Chapter 17 – Day 9, Part 1: Smoothies

Chapter 17 – Day 9, Part 1: Smoothies

Some pokemon might wonder what the point of working as an explorer at Kebia Castle really was.

As in me. I was “some pokemon.”

The answer was promotions.

Promotions are what happens when teams of explorers or loners do enough work for the community and earn enough of a profit to be considered higher class members of the guild. Their reward for being so good at their job and sticking around for so long? Better conditions of living, more benefits, and, most importantly, higher wages.

Cause you see, at the end of every month, each team had to pay rent. Rent was based on how much recorded work was done and what rank the pokemon was in accordance with the rest of the guild. I didn’t know what rank we were. Hell, I doubt anybody did.

I’m pretty sure that was the point.

So, a pokemon like Fenn, who earned very little during his time as a janitor, didn’t have to pay much for rent. Meanwhile, as explorers, we earned a lot more to make up for item costs and insurance payments. Quite a bit more, actually. So much so that you would think we would technically be rich by now, right?

Wrong.

Maybe it was just my intuition as a human but I could tell that there was more going on to keep the pokemon here from becoming rich off of guild work. Notes were being posted on our door after a job well done. “Advertisements,” if you will—for businesses in town. Gambling was completely legal, apparently. That surprised me.

Fenn told me that one of the advertisements said something like “only the best adventurers can get rich at Makuhita’s casino!” It read like a challenge, practically begging us to waste our money. Who owns every business in town? You guessed it! And that’s how they always kept the pokemon here under control.

I knew better, which was why it was always something different every day. “You’re doing great work, here’s a coupon for the accessory shop! Your wallet is looking a little heavy, why not waste some of that cash at the theater?” There was a word for this but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was…

Anyways, the job at Kelpsy Fields earned us quite a bit of money. Fenn recommended that we treat ourselves and go out to eat at a place called “Altaria’s” for breakfast. He got the idea after he read an advertisement for the place on our door. I was more than happy to comply, but I was anxious about our work for the day, so we dropped by the job board first.

The problem was that we couldn’t pick a job, what with my special “conditions.”

“Do you wanna…protect a caravan?”

“No, not really.”

“Y-yeah, me neither. How about…helping with decorations at the theater?”

“No? That doesn’t sound worth it.”

“Cosmo’s talents would be wasted!”

Fenn sighed. “Um…guard duty?”

I shot him an irked look. “…Fenn.”

The Quilava threw up his arms in exasperation. “I’m sorry!” he bellowed. “That’s all there is! E-everything else is a dungeon mission!”

“What?” I questioned in shock. “That’s it?”

“That’s it!”

“Cosmo thinks that’s it.”

I fiddled with a scalchop on my thigh, briefly wondering if I’d ever get another chance to use it at this point. There was maybe one non-dungeon mission for every five dungeon jobs, all of which were either busy work, beneath us, or a hunt for an outlaw out of our league. Almost like it was incentivized for explorers to take jobs in dungeons.

Something tells me that most of them didn’t have to deal with what I was going through, though.

I crossed my arms and scowled at the bulletin board. “Well, now what?” I asked no one in particular. “Is this all there is? Are we just going to have to do boring nonsense for the rest of our careers?”

“That’s…up to you, Oswald,” Fenn remarked. “I-I’ll just go along with whatever you decide to do. If you would rather stand around all day over going into another dungeon, th-then I’m okay with that. Though…if it’s alright with you, I-I personally want to do something related to fighting.”

Hm.

“There are other places that hand out work, I think,” Fenn continued. “I-I’m pretty sure floors two and four also have job boards. What do we want to do?”

“Cosmo does not want to decorate! He wants to beat up villains!”

What did I want to do? I might not have cared about the glory or adventuring aspects of this job but damn if the alternatives weren’t immensely uninteresting.

Am I acting spoiled? Am I really above this menial shit? Honestly, no, I’m not. I am absolutely the kind of guy to be stuck with boring as hell work because I wasn’t talented enough to do anything interesting.

But I really do not want to do any of it. I doubt Cosmo or Fenn want to either. They’re just going along with me because they have to.

…I need to think about this.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. Sighing, I dropped my arms to my sides and met Fenn’s gaze. “Can you give me until after breakfast to decide?”

“Sure,” Fenn affirmed with a faint smile. “M-maybe some food will clear our minds…”

Cosmo spun in a circle, his bubble shimmering in the morning sun. “Cosmo is already clear! …But yes, some breakfast would be nice. To Altaria’s!”

