December 9th, First Year

Ingo carefully descended the cliff, reaching up to grab Emmet's basket of provisions as his brother slowly followed after him, one hand tightly gripping his cap. "Emmet, it would be wise to simply attach your hat to your belt like I have." Though it felt odd- the freezing cold wind settling into his exposed hair,-Ingo demonstrated at his own tattered hat affixed to his pokéball belt via worn, braided twine. "That way, both of your hands will be free."

Emmet glared at him, his face red. With indignation or from the cold, Ingo couldn't tell. "I am Emmet. I do not have extra twine."

Ingo proceeded to pull out extra rope from his pack and gestured with his hand for Emmet's hat. "Not to worry; I always carry extra! A bit unorthodox perhaps, but I will need to create a small hole in- "

Emmet immediately recoiled back, his eyes narrowing. "No." Emmet reached to take back his hat only for his irritated smile to sharpen when Ingo held it just out of reach. Emmet reached again. Ingo whisked it even higher. Emmet stared. "Ingo... My hat."

"...What's the magic word?"

"...Ingo, we are grown adults. Give me back my hat… please."

Ingo tutted and crossed his arms, continuing to keep Emmet's hat hostage. "That didn't sound like any sincere request I've ever heard before- "

"I am Emmet. I will bite you."

"Fine, fine." Ingo made to hand over Emmet's hat before snatching it away at the last minute, quickly producing a small bone needle from his emergency kit to make a tiny hole at the back of the cap where it would be concealed by the width of dyed red cloth forming the hat's band. "A hole will keep your cap from blowing away in these tumultuous winds. And- "Ingo added, slipping the looped twine around Emmet's belt- "nobody will be able to tell that the hole is present."

"Says you."

They continued across the steep ledge, Ingo guiding the way forward as they returned in the direction of his hut. He could easily make out the icy coastline in the distance, recognizing exactly where he was via the bolted-in wooden posts lining the cliffs at his side; posts that he had put in to prevent himself from slipping off during his first year serving as Lady Sneasler's warden.

Winter had finally come and in the Coronet Highlands, the snow came quickly and settled immediately into any crevices that should prove to deter him to go out and forage. The trees that could shed their leaves already had, leaving husks in their places. Tall imposing fir trees lined the cliffs beneath him in one smooth jade and white speckled blanket, making it so that Ingo could only hear the biting winds as they stole at his jacket. He shivered. It was imperative that the two of them return to Ingo's home before sundown; any longer outside and the risk of frostbite went up exponentially.

Ingo picked up the pace once he spotted the telltale trail of smoke hanging in the overcast sky. "Onwards, Emmet. We have nearly arrived at our home station."

"I can see that."

Ingo gestured for Emmet to take his arm. His brother did. The footing through the deep snow became much easier when it was two feet versus one but as they descended through the steep slopes and into the valley where the tall mountains began to block out the sky, Ingo couldn't help but glance at the tall cliffs that bordered his hut; especially at the large hole in the cliff where Ingo knew Lady Sneasler usually kept her nest. Unusual that she has not yet returned. And so close to when she usually has her litter. He felt his throat tighten. "...E-Emmet?" he rasped.

"Ingo?"

"Maybe perhaps I am overthinking this but… hmm… Do you believe it unusual as well that Lady Sneasler has not been seen around our station for some time yet?"

Emmet struggled past him alone, not so much as taking his eyes off the path ahead of them. With his cap gone, his untied silver hair blew freely into his face. "No. Pokémon raised in the wild will sometimes change their nesting spots. Based on predation patterns. And prey migration. Not unusual. For this time of year," Emmet pointed out. "You know Sneasler best. What do you think?"

Ingo wouldn't say that he knew his noble in the way he knew somebody like Warden Melli who Ingo felt he could easily communicate with, but he couldn't do the same with Lady Sneasler despite being her warden. After all, the two of them only saw each other once every other day during their old routine- before the nobles started becoming frenzied. He realized suddenly that he had seen her even less the entire year that he'd been busy helping Akari with the nobles. "But… Do you think Lady Sneasler has become… frenzied?" Ingo shakily put forward. Despite the fact that the pokéball she had chosen hung empty on his hip.

