Chapter 5 – Day 2, Part 2: Lavender

Chapter 5 – Day 2, Part 2: Lavender

Figy Forest: 1st Floor

“Ugh…”

The first thing I noticed was that I was on the ground, hugging the dirt. The second thing I noticed was Fenn standing on all fours in front of my face. He looked concerned. Or maybe he was confused? I wasn’t sure.

My recent memories replayed in my head. I ran through it all with gritted teeth. We…left Kebia…ended up in Nanab…then entered Figy Forest. That last one felt especially distant, like it was a dream.

And as it turned out, that assessment was a lot more accurate than I thought.

“Are you…okay?” Fenn asked slowly.

I was definitely not okay; in fact, I felt awful. I made an effort to stand and nearly fell back onto the dirt, before Fenn caught and supported me. Incredibly disorientated, I didn’t say anything. I just shot Fenn a thankful but pained look before taking in my surroundings.

And what I saw made my jaw drop.

That darkness we entered before…it had to have been a portal to another world. That was the only explanation I could think of. Figy ‘Forest,’ if you could even call it one, bent the laws of nature and shifted the laws of physics in seemingly every way possible. Much like the entrance, the trees twisted unnaturally into themselves. They coiled around each other to create walls, their branches sharp like thorns and their roots connected. I couldn’t tell where any of them started or ended.

And those were just the trees actually within the dirt itself. Far above, broken branches, trunks, and roots hung in the sky. Wood lazily drifted in the air with no clear destination or direction. It was as if they were separated from the rest of the forest and had nowhere else to go. The universe didn’t know where those trees were even supposed to be.

Fenn and I were in a clearing, surrounded by the wall of trees on every side. Above us was a dark, purple sky, acting as a ceiling to the madness. Clouds coiled around a white light, though it wasn’t any moon I recognized. It looked like an all-seeing eye, staring down at us. Some of the clouds joined together to form an amalgamation of dark shapes, while others ended abruptly in a way that didn’t make any sense.

I looked down, and the ground wasn’t much different. The blades of the grass knotted together to create unwieldy abstract art. Meanwhile, the dirt was segmented into tiles. I saw swirls and squares and other shapes that had no place being in nature.

“What…what is this?” I whispered hoarsely. The air was cool and the wind brushed my fur lightly, but there was something about the wind that made me shiver, and occasionally I felt the wind passing right through me. From my whiskers, to my skin, to my muscles, to my bones, and even to the organs within—I could feel it all.

“I-it’s always been like this,” Fenn spoke quietly. “I’ve heard most other dungeons are similar. I don’t know wh-“

It was all too…overwhelming. “Blegh…”

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. All of it rushed into me at once and I vomited my breakfast into the dirt.

Fenn was at my side quickly and stroked my back while I sat down. “Have you n-never been in a mystery dungeon before, Oswald?” Fenn asked. “I-I remember having the same reaction the first time I came here…”

My simple answer was “No.” Even if I couldn’t remember what my past life was like, I knew for a fact that I had never seen anything like this. I had never felt anything like it either.

I stood up again with little trouble this time. The bile on my tongue made me wince, and I spit the rest of it out the best I could. I didn’t want to be here anymore. “…Let’s just get this over with,” I said rigidly.

Fenn nodded. “It’s only five floors. We should be able to find Clary…q-quickly.”

I recoiled. “Floors?”

“Y-yeah. Knowing how these places work, Clary should be on the last floor. The staircase changes its location every time I come here, b-but the forest isn’t that big and dad always told me to get to the last floor if I get stuck.”

STAIRCASES?! I can accept everything else going on here, but STAIRCASES? This is still a forest, right?

Fenn’s quills sparked out of his lower back slightly. “We should get moving. I-if we’re lucky we won’t have to deal with any ferals.”

The word ‘ferals’ worried me, but it confirmed a thought I had earlier. Not every pokemon in this world was civil. I considered that when I saw that the pokemon in Kebia ate meat, and I wondered if eating other pokemon was humane…or whatever word a pokemon would use. I hoped that I wouldn’t find the answer to that in this mystery dungeon.

The Quilava led the way again. I followed behind him quietly, occasionally fiddling with the scallops on my hips. It hadn’t really occurred to me up to this point, but apparently they were weapons? Could I use them to fight? Are they like…swords?

As we walked, I peeled one off and swung it around in the air, causing a faint whooshing sound to follow. It was honestly…kind of fun. I envisioned myself as a skilled samurai, capable of cutting down anybody in my path. Slice! Cleave! The woven grass at my feet stood no chance!

I didn’t really notice it at the time, but Fenn was probably looking back and watching as I was swinging the scallop around like an idiot. No doubt, I looked really stupid. He never said anything about it, though.

