Chapter 23 – Day 11, Part 2: The Croc Himself

Chapter 23 – Day 11, Part 2: The Croc Himself

Colbur Village was a “western town.” Because you know, it was like a town…you’d see in a western…not…because it was to the west…of…

Nevermind. It is what it is.

I could feel the autumn breeze on my fur as I stepped out of the carriage. Ahead of me was a town so empty and bereft of movement that I initially thought it was deserted.

In a sense, I wasn’t entirely wrong. It just so happened that I wasn’t right either.

I say it was a “western” town mostly because it gave off that sort of vibe the first time I saw it. A long, winding road with old wooden buildings on either side, boxy designs painted with muted colors, and lots of room for a carriage to drive from one end to the other. I’m pretty sure there was a barn around here somewhere too. The only aspect of Colbur Village that made it all that distinct in my mind were the loads of trees and the brownish orange leaves falling onto the trail along with the breeze. I’d call it old-timey but I suppose this place’s idea of “old” was different from mine.

Hopping off the carriage’s steps, I turned back to make sure Fenn didn’t have any trouble doing the same. He gave me a sheepish smile as I held out my paw for him to take—which he bashfully did—and I helped him down.

Cosmo came out next and quickly began bouncing about like he owned the place, casting cursory glances at every curiosity in sight. “Oooh, this place is so pretty!” he remarked, his bubble glistening in the sunlight. “Cosmo wants to fight the villains on top of those big buildings!”

“Let’s not do that,” I mumbled, surveying the landscape around me. Peering down, I could see that Colbur wasn’t just one big line of houses on both sides of the road. There were two other roads: one leading to the north and one leading to the south, essentially forming the village into a sort of cross from the top down. Not once did I see another pokemon.

“A little quiet today, huh?” a pokemon with a gruff voice said behind us—followed by me jumping as a reaction.

I turned around in slight panic. I yelled, “Gah!” and nearly tripped on my own feet.

Our carriage driver, an older looking Aggron covered in nicks and scratches, laughed in a voice deep enough to intimidate any pokemon my size. “Ha ha! I’m not that scary, am I?” He grinned, “Or is it the village? It’s not always this empty, let me tell you! Ha ha!”

I shot a glance at Fenn as I laughed awkwardly back. “Ha…ha…yeah. Uh…thanks for taking us out here. Do we owe you anything?”

The Aggron snorted and put down the ropes connected to the Mudsdale in front of him. “Lucky for you, that Cycla fella paid for the ride.” He rubbed his chin. “Speaking of, make sure you’re back here by sunset; I’ve only been paid to drive here and back twice and I’m doing it whether you’re on this carriage or not.”

So we’ve only got today to do this, I thought. Is that enough time?

“Do you know anything about what’s been happening here lately?” I asked.

He shook his large, metal head. “I don’t keep up to date with these sorts of things; I just drive. Speaking of.” The Aggron picked the reins back up and cracked them, inciting the Mudsdale to trot. “I’ll be back at sunset! Don’t keep me waiting!”

“We’ll be here!” I answered plainly while waving.

“Bye bye!” Cosmo called out as he bounced in place.

As I watched the carriage head off into the distance, I couldn’t help but wonder about the implications behind the Mudsdale pulling it along. Were they…feral? Domesticated? Could they speak? It was kinda hard to tell. Didn’t really get a good look at their eyes. And honestly, if a feral could be domesticated, that just raises up a lot more questions. Ones that I didn’t want to think about right now.

“Oswald?”

I perked up at the sound of Fenn’s voice. Looking over, I saw the Quilava standing to my side on his two hind legs, gazing at me with a familiar glint of concern in his eyes. “Hm? Yeah, Fenn?” I said.

“Y-you spaced out for a minute,” he stated timidly. “Is everything okay?”

Fenn, being as quiet as usual, kept to himself during that entire conversation I had with the Aggron. That, combined with the fact that I got distracted by the Mudsdale, resulted in me almost forgetting that he was even there. And I was happy that was the case, don’t get me wrong. I hate having to think about ferals and the implications behind them, so his interruption was definitely preferable to sitting there and ruminating on things that I couldn’t change.

I promptly gave Fenn my full attention. My waving paw was repurposed into a scratching paw as I used it to scratch the back of my head. “Yeah, sorry,” I muttered with an awkward smile. “Got distracted.”

On my other side, Cosmo sagged in the air. “Yeah…Cosmo got distracted too,” the Solosis whined. “He never knows what to do when Oswald is talking to other grown ups…”

Fenn giggled. The worry in his face quickly dissipated and turned into amusement, “He-he, T-team Lavender is full of day dreamers, huh?”

I chuckled back, “Heh…you could say that.”

“Ooh, Cosmo loves daydreaming! It’s so much fun!”

“G-guess that answers my question then,” Fenn smiled, dropping to all fours.

I tore my eyes off the Quilava to take a step forward and scan the town in front of me. Orange leaves fluttered down and blew away with the gentle, nippy breeze. The wind howled like a banshee (or whatever the pokemon equivalent is), gliding through my fur as I stood, perplexed. Where are all the pokemon? I thought to myself.

“So uh…what do we do now?” I wondered.

Fenn was silent for a moment before answering. “…We can’t…b-be too late, can we? Even if we’re the first ones here…” He pawed at the dirt nervously.

“There should be pokemon here?” Cosmo interrupted.

Both Fenn and I turned to face him. “Well, yeah,” I responded, “but as you can see, we didn’t get any sort of welcoming party.”

“Maybe…we have to go look for them,” the Solosis mumbled as he floated down the road. “Cosmo does not know a lot, but Cosmo does know that a town needs pokemon. And if Cosmo can’t see a pokemon in a town, then that means that the pokemon are hiding! We should go look for them!”

Fenn and I stared at him blankly for a moment or two. I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that.

I mean, he’s not right, but I can tell how he came to that conclusion. Plus, I kinda agree? Not the whole “there have to be pokemon here” thing, just the idea that we should go and look for them. What else are we gonna do? Sit here and wait?

“That sounds like a good idea, Cosmo. You think so too, Fenn?”

Fenn nodded. “Mhm. We should try the public buildings first.”

“Okay…which ones are those?”

“Cosmo will find them!”

And before I had a chance to say no, Cosmo bounced his way down the street, occasionally doing a quick spin as he went.

“Cosmo, wai- uh…” Fenn called out to Cosmo before realizing that he was already gone. With his arm still out stretched, he looked at me pleadingly.