He couldn't imagine his Lady in such an agonizing state. It had been different seeing the other nobles up and close while they had been suffering from their godly afflictions; while Ingo knew them all, he didn't have quite as deep of an attachment to them as he did to Sneasler, a bond so close that Sneasler had chosen to follow him to wherever his newly-laid tracks would take him once he finished being railroaded to his end in Hisui. And in that instant, Ingo understood what his fellow wardens must have felt like being helpless to curb what he knew would eventually happen to even Sneasler if his own predictions had been incorrect. No matter the steps he had taken to prevent his noble from becoming derailed, there was still the very real possibility that Sneasler had become frenzied as well.

"We would have noticed a change," Emmet pointed out, knocking Ingo from his temporary stupor. "The wild pokémon would have reflected this pattern. If it did happen."

"Y-yes, but- "

"Ingo." Emmet reached back and set a gloved hand on Ingo's shoulder, holding him steady. His warmth was palpable even through the thick clothes Ingo wore. "You are travelling along tracks that do not exist. Focus on the present. Do your safety checks."

Though blunt, Emmet's words served to ground Ingo back to their current task: making it back home before another blizzard could settle in. "Ah… Thank you."

"You are welcome." But not before long, it was Emmet who started asking questions. "Ingo?"

"Yes?"

"May I see your Xtransceiver?"

Ingo kept pace while pulling back his sleeve, watching as Emmet panned over to the point marker map. "Checking our allies' locations?" Ingo put forward. He already knew the answer to his question.

Only a day had passed since both him and Emmet had been surprised by a visit from Jaku's pokémon. Neither of them had been expecting the entire party of nine to show up at Ingo's doorstep; that is, without Jaku. Ingo had asked as had Emmet the whereabouts of their ever-elusive trainer. Only Jaku's Hisuian Zoroark had been able to answer via an illusion and via telepathy, both of which had reminded Ingo why he neither liked nor trusted the native species.

Jaku had gone to collect a Time Gear under the sea some time ago as was her companions' guess. And Jaku's pokémon had elected to stay somewhere safe- Ingo's abode- while their trainer sought about collecting their destined artifact alone. Not unusual behavior for someone as reclusive as them, Ingo had surmised at first. But the evening had gone by and then dawn had come as well. No rift had opened. The coastal ice was still there. And when dawn had passed too, Jaku's pokémon had left to check on their trainer. Both Ingo and Emmet had elected to stay behind. But as the day dwindled and night fell once again, Ingo began to wonder if they should have gone to check; after all, he had said some time ago that he would keep tabs on his fellow faller and so far, his words had amounted to nothing.

Ingo glanced at the map on his Xtransceiver and as he already knew, Jaku's point marker was nowhere to be seen as had been the case for quite some time now. This is not unusual, he convinced himself. He was almost certain it was the truth and aloud, he said, "We would have noticed some kind of change." An echo of his brother's words but with far less confidence. "A rift would have spawned in," Ingo murmured. He covered up his Xtransceiver with his sleeve, garnering Emmet's attention. "I am quite sure that nothing is amiss, Emmet. Come now. Onward we roll."

December 10th, First Year

Ingo stared at the empty cavern that stretched around him, Freight perched on his shoulder. Cold feathers, brittle moss and plenty of old prey bones littered the floor. He recognized the dirty scraps of fabric tucked deep within the nest- the torn apart bits and pieces of his old dress shirt that he'd fallen in- and he covered them up with more debris, his throat growing tighter and tighter with each step forward. The various trinkets and pelts that Sneasler often hoarded in her sleeping nest- her brooding nest- laid forlorn and abandoned, hardly stirred despite the raging blizzard outside which had worsened since he had climbed up to check.