Eventually, he led me through a path in the trees to a corridor of sorts. The trees continued to form solid walls that I couldn’t hope to squeeze through. When the corridor ended, the trees fanned into a clearing at a ninety degree angle on both my left and my right. The clearing in front of us was exceptionally similar to the one from before.

The only real difference was the solid white marble staircase smack dab in the center. It ascended a few steps before being topped off with a swirling black portal resting stationary in the air.

I acknowledge the fact that I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but my jaw hit the floor for the second time today.

Fenn sighed in relief. “…Okay, good. We got lucky.”

I put my scallop back on my hip before saying, “Fenn, I have a question.”

He turned to me. “Hm? W-what is it?”

“How do we get out of this place?”

The Quilava looked at me in confusion for a second before remembering my ‘circumstances.’ “W-we either get to the end and the dungeon lets us out, we get knocked unconscious and we get kicked out, or we use an Escape Orb.” He smiled lightly. “Mystery dungeons are weird like that.”

…Got it. I have no idea what an ‘Escape Orb’ is, but I doubt that matters right now.

We walked up to the staircase and stared up at the portal. It was much like the darkness at the start of the dungeon. A shiver went down my spine as it made noises I couldn’t understand and it beckoned me with its eerie presence.

Fenn noticed. “D-do you…want to hold my paw so we don’t get separated?”

That comment made me freeze up. “What?” I said.

The fire type rubbed the back of his head and giggled sheepishly. “…In retrospect, we should’ve done that at the start. W-we were lucky that this floor was so small and I found you so fast. it’s…really easy to get separated in dungeons.”

I frowned. Luck sure is a big factor in this journey so far, huh? I sighed and held out my arm, trying my best to ignore the awkwardness of it all. Fenn understood the gesture and took his paw in mine.

It was soft. I wouldn’t have minded holding on for a while.

Without saying anything else, he led me up the stairs and into the portal. I closed my eyes, fully expecting a repeat of last time. And I was right; everything went black immediately. That was floor one.

Figy Forest: 2nd Floor

My vision returned to me soon after we stepped through the portal. Like the first time, we ended up in another clearing. The staircase was gone; Fenn and I simply materialized onto the next floor with no clear way back. This room was smaller than the last one, and I could see more than one path leading out.

Fenn let go of my paw, much to my displeasure. “S-see?” He smiled awkwardly. “It’s not so bad.”

Looking up, the sky was the same: purple with the familiar swirling dark clouds. Somehow, we were in the same forest. I…didn’t really understand how that worked, but whatever. I walked to the center of the room to get a better look down the two paths available to us. I couldn’t see far down either.

“Which way?” I asked.

“I-it doesn’t really matter,” Fenn said. “Either the staircase is down one of these paths or it isn’t. There’s no way to tell unless we look.”

Well, that’s annoying. How could a forest possibly be this random? This dungeon trek could take less than ten minutes if we’re quick or hours if we’re unlucky. I considered which path for a moment before choosing the right hand path.

“That one.” I pointed with my right paw—my dominant paw.

Fenn nodded wordlessly and led the way. I followed.

Now, we were in another clearing—this one larger than the last. Walking farther in, I looked all around me, and quickly noticed that there was no path in the trees aside from the one we just came out of. Just more dirt and grass. “…Dead end,” Fenn voiced. “We’ll have to head back.”

Mildly disappointed, I turned back to the path we just came down. I stopped when I saw something sparkle in my periphery. Unsure of what to expect, I asked Fenn if he saw it. “Hey, Fenn, what’s that?”

Fenn followed my eyes and saw the sparkle as well. “Oh!” he exclaimed softly. “G-good eye.” He padded up to the sparkle and picked up a small item.

“What is it?” I wondered, peering over his shoulder.

“A…seed,” he said.

“A seed?”

Fenn held the item in his paw and brought it up to my face. It was a small, oval shaped doodad, colored green, white, and yellow. “I-it’s a Heal Seed.” Fenn narrowed his eyes. “…I think. I’ve never actually seen them in person. Apparently, they’re able to cure any status ailment.”

“Wait, really?” I said. “That sounds helpful.”

The Quilava shrugged. “Not…really. We probably won’t get the chance to use it here. D-doesn’t sell for that much either.”

Sell, huh? And we just found it on the ground randomly? “How did it even get here?” I asked.

After shrugging a second time, Fenn said, “No idea. Items like this tend to show up in mystery dungeons at random.” He held out his paw. “H-here…you wanna hold it?”

“Sure, I guess?” I took it out of his paw and rolled the tiny thing in my fingers. It was smooth, though its layers jutted out like scales. What an interesting little object. Fenn led the way back down the path while I twirled the seed in one paw and caressed the scallop on my hip with the other.