I just shrugged, “We may as well go after him. We’ll figure it out.”

The Quilava looked between me and Cosmo while biting his lip. Eventually, he just followed along as I stepped past him and headed further into Colbur. Neither of us said anything until we caught up to Cosmo at our first destination.

---

That feeling of “being watched” gnawed at my brain incessantly as Fenn and I strolled through Colbur Village. Every time I’d look over at one of the houses on the side of the road, I swore I saw movement. It put me on edge to see so many windows being closed just as I turned to look at them. It was especially confusing because this wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

…What was I expecting?

…

…Uh…not this. Was sort of expecting it to be actually empty. Regardless, Fenn and I kept going. I had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t too comfortable here either. Every time I would look over, his ears would droop and he would be darting his eyes around in search of what was watching him. Didn’t help that him being nervous made me nervous.

Finally, in accordance with the “western” theme of this place, our first stop was a bar. We managed to catch up to Cosmo as he got to the front of the wooden saloon doors of the building, his bubble jiggling in excitement. “There’s pokemon inside!” he exclaimed. “Cosmo found them!”

“Wait, really?” I said, flabbergasted. “Cosmo, don’t go in!”

“Hm? Why not?” The Solosis turned to face me with his body tilted in confusion.

“I don’t…what if the outlaws already took over?”

Fenn turned to me. “…D-don’t you think you’re being a little…paranoid?”

Yes. Why aren’t you?

“Um…well, I mean, I have a good reason to be worried. I don’t want Cosmo to get hurt.”

“Neither do I,” Fenn said while scratching his ear, “b-but they never mentioned that the village was already taken over. Just harassment, I-I think. Something like that…”

“That’s…a good point,” I admitted. “But still. It’s a bar. Who knows what could happen.”

“A saloon!” Cosmo suddenly announced.

“What?” both me and Fenn said simultaneously.

“A saloon! That’s what the sign says! ‘Colbur saloon!’ Right there!”

Cosmo angled his body upwards until his face led us to the words above the doors. Words that I couldn’t read. “Oh w-wow,” Fenn mumbled next to me, “look at that…”

“Is that what it actually says?”

Fenn smiled deviously. “N-no, it actually says ‘Oswald has a Miltank lick and he looks silly.'”

“…” I’m ashamed to say I actually checked. For the record, I usually had a cowlick, but he didn’t need to bring it up. Now I just felt self-conscious.

“Pfft. Alright, I see how it is. I wasn’t gonna mention the berry juice on your nose, but…”

“H-huh? What?” Fenn frantically pawed at his snout, flicking his tongue around to find the berry juice and get it off.

Too bad there never was any to begin with. Fenn figured that out relatively quickly. “Wha- Oswald!” He got pretty mad about it.

I put my paws up. My mouth was curled into a large grin just to tease him. “What? You fell for it.”

Fenn grumbled something to himself as he kneaded the dirt under his paws. The fire on his back sparked a few times.

“So,” I clapped my paws together, “Cosmo’s going in the bag. Are we all in agreement?”

“Wha- no!” the Solosis said angrily. “Cosmo does not want to go in the bag! He wants to beat up villains! Whoosh! Bam! He is stronger than all of them combined!” As he made his sounds, flicks of translucent purple energy shot out from Cosmo and hit the dirt path in a couple places. The resulting attacks kicked up some of the earth, but that was about it. It wasn’t very threatening, even as a display of power.

“Yeah, I know,” I told him dryly. “But…hey is your bubble on backwards?”

His eyes went wide. “Cosmo’s bubble? That’s not…possible…” Cosmo spun around a few times, trying to look out of the corners of his eyes. This went on for several seconds as I looked on in glee.

Remarkably, the answer was no, I didn’t know if his bubble was actually on backwards. I was just screwing with him. “Your bubble is fine, Cosmo,” I laughed, “but seriously, I need you to get in the bag. It’s for your own safety.”

He stopped spinning and pensiveness creeped onto his face. “But…but…Cosmo can do it. Does Oswald not trust him?”

“…” I sighed. “No…Cosmo, that’s not it. I just…I’ve said why already…”

Alright, time to get real.

“I don’t…want you to lose that innocence of yours. I know you’re the greatest psychic in the whole world, and I’m very grateful that I…we have you with us—” I motioned to Fenn and the Quilava stepped closer to my side, “—but I value your well-being over everything else.”

Man…I sure have come a long way since I first met Cosmo. And before I met him I said I didn’t particularly like kids. Where did this even come from, me?

“…Cosmo doesn’t get it,” he pouted. “He just wants to help…”

Fenn was the one to speak up this time. “Y-you can, Cosmo. Just…there’s more to being a powerful psychic than…winning battles. We…n-need your input more than anything else.”

“Input?”

“Yeah,” I continued. I had a pretty good idea of where Fenn was going with this. “How else are we supposed to stay motivated? You have to keep us going by cheering us on.”

“Uh huh,” Fenn added. “We need you to stay safe so we can keep going. A-and…to keep going, we need you to…be here.”

“So…Cosmo should…?”

“Be there for us,” I told him. “If you’re not around, then how can we do anything? You’re the center of the team! You’re our hero!”

Cosmo’s pensive expression slowly became more and more excited; he was truly beaming now. “Yes! Cosmo is Oswald and Fenn’s hero!”

And with zip and a zoom, Cosmo was in the bag. “Go beat those villains! Cosmo is rooting for you!”

I smiled down at the Solosis. That went better than I was expecting. Hopefully that was the last pep talk I would have to give Cosmo anytime soon. I closed the bag on his cute little face.

Once he was sure that Cosmo wouldn’t be able to hear us, my Quilava partner leaned over and whispered, “Did I do that right?”

I whispered back, “Yeah, you did fine.”

I let my shoulders slump and I let out a sigh. “This wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t have to take him along. Can we like, pay for a sitter or something next time?”

Fenn shook his head. “I-I don’t really trust that. Cosmo is our responsibility.”

“Well yeah…” I scoffed, crossing my arms in indignation. “…How did we even get to this point? That’s what I’m wondering.”

“I…I don’t know. We just did. A-are you…?”

“No, I’m not upset about it or anything. Cosmo’s great. I’m just…I don’t know. Let’s go inside.”

And so we did. After making sure that my shoulder bag was securely fastened, I pushed open doors to the saloon.

A loud creaking sound followed, and the few patrons of the bar turned to face me.

