The night of Chapter 10, after the ball
Puer and Tolin sat quietly within their room. It was a sparse, simple room that had been allotted to them by the Guild, with only the simplest of furniture put in. A lone "bed" made of straw sat in one corner adjacent to the door, with a small pile of sand spread about in the adjacent corner. A lone eevee, bruised and battered lay sound asleep on the bed.
Neither of the pair spoke a word. Tolin, bereft of his bed, lay slanted against the wall. Puer was comfortable on his slight layer of sand, which conformed to his body quite easily.
For what seemed to be hours this silence passed. For Tolin, this was comfortable and quiet; a much needed rest. For Puer, however, it was much more anxiety ridden. Still confused by the aftermath of the ball, he was rapidly reevaluating his view on the society that seemed so roughly hewn around him.
Fighting, combat, even murder... None were very new concepts to the Rhyhorn. Having fought all his life for enjoyment, sport and pride, he was well acquainted with it.
However, what had happened at the ball was something different. That was not fighting, but it could not be called a simple murder, either. It was an extermination... An attempt to rend the lives from an entire society. For someone who had lead such a simplistic life, it was a difficult thing to face. All he had known in his days was a sort of mean-spirited dislike... Nothing that had come near the level of malevolence that the Gallades had so freely and happily exhibited.
Standing still for the entire ball, he tried his best to look scary, to avoid fighting. His family and friends would laugh at him, if they had seen him acting like a "coward" as he was. Doing nothing but protecting a stray, whiney child as his friends and comrades fought to the death.
And to the death it often was. In horror, he watched as countless citizens were struck down. As some, too weak to fight, ran into the fire desperately hoping to escape. He watched, too, in horror as countless enemies fell. Although only brief glimpses were to be had, the experience had left him terrified. He was afraid, not just of the evils now so apparent in the world, but afraid of Tolin. Only slight flashes could be seen through the crowd, but when he came back bearing the Eevee it was clear what had happened.
Both blades had been soaked with the blood of enemies. Not merely the tips and edges as one would see if he was slashing. Covered from edge to edge, such could only happen if he stabbed. Repeatedly, often, quickly, mercilessly, horribly... Against the Gallades of such a thin frame, there was no doubt that at least one saw that deadly, razor scythe piercing from his back, into his chest.
Puer opened his mouth for a moment, wondering what to say, before he clamped it shut.
"
Are..." He trailed off for a moment, unsure of how to continue. One of Tolin's eyes flitted open, looking at his companion.
Compelled to continue by the gaze, he did. "
Are there many pokemon like that?"
"
Some. Usually, the groups are quite small. A few people out there prefer to stomp out those above them, rather than push ahead of them."
"
I see... That's... good, then."
The silence quickly resumed, if only to be broken moments later.
A slow, dull knocking came from the door.
Getting up and shaking the small amounts of sand loose from his joints, Puer pushed down on a rather handy switch located by the door. It had been especially designed for very small pokemon, or those that lacked the capability to open/close doors normally.
A rather large, bulky looking Pelliper was on the other side of the door. Looking tired, he was leaning against a box far too large for him to carry.
"
Does a uh... Tolin? Live at this residence?"
"
Yeah, he's just in here."
No doubt roused by the visitor, Tolin stirred slightly. "
Come in, if you're going to."
"
Of course, of course. I have a package here for you. Hey, big buddy, would you mind helping me push this in?"
Shoving the crate inside, the Pelipper extracted a sheet and sealed pouch of ink from his beak.
"
Please sign."
Tolin dipped into the ink with the tip of his scythe, and began eloquoently writing out his name.
"
Wow, what a dump you guys are in."
They chose to ignore that comment. "
There, all done."
"
Alright, it's all yours then."
The Pelipper made his way out of the room, tapping on the switch as he left.
Tolin went back to the wall, slanting himself against it, muttering "
I'll open it later."
"
Shouldn't we open it now?"
"
Go ahead if you want to, just be careful with the contents."
"
Of course!" Examining the crate carefully, Puer stuck the edge with his horn. Punching a hole near the corner of the crate, he used it to get a hold with his teeth. Ripping the corner off, then doing the same to the other, the crate fell to pieces quickly.
Puer's mind came to a standstill, trying to make sense of what was in front of him.
"
T...Tolin, come take a look at this."
"
Why? What is it."
It's an egg."
This immediately roused Tolin from his relaxation, bringing his attention to the box quickly.
The egg was of a sharp, green colour, packed in with a soft downy material made to protect it.
A small letter floated out of the remains of the crate. Very formal, red lettering was apparent on the side with golden trim on the edges. Tolin immediately snatched up the letter, cutting the envelope to shreds as if in a fervor and pinning it against the wall to read it.
Much too high for the Rhyhorn to actually read, Puer could only wait for Tolin to tell him what was written.
Much to the shock of Puer, the letter garnered a single tear from his partner.
Tolin immediately destroyed the letter, shredding it beyond recognition.