It had been bothering Ingo since he had woken up that morning. Lady Sneasler had been absent for some time. And, the cave he stood within was the very same cave Lady Sneasler had been loath to leave since he had started his tenure as her warden. Very unusual indeed. And she is loath to stay away during the colder months, even moreso with an incoming litter. He walked the length of the cave until he was positive that nobody had been inside before turning on his heel, perching near the opening in the cave wall. Something acrid lingered at the back of his throat. Absently he set his free hand on Freight's folded wings, his beloved co-conductor immediately drawing closer. "This does not bode well, Freight... Where could she be?" he asked aloud as if the winds outside would answer him. "Why has she not at least stopped by our home station?" He thought back on his previous words and scowled. What is amiss?

Ingo figured that he might be able to ask Warden Melli as to his next steps forward only to freeze in place; Ingo knew that Warden Melli did not tolerate cold weather well and that the younger man would have most likely retreated to the mirelands already until the vast majority of the snow melted. From what Ingo knew, Lord Electrode and their offspring didn't fare well in the cold either. He knew that the lord and his multiple children were most likely hibernating up high and that a trip to fetch them would prove both perilous and fruitless. The northern highlands were most likely cold, quiet, and abandoned.

Ingo descended the cliff and made his way back into his hut. This wouldn't be his first winter in the highlands. Once this blizzard switches tracks, I will continue my search. Before entering, he collected up a handful of branches and buried them an inch or two in the turf around his home for protection against lurking Luxrays and Gabites before kicking the snow off of his boots and entering his hut.

He pushed past the thick woven mats obscuring the entrance only to find his hut empty. In the past, it wouldn't have bothered him: the lulling silence, the empty hearth, and the sounds of his shuddering breaths. He had grown accustomed to living without the presence of other humans despite knowing it now to be a major abnormality. Now, it only served to unease him when he had grown so accustomed to seeing his brother waiting for him. "Emmet?" he called. No response. He quickly searched the hut only to pause when he heard the front door creak open again. "Emmet? Is that you?"

A quick inhale came followed by a shaky sigh. "Yyyup… I- ow- I am E-emmet." There came a grunt and then Emmet appeared, Coach stalking in after him. Emmet opened his mouth to speak only to pause midway, his face contorting with pain as he nearly fell over.

"Emmet! Whatever is the matter with you?" Ingo reached out to take Emmet's hand only to pause. His brother was limping. The hem of Emmet's coat had been torn to bits and the front side of his tunic had been stained with large spots of blood. Ingo could see a few frostbitten patches of skin through the slashed gaps in Emmet's trousers. "...What happened to you?"

Emmet limped over to a nearby stool and shrugged off his coat, guarding his abdomen with a frozen-looking arm. "I-I am fine- "

"Clearly not!" Ingo was quick to assess his brother's condition. Frostbite, most certainly. And- dragons, are these claw wounds? "Were you attacked by a wild pokémon?" When Emmet said nothing, Ingo put Emmet's coat aside and carefully began to peel the bloodied layer of cloth from Emmet's stomach, careful not to disturb any formed blood clots that could have come from his brother's hidden injuries. "You will tell me the truth, Emmet. What conspired during the brief time that I was away?"

"...Luxray." So quiet were the words Emmet had spoken that Ingo had to pause to hear him correctly.

Ingo froze. "You were… attacked?" If that were the case, Ingo felt that Emmet would be in more dire straits. Luxrays were tenacious creatures that wouldn't simply let their prey escape unharmed or in Emmet's case, they would've rendered him completely immobile. He thought back to when he'd first found Emmet nearly bled to death by a pack of Zoroarks and scowled, his lip curling as he bit away his frustrations. "Were you bitten?"

Emmet's smile sharpened into a thin-lipped frown. "Not quite." He reluctantly allowed Ingo to help get the blood-soaked fabric off of him only to reveal a set of claw wounds that stretched from the left side of his abdomen down to his hip in three jagged blows. Focusing on Emmet's wounded leg, Ingo found similar claw wounds stretching from Emmet's right thigh past the knee and around the calf where the blood had clotted against the sticky fabric there.