First was the bartender—a Ludicolo busy cleaning glasses and watching over the mostly empty tables. He acknowledged us with a nod as soon as the door opened. Not much else though; the pokemon didn’t seem too interested in talking. He looked away just as quickly.

Two of the patrons, a Scrafty and a Sandslash, immediately downed their drinks and left through the back. They seemed to be in a hurry. Their willingness to leave so suddenly made me flinch.

The only pokemon to not so much as look in our direction was a Krokorok sitting on a bar stool and nesting his drink. A blue drink. Alcohol maybe? I couldn’t tell.

Aside from that, the saloon itself was unremarkable. The bar with the bartender and the Krokorok to the left, the tables to the right with their chairs that looked as though they hadn’t been replaced in years, and the doorway in the back, directly in front of me.

Not much to say about it aside from that. It was…empty. But there were pokemon here. Emphasis on “were.”

I felt a little awkward being the center of attention even though no one was actually looking at me. It probably had something to do with the fact that it still felt like I was being watched…

Actually, you know what? I think I’d prefer to sit around and wait for this to all be over. The other guild pokemon can handle that…whatever-they-were-called gang when they get here. They don’t really need us, right?

Then again, why did those two leave so suddenly? Hm. Now I was curious. There was…something going on here…

After looking over my shoulder to make sure Fenn was following along, I timidly approached the Ludicolo behind the bar. “Um…excuse me, sir?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, peering out of the corner of his eye at the dumbass Dewott trying to get his attention. His response—or lack there of—somehow made me more nervous. “Hm?”

“…Uh…”

I might’ve blanked a little. Starting a conversation wasn’t all that easy for me; I had no idea what to say. Being the instigator was a lot different from being the one addressed. Really…I could talk fine when I was familiar with the subject or if I was around people/pokemon I knew, but talking to strangers and acting as the “pokemon with a plan” just wasn’t me. I doubt Fenn was much better either.

Plus, what if I messed up? What was I even supposed to do?

I had no immediate answer; so, I did what I always happen to do when I have difficulty talking: I fiddled with my scalchop.

Riiiip. I peeled my right hand scalchop off my hip and twirled it around in my paw.

The Ludicolo’s eyebrow raised higher.

“…We’re here to help,” I mumbled, sounding sluggish and pathetic.

“Are you now?” the Ludicolo said dubiously. “Help with what?”

I went to bite my lip before stopping myself. No! You need to act cool! Don’t let them see your lack of confidence! Would Cosmo have any troubles with this? No! Be more like Cosmo!

I put the scalchop back on my hip. “We signed up to help here. Something about a gang…?” I whispered, turning my head slightly. “…What was their name again, Fenn?”

“S-Sand…Sand…piper?” he whispered back with uncertainty. “I think?”

I turned back to face the bartender. “Yeah, Sandpiper. You’ve been having trouble with them, right?”

As he wiped down the mug in his hands, the pokemon looked me up and down with narrowed eyes. “Sandpiper,” he repeated. “You. You’re going to deal with Sandpiper?”

And then the anxiety came back. “Uh…yes? That’s…what we’re getting paid to do.” It was challenging for me to meet his eyes with how hard he was glaring; I physically shirked from his gaze.

Come on, Oswald! Professional! Be profession- STOP TOUCHING YOUR SCALCHOP!

I nearly slapped my own hand once I realized that I was reaching for my scalchop again. Just…stop it! You’ve never had a problem with this before! Where did the calm and collected Oswald go? The one that jokes with Fenn every day?

…

Screw it. I’m faking it.

My stupid worried face disappeared as I put on the fakest smirk imaginable. I leaned forward onto the counter and slicked my “hair” back. “Heh, yeah,” I said with an excessive amount of gusto. “We’re Team Lavender. Might’ve heard of us? Ha! Didn’t think so. We’re so good at our job that most of our accomplishments aren’t even on record. Isn’t that right, Fenn?”

I elbowed the Quilava standing upright next to me and the look he gave me was just as skeptical as the Ludicolo’s. “Um…I…I-I guess so?”

“See,” I said, “it’s a good thing we’re here cause I can tell you’ve got a problem that needs solving. It just so happens that we’re experts at solving problems.”

“Mmmm…blah! Yeah, Fenn and Oswald are so cool!” Cosmo managed to wiggle his way past the bag’s flap and was now peering out. “They can beat any villain, anytime! Just wait and see!”

I frantically shoved the Solosis further down into the bag all the while shushing at him. “Shhh! Shhhh! Be quiet!” After that, I stood straight up and put on the biggest grin I could.

My antics caused the Ludicolo to chuckle. “Ha ha, you’re pretty funny, kid. I’m guessing those handkerchiefs are a sign that you’re from Kebia?”

I dropped the grin as I brushed my fingers across the piece of cloth around my neck. “I…yes, we’re a part of the castle guild,” I responded. “Quite a few of us are actually supposed to come down here. Are there…any more guild members around?”

“PFFFFFFTTTTAHAHAHAHA!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. The Krokorok that had been previously quiet enough for me to forget that he was even there suddenly started laughing hysterically out of nowhere. He laughed so hard that the liquid he had been drinking spewed out of his nose and hit the counter.

“Ha…ha…ah shit,” he said between his laughing fits, wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m-ha ha-really sorry, Coots. I’ll clean that up later.”

To my surprise, the Ludicolo wasn’t angry in the slightest. “I don’t blame you, Finch,” he smirked. “I got pretty close there too.”

The laughter petered out as the Krokorok wiped his face with a piece of white cloth and placed a coin on the table. “Damned if you did. Wasn’t a bet but I’ll still pay. Ah mon, that was rich.”

I looked between the two of them bewilderedly. Am I missing something here? “Um…did I say something funny?”

Finch the Krokorok turned to face me properly. For the first time, I got a good look at his beady, black eyes. Two orbs communicating the mischief and…conviction behind them. It was almost as though he saw something he could get out of me, but not in a bad way. Even as he bared his teeth through his long crocodile snout, I couldn’t detect any malicious intent.

It did feel like I was being made fun of, though.

“Yeah, you’re pretty funny, Slick,” he said in a deep, raspy voice. “Not everyday I see a couple of the queen’s lackeys waltz in and claim they can take down Sandpiper of all things. And the way you tried to act all cool…muah! Perfect!”

What the? Slick? Lackeys? COOL? Who does this guy think he is?

I frowned. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Finch,” he said. The Krokorok picked at his teeth as he casually leaned on the bar. “You’ve probably never heard of me. Guess that makes us alike, eh Slick?”

