucky raindrop makes its way through the canopy above and somehow lands directly on my eye, causing me to flinch. "I need to get out of this rain, I need to get home." Remembering that I still have no idea where that is exactly.

"I could continue following after the little guy, or…"

Once more I shift to the right, eyeing over a path the totodile didn't take and trying to decide on one. I have to move my satchel's shoulder strap around though; the bag itself seeming to get heavier at the same rate my legs and feet do.

"Another quick rest, maybe? No… No, that's a bad idea.". I conclude, shaking my head. "Don't know if I could convince myself not to sleep if I layed down".

Look to the left, and to my right.

"Sigh…"

In the end, I decided that… it doesn't really matter. Take the left or right path, I'll still be relying on blind luck to bring me somewhere that's close to home or at least familiar.

"In reality, I'm just stalling, when I should be moving. Moaning over aching feet is gonna do nothing."

Strangely feeling better about myself, I… take the right path… Because, right is right? Or maybe because I don't want to follow that totodile back to its den and run the chance of fighting it… or its whole family.

"Pointless fight."

…

"Wait… do crocodiles live in families?"

I shimmied around a large mud puddle while diving deeper into that thought. "I mean, I can't say I know much about crocs, other than crocodiles and alligators are apparently different. But…". Fixated on the nature of large languid lizards, I continue on the path ahead. Trying to dredge up mostly forgotten knowledge and haphazardly watching my surroundings.

"I don't think they live in packs… or murders or bevies or whatev-"

The thought is cut short though, as I step into a rather deep patch of mud. Giving my leg a tug and finding it decently stuck in there, my lips start to twitch in irritation. Balancing on one leg, I grab the other and pull the fucker out.

"Ack!"

Even expecting it, I barely manage to balance myself out. Having to plant a mud soaked foot down and sliding some. Stupid situation solved, I kick the leg out, trying to rid it of muck and marginally working. Changing tactics, I start rubbing my foot on a tree before remembering-

"Ugh, dumbass…" I remind myself, pooling water and shooting the mud off me.

Raising my not so human-like leg up for examination, I'm reminded of something.

"Can't really compare the animals here, to the ones I know… can't I?"

Setting the leg down, I fix my bag into a more comfortable spot and continue on my way… into more mud.

I gently breath out… and unclench fists.

A quick tug luckily frees my foot, but I don't bother cleaning it; just walking forward.

…

…

The path differs ahead and I slow down, sudden change sometimes a bad sign.

Grabbing for my good scalchop, pain courses through the bitten part of my arm; the limb aching and not wanting to move. Regardless, I peel my weapon off and get ready. The scalchop has a comforting weight in my hand and I take a moment to inspect it, noticing some dried blood on the inside cup.

I clean that off and forget.

Continuing onward, the path expands before opening out into a small circular clearing. Noticing the biggest thing first, the grass here is overtaken by white flowers I don't really have a name for, swaying and battered about by the storm. And in the middle of the clearing are three, almost deliberately placed, trees, low hanging and bearing fruit.

Something tickles my mind the more I look around, but it's quickly forgotten with movement amongst the tree's branches. Pulse quickening…

"Is it?"

Two pokemon, blue, round, and with a ball on the end of their wiry tails. "Just, marills…"

I take a moment to calm down and watch them, the two small ball shaped animals following each other around the branches to eat at the food there.

My attention shifts to the fruit, pink and looking like the same berries I ate earlier. Finding no real danger, I continue forward, uncaring if they spot me or not, and they do in fact spot me. One marill starts hissing once it does, the other tracing its friend's gaze and soon also making noise.

I don't take them seriously, finding it hard to be scared of two blue balls maybe a third of my size. But as I get closer, both marills start spinning their tails around, building up speed; and I get the feeling that a fight is imminent.

"Figured they'd have left, scared away, not exactly a hill I'd want to die on; if I was them." But I guess it's unfortunate for them. Stumbling upon another great source of food like this? No way in hell am I gonna pass it up because two soccer balls want to get their asses kicked.