"A Luxray did this to you?... Peculiar... I've never seen such wounds like this," he murmured. He had been expecting a lot more bite wounds than anything. Ingo quietly directed Parlor to fetch the medicinal supplies he kept around his hut for emergencies such as the one before him, measuring out a salve that Warden Calaba had once forced him to learn how to make. "You are either incredibly lucky or incredibly foolish," Ingo seethed, absolving to visit Calaba to pay his dues as soon as spring rolled around. "What were you thinking, leaving the hut? I am aware that you have both Eelektross and Galvantula but the pokémon here become even more temperamental during the cold season!" Too loud. Ingo quieted his voice and took a deep breath. "...I am to assume that Coach went with you wherever it was you disappeared to?"

"T-they did," Emmet confirmed, his eyes wide. Guilty. He winced and flinched back when Ingo began to cleanse the wounds with water. "I am fine… Really."

"You are not," Ingo retorted immediately. "No teeth marks- at least, none that I can see or identify. Were you bitten? Yes or no?"

"No." Emmet's eyes flashed and his hand immediately flew to his calf. "Is… is pokérus deadly in this time period?"

The name sounded familiar- awfully so- but Ingo shook his head. "I'm not quite sure what you're getting at... What is pokérus? Is it a condition?" He wrung out a wet wash rag and gently wiped away the blood accumulating on Emmet's skin. "What can be a 'condition' is the future state of your wounds if you were bitten. You must surely know that pokémon bites can easily become infected… You are not lying to me, are you, Emmet? Not attempting to save face?"

"I am not."

Ingo sighed. "I will choose to believe you, Emmet… For now." He ordered Coach and Cable, his two sturdiest pokémon, to go and obscure any potential blood trail that Emmet might have left in his wake before beginning to apply a salve to his brother's wounds. "But why did you leave the hut? It's storming outside. You of all people should know better than to depart from this station without me."

"I know that, Ingo." But Emmet cut himself short as his sentence petered out.

Ingo paused in his work, glaring at his brother as he pulled up a stool to get a start on the nasty wound stretching across his brother's stomach. "Emmet. You are my brother and I love you dearly so, but what in Dragons' name possessed you to exit into such dangerous conditions? You may have been escorted by Coach but you are awfully tight-lipped and summative about something so dire as being attacked by a wild Luxray! I demand to know your reasoning!"

Emmet was silent for a long while, his fingers jammed in his ears; long enough that Ingo had more than enough time to apply salve to Emmet's wounds and cover them with bandages. Long enough to where both Coach and Cable had returned, the two of them settling by the fire in the hearth alongside their conjoined pokémon. Long enough that Ingo had had time to cook and prepare their joint dinners.

Emmet held his own portion in his hands, his eyes darting between it and the fire. He then shakily put down his bowl and shivered. And at last, he spoke, "I… I do not know."

"...I beg your pardon?" Ingo spoke, his mouth full of rice. "You… do not know… what exactly?"

Emmet scooted closer to the hearth, the light casting his face in harsh shadows. "I… do not know why I departed from this station," he eventually admitted. "I was inside… And then, I was outside. Up the cliff. With the Luxrays."

Ingo wouldn't comment on the fact that Emmet had mentioned 'Luxrays' as in plural, instead setting down his bowl and his eating utensils to stare worryingly at his brother. "You… do not remember why you departed from here?" Ingo echoed. "Or perhaps, you cannot remember when you left? Did you hear something? See something perhaps? Were you looking for me?"

Emmet immediately shook his head. "No. No to all of those options. No. I… I just… I do not know why I went outside. I do not remember the journey, even." He stared at his food for a second longer and then at his shaking hands. "I am Emmet. I have lost my appetite." And wordlessly, Emmet limped to the back of the hut where his futon lay, crawling inside albeit with great difficulty at first only to fall unusually still and quiet.