I was about to respond, but then Fenn suddenly butted in, peering over my shoulder and shooting Finch a glare. His anger was apparent from the fire shooting out from his head and lower back. “Hey!” Fenn growled. “Don’t call him that, jerk!”

I blinked. Fenn, what? Where did this come from?

Finch wasn’t even phased. He simply clicked his claws against the counter out of boredom. “Oh shit,” he said sarcastically, “sorry about that. Nevermind. Hot Stuff there could probably make a sizable difference against the big bad Sandpiper.”

HOT STUFF? Alright, now it’s my turn to get mad.

I scowled harshly. “Fenn, hold on,” I said to the Quilava over my shoulder. It didn’t take him long to sink back into his normal, timid self at the sound of my voice. His ears fell flat against his head as the fire (thankfully) died down. “Okay, who the hell are you?” I asked the Krokorok.

“Just said. Finch.”

“No.” I sighed. “Who…what is going on here? Where is everybody? And what are you doing here?”

He sniffed dismissively. “Oh, I’m just having a drink. Waiting for the world to end. You know how it is. You want one too? Looks like you need one.”

“Can you answer the question?”

“I just did.”

“The actual question.”

“You asked three questions.”

“You…you know what I mean.” I was getting frustrated and it showed.

Finch threw up his arms and shrugged in a smug manner. “Can only answer one question at a time. But tell you what-” He stood from his seat and gestured towards a table near the wall, “-let’s have a chat. That sound good?”

“I don’t want to chat, I just-“

“What kind of berries do you like? I’ll get a berry mix for you, your hot friend, and the little dude you’re escorting.”

I didn’t know which of those statements I was the most mad about. And clearly, Fenn was much the same. The crackling of his fire could be faintly heard after Finch said those things. “You’re not making us drink alcohol,” I told Finch pointedly. “Especially not… ‘the little dude.'” I eyed the spot of purple peeking out of the depths of my shoulder bag.

“It’s not alcohol.” Finch looked almost offended. “I’m not trying to get you drunk.”

“I don’t sell alcohol either,” grumbled the Ludicolo, just standing there and watching this conversation go down.

No alcohol? I thought this was a bar? Saloon. Whatever.

“See? Just humor me for a bit. I wanna talk.”

My scowl only deepened. “Why should we-“

“Lum! Cosmo likes Lum!”

And of course, Cosmo had to pop his head out of the bag at that moment. He excitedly threw himself into the conversation. At this point, I didn’t even try to stop him. It was clear that we weren’t in any real danger, as much as I wanted to deny it.

“Keh heh,” laughed Finch, facing me. “Knew he’d come around. Cosmo was his name? Come on out, kid.”

The Solosis looked conflicted. Almost as if he shouldn’t listen to a stranger. Good.

Though he eventually flew out at the call of Fenn telling him quietly to “Come over here, Cosmo. I-I’ll hold you.” He launched himself out of the bag and into Fenn’s arms.

It was an action that seemed to catch the stranger’s attention. He put a claw under his chin and grinned. “So. Hot Stuff. Got a favorite berry?”

I tried to meet Fenn’s eyes, but he wasn’t too keen on meeting my gaze at that moment. I wanted to tell him to keep quiet, really. As confident as I was in my hunch that this guy wouldn’t kill us, I didn’t necessarily trust him. Too bad Fenn didn’t feel the same.

Fenn did hesitate however, “…Pecha. And…F-Fenn. That’s my…name.”

The fire had long since been snuffed out. Fenn had no reason to be at the ready now that we knew that Finch wasn’t necessarily a threat. Though that might have also just been Fenn being awkward.

“Fenn?” the ground gator repeated back. “Fenn. Are you secretly a Fennekin or something?”

“…” Fenn wouldn’t answer. He just looked away, Cosmo fidgeting in his arms.

“Hm. So what about you, dude?” Finch said, pointing his snout at me. “You gonna tell me, or…am I gonna have to ‘coex’ it out of you.”

I didn’t know what he meant by “coex” in this scenario and I preferred not to know. Either way, this stupid gator was seriously starting to piss me off. The jokes at my expense were whatever, but him acting the way he was put me in a bad mood. I was sick of being laughed at and I seriously wished I could just shut this guy up.

But whatever. I didn’t have guts for that.

“Oswald,” I said. “Oran.” I tried to keep my face as straight as possible.

“No kidding? Oran? I like Oran too. Hey Coots! Two Oran, a Pecha, and a Lum.”

…

…I hated that I shared something in common with this guy already.

Fenn and I exchanged uncertain looks as we followed Finch to a table and sat down across from him. He was a good foot taller than both of us and his tail swayed sloppily as he walked. Coots brought over our drinks almost immediately after we sat down. “I’m not a waiter,” he grumbled. “Don’t get used to this.”

“Not expecting you to, Coots, my mon!” Finch said to him in an overly friendly tone. The Krokorok winked and curled his claw into an “ok” sign.

Coots simply rolled his eyes and walked back to the bar.

Once we were well and truly settled in, Finch got right down to sipping his drink.

Loudly. And with a straw.

Sluuuuuurrrrpppp.

“So,” he smacked his lips, “what do you wanna know first?”

Fenn and I exchanged glances again. I don’t know when we started doing it, but it always felt like we would try to look at each other for advice in times like this. At least I got a good idea of what he was thinking in this particular instance.

…Uh…he was…uncomfortable? Not that surprising. Fenn was also simultaneously bouncing Cosmo in his lap while the Solosis sucked up his drink. It was pretty cute, honestly.

Anyways, “I guess I’ll just start with the most obvious: where is everybody?”

Sluuuuurp. “Ah! Oh, they’re still here. They’re just hiding out in their houses.”

That would explain why I felt like I was being watched. The town isn’t empty. But still. “Why?”

Sluuuuuurp. “Don’t you already have an answer to that question?”

“Um…”

“Here’s my question,” Finch started, “why are you here?”

“Uh…to…help against the Sandpiper?”

“And what did they tell you Sandpiper is doing down here?”

“…Harassing the villagers.”

“Yep. And there’s your answer.” Sluuuurp. “Ah shit. Empty. Coots! Get me another!”

Wow, I feel like an idiot. I guess I just figured that everyone had already left, but I suppose we would’ve already heard about that by now. The village folk are too scared to leave their homes.

I had an assumption. “But wait,” I continued, “where are the other guild members? Weren’t they stationed here?”

If Finch was still drinking, his drink would’ve been all over us at the moment.