Freeing myself of its weight, my bag hits the ground; and for whatever reason, that was just enough.

Both marill squeak at the sound and dart up the tree, out of sight.

…

Not complaining, I grab the satchel's sling and drag it to the base of a tree. "They're still here." I remind myself, not wanting to slip up.

The three trees around me are all luckily low hanging, for a human that is.

With my hands, I rub at a water and frustration covered face, vowing to build an actual ladder some day.

Not wanting to fucking carve my way up another tree, I look around; searching for something to help. Instead, I mostly find the occasional branch or fallen berry. Which sounds great, until I discovered that most of the… "Pucons? Pecans?", are either moldy or smashed into the ground.

There's the sound of rustling leaves coming from behind me. "Likely just those marill moving about.", but I still get a strong urge to turn around. Following that urge, I turn back and…

There's one of those pink berries, just sitting on the ground.

I blink… then quickly look about, searching for… I don't know.

My gaze lands back on the berry, "I swear…" that wasn't there a second ago. Tilting my head to the side, then up, I consider. "Could one of the marill have dropped it?" On accident, I imagine.

But if that was the case, I feel like there's something missing. Picking up the item in question, I turn it about; examining it.

It's too… clean.

"There should be mud on it.", especially if the-

I snap my fingers. "Pecha." They're called Pecha berries. "The name was on the tip of my tongue, but… what was I thinking?"

The sudden revelation throwing me off track. I turn the fruit over in my hand, remembering that there's something wrong with the berry.

"Wait… are berries fruit? Or are berries, berries?" I stop to think about what technically makes something a fruit, then tuck that stupid thought away, shaking my head.

"Stop distracting yourself." I was thinking about… something.

Groaning, I use a free hand to massage my building headage and… give up on whatever I was trying to figure out. Finally, I look down at the pecha, the hunger of spending most of this day running around and not eating catching up with me.

"Hoping to hold out until I got home…", but who knows how long that's gonna be…

I eat the berry.

"Mmmh." I try not to eat it all in one bite… but, I did. The sweet and mushy pecha seeming to alleviate the pressure in my mind. "Maybe that's what pechas do? They're like painkillers.". Tucking that important bit of information away, I reevaluate the pecha trees before me.

On accident, I also lock eyes with one of the marills and it darts to cover. "These berries have a bigger importance than just something that doesn't taste like apples.", but I turn to a different tree, thinking it might be a better idea to pick one that isn't occupied.

In the end, and even though it was the main thing I didn't want to do, me and my problem solver carved multiple shitty handholds so I could climb up. Most of the way up, that is.

Limbs growing tired, I notice a branch within jumping distance and go for it. My heart rate spikes, just as the fear of falling does too. But it was only a second. Crashing into the branch, my tiny claws dig groves into wet bark as I start to slide off. To make matters worse, the tree limb itself bends concerningly and I hold on for what it's worth. Hoping that, the harder I squeeze the limb the more stable it'll become.

…

I don't fall and it doesn't snap, lucky me.

Carefully climbing up, muscles burning, I then hurriedly find a larger limb to be on. Happy to not be scrambling around, a moment is taken to calm down and to grumble about anything worth eating being stored in high places, for some reason.

Looking around, I check if the marills followed over to this tree. "Wait… How did those tiny fucks even manage to get in a tree in the first place?" Actually, it doesn't matter. Shaking that thought away, I continue with my search. A quick glance all over only revealing the plethora of berries, ready to be eaten.

Easing my way along the wet branch, I shimmy up to a pecha and eat it. Then I do it again, and again, and again, until I've almost entirely cleared this branch out.

Moving to a different tree limb, a cluster of berries are waiting for me there and I pick them all; getting comfortable and throwing one in my mouth.

These do taste pretty good, but… "I suppose, food always tastes good when you're desperate…"

Swallowing, I toss a berry up and try to catch it out of the air. Instead, I catch a blast of water to the back. Staggered, my lower half slides off the soaked tree limb and I scramble to stay on, dropping my food. The berries fall helplessly, splattering against the ground.