Ingo didn't know what to say. Emmet wasn't one to make dangerous decisions on a whim. And the last I checked, wasn't it singularly me with the frequent memory loss? He blinked, watching as Coach swooped in and stole Emmet's portion of food only for Eelektross to appear and wrestle the rice and cooked Magikarp from the much larger fighting-type. Ingo watched Emmet's beloved Galvantula settle beside her trainer, obscuring his face in the thick golden fuzz that covered her body.

At least, he is still alive. He is safe here. Emmet has been having quite a few unlucky accidents recently. Today's only marked the seventh case of getting hurt. Ingo had been there to pluck out splinters from Emmet's hand when the younger had tripped and fell the day before, grabbing onto an old weathered wooden post. He'd been there to find a remedy when Emmet had accidentally stumbled into a patch of stinging nettles while they were foraging. He'd also been there to see Emmet nearly get surrounded by a group of Gligar who most likely had seen his wound-covered brother as an easy target. It's probably the snow and rugged terrain, Ingo figured. Alas, it took me quite some time to get used to it. And he turned his attention away from his ailing brother.

December 13th, First Year

Ingo stumbled through the door to his hut, allowing Coach and Cable to ease the heavy bags from his shoulders. He'd spent the entire day looking for Lady Sneasler. Nicer weather had lent him hours to search for her under pale sunlight and clear skies; to no avail. And to make matters worse, the wounds that Emmet had been given by the Luxrays days ago had gotten infected. Ingo immediately went to check on his brother.

Emmet hadn't moved from where he lay, concealed by his futon, his skin clammy and damp with sweat.

I can handle this. Ingo slowly peeled the thick covers off and observed the swollen area where Emmet's abdominal wound was, careful not to agitate the puffy flesh. I have cured my own infections. This will be no different.

After cleaning out the numerous wounds covering Emmet's body and applying a fresh poultice to each and sealing them up, Ingo was careful to clean his hands thoroughly before going to make himself his dinner. As he slid the kettle over the hearth and rested on a nearby pillow, he heard a loud knock at the door; almost loud enough to startle him into tumbling into the embers.

"I'm… coming?" Ingo rose from his seat before pausing. Who would be knocking at my door in the middle of winter? He stretched and ambled over to the door, hesitating once his fingers rested on the cold metal handle. Nobody but myself, Akari, and Melli know of my home station's whereabouts... Too bad I don't have a peephole to answer this question beforehand.

When Ingo opened the door, he had been hoping it was Lady Sneasler. He hadn't heard her mewl of annoyance as she usually did when she was locked out but what Ingo hadn't been expecting was a woman.

Tall and draped with dark heavy cloth, the woman leaned against the support beam near Ingo's door, her dark eyes immediately brightening once she saw him. She straightened up and she nodded. "Oh, hello. You're Warden Ingo, right? Good to see my directions weren't off."

Ingo immediately felt rather naked without his cap and coat, standing in the doorway with only his clan tunic on, the freezing cold winds inviting themselves in. "...That I am… And who might you be? I wasn't aware I would have any visitors to this station today."

"Ah. So the letter from Leader Irida didn't reach you in time." The woman shook her head but her calm voice held no irritation. "That's okay. She figured such due to the bad weather around these parts. Worse than the icelands, it is." The woman stuck out her hand. "My name is Nobara. You probably don't know me but uh… I know you so we're uh… already off to a good start."

Ingo was careful to invite the young woman inside who immediately busied herself with tending to the fire, shedding her thick outer clothing to reveal a similar Pearl Clan tunic underneath. It was then that Ingo immediately noticed the shoddy but indisputable look of three pokéballs hanging on Nobara's waist by a thick rope. "You… you know me?" He put the safety latch down on his door before heading back to the fire. "Lady Irida sent you here?"

"That's correct." Nobara moved to take down her hood and Ingo was allowed to see more of her. She had long dark hair pinned up and away at her neck. Her drooping, dark brown eyes brightened as she took in Ingo's home but she didn't smile. She instead focused her gaze on Ingo. "I was sent by Lady Irida to find you. I'm going to take over as Lady Sneasler's warden- after this whole thing with The Rift is over, of course."