“PFFFFFFTTTT! NO! AHAHAHAHA! EXPECTING THE GUILD TO DO ANYTHING! AHAHAHAHA!”

I frowned. “Can you stop laughing?” I asked out of annoyance.

“Only if you stop saying the funniest stuff I’ve ever heard! AHAHAHA!”

He did stop eventually. And by that point, Coots had brought over another drink and Finch was downing it.

Sllluuuuuuuuurp. “Imagine expecting to actually get any help out of Kebia,” Finch said. “Couldn’t be me. That’s why I’m here.”

“…So…who are you?” I questioned, genuinely confused.

“Are you deaf or something?” the Krokorok wondered. “I’m Finch.”

“And I’m Cosmo!”

I groaned. “No, like, are you another guild member or…?”

“Oh, Arceus no,” he replied, taking offense to that question. “Don’t even affiliate me with that shitty castle.”

“Hey!” Fenn suddenly said. “C-cut it with the language! Not when Cosmo’s around!” His paws were covering the sides of the Solosis’ body while Cosmo absentmindedly sipped his drink.

“Ah…oh, sorry,” Finch apologized. It was…strange to hear this jokester being so genuine. Then again, getting reprimanded by Fenn would make any know-it-all give up, I think.

I picked up where I left off with my next question. “Alright, where are the other guild members then? You never gave me an actual answer. Have some of them shown up already?”

Now it was the bartender’s time to laugh. “Ha! Oh, they left already. Sandpiper drove them away.”

“What?” I blurted out.

“Oh yeah,” Finch said nonchalantly. “I was surprised that you even got here without seeing them. They’ve been doing regular patrols for a while now. Thought you were a group of them at first…” He chuckled. “Heh. I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong.”

I don’t know if I should be relieved or offended. Probably both? Let’s go with both.

“Well, that can’t be right,” I argued. “You’re telling me that the guild already sent pokemon out here before? We just learned about this place.”

Sluuuuuuuurrrrpppp. “How much are you getting paid for this?”

I stuttered, “I-it’s not…we’re…” I sighed in defeat. “It’s community service. Sort of.”

“Cosmo, Oswald, and Fenn are heroes!” Cosmo abruptly declared, only to be shushed by Fenn.

“Oh Arceus. Seriously? Now that’s rich. What a bunch of cheap…morons.” Finch stopped himself from cursing at the sight of Fenn’s piercing gaze.

Finch cleared his throat and resumed, his eyes filled with contempt. “You know, it’s no wonder that nothing ever gets done over there. Nobody gets paid for the actual work they’re supposed to do. They ran outta money to pay for this job so they made it community service. Or they just didn’t want to offer up any rewards in the first place. Not the worker’s fault, really. But none of them know that they could have it better.” He scoffed. “Just a bunch of ignorant, cowardly minions. Not a thought in their brains.”

“We’re still here, you know,” I scowled. “Do you think we showed up because Anemone told us to be here? We’re not doing this for free either.”

“Oh, don’t even get me started on that…terrible pokemon,” Finch remarked, trying to keep from cursing again. “What a piece of garbage. She’s the main reason everything got so bad. She treats every settlement outside of her little abode like crap, raises taxes for no reason, and everybody just…does what she says! There’s never any pokemon brave enough to step in and say that she’s wrong. And you wanna know why? Because no one can. She’ll just send her lackies at you till you shut up.

“Like now. With you Wooloos.”

I realize that I should’ve resented that, but I did agree with the guy somewhat. Well…maybe not to the same degree. I don’t appreciate being ranted about something that neither of us could change. I absolutely think that Anemone could do more. She could read minds for crying out loud!

“That’s great, Finch,” I deadpanned. “What do you want us to do about it? We’re just doing our job. You want me to go talk to Anemone myself? Cause I have and both times got me nowhere.”

All of a sudden, Finch’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. There was a glint of surprise and his demeanor changed dramatically. “You…you talked to her?” He muttered. “Multiple times?”

I blinked. “Uh…yeah. Both times were unproductive, but yeah.”

Fenn and I met gazes again. I could tell that just the mention of Anemone was making him uneasy. His ears drooped as he anxiously stroked Cosmo’s bubble.

Cosmo just kept on sipping.

Sssslllluuuuurrrrppp. “Wow, this is really good! Can Cosmo have another?”

To my surprise, Finch slid his drink over to the Solosis before leaning forward onto the table. His voice was low and full of caution. “Why?” He asked. “What makes you so special?”

I was about to answer. I really was. I would’ve said something like “I’m not special, she just likes my whiskers,” but I never got the chance. Finch became tense as two pokemon forced the doors open before approaching the Ludicolo behind the bar.

I wasn’t certain of it at the time, but it became obvious that these two were a part of Sandpiper fairly quickly.

One was a Nidoqueen, tall and full of muscle. She could’ve easily snapped my back without breaking a sweat. The other was a Flaaffy riding on her shoulder. His wool was thick and unkempt, fraying off his head without rhyme or reason. It was so thick that I couldn’t see his eyes. I could still see the sheep’s wide, complacent grin however.

All of our eyes were on them. And when the Nidoqueen let the Flaaffy climb off her shoulder and jump onto the countertop with swagger, I could feel Fenn start to tense up next to me.

“How’s it going, buddy?” the Flaaffy jeered. His voice definitely belonged to a male, one that took intense pleasure in screwing with others. Like a carefree pixie, he skipped around on the countertop, not caring in the slightest when glasses fell over and shattered onto the floor. “You got any news for us?”

Coots’ eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t break. “…You’re wasting your time,” he glowered. “You won’t find what you’re looking for here. Leave this village.”

I blinked when the Nidoqueen SMASHED her fist on the counter. More glasses shattered onto the floor. “Don’t give us that, Coots!” she shouted, her voice overpowering and deep. “If any pokemon would know where the human is in this town, it would be you.”

What? WHAT? WHAT?!

My jaw dropped. No. You have got to be kidding me! I knew that someone was looking for me, but….good god, I wasn’t expecting this. These are criminals. What do they want with me? My mind swam with the horrible implications behind this.

The sheer number of unknown factors made my stomach lurch. What should I do? Tell them that I’m the human? That might fix the problem here, I guess. But….I don’t want to! I shouldn’t have to!

Anemone was right. Someone really is looking for me. Someone bad. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! My fists clenched tightly and my eyes were set on the outlaws. I needed to come up with something!