---

I was still limping after yesterday. Oran Berries and sleep helped, but it seemed the biggest healer in this instance was time. Just another reminder that I didn’t have many options. Even if I did want to go into another dungeon today, it wouldn’t be the best idea.

At least that bath did me some good. Why didn’t anybody tell me I looked like a mangy, rabid animal? With how much I’ve had on my mind during the past week, I completely forgot about making myself look presentable. But now that I was self-conscious about it, I was thinking about just having to take a bath every other day or something. That’s…probably for the best. Fenn did say that I looked like I had just fallen off a mountain with how many knots there were in my fur.

I shouldn’t be embarrassed about that, but after he mentioned it…yeah, I kinda am.

Fenn, Cosmo, and I made our way to a diner called “Altaria’s” for breakfast.

It didn’t take us long; the squat and well-kept wooden building was right in the middle of the town square, no doubt being so popular for its location alone. Seemed like a favored hangout spot too. A small crowd of pokemon stood around outside, conversing with each other, most of which seemed to be part of the guild. The majority of them had scraps of colored cloth on their person. We awkwardly weaved around them to get into the diner.

Altaria’s was a lively place, every one of it’s booths and stools filled with pokemon. Gave me a good enough reason to not come back here as often. The wait was only a few minutes and we barely got a spot. After we got to our table and before we ordered our meal, Fenn had explained to me that Altaria’s was famous for its “berry smoothies.” A “smoothie” being an interesting concept for me seeing as how I actually recall such things existing in the human world. Or, rather, my world.

Humans existed in this world once…am I…?

No, I doubt it. Wherever I’m from, it’s different from this place. But why do I remember things at such random intervals? Is there a chance I could remember everything about myself at some point? I hope so. I mean, remembering smoothies is nice and all, but I want to know more.

Did I have friends? What was my family like? What were my hobbies? Was I always…the way I am now? I’d prefer to not let all of it go either; I deserve to know.

I wonder if anyone from my past is out there searching for me right now. I know that there is someone looking for me, but what if Anemone is wrong and they want what’s best for me.

Ugh. Don’t be stupid. I’m sick of having to think about this. I’m sick of having to wait around for Anemone to do everything for me.

I just-

“H-how are you doing, Oswald?”

My eyes darted up from my Oran smoothie not there two seconds ago. I must have been so engrossed in my own thoughts that time passed by in the blink of an eye. Adding on to the disorientation, Fenn was staring at me with that look of worry he always seemed to have while Cosmo was slurping up his smoothie with great speed and fervor.

“Fine, I guess,” I mumbled, choosing to remain aloof.

Fenn nodded. “How is your leg?” the Quilava asked quietly. Cosmo kept making loud slurping noises while we talked.

“It’s getting better,” I replied, twirling the straw in my cup in circles. “Might still be limping by the end of the day probably or…I dunno…”

“Hm…” Fenn hummed. He took a sip of his Pecha smoothie.

I let my eyes drift to watch the other pokemon in the diner. Not that Fenn wasn’t nice to look at; I just like to people, er, pokemon watch. I tend to avoid such a thing in the cafeteria because watching pokemon eat meat makes me sick, but I assumed that meat eating wasn’t common in Altaria’s.

Speaking of, an Altaria was situated behind the bar, taking orders. Her (I’m also assuming) wings seemed to be full trying to take orders and complete them at the same time. Must’ve been hard running an establishment as popular as this, assuming they were the one that owned the place. I don’t think it would make much sense for any pokemon other than an Altaria to run a diner called “Altaria’s.”

On the other side of the bar, a Ledian sat on one of the stools, engrossed in a discussion with a Mienfoo. The Mienfoo appeared decently frustrated as they voiced their grievances to the bug type. Meanwhile, the Ledian seemed to barely be listening, simply nodding along with whatever the Mienfoo was saying.

Not much to see there, so I looked at the booth right next to ours. A group of four eeveelutions conversed quietly while they drank their beverages. A Jolteon and Flareon in the booth seemed to be getting along well, laughing and smiling as good friends should while a Leafeon watched them attentively, sipping on their drink, content with just being there and listening. The Umbreon-

-met my gaze. I quickly looked away.

I timidly searched for a new target and found myself noticing the empty stage at the back of the diner. In front of said stage, a Lillagent and a Hakamo-o were having a conversation of sorts. I only say that because I wouldn’t really consider it much more than a one-sided altercation from the looks of it.