"Those fucking marill!" I fume, clambering halfway back up, before getting blasted in the face with water.

It feels like someone is actively pressure washing my face and I use an arm for sanctuary. This ultimately fucks me.

With only one arm holding on, a four fingered grove is scratched into the wood as I slide off. Falling, I panic, bounce off a couple tree branches, and belly flop onto the cold, wet, ground. Rain and leaves landing gently on my back

Pushing myself out of the mud, my body suddenly hurts a lot. My legs hurt, my arms, back, neck, everything… And my hand.

My hand balls into a fist, and I slam it into the soggy earth; staining it more.

Climbing to my feet, I try to wipe as much filth off my face and fur, then stare daggers into the trees.

I don't spot them at first, but when I do catch sight of one of those little fuckers, a unrestrained snarl creases my face. Self-preservation kicks in for the small annoyance and it hides in the tree's foliage. Fleeting satisfaction at that reaction.

Stuffing my aches and pains, I start climbing up the tree, spot that limb from before and jump. Crashing into it, my body protests but I'm too focused to care. Also like before, the branch bends dangerously and luckily holds my weight.

Briefly, that is.

A dreadful crack marks my freefall, followed up by another agonizing landing. A breathless whine escaping my lips. Fortunately, I only fell on my back and banged my head, too dazed to initially feel all the pain.

…

Laying there, in a patch of white flowers and rain, staring up at three trees… and it feels terribly familiar…

"Laughter… I swear, I hear someone laughing… Is it?"

Staggering to stand, I shake the confusion away, but I still hear laughing. Turning to the sound, I glare at the culprit. One of those fucking marill is laughing at me from the cover of the tree… Or I think it is, it's hard to hear through the swaying leaves.

"One marill, why am I only ever seeing one? Wasn't there two? Is it…"

Dread and anger flood me as I spin to where my food bag is at, and I realize I'm a pretty good guesser. Standing there, head buried halfway in my satchel, is the other marill. And whether it felt my glare or something else, the small blue ball popped out and looked at me; a comically large apple in its mouth.

Dread forgotten, only anger remained. Pulling my scalchop free, marill gets the message and darts up the tree. Expecting something like that, I spray a water-gun ahead of the thief and it blindly runs into it, getting swept off. "Heh, dumbass."

Flying away a couple feet, both apple and pokemon are separated from each other; And I start to get a good feeling about this fight.

Closing the distance, I snag my satchel on the way by and get within moments of reaching the marill; before a glancing stream of water clips my leg.

Flinching away, the attack is more surprising than painful, but it gets my attention. Turning around, I find that the other marill had made its way out of the tree and was trying to save its partner in crime.

Returning the gesture, I shoot my own water gun at them and they dodge it. To be fair to myself, the small pokemon was, well… small, and it didn't have to try very hard to avoid my aim.

Dancing around my trailing attack, the brave marill starts charging at me, and I let it. Cutting off the water, I hunker down and try to get decent footing on the muddy ground.

As it got closer, marill started spinning its tail, faster and faster, until they got within a foot of me, jumped up, and brought its aqua wreathed tail down.

Getting rammed by that skiddo had hurt, getting water-tackled by that buizel had also kinda hurt, but getting hit by a marill? The tail slammed into me and threw my balance off… for a moment, maybe.

Snatching that piece of shit off me, the marill lets out a squeak, and I smash it into the ground; then it makes a less than happy noise when I stomp it into the mud. Not quite finished, I line myself up real quick and kick the blue soccer ball for all I'm worth. There's an unhealthy noise from the marrill and it flies away from me.

Smirking, I watch the blue ball sail through the air before falling into a tall patch of flowers, obscuring its landing. I let out a dissatisfied breath. "Was kinda hoping to see it bounce and roll…"

There's noise behind me and I spin around, weapon in hand. Preparing for an attack, I instead find the other marill had grabbed the fallen apple and is now running away.