As I stared at the duo terrorizing the bartender, Finch eyed me suspiciously. I wasn’t aware at the time, but Finch noticed how nervous I got all of a sudden.

He watched my reaction very closely.

“You mons are darn crazy! Crazy I tell you!” Coots exclaimed. “Humans aren’t even real! They’re a myth!”

“That’s where you’re wrong!” Flaaffy squealed mockingly. “They’re extinct. Not a myth.”

“Were extinct,” the Nidoqueen corrected. “There’s one running around, and we’re here to take them with us.”

Cosmo whispered, “…Are those the villains?”

Fenn, whose flames were at full ignition out of alarm, replied quietly, “Y-yes, I think so.”

Cosmo trembled in Fenn’s grip. “Villains aren’t supposed to be scary…”

Coots was starting to get mad. “I already told you thugs that there’s no such thing as a human living today. Let alone in this town,” Coots said.

“Hmpf.” Flaaffy crossed his arms. “I think you’re lying to us. What do you say we beat the truth outta ya? Maybe then you’ll talk.”

Crack. Nidoqueen cracked her knuckles loudly and sneered at the Ludicolo. “I think that’s a great idea.”

“Oh, but before we do that, we want some free drinks,” said the Flaaffy. “We deserve to be compensated for getting our knuckles bloody.”

“Oh shi- uh crackers,” Finch muttered under his breath. “This isn’t good. Listen, you three stay here, I’ll fix this.” I kept my eyes glued to the scene as Finch stood and casually approached the pokemon near the bar.

“W-what’s he doing?” Fenn uttered to me.

I wasn’t sure. All I could think about was how these criminals were after me. My voice barely came out at all. “I…I don’t know…”

Finch addressed the pokemon cordially. “My good mons! What seems to be the problem here?”

They all turned to face him. Coots in particular seemed relieved that Finch chose to step in.

“Oi! Who’re you?” Nidoqueen asked.

“Looks like a chump,” Flaaffy said with a smirk.

“I’m just a fellow patron of this bar,” Finch responded. “I noticed you two were about to hurt my friend here.” He pointed at Coots. “Now please—if I may plead, I beseech you to call off your threats and leave this establishment before anybody gets hurt.”

Flaaffy scoffed. “Flowery language isn’t going to stop us, pal. You wouldn’t happen to know where the human is, would you?”

“I think he knows,” commented the Nidoqueen, her arms crossed. “He wouldn’t try to stop us if he didn’t.”

“Now that’s a bit of a leap in logic, don’t you think so, friend? I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

I recognized at that point that Finch dropped into a rational and calm persona on a whim. It fit him so well that one would think the guy was always this way. Regardless, the Sandpiper pokemon weren’t convinced.

Nidoqueen towered over the Krokorok and looked down with a powerful glare. Finch looked back up at her, a relaxed expression clear on his face. “You know something, don’t you?” she growled.

“I’m afraid not. I’ve never heard of the word ‘human’ before today actually.”

“Ooooh, do you see that? I think he’s making fun of you~” taunted the Flaaffy.

That statement seemed to make her even more angry, furious even. She SLAMMED her fist on the counter again, causing everyone in the establishment to wince, me included.

I could hear Cosmo whimper beside me. A reaction that finally set Fenn over the edge. His flames were so bright that it hurt to look at. The back of his chair began to melt. “I’m going to step in,” the Quilava stated. “I can take them both on.”

A part of me was surprised to hear Fenn so resolute in his words. No amount of hesitation or anxiety remained. This was the hero Fenn that Cosmo talked about earlier. The Fenn that could take on a legendary if he wanted to. The Fenn that made me feel inadequate in comparison.

Another part of me was afraid. I didn’t disagree with him or anything, nor was I worried. I just didn’t want the Fenn that I had been worrying about to resurface—the Fenn that insisted on doing everything on his own.

I hated to say it, but this was the chance I was looking for. I could prove that Quilava wrong right now. If I didn’t take this opportunity while I had the chance, who knows when I would get another again.

God, why did I have to put myself in this situation?

“Fenn, wait.” I made an effort to stop him in his tracks, nearly burning the fur on my paw as I went to touch him. “Just…hold on.”

His expression softened a bit, but Fenn didn’t relent. “Why? I can end this right now. You know I can.”

“Yeah…I know,” I faltered, trying to maintain my confidence. I only hoped Fenn respected me enough as a friend to see past that. “Hear me out on this one. I-I want to avoid a fight this time.”

Fenn looked at me in confusion, yet he was intrigued. The fire dulled down some; I could look at him directly now. “Wha…I don’t understand,” he muttered. “Th-they’re just criminals.”

“Civil pokemon. Criminal and civil, but still civil. I know you’ve killed your fair share of ferals, but…”

His gaze fell, his fire immediately falling even lower. “I…I’m not going to kill them…” he said, rubbing his arm.

There was another reason why I wanted to stop Fenn: I didn’t want him to become a killer. I hated death. I really did. Something about having to live while being responsible for it made me sick. The last thing I wanted was for Fenn to have to experience that.

Because don’t misunderstand, Fenn would kill at least one of them if he could. It probably wasn’t what he intended to do, but I had seen how he looked at the ferals he killed. I knew about the many, many he had to kill already.

And the way he regretted it after, on the beach…

No. This would be worse. I won’t allow it.

“Let me do it, Fenn,” I told him after several moments of silence. “Let me try to talk them out of this.”

“What?” Fenn’s eyes went wide and the fire rose once again. “No! Don’t do that! Let me hel-“

“Do you trust me?”

He stuttered, “O-oh Oswald…I don’t want you to get hurt. P-please just let me…” he stopped to look down. Cosmo was still there, trembling. His eyes were squeezed shut.

“Cos…Cosmo…I…scared…”

Oh no. I didn’t think about Cosmo, did I? Oh jeez, I can’t bear to think about how this would affect him if things went wrong.

I bent forward to better be at eye level with him. “Hey…hey, buddy. Look at me.” I whispered as calmly as I could, trying to make him feel more at ease.

He slowly opened his eyes and met mine.

“I’m gonna make the bad guys go away, okay?” I said. “But I need your help. You have to root for me. Be that super powerful psychic I know you can be and help me save the day. Can you do that?”

The little Solosis quivered pitifully, but he eventually found the drive to nod. “O-okay. Cosmo…Cosmo will cheer Oswald on. P-please make the bad guys go away.”