"You're my replacement?" Ingo's throat went dry. Of course. He hadn't forgotten entirely about it but he wasn't expecting to be reintroduced to the concept so soon; especially when Emmet was ailing. "...Of course." He tried his best to fix his expression back to neutral. "I've known for some time yet that Lady Irida was finding a suitable replacement to take over the reins but…"

"Not so soon?" Nobara guessed tentatively. She seemed to brighten when Ingo sheepishly nodded and chuckled. "Not to worry. Trust me. I'm… quite new to pokémon in general. Trusting them, that is." She held up the line of pokéballs hanging at her waist. "I made friends with these three scoundrels back when I was an iceworker back at the settlement. Uh, Lady Irida thought that I'd do good here in the highlands so uh… h-here I am."

They settled into discussion quite well. Ingo found out that Nobara had been in the Pearl Settlement when he himself had fallen. That the young woman before him had been chosen due to her particular skill in communicating with pokémon. He had allowed for her to release her pokémon indoors and Ingo had gotten to know Nobara's team: a sprightly Stantler, a cheeky Aipom, and-

"Wait a moment." Ingo peered at the massive Blissey that took up a comical amount of space in his home, his hands on his hips. The Blissey stared back at him before immediately wrapping him up in a hug. "Thought… so," he croaked.

"No! No, Aurora! Let him go!" Though she fought to calm down her Blissey, she stopped once she realized that Ingo was in no real danger. "What? Did you two know each other?" Nobara asked, somewhat fighting to reign her alpha Blissey in.

Ingo smiled as he was eventually set back down. "We do." He then explained the story of how he had fallen so long ago and how Nobara's Blissey- Aurora- had been the one to patch up his wounds; enough so that he could wander to the Pearl Settlement for better assistance. "...Though, what are the odds that our tracks would align after so long?"

"Slim to nothing?" Nobara guessed, leaning back. She then paused. "Wait a moment. She looked around the hut, stopping upon sighting Galvantula in the dark corner. The disgust in her eyes shone clear and she pointedly scooted away. "Aren't you supposed to uh… have a b=brother with you? At least, that's what- what Lady Irida told me."

"Emmet is present," Ingo warned, "but he is quite sick. He was attacked by wild Luxray." Ingo explained. "His partner- " he gestured to Galvantula- "is keeping watch over him."

"From… from pokémon wounds? A Luxray?" Nobara gaped. And in a quieter voice, she murmured, "I didn't even know it was possible to walk away from those alive." She then immediately recoiled and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- "

"It is fine." Ingo immediately calmed Nobara down. "Emmet will be fine with some rest and medicine." Though, in the back of his mind, Ingo knew that pokémon wounds were notoriously difficult to heal from. The risk of infection was astronomically high and torn muscles would lead to a permanent disability.

As Ingo helped Nobara fully settle in, another thought crept into his subconscious, one that made his skin crawl. One sickness, Ingo feared more than others, borne from wild, rabid pokémon that almost always guaranteed death… and it may have contaminated his brother. And worse still, Ingo wouldn't know it at all, even if he did look for it. But the thought that terrified him still was that he didn't remember what the sickness was ; just the feeling of preemptive dread and fear.

"And what of your plans, Miss Nobara? Are you looking forward to your tenure as a warden?"

Nobara hunched over her tea, her eyes misting over. "O-of course! I mean, it's an honor- getting to serve Almighty Sinnoh in such a way!"

Almighty Sinnoh. Ingo rolled his creator's title around on his tongue like a stale ball of rice. To serve Them. Why, it's almost my time, isn't it? To take on such an honor as the one Palkia has forced upon me. Ingo thought back to the few Old Verses tucked away in his hut somewhere and he only let the idea simmer before focusing back on his guest. It's not quite time for that yet. He had plenty more time to settle in before he'd begin his real duty. Surely, nothing had changed yet. He'd know it if it had.