Wandering down the left hand path was uneventful until we made it halfway through. The fur on the back of my neck stood on end as I heard chittering all around me. I would turn to see what it was and be met with nothing but trees. Then I would hear the same sound behind me, turn around, and nothing would be there. And then there was a rustling in the leaves further ahead that caused me to jump.

“Looks like we’ll have to deal with some ferals after all,” Fenn stated more confidently than usual.

“You seem awfully calm about this, Fenn,” I said.

He shot me an irritated look, as if he were telling me to be quiet with his eyes.

Alright, nevermind then. I didn’t say much else as we tip-toed into the next chamber.

Once again, we were in yet another clearing. However, this time the sky was obscured by thousands of winding, prickly vines. The wall of trees might’ve been as tall as before, but their trunks were twice as long now. They curved above, casting an oppressive swath of shadow on us and the dirt. I could barely see the purple sky behind it.

Then, a branch suddenly moved. A figure sped through the overgrowth faster than I could follow. I backed up into Fenn, and he circled around me as he scanned the area.

“Fenn…” I whined quietly.

“Shh!”

That shut me up. I stood in place frantically searching for movement. One moment, I would catch something flying through the trees just out of sight. And in another, the creature would break a branch above me, sending it landing to my feet. Fenn didn’t seem the least bit fazed, unlike me.

I froze in my spot, trying to find solace in Fenn’s calm demeanor. He turned slowly, peering at the trees around us until his eyes rested on mine. From the way they shined, I wouldn’t have thought this was the same timid Quilava I met just a day before.

Then his eyes widened. “BEHIND YOU!” he yelled.

I barely had time to react before something larger than me rammed into my back, sending me careening into the grass. I rolled onto my back, and the wind was sucked out of my lungs. Standing above me was a hellish creature. Piercing, blood red eyes. Harsh, angular and green chitinous skin. And two sharp, deadly blades for arms.

Both of which were currently falling like guillotines down on my prone body.

Yep, looks like I’m dead. My body locked up and I closed my ears in fear of what would come next. But instead of feeling pain, I heard a loud thud on both sides of my skull. I cracked open one eye to see my own blurry reflection. The scythes stabbed into the ground on both sides of my head, and it was so close that I could swear that my whiskers were shorter now.

The scythes were forcibly lifted from the dirt. The Scyther, with its eyes deranged and bloodshot, roared a shrill sound as it brought its scythes up to slice once again. This time it wouldn’t miss. I was still too stunned to move.

“HEY!” A voice called out from somewhere nearby. The Scyther darted its head to its source-

“GYAAAAAHH!”

The feral’s head was engulfed in flames.

It let out an ungodly screech and rolled off of me, trying its best to put out the flames in the dirt.

It nearly did, but then the flames assaulted it for a second time.

The Scyther squirmed more, its efforts more urgent, its screams louder. Its scythes swung wildly in the air. The flames did not falter, however.

Soon after, the fire engulfed it a third time. This time, the feral did not stand back up. Its wailing and flailing slowed until it finally stopped. As I sat up to view the carnage, the fearsome creature from before was now a mere charred corpse. Any semblance that it was once a fearsome bug of prey was gone.

It was dead.

“Good god…” I whispered.

“O-Oswald!” Fenn called as he approached. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. I’m…fine. Um-“

“What was that about!”

My eyes snapped to him in confusion. “What-“

“You didn’t fight back!” He threw his arms up in the air. “Th-that Scyther almost killed you and you just…layed there!”

I lifted myself off the ground before dusting myself off. “…Well, I’m sorry Fenn. It caught me off guard. What did you expect me to do?”

“Hit it with water!” he exclaimed. His eyes widened in disbelief and frustration. The fire on his back was at full ignition. “Even a newborn knows not to just SIT THERE and get skewered!” His eyes narrowed and his arms fell to his side. “First, you say you’re clueless about mystery dungeons, th-then you enter one like it’s your first time, and now THIS? Y-you shouldn’t be causing problems like this!”

I opened my mouth as if to say something and then closed it just as fast. Fenn’s angry expression gnawed at me in a way that I knew I deserved, and yet I didn’t want to argue with him. If I soured our relationship like this then what was the point of trying?

But I can’t tell him why! Anemone will kill me!

Fenn’s gaze bored into me. I looked away, biting my lip. I had to tell him something because he deserved that much.

I’ll just…tell him a half truth. My amnesia is fair game, I think. I just won’t tell him about my humanity. Okay…

“…Fenn, I have something to tell you.”

He crossed his arms and glared at me but kept silent to listen, his fire dimming slightly.

“You’re…ha…not gonna believe this, but…” I twirled the seed in my paw idly. “I actually…just woke up yesterday.”