I nodded back with a warm smile. “Thanks a ton, Cosmo,” I whispered. “Couldn’t do this without you.” I brought my gaze back to Fenn. “Keep him safe. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Fenn frowned. “…The second things go bad…” he trailed off.

“It won’t. I’ll find a way out of this. Peacefully. I promise.” I rubbed his ears as a way to reassure him. That seemed to work. The fire fell entirely.

And with that, I sealed my fate by standing up and walking towards the bar.

Does Fenn understand that I’m doing this for him? I hope so. Either way, I am NOT okay right now. Holy shit, I feel like I’m going to vomit. These criminals are going to kill me and my efforts will be for nothing.

Somehow, the conversation between the Flaaffy, the Nidoqueen, and Finch hadn’t escalated any further just yet.

“I fail to see how your demands make any sense,” Finch finished saying. “If this ‘human’ were even here, wouldn’t everyone already know? The pokemon here aren’t exactly bound by any pact of secrecy.”

“No! Arrrgghhh!” the Nidoqueen groaned in frustration. “I’m going to rip your stupid teeth out, one by one, if you don’t stop it with the smart guy act.”

“Smart?” Finch said with an eyebrow raised. “My good friends, I’m just stating the facts.”

“Well you better start giving us the real facts before we-” The Flaaffy stopped once he saw me. (Or at least I think he did. Still couldn’t see his eyes.) “Who’s the otter?”

All eyes were on me now. Everyone seemed to be surprised, and particularly furious. Finch especially; he looked as though he wanted to kill me right then and there. Needless to say, I picked a bad time to be the guy that steps in. I was hoping to come at this amicably like Finch, just easing myself into the conversation.

Guess that was never going to happen, huh?

“Uh…yo!” I said…with a wave? Great first impression, dork. “I…couldn’t help but notice that you were having a heated conversation and…well, it was making me a little uncomfortable so…” What am I even saying?

“Oh! Would you look at that!” Finch stated loudly, walking over to my side and very roughly dropping his arm onto my shoulder. His smile was a bit too big for my liking. “My good friends, I’d like you to meet my favorite pal in the whole world, Oz…Ozzy! Yeah, Ozzy!”

Ozzy?

OZZY?

“Looks like a chump,” the Nidoqueen snarled.

“And not just your average chump.” Flaaffy hopped off the counter top and skipped his way over until he was directly in front of me. Unlike Finch, this guy was actually a bit shorter than my pitiful two whole feet of height. His head was angled up at me as he brought his paw up to fiddle with the bandana around my neck. “This guy has a bib. He’s one of Anemone’s.”

He took a large step back, electricity crackling off his wool. “This guy definitely knows something.”

I actually gulped. Crap.

“Way to go, genius,” Finch angrily whispered to me. “I had this and then you just had to step in.”

I really screwed this up, didn’t I? The two criminals were already in the process of discussing their plan to skin me alive. I should just…tell them.

I spared one stray glance at Fenn. I don’t know why. Maybe I thought that his wonderful, ruby eyes would have the answer to this problem.

Instead, what I saw was a Quilava getting ready to jump into action. I’m surprised neither of the Sandpiper gang members noticed him with how high his flames were reaching.

It was at that moment that I remembered why I decided to be a dumbass in the first place.

It was for Fenn. So I did what I do best for Fenn’s sake…unfortunately: I made shit up.

“Now hold on!” I exclaimed.

The Flaaffy and Nidoqueen stopped their discussion to look at me. Finch even removed his arm from my shoulder.

I continued…with a plan. “Humans are really weird creatures. Don’t you know that?”

The two of them exchanged glances. “So you do know something….” Nidoqueen grinned.

“Yeah, I do. I know that humans…well, they eventually grew to be more like plants. Really small and really big plants!”

Now they seemed to be getting confused. “What are you on about?” the Flaaffy asked with skepticism.

“What I’m saying is that not every human is as easy to find as pointing them out once you walk into town. If they were here, there’s a good chance that no one would know. They’re really good at disguising themselves.”

“Tauros shit,” Nidoqueen fired back. “Thrush never said anything about that.”

Finch countered, now fully going along with the lie, “Did you ever ask? It sounds plausible to me.”

The Nidoqueen was conflicted enough to look at Flaaffy for advice.

“…Harpy, you can’t be serious,” he frowned.

“I don’t know, it could be possible!”

“I genuinely doubt it is.”

“But we don’t know! What if…do you think Thrush would know? We’re…we’re supposed to be careful, right?”

“Yeah. Can’t tarnish our ‘perfect track record’ as he says. Can’t be making decisions without his approval…” The Flaaffy sighed. “This is so stupid. Now I don’t even feel like beating these losers up anymore.”

“Yeah…”

“Hey, I have a suggestion,” Finch suddenly said. “How about I buy you two those free drinks, you leave to go ask your boss if anything Ozzy said is true, and we can discuss this later. How about that?”

I’m never going to get over that name. My name is NOT Ozzy.

As they went to huddle and discuss their choice, I looked over at Fenn again. Unlike before, he was seated, and the fire on his back was smoldering.

Phew…

I waited with bated breath for an answer from the Flaaffy and Nidoqueen. They would occasionally look back at Finch and I, their faces hard set in a frown. Eventually, they made a decision.

“Alright, chumps,” the Flaaffy started, “here’s what we’re gonna do. One: we’re gonna get those drinks.”

“I better get Bluk,” Harpy said forcefully.

“I know, I know,” he reassured her, “you’ll get your drink…but first—two: we’re coming back with our boss and we’re tearing this place to the ground.”

“To the ground.” Nidoqueen punched her palm threateningly.

Finch scoffed, “Is that all?”

Let’s hope not, I thought.

The Flaaffy probably narrowed his eyes right then, but I still couldn’t see them. “No. Three: …where’s the bathroom?”

…

“…It’s in the back,” Coots replied.

The Flaaffy did a little run in place. “R-right. Be right back!”

---

Fenn, Cosmo, Finch, and I watched as the Flaaffy and Nidoqueen pranced down the road with their unearned drinks in hand. “We’ll be back!” called out the Flaaffy.

“And when we do get back,” shouted the Nidoqueen, “you better have our human!”

I…hope we won’t…

Finch waited until they were rightfully gone to turn to me. “So,” he began, “not sure if I should thank you or smack you across the face.”

“I…well-” I stopped when I heard the crackling of flames next to me. Fenn was mad again and his intense glare was set on the outlaws running down the road.