"Son of a bitch." I grunt to myself, racing after the last blue ball.

Heart pounding, I barely make any distance towards the marill before it reaches the clearing's edge, jumps through a bush, and I lose sight of it. Cursing again, I blast through the shrubbery a second after, into a dimly lit forrest, barely spot the fucker, and continue the chase.

It goes like this, I gain distance, marill darts through some undergrowth, and I'd have to force my way through; losing that distance. At one point, I finally manage to get a couple feet from the thief and shoot off a water-gun. It narrowly misses, "Damnit.", but it does spook them.

Panicking, marill tries to dart up the nearest tree, a chance to escape.

Empowering my scalchop, I slash at them mid climb and open a long red gash. Marill squeaks in protest of that.

Apple still somehow in its mouth, they fall to the ground and I try stabbing down into the thief. Quick and slippery, they spring away and my blade enters the ground; cleaning the fine edge of blood, with mud.

Huffing, I free my scalchop and pursue after the retreating marill; following its red trail.

Even with adrenaline racing through me, my limbs are heavy and tiring. The satchel doesn't help either. Filled with food, it acts like a lead weight, tied around my neck, and jerks awkwardly as I run.

But run Dewott does, chasing after its guide.

Looking past my target, there's a thin wall of undergrowth with light shining through; marking an edge to a clearing or somthing. Marill, undeterred by bushes or brush, slips on through to the other side.

I, on the other hand, burst through the foliage and have to stop, shielding my eyes from the sudden change in light. My body betrays me then, as I take a shuttering step forward before staying still, unwilling to move.

I try to force myself in the direction I think the thief went, but all I got was fatigued pain and falling to a knee. Breathing heavy, heart pounding in my ears, I stop staring at the ground and raise my head back up.

Resting on one knee, I bitterly watch as marill escapes. The little blue ball racing towards a lazy river that's cutting through the woods. I think about getting up and starting the chase anew, I really do,… but stay down.

"I had you…", back at that tree. "If only I didn't fuck up, it would have been over."

I swallow some spit, pull a prodding stick out of my fur, and continue to pant. Annoyed… "I guess, I should go back to those trees now…"

…

But, before I can turn around… the rain lessens… and it's almost like… there's a tension in the air.

Like the whole forest is watching, expecting…

…

The marill is homefree now, mere moments from reaching the water and its safety… and the water reaches out to greet it.

Skidding to a stop, marill tries to dart away as something large and red bursts from the stream. A pokemon I've never seen before, a foot taller and likely twice my weight, springs at the small marill and snatches them in one of its large pincers.

The sudden change in events steals my attention and I'm stuck, morbidly watching.

Looking like an oversized, daunting, crawdad, it brings the thrashing and squeaking marill up to its, seemingly sunken, eyes. Releasing the apple, marill retaliates. Shooting out bubbles that, surprisingly, make the crawdad flinch back. The attack is cut short though, replaced with pained squeaks and thrashing. Angered, the crawdad had started squeezing its pincer and I could already see where this was going.

I think the marill tried to retaliate again, but it ended with a muffled snap and more desperate noise making. I do feel kinda bad for the small thief, being crushed must surely be an awful death… Not enough to help though. Glowing a dull white, the pincer closes with a myriad of sickening wet crunches… then silence.

Remains of crushed bones and guts spilling out.

In the wake of a loud and futile struggle, the creature is eerily silent. Lowering their gore-soaked pincer and using its two smaller limbs to help feed on the marill's remains, while also throwing that dropped apple in. Fruit and carcass seeming to pair nicely…

…

I stand up and… take a step towards the large animal… and another.

I'm… not sure what I'm doing, but I have a feeling it needs to be done. Like if I don't…

"Wait, no, what the fuck am I doing?". My own words bring a wave of confusion, and I stop… then stagger forward, as if shoved from behind.

Falling to my hands and knees onto the muddy ground, I spin around, scalchop in hand, and… there's nothing there.