Fenn raised an eyebrow, the flames on his head rising higher. “What?”

“I woke up in a flowerfield outside Kebia yesterday,” I explained. “I couldn’t remember anything besides my name. Team Phlox found me and brought me back to the castle. Anemone…took pity on me and gave me a job and my own room.”

That’s two lies. Hopefully they don’t come back to haunt me later.

The Quilava stared into my eyes for what felt like hours. Though eventually, his expression gradually softened. “You…you’re not lying.” His voice returned to its normal soft tone. The fire slowly smoldered to tiny embers.

I internally sighed in relief. “No, I’m not.”

“And…y-you can really only remember your name?” he asked.

“…Yes.”

No. I hate lying.

Fenn let his arms fall to his sides before looking down at the dirt in thought. After a moment, he looked back at me, the previous confidence and shining calmness replaced with understanding and sympathy. “Th-that does explain a lot…okay. I believe you.” The fire was gone.

I sighed again, this time outwardly. “Thank you, Fenn.”

He smiled warmly and turned to the path on the opposite side of the room. “Stay behind me…I can get us both through this easily.”

I nodded and followed behind him. The next staircase was one room over. There was another path behind it, but Fenn ignored it.

I took his paw in mine and we stepped into the portal once again.

Figy Forest: 5th Floor

The next two floors passed by without much hassle. We came across a few more unassuming bug types along the way, all of which Fenn burned to a crisp in an instant. One Swadloon was even asleep in the middle of the path we were walking down.

Fenn didn’t hesitate. We ended up having to step around its limp and charred corpse.

Eventually, we found ourselves on the fifth floor. We materialized into a dark and foreboding chamber much like the one we fought the Scyther in. I didn’t even stumble this time; I was starting to get used to this whole mystery dungeon thing.

Unlike the second floor, though, the air was completely different.

There was no wind. Instead, there was a distant humming. The trees around us creaked and groaned, and I could hear that moaning that came from the dark portals on top of the staircases. It was louder here, as if whatever was making the sound was with us somewhere deep in the overgrowth.

My nose picked up the smell of something foul. It was so strong that it was giving me a headache.

In the center of the chamber was a small creature. Smaller than both Fenn and I. It was a pokemon curled up in a ball, it’s back the same blue as Fenn’s and its underside the same tan color as well.

“Clary!” Fenn dashed to the little Cyndaquil’s side. He shook her shoulders with a paw. “Clary, we’re here to rescue you!”

She fidgeted in her unconsciousness. “Ngh…five more minutes.” Her voice was squeaky and quiet, showing her age. She wasn’t even aware that she was stuck at the bottom of a deadly forest dungeon, was she?

Fenn sighed. “Well, at least she’s not hurt,” he said. “We might have to carry her ba-“

A loud creaking interrupted Fenn. He spun on his heels and guarded Clary while I rushed to her other, unguarded side. Tremors shook the surrounding foliage. Stray branches fell from above and some trees shifted in place. I kept my eyes peeled, but I couldn’t see any unusual movement. Despite this, Fenn and I must’ve shared the same thought: we weren’t alone here.

This continued for a while, and Clary hardly stirred. Eventually, Fenn got impatient. His back ignited into a blazing inferno. He threw intense orbs of flame into the surrounding trees, causing them to catch fire and burst into a red hot display of scorching flames. They all seemed to burn, but none fell.

However, when Fenn sent a stray fire orb into an unassuming tree, something strange happened.

Fenn missed. The tree had dodged the attack.

It skittered across the dirt on its roots, sprouting two large arms from its trunk. The center of its trunk split and fractured, revealing a ghostly black interior. An intense singular red eye appeared on its face.

It was clear to me at this point that this was no tree, it was a pokemon.

The forest itself was attacking us.

“Oswald, protect Clary!” Fenn immediately sprung into action, hurling burst after burst of flame at the Trevenant. The ghastly plant would dodge each one, even swatting some away with a fist as it approached.

Fenn kept on his toes, never staying in one spot long. He tried to shake up his tactics after a bit. He would hurl a flame burst at where he would expect the Trevenant would be, but the feral would change his course at the last moment each time. Fenn tried setting the surrounding grass on fire, and the Tree would jump over it.

Meanwhile, I stood in awe at the display. Fenn was relentless, but the Trevenant was incredibly agile. The feral was losing ground, however. It stepped in the flames and panicked at one point, and Fenn managed to hit it. The flame ignited on the ghost tree’s exterior. And Fenn, surprised that he landed a hit and fully expecting the thing to stop, halted in his assault.

The Trevenant took the opportunity to punch Fenn and send him flying.

“FENN!” I shouted.