The Lillagent seemed to be having a great time, giggling and blushing at whatever the Hakamo-o was saying. I had no frame of reference for this—I had no real opinion—but judging from how this dragon was looking at the pokemon, the Lillagent must’ve been quite attractive. Perhaps I was projecting, I wasn’t sure. It’s just…the way this dragon pokemon eyed the grass type, up and down, with their claw on their chin like they were examining a rare item…it gave me some bad vibes. The Lillagent seemed oblivious to how closely the dragon was examining her; she just couldn’t keep herself from giggling. I wonder…

“Ow ow ow!”

My eyes darted back to the table. I looked over in time to see Cosmo flopping about, exclaiming noisily, his bubble distorting and changing colors. I took note of the fact that his smoothie was almost empty.

“Owwww,” Cosmo wailed, “Cosmo’s head hurts!”

“What did you do, Cosmo?” Fenn pondered, twiddling his paws in concern.

“Cosmo doesn’t know! He was drinking his smoothie and his head started hurting! Owww…”

“Oh. It’s just a brain freeze,” I stated. “You’ll be fine.”

“A what?” Both Fenn and Cosmo said simultaneously.

“You know, a brain freeze. When you drink something cold like that too fast, it hurts your head.”

Fenn stared at me strangely while Cosmo idly bobbed in the air uncomfortably.

“…Have you guys never…?”

“I-I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” Fenn said. “Ice type moves aren’t very effective against me so who knows.”

“Owww…Cosmo doesn’t like brain freezes…”

“No, that’s not what I-“

“I wouldn’t recommend drinking your smoothies that fast. Some pokemon can have violent reactions to a drink as cold as the ones Altaria makes.”

I nearly jumped out of my seat at the sound of a new voice, appearing out of nowhere right by our table. I swiveled my head in their direction, almost knocking over my drink in the process.

I don’t know why I was so jumpy; Marigold doesn’t have a very threatening presence.

Hi, Oswald. Fenn.” The Primarina greeted us with a friendly smile. “And…who is this?” she questioned hesitantly. “Did you two make a new friend?”

Cosmo, who had mostly recovered from his brain freeze, presumed she was talking about him and made himself known. “Yes!” he declared in his squeaky voice. “Cosmo is the friend! Cosmo is the greatest psychic in the whole world! Not even brain freezes can stop him!”

Marigold’s eyes sparkled as she placed her flippers on her cheeks. “Oh wow!” she exclaimed with awe. “The greatest psychic in the whole world! I’m so honored to meet you, Cosmo!”

The Solosis glimmered with pride. “Haha! It’s about time someone recognized Cosmo’s awesomeness.”Cosmo drank the rest of his drink in celebration, just as fast as before. Clearly, he was too awesome to learn from his mistakes.

Fenn was the one to change the subject. “H-hi, Marigold,” he greeted, “what’s up?”

The Primarina leaned forward and rested her flippers crossed on the table, her tail swaying behind her. “Oh, you know, just doing the rounds, checking up on my good friends-“

She shot me a sly wink. I could only think to frown back.

“-How’s it going with you? Is guild work treating you well?”

Fenn’s gaze fell to the nearly full drink he was nursing. “Um…sort of…w-well, we’re kinda in a slump honestly…”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

The Quilava looked up at me all of a sudden. He had that look in his eyes; one that I was quite familiar with. You and your pride, I swear…

“We need to find some non-dungeon work,” I answered for him, prompting the water type to dart her eyes towards me. “Problem is, none of the jobs on the job board were that appealing.”

Marigold grinned knowingly. “What, you don’t want to get paid 100 poké an hour to stand around all day?”

“…No, not really,” I deadpanned.

“Hmm,” she hummed in contemplation, “is there any reason why you can’t take on any mystery dungeons?”

Why do I get the feeling you already know the answer? Whatever, I’ll just leave it at this. “They’re not my favorite.”

Marigold met my gaze with a blank expression for a few moments then turned back to Fenn. “So, you’re looking for some exciting work outside of mystery dungeons?” she asked. “Is that what I’m getting here?”

“Cosmo needs to do his duty and defeat vill- owwww! Brain freeze…”

Fenn nodded wordlessly, ignoring Cosmo’s cries of pain.

“Hmm, okay. Do you have a map with you?”