Fear and doubt creep into my mind and I start to wonder if I had actually felt anything in the first place. Suddenly remembering the very dangerous animal behind me, I spin back around to watch it, but…

Eyes, resting below a yellow star, turn to look at me; as if realizing I was there.

Again, "What am I doing? I can't do this." Standing up. I hold eye contact with the large predator and slowly back away. "I won't do this."

"I'm not going to throw my life away and… and… and…" I grab my head and seize up.

The thought won't finish, can't finish.

I try to hold onto it, try to hold onto any thought, actually. But it hurts and, like a searing injection, anger fills me… Even if it doesn't have a direction. But I get the feeling that it doesn't matter, that I shouldn't think, that I should be listening to-

Indignation. "Make me."

The headache suddenly lessens, and I almost feel in control of my own emotions. Not that I have time to sort myself out…

Something hard and pointy jabs into my chest, and I'm abruptly moving my own body again.

Reaching to pull out whatever stabbed into me, my hand meets air and little dancing light particles; then I'm hit again. A star-like projectile slamming into my arm before dissipating, leaving behind a bleeding wound. Biting back pain, I look up from my new holes and find the large crawdad thing shooting stars from its pincers.

Another one closes in, and my reaction comes naturally.

Empowering a scalchop, I slash at the projectile, cutting it in half and doing the same with others sent my way. Once split in two, a star would shatter and spray out winking specks of light.

Rain and light, showering down.

If not for the life-or-death situation, I think, I would have actually enjoyed slapping these things out of the air… though exhaustion is quickly becoming my enemy. That small rest, a second ago, having not done too much in helping.

Striking down another star, I catch sight of the daunting crawdad making its way to me; walking and firing. Having no delusions about what will happen if I get in claw squeezing range, I shatter one more star, dodge to the side, and sprint for the forest edge.

Running in a random pattern, so that I don't get shot, I find out the hard way that it wasn't quite working.

Pain blossoms in my back and I throw myself hard to the side, hoping to avoid the follow up shots. Splashing down into uncaring mud, I'm greeted with another agonizing stab, this one in the back of my leg. Expecting another attack, I spin around, blindly swing my scalchop out and…

I miss.

A split second of dread, a bright light, and pain… The star pierces up the side of my face, grinding against a jawbone, before splitting through my cheek, breaking some teeth, and mercifully fading into light.

I scream, it's easy to.

Reaching for my tender wound, I only cause throbbing agony from a shaky touch. I still don't have time to sort myself out…

With my free hand, I strike down the next star coming my way… with the other, I try to hold everything together. Rising to my feet, I favor the leg that didn't get hit. A warm and wet feeling reminding me which is which.

The pain is terrible, causing me to grit my teeth… Gritting the chipped or broken fangs together. This feedback loop of affliction causing affliction doesn't help matters. Agony blurs my vision and I almost miss another star, defecting it into the ground.

A warm metallic taste seeps into my mouth, and I spit. Blood and tooth fragments discarded.

"H-how-" My slightly garbled speech causes more pain, so I decide to just shut up.

"How is this thing so fucking accurate?" It makes no sense. The stars shouldn't be hard to dodge, and yet, are always where I'm going to be…

Sending a glance at the crawdad, I'm relieved to see its stream of attacks slowing. Whether from tiring or something else, I don't know. But, that's not the only thing. The brute is still slowly, but surely, making its way to me… I need to do something.

Limping backwards, I try to buy time. But the closer it gets, the more panicked I become. Stepping blindly, I slip on some mud and luckily catch myself, satchel swinging wild and heavy.

"Do I ditch it? It's weighing me down." weighed down with food, that is. "No… I-I can't."

Slashing another star out of the air, I… notice something…

The crawdad is close enough now that, I can see it shoot out a star, and from the angle, by all means should miss me on its own… then it changes course mid-flight…

I finally understand… "I truly hate this world…"

Striking down two more of the seemingly homing stars, the crawdad finally cuts off its attack. The reprieve is short lived though. Now only a couple feet away, it suddenly surges at me; pincers wide open.