Walking over to the egg, Tolin stuck his scythe in, forcibly creating a small hole in the side.
"
Wha-- What are you doing!? You'll kill it!"
Much to Puer's surprise, however, a single red eye peered visibly through the hole, looking outwards from the egg. Shortly after, two vines slid out from the hole, pushing the egg apart.
"
Bulba~saur!"
It immediately launched itself out of it's now opened egg, latching onto Tolin by wrapping his vines around him.
"
Hello there, little friend."
His balance tipping precariously, Tolin slowly lifted himself from the ground.
Seemingly content with his new resting place, the bulbasaur easily fell asleep, still clinging to Tolin.
Slowly wresting the small creature from him, he placed it to rest near the still unconscious eevee.
"
We'll deal with this in the morning. Let's rest for now, we both need it."
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Awaking with a start, the Eevee carefully kept his eyes closed. A horrible headache worked it's way into his awareness, a blunt, jarring pain; probably from getting struck down.
It
seemed as if he had been rescued by an elderly Scyther. There were only a few in the entirety of the kingdom, as they rarely left their clans.
Those that did often left after their stay, finding the power structure of a monarchy to be obstructive. The limitations placed on normal society were extreme to them.
The teams were often the sole refuge, but the limitation on taking missions often left them bereft of the ability to deal with their instinctual urges.
And such it was that only few stayed, all of them becoming significant in their own right. A proud, noble and above all else
powerful species, they often made a name for themselves in rescue teams. Always honouring the tenants of the guild and being upright with their clients, they attained a reputation as straightforward and trustworthy individuals, if often somewhat curt.
Tolin had been one of those. He was a strong and noble man who abhored evil and underhanded tactics. His reputation had been exceptional, to the point that he had known Jupiter and his family. Although they had not been close friends, there had been a bond as fellow creatures that had a strong sense of realism.
He eventually retired, often citing injury as a reason... The end of one of his scythe's had been broken off. Rumours were abound in closed circles, however, that there was a different reason.
Listening carefully to the things around him, he heard nothing but deep, quiet breathing. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked around. A bulbasaur was sleeping beside him. A rhyhorn was sleeping directly across from him in a pile of sand, and a Scyther was resting in the corner opposite his.
Hopping ever so lightly off of the straw bed he laid on, he stepped lightly towards the scyther. Examining both scythes in turn, one was broken at the end. It was probably him... He'd have to ask.
He grunted as a pulse of blood brought his headache back to life in force, a wedge of pain shooting through the back of his head.
Tomorrow, then, perhaps. Maybe once he was able to think more clearly.
For now, he would sleep.
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Tolin was the first one to awaken from his slumber. His back stiff, he got up and stretched out. "
We'll definitely need a new bed, soon."
Everyone else was still asleep. All three seemed contentedly slumbering, resting comfortably. Popping out of the room for a quick meal, he returned to the quietly
stirring eevee.
"
How are you?" He spoke in a quiet voice, trying not to awaken the newborn creature if at all possible.
"
I'm... fine. I still have a bit of a headache, but I'm fine."
"
That's good, then. It didn't seem like you were injured so seriously, so I felt a hospital an unnecessary affair."
"
No, I'm fine, thank you. More importantly, you are...?"
"
Tolin. I am Tolin. And who are you, if I may?"
"
I am Albus, son of Pluto." Aaah, that explained it. He'd been wondering how the curious little eevee had known of his history.
"
Well, that explains much. Visiting your cousin, I assume?"
"
No, I came here to join a strong team. I hope to... redeem, for lack of a better term, my name. I would, if possible, like to join yours. This may be our first meeting, but I have known of you for quite some time. A long time ago I looked into the relationships of my family, reading on significant people and figures. Although only briefly, you had a strong mention. I looked into your history, reading about your allies and your accompl..." His voice trailed off as a look of frustration marred the otherwise stoic features of the Scyther.
"
No. Form your own team."
It shocked the eevee. To be so flatly rejected was not something he had expected.
"
B...but you know who I am! You know who my fami--"
"
Yes, I know what you are. I refuse to take on someone I have no reason to trust. You've lived a sheltered life and you would be a horrible liability."
"
Then what can I do? I want to join your team. It's the only way I can beat my brother."
"
Prove yourself to me on your own accord. I won't tell you some magical solution to earn my trust."
"
Give him a break. He's trying to prove himself, he's not asking for something obscene." Puer roused himself from his slumber, shaking the sand loose from his joints.
"
Fine, then. You choose something, we'll do it. If I like you, you can stay."
"
Alright, I have an idea. Meet me at the Bulletin Board in an hour."
"
Fine."
Tolin grabbed the small bulbasaur, picking him up. Seemingly undisturbed by this fact, he simply wrapped his vines around Tolin, dosing contentedly.
"
We'll drop this one off at a daycare. I'll watch over you, but I won't watch over both of you."
"
Alright."
Puer headed towards the door, holding down the button. Albus left first, with Tolin and Puer heading in a seperate direction.
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