The tree then turned to me. I barely had time to jump out of the way when the tree’s fist punched the ground I was just standing on, flinging stray dirt into the air.

I caught my bearings and stood as fast as I could, fully expecting another strike. The only issue was that the Trevenant wasn’t anywhere near me.

Rather, it was standing directly over a still unconscious Clary.

It lifted a fist to strike.

“NO!” I instinctively threw the seed I was holding at the feral, and it burst on the thing’s bark. The flames on its shoulder were snuffed out and a green aura encased the tree.

The Trevenant stopped mid swing, thoroughly confused-

-And then it caught fire.

It screamed. Soon after, another burst of flame caught its bark. And then one more for good measure. It didn’t stop screaming even as a steady stream of fire incinerated it. It flailed hopelessly for a few moments, practically morphing into a living bonfire in front of my very eyes.

Eventually, it stopped; the Trevenant was dead. Now only burnt wood remained.

Fenn looked down at the thing with a harsh expression, his quills white with heat.

I coughed. The smoke was encasing the arena and was making it hard to breathe. Fenn’s attention snapped to me and he rushed over, his flames quickly dying out. “Come on!” he yelled over the sounds of crackling flame. “I’ll grab Clary! Let’s get out of here!”

He rushed to the little Cyndaquil and picked her up before throwing her onto his back. I followed behind him to a clearing in the wall of trees, trying not to inhale any of the surrounding soot. We dashed through the exit and into a screen of darkness.

My vision went dark once again. We had managed to escape Figy Forest.

---

My senses returned to me shortly after. The sun steadily falling over the horizon was the first thing I saw when we materialized in front of the forest entrance. The sky was back to its normal bluish hue, and the clouds were white and fluffy again.

I let out a sigh of relief.

From behind, I heard the familiar creaking and moaning that would protrude from the darkness. I turned to it, its eyeless gaze beckoning me once more, even stronger than before. I swore…I might’ve heard…a voice…?

No. I quickly shook my head and padded over to Fenn as he was placing Clary on the ground. The further I get from this place, the better.

Fenn watched me as I approached, a friendly smile on his face. “G-good thing we made it out when we did, huh?” he asked. I opened my mouth to respond before Fenn’s now conscious sister woke from her slumber.

“H-huh? What happened? Where am I?” She lifted her face up to look at me then Fenn. Her confusion turned to happiness. “Fenn! What are you doing here?”

“Saving YOU, Clary,” responded Fenn, his voice stern but suppressed. “Didn’t dad tell you to stay away from Figy Forest? You could’ve gotten hurt!”

“I…I thought it would be fun,” she whimpered. “But it was all weird! And I got lost and couldn’t find my way out! Then…then,” she sniffled, “I got hungry and took a nap.”

Hungry, I thought. I sure am hungry now that I think about it. When did that happen?

“Clary…why are you even…?”

“Dad…dad always said you would go there all the time! Why do you get to have all the fun?”

Wait, what? Didn’t he say…?

When I turned to look at Fenn, his eyes went wide as he looked away. “…Let’s…just get you home, Clary. Mom and dad will know what to do with you…”

“O…okay, Fenn,” she sniffled.

Fenn met my eyes right then. There was a…pleading nature to them that I couldn’t decipher. He seemed as though he wanted to say something, but instead he lowered his head and led the way to our next destination.

What is your deal, Fenn?

The Quilava was silent for the rest of the walk. Clary wasn’t. It was as though she hadn’t just been at the brink of tears just a moment ago.

“Are you Fenn’s friend?” she asked me, her tone much more jolly than before.

“Uh…yes…you could say that,” I responded slowly.

She grinned. “I bet you get to go on so many cool adventures!” Then she groaned. “School is so boring…all you ever do is study. I wanna be just like Fenn when I grow up!”

I noticed Fenn physically flinch, but he didn’t turn from the road in front of him.

I stared at him with an eyebrow raised as I spoke. “…Yeah, you keep working towards that goal. You’ll get there before you know it.”

“Yay!” she cheered. “My classmates are gonna be so jealous…!”

Soon enough, the three of us stopped in front of a modest wooden cabin not too different from every other cabin in Nanab town. There were carpentry tools laid about and stray planks of wood all over the lawn. The cabin looked new in some places, like it was just recently renovated. Fenn sighed next to me. “W-would it kill him to invest in some sturdier material…?” he whispered under his breath.

Clary didn’t wait to burst into the cabin. “Mom! Dad! I’m home.” Other voices bellowed from inside.

Fenn didn’t follow her immediately; he just kept his wistful gaze on the open door.

I nudged his elbow to get his attention, causing him to jump.

“Huh? What?” He looked at me and then the house. “Oh…right. Guess we should…head inside?” Fenn smiled awkwardly.