I dug through our bag and pulled out the map of the continent before laying it out on the table in front of Marigold. She pointed a flipper at the top right corner, near the shoreline, amongst a set of trees.

“Somewhere in here is a place called ‘Occa Village,'” she told us. “I picked up a rumour that they need help with taking care of some ferals causing trouble. That sound exciting enough?”

Fenn examined the spot of the map that Marigold pointed to bemusedly. “Occa Village?” he queried. “I’ve never heard of a village with that name before. Like, this map is brand new…it’s not on here. A-are you sure it even exists?”

“Well…” Marigold started, her expression somber, “let’s just say that you won’t find any information about this on any job board in the castle…”

That’s…odd. I wonder why…

“O-okay but…if it is there, then it’s half way across the continent. It would take us days to get there on foot.”

“Yeah,” I added, “I’d rather not be away from the castle for that long.” I still felt a little paranoid. Any night I had to spend outside was another that could lead to my death or capture.

Marigold threw up her flippers and shook her head. “Tsk! You two are so picky.” She put her limbs down and smiled at Fenn. “You absolutely can get there and back in less than a day.” The Primarina then turned to me. “Hire a flyer.”

“A what?” I asked.

“A flyer. Kebia Castle has dedicated flying pokemon for traveling” -her lips curled into a snarky smirk- “for a price of course. I recommend Team Snapdragon’s Speedwell. He’s fast—very fast.”

“Oooh! Cosmo wants to fly!”

I crossed my arms. “Sounds like an easy way to break a few bones,” I grumbled, side-eying the young Solosis. “You can already fly, Cosmo. You’re doing it right now. Plus, you don’t have any bones to break…I think.”

“Cosmo wants to fly higher!”

Marigold crossed her arms back at me and curled her lips in a mocking manner. “Ooooh, someone might break a few bones. What a traaaaavesty.”

I flinched. “…Are you making fun of me?”

She placed her flippers back on the table. “I am. You’re being silly, Silly. We haven’t had an accident in months. I’d go as far to say that traveling by air via Kebia’s specially trained flyers is safer than traveling on foot.” Marigold raised her eyebrows. “Trust me.”

That prompted me to raise an eyebrow. Saying that they hadn’t had an accident in months implies that it was possible—a non-zero chance. It wasn’t that I was afraid of heights or anything like that, I was able to jump into Mago Canyon just fine. Though in that scenario, I knew that I wouldn’t splat on the canyon floor and die. I would just rather not take that risk a second time.

I don’t know. Maybe we should check out what it’s like before we commit to anything.

“Well…thank you for the tip, Marigold,” Fenn mumbled, turning his gaze to face me. “I’m…honestly really interested, but it’s not up to me s-so…what do you think, Oswald? Does Occa Village sound worth it?”

I shrugged. “I guess?” I looked at Marigold. “You said that we have to take out some ferals, right?” I asked.

“Yep,” she confirmed.

“…Outside of a dungeon?”

“Yes. Those exist, believe it or not.” She winked.

I glared at her. Stop it with the winking! Are you trying to blow my cover here?

“I-I think that sounds perfect for us,” Fenn interjected.

“Cosmo agrees!”

I stopped to think for a few moments.

Is it really? I mean, an interesting job filled with action outside of a dungeon did sound more appealing than guard duty or decorating the theater. If this Speedwell character didn’t drop us 100 feet in the air and kill us in the process then we could do this job easily.

…Implying that this job was well within our limits. Marigold wouldn’t set us up to fail, would she?

Eh. Can’t be more dangerous than going inside another mystery dungeon. At least I won’t have to worry about potential mental trauma.

…Hopefully.

I nodded. “Alright, let’s go to Occa Village.”

“Great!” Marigold shouted, her shiny jewelry jingling as she threw her flippers into the air. “Ah, I’m so happy! You have no idea how worried I was that no one would pick this one up!”

“Uh…sure,” I said, slightly confused. Why didn’t she just post about it on the job board if she was so worried about it?

“Good luck! Tell me how it goes when you get back!” Marigold turned her body away from the table. “Now, I gotta go. I’ve got a busy morning ahead of me.”

She began to flop away before I stopped her. “Marigold, wait!”

Her jewelry jingled as she turned back quickly, her curious expression making me hesitate. I asked her slowly “Uh…I was wondering…do you know of anyone that is…looking…for me?”