Shooting water from my face to its face, I blind the large brute. But, unfortunately, can't keep it up for long. The water jetting from my mouth agitating its wound, excruciatingly.

Sputtering, my attack abruptly ends but still allows me to avoid its wild attacks.

Guessing, the large crawdad closed its pincers down on the dewott, but ended up crushing only mud and small stones.

Capitalizing, I empower my weapon and slash at the closest pincer; carving a line that bled gently.

Reacting to the pain, the pincer swung out to bat me away, but I was already gone. Dodging back, my satchel swings wildly and throws me off balance. Luckily, I catch myself and slam a foot dow-

My wounded leg spasms and I fall…

Landing on my hands and knees, I growl in pain and raise to my feet, or try to. My leg spasms again and I don't make it far.

"Fuck…" Is all I can say and think, watching as the brute recovers, finds me, and prepares another attack. Pincers closed and glowing white.

Holding my scalchop with both hands, I point it at them and let out a weak laugh. Starting to get a bad feeling about this fight's outcome

"Heh… Don't come near… or I'll cut ya…"

Not heeding my warning, it closes the small distance, punches out with an empowered pincer and quickly follows up with the other. Meeting them with my own empowered attack, I manage to parry one claw away, try to bring my burning limbs up and… I…

I can't…

My body just won't work… tired, beaten, bleeding… I can barely kneel there and watch… numbly grinning…

No force of will can overcome a failing body…

I flinch…

My chest is suddenly in agony… I can't breathe…

I'm flying?

Everything is moving so much, everything is a blur…

I'm falling…

The ground catches me, wet and cruel…

…

Rain falls gently on my body, and darkness closes in… my eyes start to close…

It seems so fitting that, to wake up from a nightmare… I must first sleep.

"No, can't… can't sleep…" Raising a shaky fist up, I bring it down on one of my bleeding holes and let out a suppressed yell.

Pain is quite the stimulant…

Eyes open, I roll to my back and catch sight of a descending claw. Rolling to the side, I avoid whatever attack was sent my way… or not entirely. Clamping around my satchel, the pincer raises it and me up. Thinking fast, I slip free from the strap and fall out of the other pincer's path. Missing, the claw still finds a target and also clamps down on the bag.

Throughout this whole ordeal, the large crawdad, thing, never made a single noise. Just attacking and looking… Swinging and watching…

I scamper away on my back, feeling around for my dropped weapon, but not daring to take my eyes off them.

Pincers tighten and pull, the predator stares daggers at me; perhaps irritated that I'd dare struggle for so long? It pulls harder, and harder, and tears my satchel in half… Then lets out a surprised, if somewhat happy, noise as apples and berries spill free, like a busted pinata.

And, as if I didn't matter, it stopped looking at me and started chowing down on all the food I gathered…

"Perhaps, to this animal, I'm not even considered a threat?" Maybe I'm not…

Confused, I struggle to my feet, legs reluctantly support me, and take a step back; barely a glance from them as I did. Taking another step, I… stop.

"That's all my food… Am I really just gonna leave?"

I stand there, and listen as that motherfucker eats my… my…

I watch as it easily crushes an apple, before downing its remains.

"Can I afford to stay?"

…

"Heh, damned if I do…" damned if I don't…

The brute sends me another small glance, at my noise, and goes back to eating… I don't have my good scalchop, and I don't see it anywhere, so I slowly pull out my damaged one. This is… not how I wanted my day to go, but… I'm tired of starving.

Luckily, even damaged, I can still push water into my weapon; that familiar dribble, down a broken blade.

My chest and stomach don't feel great, urging me to retreat and hide… to heal… It's very distracting.

"It's distracted…" Maybe, I could blind it again? Then go for an eye… "I need to hit something important… If I want to live…"

Surging water up my throat, I… choke… then vomit; water, bile, and blood mix on the ground…