I frowned and led the way in. He followed despondently.

The cabin’s interior was just as unassuming as its exterior. It was mostly empty aside from the lone table and a few chairs. I noted that there was a lack of any knick knacks or decorations that would’ve given the place any character. Maybe that was just a cultural thing? Like with the castle?

But anyway, Clary was nearby, hugging a Typhlosion that was busy kissing the child’s forehead.

“Oh! I’m so glad you’re okay!” the Typhlosion cried. “Warn me before you go on anymore adventures, okay?”

“I know, mommy,” Clary said in a slightly annoyed tone. “It wasn’t that fun anyways…”

“Fenrir!” A booming, masculine voice called from the other side of the room. Both I, and presumably Fenn from the looks of it, nearly jumped out of our skin. “You came back! And you got the job done! Good work, son!” A tall and burly Typhlosion stomped over to Fenn and hugged him.

Fenn looked uncomfortable being in his embrace.

“Y-yep! Just…doing my job, dad.” Fenn sounded out of breath after being lifted into a hug by a pokemon three times his size. The Quilava retrained a cough as his dad lowered him to the ground. Then, the Typhlosion turned to me.

“And you must be his fellow guild mate!” I braced myself for the grappling that was bound to come, but, to my surprise, the big Typhlosion went for the cordial handshake instead. “It overjoys me to see my young warrior find his place in the world!”

Warrior, huh? I tried to catch Fenn’s eye, but he was too busy staring at the floorboards, looking absolutely miserable.

“And a reward for a job well done!” Fenn’s mom said. “A hundred poké, just as promised!” She bent down to Fenn’s eye level and handed him a small sack. She then whispered into his ear loud enough for me to hear, “don’t tell your father this, but I threw in a little extra.” She winked and kissed him on the cheek before standing back up.

“Th-thanks mom,” Fenn laughed awkwardly. “Just doing my best! Heheheh…”

“As you should,” Fenn’s dad said proudly. “I wouldn’t expect any different! Now, for a job well done, you should join us for dinner, Fenrir!”

“NO!” Fenn blurted out.

His parents looked confused.

“I-I mean…we can’t,” he added. “We have to get back to the castle and report our work.” He looked at me, and that pleading expression from before was present on his face again. “Isn’t that right…Oswald?”

I stared at him for a few moments, just trying to understand what was going on here. His awkward smile wavered with each passing second. So, I looked at his parents, to see what they were thinking. His dad’s face held a stern expression, as though he was expecting my words to impress him somehow. His mom…seemed almost worried. I could see how Fenn and her were related; they shared the same longing in their eyes. Clary didn’t seem to care, what with her being too busy engorging on some berries at the table.

Quite the family.

“…Yeah,” I eventually said. “We’ve gotta turn in the job and then I have some things to take care of back in Kebia. Sorry we can’t stick around.”

Fenn seemed to loosen up finally. Meanwhile, his dad seemed ready to burn the whole house to the ground. His back ignited for a moment, lighting up nearly the entire cabin with its bright light, before dying down. “Ah…I see,” he said. “That is a shame.” He turned to Fenn. “You should come visit sometime! You can bring your friend…what was it?”

“Oswald,” I said, my paw resting on one of my scallops.

“Oswald! It is wonderful to finally meet you!”

Finally?

“O-okay, we should be going. Come on, Oswald!” Fenn grabbed my paw and led me to the door. I looked back on our way out and caught Fenn’s dad’s eyes again. Any and all harshness was gone. Now all that remained…was pride.

Once outside, Fenn let go of my paw and stumbled onto the lawn. He breathed heavily, stroking his arm frantically.

I crossed my arms and frowned. “Fenrir?”

“Don’t call me that!” Fenn spun around, still panting heavily. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he could start crying at any moment. “Please…just don’t.”

“I’m…sorry,” I said. “Can you explain what’s going on, or should I just let it go? Cause I will if you want me to. Really, I will.”

Fenn’s breathing eventually slowed. His eyes drifted down, slowly changing from a look of fear and anger to just sadness. “N-no…I’ll tell you.”

He gestured for me to follow. “B-but…not here. I don’t want anybody else to hear this.”

I nodded and did what he said.

Soon, we found ourselves back in the grassy plains outside of Nanab. Fenn stared up at the setting sun then looked back at me. He sighed, rubbed his arm shakily. “I…I haven’t…been telling you the whole truth so far.”

Shocking. But you know what? I’m not one to talk.

I listened intently. At least one of us was being honest.

“Th-the truth is…I came to Kebia to join the guild as an explorer. My parents think I actually am. I got in…b-but Anemone told me that I couldn’t do guild work because I…I would be a liability or something like that. She said that I couldn’t be an explorer as I was, but…I didn’t have to go home.” I could see tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes. “S-s-so…Calluna gave me that janitor job and…here we are!” He threw up his arms and smiled sadly. “Now you know.” His arms fell to his sides and his smile vanished.