I remember hearing from Dahlia that Marigold talked to a lot of pokemon. If any single pokemon that I had access to knows if someone was looking for me, it would’ve been her. I’d rather not lose the opportunity especially after my earlier train of thought made me realize that I really should be trying. Granted, I might’ve been getting desperate, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

The water type twirled her long hair with her flippers as she pondered my question. “Hmm…no, I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone looking for a huuuuuuuge Dewott like yourself. Cause,” she laughed nervously, “you’re REALLY big for a Dewott, you know that? Dewotts tend to be…at least…a few…inches…shorter?”

I gritted my teeth to keep myself from screaming. Turns out it did hurt to ask.

“Um…A-are you sure?” Fenn wondered quietly, looking me over. “Oswald is pretty short, all things considered.”

“Yeah, Oswald is short!” Cosmo, kindly, added.

I grimaced. “I am a perfectly average height, thank you.”

Marigold laughed apprehensively, “Haha…my mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking. You’re average, Oswald, don’t worry.”

What the actual hell is this conversation?

“Anyways,” she continued, “no, I haven’t talked to anyone that said they were looking for you, sorry.”

Damn.

Cosmo floated between Marigold and I and looked at me curiously. “Wait, Cosmo is confused,” he said, “why would pokemon be looking for Oswald? Is he” -Cosmo zipped and zoomed in front of me, scanning my features- “on the run? In danger? A secret thief?”

I put my arms up. “No, nothing like that, buddy,” I told the Solosis. “I have…amnesia and I wanted to know if Marigold had any new info.”

“Amnesia!” Cosmo’s eyes lit up. “Secret hero trait! Oswald must be a hero like Cosmo!”

I never told Cosmo about my “situation?” This kid barely knows anything about us! Like, I haven’t made an effort to get to know him. I don’t even know why he talks in third person! Why haven’t I sat down and talked with him yet? God, I’m negligent. Next chance I get, I’m asking him what his deal is.

“Uh…no, I’m not a hero, Cosmo,” I stated. “I’m just…a guy. There’s nothing special about me.”

“Ha!” Marigold laughed. “I beg to differ.” She winked…again.

“Yeah!” Fenn exclaimed. He leaned over the table and touched my paw tenderly. “Y-you’re plenty special to me!”

He smiled, admittedly making me feel warm inside. I smiled back. Oh Fenn, I can’t disagree with that, now can I? You’re special to me too.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Fenn began, falling back into his seat, “did you remember anything new after yesterday? Y-you know…anything you’re willing to tell me?” His ears drooped after his second question, causing me to feel guilty.

Well, crap. Once again in a situation where I had to lie to Fenn. I did remember something new, but, like always, I couldn’t tell him. Come on, I have to give him something! Frantically looking around, I picked up my smoothie and sipped-

Wait! That’s it!

I shook the drink in my paw and smacked my lips. “Remembered smoothies.”

---

As we walked back to the castle, now with a destination in mind, I realized I forgot to ask Marigold something.

“Did she say what species Speedwell is supposed to be?” I asked Fenn as we walked.

“N-no, I don’t think so.”

I stopped in my tracks and cursed, “Crap.” Fenn caught up to me and stopped at my side. “Well, now what?”

The Quilava stood on two feet and rubbed his arm. “We could…ask the front desk.”

I blinked. “Oh. They would know, wouldn’t they?” I stroked his shoulder. “Nice work, Fenn.”

A bright red blush rushed to his cheeks. “Hehe…thanks,” he said quietly, looking away.

For some reason, Fenn’s reaction made me pull back. My insistence on interacting through physical contact had gotten us into awkward altercations before, but for some reason this one felt especially perplexing. All I did was touch him, why did he get so flustered? And why was I getting so flustered just looking at him? I swear It’s never gotten this bad before.

Ignoring the rising feeling of heat on my face, I spun my head around in search of Cosmo. I found him trailing behind, spacing out with his head in the clouds. Now would be a good time to get my mind on something else and ask him why he was the way he wass.

“Hey, ahem,” I cleared my throat, “Cosmo, I have a question for you.”

The Solosis flinched and his bubble gyrated in surprise. He looked at me with curiosity in his eyes. “Hm? A question?”

“Yeah, a question.”

He caught up to the two of us and grinned. “Cosmo might have an answer!”

“Right…” I said as I scratched the back of my head, starting to walk again, “I’ve been wondering for a while and well…I want to know why you talk like that.”