Finch chuckled. “You know, I am glad that you held your friend back during that. Heh—I could see him burning those mercenaries to a crisp. He looks pretty strong. But personally, I’m always one for peaceful solutions if they’re available.”

“Fenn is the best!” Cosmo announced.

Fenn’s hard gaze softened as I reluctantly rubbed his ears. Cosmo’s kindhearted words helped too. Once his eyes met mine, it was obvious that he was somewhat embarrassed by his reaction. A light blush appeared on his cheeks and he looked away. I couldn’t help but smile.

Finch had a big, knowing grin on his face the whole time.

I faced the croc and said, “Well, I can’t say that I usually try to talk my way out of…hold on, did you say mercenaries?”

Finch nodded. “Sandpiper are a band of mercenaries. Probably paid to look for the ‘human’ or whatever.”

I flinched slightly at the word ‘human’ but quickly shook it off. “I thought they were criminals,” I said to Finch.

His eyes narrowed. “Is that what your employer told you?”

“Sort of? I had no idea why they were so infamous when we accepted this job. Seemed to set a bunch of people off, though.”

The Krokodile scratched his chin as he examined me inquisitively. “Sandpiper is so ‘infamous’ because they’re just really efficient,” Finch told us. “Coordinated and ruthless when they need to be, they take the high paying jobs and get the most out of it. Thrush, the guy in charge, doesn’t accept failure.” He shook his head. “I can see why so many of you guildies turned this one down; not everyone’s that organized.

“Which is why I’m kinda impressed you managed to turn them away. Took you for a coward, but you walked right up to them and had something to say, just like that.” He snapped his fingers.

Ignoring the fact that Finch basically just called me a coward, his words really put what I did into perspective. God damn….do I have a death wish? Why did I do that?

It didn’t take me long to remember why. Fenn and Cosmo were right next to me. Of course I would do it for them. What else even is there?

Nothing. I have nothing else. They’re my everything.

I shrugged. “Heat of the moment.”

“I’m not buying that. But credit where it’s due.” Finch stepped past me and onto the dirt road. The three of us followed.

The wind seemed to howl much louder now. There was a different vibe to everything in Colbur, with it feeling strangely populated for some reason. Looking up and around, I soon found out why.

Small instances of movement filled my vision. Doors creaked open, forlorn faces peaked out of windows, and the quiet sound of worried voices filled my ears. Every building had a pokemon peeking out to see what was going on, many of which looked directly at me.

“You see them?” Finch asked. “These pokemon are afraid.” He turned to face me—the look he gave me filled my heart with a sinking feeling of dread. He was determined. I wasn’t.

“Afraid…” he continued, “because they don’t have a plan. There are pokemon threatening to break their doors down for a reason they can’t even comprehend. Sandpiper doesn’t care if any of them get hurt…or even die. They want their paycheck.

“Those two you saw today didn’t seem too bad, but trust me, it gets worse; I’ve seen it.

“Oswald, Fenn, Cosmo,” he nodded to each of us, “you’re here to help, then make yourselves useful-” Finch held out a claw, “-help me talk these clowns down and free Colbur of their terror. Can you do that?”

“…” I looked down at his claw for a few moments. On one hand, this was what we came here to do. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure if I could lie my way out of this one. This Thrush guy sounded like he wouldn’t back down unless he absolutely had to…

…

…I looked to my left…and then my right.

Fenn was already at eye level, looking at me worriedly, as he always does. Maybe it was the idea that we would be trying to go for the peaceful option rather than burning them alive that made him so conflicted. His flames were snuffed out by this point—one more sign that he wasn’t happy with our new arrangements.

Cosmo seemed to be faring better, mostly. He smiled up at me like the cute little psychic he was. Must’ve thought that I had the solution to this problem. This Solosis was depending on me. After all, the last thing any of us wanted was a repeat of what happened in the saloon. I’d never seen Cosmo so scared…

“Having second thoughts?” Finch asked.

“…No,” I told him, “I’m all for it.”

“Are your friends?”

Fenn stepped forward. “I-I can take them all down if I have to,” he muttered, rubbing his arm.

…Fenn, you don’t have to do this on your own. I desperately wanted to tell him that again and again, but I knew that I had to show him first.

Finch chuckled, “Heh, I’m sure you can. I like the confidence, seriously. Too bad I don’t want anybody to get hurt—myself included.”

He looked over at Cosmo. “What about you, little guy? You in?”

Cosmo was about to say something then stopped himself. He directed the face of his bubble towards Fenn and I, his expression pensive.

…Cosmo, I want to keep you safe. I should be the hero you aspire to be. The hero I should be. Cosmo wouldn’t be a part of this. But I needed him to be there. He had to be.

I nodded.

Cosmo giggled. “Yep! Cosmo is the greatest! He will defeat all the villains, just like Fenn and Oswald. Or…he will root for them! Cosmo will do both! At the same time!”

The mood immediately got brighter for the four of us. All thanks to Cosmo.

And with that, I shook Finch’s claw. “We’ll help.”

Finch grinned. “Happy to hear it. How much time do you have?”

How much time? Oh! “We’re leaving at sunset.”

With a nod, Finch said, “Sounds good, I can arrange for this to happen before then.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You can?” I asked.

“Of course I can!” he declared, leaping high into the air before climbing onto the awning of the saloon. I balked at how abruptly he did so. “I’ve got connections! Gotta tell everybody here what to do too. We need all the help we can get.”

“You mean all the pokemon in the houses? How? They’re too scared to come out!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I was the one that told them to hide in the first place!”

“What?”

“Meet me back here in a few hours! Stay out of sight! We can do this!”

Finch was already leaping across rooftops by the second sentence. Eventually, the three of us were left alone in the middle of the street. The villagers above slowly began to recede back into their homes. Soon enough, only the wind and us remained.

We stood there in silence for a few seconds…

Then Fenn started talking. “Ozzy?” he playfully smirked.

Of course he heard that.

“Please don’t start calling me that,” I demanded out of agitation.

“Cosmo likes Ozzy!”

“Cosmo should be quiet!” I grumbled before walking off in some random direction.

“W-where are you going?” Fenn called out.

“I don’t know. We have a few hours to spare.”

“…We never finished our drinks.”

I stopped in my tracks.

…Oh. I suppose we should do that first.

Ugh. Fine. The three of us walked back into the saloon and waited for those remaining hours to pass. It wouldn’t be long before this all comes to head…

And when it does, perhaps I’d finally get some answers? Either way, I wasn’t giving up.

Fenn and Cosmo needed me.

…And I needed them.

---