I knew that that wasn’t the full story. The way his dad talked to him, how nervous he was at his house, how…efficient…he was in Figy Forest…there’s more going on here than he was letting on.

But that’s none of my business. Not yet at least. If Fenn wanted to tell me the rest at any point, he would. For now, I needed to cheer him up.

“Well, I think Anemone is wrong,” I said after some time.

“…What?”

“Fenn, I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re amazing! You burned those ferals in that forest like a pro. A liability? What does Anemone know? You’re not even close to being a liability, especially compared to me.”

I held out a paw. “So bear with me while I ask you again: let’s form a team.” I grinned wide. “Let’s prove Anemone wrong.”

He stared at my paw, wide eyed. “E-even…even after everything I said. You…”

“Yes,” I said confidently. “Let’s do it. Together.”

He seemed ready to cry, but instead wiped his eyes with an arm. He looked me straight in the eye and smiled warmly. “Okay,” Fenn whispered. “Let’s do it.” He took my paw in his and shook it.

I could already tell this partnership was going to go well.

On our way back to the castle, I stopped at a familiar spot. “Oh! Hey Fenn! I almost forgot!” I leaped through the grass until I was in front of the patch of lavender from before. “Let’s take a few back with us. I’m sure we can find a place for them back in my room.”

Fenn padded up to my side before running his paws over the flower’s petals. He picked a few and brought them up to his snout to sniff. His eyes then lit up. For the first time today, Fenn seemed genuinely happy.

---

We made it back to Kebia Castle just as the sun was starting to set. Crocus was at the front doors again, acting as the guard. He nodded at us and opened the doors to let us in.

Fenn and I managed to show up just as the work day was winding down. Only a couple other teams were ahead of us in line. Nobody took a spot behind us while we waited so after a few minutes, we were first in line.

“Last ones of the day,” sighed the Simipour behind the counter, a white piece of cloth around one of his arms. “Well, explorers, how did it…wait.” He squinted at me. “Are you the Dewott Lace was talking about earlier? Hey Lace!” A Leavanny, presumably Lace, turned her attention to the Simipour. She had a similar looking white piece of cloth wrapped around her neck.

“What is it?” she asked.

The Simipour pointed at me. “Is this the guy you were looking for?”

The Leavanny looked at me and her eyes lit up. “Oh yes, I believe so.” She leaned over the counter, a large grin on her face. “I saw him leave earlier today, and when I sent someone to find him, they couldn’t. I’m assuming you found someone…what was it? Oscar?”

“Oswald. And yes.” I extended an arm towards Fenn. “Me and Fenn want to start a team. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Splendid!” The Leavanny slapped her leaf appendages together. “We’ll get you set up right away. Ipo?” She looked over at the Simipour, Ipo.

Ipo jolted to attention. “You’ll need a name,” he said. “A team name. Preferably something short and easy to remember.”

A team name…I hadn’t considered that, but it made sense. Lilac and Dahlia both had names for their teams, why would we be any different? I wanted Fenn’s opinion first, though. “Hey, Fenn, got any ideas for names?”

“N-names?” Fenn looked down at the floor in thought. “I don’t know…I-I’ve never thought about it before. I have no idea.”

I studied Fenn’s face for a few moments. Admittedly, I had no idea either. There weren’t any phrases that I could think of that described us accurately. Not having memories before yesterday didn’t help either.

As I stared at Fenn in thought, something caught my eye: the flowers in his paws. He clutched them tenderly, as if they meant a lot to him. I then remembered our discussion before entering Figy Forest. Fenn said he loves lavender. What if…

“What about…Lavender?” I suggested.

Fenn’s eyes shot up to mine. “L-lavender?” he repeated. “I…I guess. I-I mean I like it. I like it a lot, actually.” He held the purple flowers in his paws to his chest. “As long as you’re okay with it…sure.”

I nodded and turned to look at the duo behind the counter. “Team Lavender.”

“Kinda girly, but okay- ow!”

Lace whacked the Simipour upside the head. “Oh shut up! I think it’s a wonderful name! Now, would you kindly get these two set up?”

Ipo grumbled something under his breath while rubbing his head and writing something down. “There. All set,” he said after a few moments. He handed the papers to Lace.

“Splendid!” Lace exclaimed. “If you two would follow me to your chambers, I can get your Quilava friend here set up as a resident.”

“A-actually,” Fenn interrupted. “There’s one more thing.”

“Oh?”

