Threading the needle

Silence. Neither Mark nor Gren knew how to start the conversation. There was a lot to talk about, and yet nobody was able to speak. The silence was somewhat peaceful, it wasn’t awkward or overwhelming, it allowed him to simply stop and think.

“Mark… First of all, I want to say that I’m sorry. As Guildmaster, I should have followed you two. I should have made sure that you were safe and that nothing went wrong. But I failed you.”

Mark didn’t respond. He had heard Gren’s words clearly, but he couldn’t think about them. He wasn’t ready to look at them in the eyes either, the floor was a much calmer sight.

“Rose is…” They gulped. “…was; she was always oozing with confidence, to the point that some insecure teams felt ready to tackle anything after just a conversation with her.” They were attempting to hide their grief but, even though Mark wasn’t looking, he could tell by the tone of their voice that they were failing.

That was one of the reasons Mark wasn’t talking, he didn’t trust himself to be able to speak without breaking the moment a sound came out. It was easier to cope by focusing on not moving.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Mark. I’m certain that you were going to do it anyway, but…” They sighed. “Please, take care of Simon. He’s special, you know? In more ways than one. He was really lucky to have stumbled into Rose.”

“What do you mean he’s special?”

“It’s… probably better if he tells you himself. I may be the Guildmaster but I don’t want to interfere in something like this.”

That just made things more confusing. And it wasn’t like he needed more things to overthink.

“Seeing how late it is, I think it would be better if you went home. Don’t worry about Simon, he’ll be safe here.”

“And Rose?”

Gren took a deep breath before responding, this was difficult. “Her body is being conserved. Once Simon wakes up and is able to move around, we’ll have a funeral here.”

“Wait, here? What about her family?”

Mark was hit with a stare that screamed concern. “She… she didn’t tell you, did she?” He shook his head. “During one of the attacks to get Simon, Rose’s parents were targeted. They didn’t make it.”

‘Oh…’ Mark felt the guilt rush in. He shouldn’t have asked. Rose not only died protecting Simon, but she also lost her parents because of it. And Simon, poor guy must have been riddled with guilt, breaking the news to him won’t be easy.

Both of them stood in silence once more. But unlike last time, Mark was overwhelmed by it. He felt pressured by the room, by his seat, even by the Guildmaster.

“I-I’m gonna go.” He said, not even waiting for a response. He simply stood up and left the room, and eventually the building. It was already nighttime, and it took every fiber in his body to not fall to his knees and cry.

The way to the house was long. Not because of the distance, but because Mark couldn’t get himself to walk faster. Everything he was happy to have immediately vanished, just like that. Rose was dead, Simon was terribly injured, and now he was alone in a life that he didn’t even belong to. What was the point of being optimistic and thinking about the good things he was experiencing if all of them were going to be taken from him?

When he got home, the grief was even worse. He was now in a building that didn’t belong to him, the two owners out of commission, one of them forever. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything else but fall onto the ‘couch’ and pray that he would fall asleep soon.

But the tears he was holding had another idea.

The days passed.

Mark’s routine was simple. Get up, and go to the guild. He’d stay there basically all day, making Simon company, even if the latter wasn’t conscious for it. The only times he wasn’t next to the Squirtle were the times that he’d go to eat something. He’d encounter some other teams from time to time, approaching him to give their condolences. Most of the time, he couldn’t give a response, he was too busy crying at the memories. Today was one of those days.

He genuinely wanted to simply say ‘thanks’ to the two Pokémon in front of him, but he couldn’t. But as always, when he sobbed, the ones he was talking to didn’t leave, they understood his pain. The rabbit put one of her paws on his back, giving him some reassurance, but it just wasn’t enough to dull the pain.

What he wasn’t expecting was Lily of all people to come see what was happening. She made some signs to the other two.

“But Lily, we did nothing wrong! We were just trying to-” The blue dog spoke, a bit on the defensive, but she was still caring.

“Luka, don’t. He needs space, it’s okay.” The rabbit cut her out and turned to Lily. “We’ll leave, sorry.” And so they did, leaving Mark alone with the cook.

Mark was still crying, but Lily just stayed there, giving him time. Eventually, he managed to calm down a bit. Lily made her usual signs, but of course Mark couldn’t understand her.

“Lily, you… you know I can’t read sign language…” He cleaned his eyes between sniffles, he hated how much of a crybaby he felt like.

She stopped, she seemed like she was thinking about something, but then she closed her eyes.

“Can you hear me?”

It was a miracle that Mark didn’t fall back to the ground because of the shock that simple sentence gave him. He couldn’t tell where it came from, like it came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“Hey, don’t worry. It’s me, Lily.”

“How… how are you doing that?!”

“It’s a psychic-type thing. I can speak to people’s minds, but it takes a lot of effort, which usually means I can’t do anything else while speaking.”

“O-oh.” He recomposed himself. “Is that why you don’t use it often?”

“That’s right. And you know how I lost my voice?”

He stood still for a second. He never even considered that she might’ve had a voice to begin with, he just assumed that it was a thing from birth… whatever birth shenanigans Pokémon go through. He shook his head.

“Let’s just say the attack at the guild that you went through hasn’t been the first one, and as a member and staff of this organization, it is my duty to protect everyone I can.”

Mark started to put the pieces together. “You… you lost it because they attacked you?”

She nodded. “A very deep gash on my throat. It almost killed me, but Charlie sometimes makes miracles. Of course, not everything was repairable, the damage they did made me mute.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m not.” Mark wasn’t expecting that response. “Because as much pain as this did, I don’t regret it. I was protecting who I cared about. Which leads me back to your troubles. You know Rose wouldn’t want you to be like this. She sacrificed herself to save you and Simon, and I really don’t think she’d regret it.”

“But that’s the thing, she didn’t sacrifice herself. She was killed in front of me, she had no option… I would’ve died too if whatever that was didn’t happen…”

“Maybe she didn’t sacrifice herself this time, but from all the stories those two have told me during the years, she was ready to do anything to protect her brother. So as long as he’s alive, I’m sure she wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“Lily, I… Look, thank you for trying to reassure me. I really appreciate it. But I can’t in good conscience think of what I witnessed as a sacrifice. Because it’s not what it was, we were powerless, and she got killed. That’s all it was, a murder, and she didn’t deserve it.”

Lily sighed. “I get it. But the first part of what I said is still true, she wouldn’t want you to break down every time someone tries to help you. Simon needs you now more than ever, and I believe you’re going to be a good support for him.”

Mark sighed, he didn’t know what to think or feel anymore. All of this just felt like a nightmare that he couldn’t get out of. Yes, he hadn’t known Rose for that long, but considering what he remembered about his life, she was present in almost all of it. He had the right to grief and mourn.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

They both turned to see a familiar Drowzee approaching the table.

“How is he?”

“Better. His shell is regenerating properly and the incision on his stomach is close to being completely healed. But I came here to give you some more important news about him.”

“Hm?”

…

“He has woken up.”