He seemed bewildered. “C…Cosmo doesn’t understand the question.” Cosmo warily followed Fenn and I on our way back to the castle.

Fenn’s cheeks gradually returned to their regular color as he spoke up. He walked beside me and looked back. “I-I think Oswald is asking why you talk in third person, Cosmo,” he said. “I’m curious too, honestly. I just…didn’t want to be rude…”

“Um-“

“How would that be rude, Fenn?” I pondered.

“W-well, I didn’t know if it was linked to a bad experience o-or if it would make him uncomfortable.” Fenn bit his lip.

“Cos-“

“If he’s gonna be on our team, then we should get to know him better.”

“I-I know. I’m not disagreeing with you, I just…”

“W-wait-” Cosmo sagged behind, trying to get a word in.

I put my paws on my hips. “We have to do it eventually, Fenn. Even if it’s because of something horrible, we should be there for him.”

“…I just don’t know if I’ll say the right thing, or…or…I don’t know…” Fenn shook his head.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure-“

“LOOK OUT!”

But it was too late. Cosmo didn’t stop me in time and I walked headfirst into another pokemon, causing me and only me to fall onto my tail with a thud.

“Ouch! Jeez…”

“Oh, pardon me.”

It took me a second to notice that whoever I had just bumped into was significantly taller than myself. My eyes drifted upward to find that the pokemon, with their towering black figure, was turning on their heels and I was now face-to-face with a large white bow. I took in the size of them slowly until I finally made eye contact with the pokemon looking down at me.

“I’m terribly sorry,” she said. “Am I in your way?” Her voice gave me a sense that she was truly concerned, perhaps apologetic about being there, but her eyes told a different story. They sent a chill down my spine. I immediately got the impression that this pokemon had some semblance of authority, what with how intensely she looked at me. Her gaze evoked in me a familiar feeling of dread, reminding me of Anemone in a way.

Of course, I might’ve been overthinking things. I didn’t know this Gothitelle after all.

“No, you’re fine.” I picked myself off the ground and dusted the dirt out of my fur. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Entirely my fault.”

She put a hand up. “No, no, it’s quite alright. I was loitering in wait for my companion.” She stepped off the path to reveal the castle doors behind her. A Hitmonchan stood next to the doors, asleep, leaned against the wall. Is that guy getting paid? Shit, maybe I should look into that actually…

I chuckled, trying to break the tension. “Ha, my friend can attest to my track record of running into other pokemon.” I looked down at my Quilava friend. “Isn’t that right, Fenn?”

Fenn looked between the Gothitelle and I before simply nodding. He did not wish to assert himself into the conversation.

Strangely, the Gothitelle didn’t even crack a smile. I was certain that my stupid little jab would contribute in some way, but apparently not. Her expression did not change. If anything, I’d go as far to say she didn’t understand what was so endearing about it with how emotionless she seemed.

The Gothitelle opened her mouth to speak, but never had the chance to say more.

“Ms. Jasmine!” an Espeon called out, gliding through the neatly trimmed grass up to the Gothitelle. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s alright, Clover,” the Gothitelle told her. “I was just conversing with some fellow guild members.” She motioned towards us.

Not once did her expression change.

Clover the Espeon didn’t bother to glance in our direction. “Lotus is ready for us. When should we leave?”

“Oh, now is the perfect time. Make sure to pack the essentials.” Jasmine turned to Fenn and I. “I apologize that our first meeting was so uncouth. Next time I hope to meet under better circumstances. Goodbye for now.” The two of them left without another word.

As I waved the Gothitelle and Espeon goodbye, I noticed that the cloth the two of them wore was teal. A color that I vaguely recall, but from where I couldn’t remember.

“Are you okay, Oswald?” Fenn quavered. “That fall looked like it hurt. H-how’s your leg?”

“I’ve taken worse falls,” I smirked. “I’m fine.”

“O-okay,” Fenn muttered, his ears drooping, “I just wanted to make sure.”

“Heh.” I did the thing I said I would stop doing and scratched the Quilava behind the ears. “You’re a sweetheart, Fenn.”

Fenn giggled lightly as he leaned into my touch, grinning like a fool. Seeing him so happy brought a smile to my face. I didn’t care if it was weird; I was lucky to have such a caring friend.

Cosmo, on the other hand, looked on in silence. He was content with being ignored for once in his life. I was too distracted at the time, but I completely forgot about the question I had asked him. Unbeknownst to me, Cosmo was more than okay with that.