Fenn lifted a paw to his ear and pulled a folded piece of paper out from behind it, unfolding it in the process. I was surprised to see the paper untouched and still intact. “Oswald and I actually finished a job earlier.” He handed the unfolded paper to the Leavanny.

She scanned the parchment in delight. “Oh, how wonderful! Not even an adventurer for a day and you’re already saving pokemon. Good for you!”

Fenn beamed with pride.

“And I assume you have the reward with you?” I held up the sack. Fenn let me carry it after we picked the lavender. “Wonderful! Then I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you about the guild tax!”

“The what?” I questioned.

“Thirty percent,” Ipo said, watching from behind the counter, sounding bored.

“Th…thirty percent?” I questioned in shock. “That’s…that’s ridiculous!”

“Yes, I’m sorry to say that is the case,” Lace added. “It is a guild policy. Just one of the reasons why you must turn in the jobs you complete.” The Leavanny clapped her leaves together. “Thankfully, thirty percent of a hundred is thirty. Not much in the grand scheme of things. Best hand over the money now why we’re all here.”

I grimaced but didn’t argue. I handed the sack to Fenn since I still wasn’t familiar with the currency of this place. He fished out a few gold coins from the bag and handed the coins to Lace. She took them and dropped them onto the counter. “Let us be on our way. Ipo, please clean up, will you.”

Ipo groaned. “This job never gets any easier…”

---

Lace took us back to the room I was assigned. She got Fenn set up as an active resident by scanning his paw and Lace entered in a code somehow and…something else. I don’t know; I wasn’t paying much attention.

When she was done, Lace let us be. “Good luck!” she called. “I hope to see you soon!”

Fenn and I entered our room and set our belongings aside. Fenn set the sack of money on the desk and the flowers on the windowsill.

“Man, I’m hungry,” I said, leaning against the door. “Are you hungry, Fenn?”

“Y-yeah, a little,” Fenn laughed. “The cafeteria should be doing dinner by now. We can get something there.”

And so we did.

Fenn picked out a plate of pecha berries. I got a plate of those sweet blue berries I liked so much. We sat down at the same table that we ate at the last time we met here and got to talking a bit. “Thirty percent,” I said aloud while we ate. “What a ruthless steal. We earned that money!”

“It’s no big deal,” Fenn uttered. “I-I had to pay the same tax for my janitor duties. Everyone here has to pay it.” He took a bite out of a juicy pecha.

“I heard your mom say she threw in a little extra. How much was it?”

Fenn gulped as he finished his berry. “Fifty poké, I think.”

“Is that a lot?”

“…No.”

Figures.

“D-don’t worry about it,” Fenn quipped. “I’ve got some extra funds at my old sleeping spot. We can go get it after this.”

“How much?”

“Um…two thousand or so.”

“Is that a lot?”

Fenn shrugged. “It depends.”

Hm.

We both finished our dinner and left the cafeteria. Afterwards, we stopped by Fenn’s old room. Beds of varying shapes and sizes lined this huge open area, most of which seemed more appropriate for camping than a castle. The whole room read more as a mass infirmary than a normal sleeping space. Fenn’s old bed was sandwiched between two other beds that looked significantly worse for wear.

Fenn had to live here for two months. Poor guy…

After that, we made our final stop back at our current room. Fenn added together the money in both sacks, bringing our combined total to…something close to two thousand, still.

I looked at the single bed lined up against the wall and remembered how soft and comfortable sleeping in that bed felt.

I didn’t deserve it. Fenn did, however. He deserved it more than anyone else here. I even noticed him staring at it so he must’ve wanted it.

“You can have the bed, Fenn,” I said. “I’ll sleep on the straw beds on the floor.”

He looked at me in surprise. “N-no, I can’t do that to you, Oswald. It was your room first, don’t let me take it from you.”

I shook my head. “No, I insist. I’ll be fine.”

“Oswald please…it’s okay.” He pulled a straw bed to his feet and fell down into it. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

I picked up a straw bed and fell onto it as well. “I’m telling you right now: I refuse to sleep on that bed. You’ll just have to take it for yourself, Fenn.”

“W-well, then I guess we’re both sleeping on the floor because I also refuse to sleep on that bed.”

“Fine! If that’s how you’re going to be then I guess neither of us will get the bed!”

“Fine with me!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

And that was that. Somehow, Fenn and I ended up in a situation where there was a perfectly good bed available but neither of us wanted to use it.

How did I get to this point?

How did I manage to actually win that shy Quilava I met on the first day over in the end?

How did I end up being a Dewott in the first place?

I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, but they kept me awake in thought as I fell asleep for the night. Maybe tomorrow I would get some answers.

Or maybe not. I didn’t know. Guess I’d just have to wait and find out…

…

…

…this straw bed was making me itch. I wish I was sleeping on that other bed…

---