Hunter's Moon

"Poison sweat?" She tilted her head. "I haven't, but that sounded pretty cool considering how vicious those monsters can become. Eye pain is an ultimate pain in the ass." The umbreon considered this.

From the shadows of the forest, Uxie slowly revealed themselves, their red gems glowing brightly against the surroundings. They turned their head down to face the umbreon. "... You have a sibling, so I've heard." They floated down to meet Mune's height. "I also have siblings of my own," they continued, "I am curious, enlighten me about yours..."

She rolled her eyes. If i'm getting killed tonight, I'm blaming the uxie's stupid gem, she thought. At this point she doesn't bother anymore. Are legends that careless?

"My sibling. They're way older than me, so they took over my mom's role. You could say something about being a 'parental' figure, but I find it oddly weird to see them that way." Mune scoffed.

She approaches the Umbreon with a sad face as she is too sad to greet her.

"This forest is definitely not great compare to ours... Sure it's dark, but it's much worse...

I see your grief in your face. Did...someone die here? There's no way..." she becomes teary.

"No way?" Mune furrowed her nonexistent brows. That statement was very bizarre and out of place for her. "Lady, are you delusional? Can't you tell from how deranged this place is?" Mune gritted her teeth for a second. The silence of that night felt a lot emptier. It wasn't supposed to feel this way, but it has to, for everyone's sake. "But.."

The weird Absol appeared.

'Forest... Land of Damned?'

'Sound worrying.'

'Why it called that?'

'Something very bad happen here?'

The umbreon held her breath. Great Arc. Thinking about it made her sick, but at the same time she couldn't get rid of these curious yet pesky visitors she had been stumbled across every damn minute. They expect an answer, then an answer she unfortunately had to give.

"Yes." A pause. "Very much like that. Land of the damned. That's... what everyone called this place. Because..."

"It really is.. damned. A mon went missing at first. As the others tried to rescue it, they followed the same fate. Some said they saw monsters. Some mindless beasts that prey in the night. Sickening.. Then most just gave up and.. things got worse.. but some that still had hopes-"

Mune gazed down. Her eyes started to get hazy, more unfocused. It felt burning. Stinging. No. She shouldn't think about it now..

"I.. wish all of them gave up..."

The elderly rai' nods to the umbreon in greeting, stopping a respectable distance from her.

"Hmm, I understand the assumptions that can come with being associated with dark-type. Much of my family are aquatic Darkrai- we live in underwater caves, often in the deep sea. I've lived without sunlight for years."

She pauses and analyzes the umbreon.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But, do you have any friends or family to rely on? It does make survival more, sustainable, in difficult environments."

"Family? I suppose I do have an older sibling. They're waiting for me back at our den."

Mune couldn't help but wondering what kind of pokemon they introduced themself as. Aquatic? Darkrai? That's something bizzare in her ears. Again, must be from a place far far a way. A visitor of this forest. At least, she was relieved to have someone that acknowleged such assumptions exist.

"You're from the deep... sea. Correct? What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you... you know?"

The umbreon tried to find the right word.

M gives a slice of cake of her favourite as a sorry gift: so what are you doing?

The umbreon just looked at the cake, having no intention to indulge in it. The food looks rather bizzare to her. Mune was a bit unsure too whether its food or just something else. She looked back at the mimikyu, unfazed.

"I'm trying to live. Out of my way!"

Lower your guard. I'm a wanderer of the night as well. I mean you no harm. Rather, I ask what troubles you this evening. Surely, there is more than meets the eye, yes?

"Lower my guard?!"

Without thinking much, Mune snapped with her words. Who would say such things here? As much as she wanted to impulsively lore-dump about her forest, she had to remain quiet to prevent from attracting unwanted attention. Time is ticking fast.

"Though you look like the type that only gets on edge for a reason. And it sounds like this place is a bit more than just a wild forest. What's up with this place exactly?" Linda asked.

"What sort of things are out here that makes it so dangerous?" She asked while looking around. "Might consider getting something to take home with me."

Having to talk about those hellish threats never failed to make Mune felt sick, but sometimes it has to be told to more mons. In the other hand, she was confused of the sudden increase on the number of visitors in that forest. Unique ones indeed. She looked up, also trying to process what kind of mon she's talking to.

"Thing have been chaotic for years. Ambushes, attacks, kidnappings... They said these demons only attack at night, when they blend the best in it. If I had to summarize on what's up with this place..."

Mune knew that these events did not just take one's life, but also shattered the trust and love towards each other in this arcsaken cursed home. It angered her deeply, especially remembering the unfair treatment she constantly received from others.

Mune didn't expect to receive such question. It seemed to direct about the on going situation, but she had to admit, the asker might have a point looking at how dangerous this environment can be.

"I- I hunt for meat, sometimes berries.."

The umbreon paused as she tried to think to answer the last one. It's very absurd trying to think that the lost victims ended up becoming supper for whatever's out there.

"I'd assume they... have a similar diet, but with bigger and more sentient meats... I wouldn't be surprised it the victims are what they ate.."

"You know, being nocturnal is important to the environment, and any group you're with, its important to be able to watch over your herd, or party, watch and protect them from others that dwell in the night with intent to harm your friends."

Hearing how there was a prejudice against the night and dark types, she decided to give her some inspiration

"And being a dark type is important too, if any one type is missing, it leaves others unchecked."

A wave of hope filled Mune. Someone with actual common sense and knowledge, whereas she thought it was impossible to find one with that kind of mindset. She was glad. The umbreon became much less tense around the scolipede.

"I agree, and... our existence is also to balance out the life of day and night. At least.. That's what my mom told me..."

Mune lifted her gaze. The nights may be scary, but the sky never ceases to keep offering the beautiful light show of the stars. Some are dim, some are brighter than others. She remembered seeing the same scenery while still clinging close to her mother. The moment her eyes are locked on the twinkling light objects, awestruck hit like a continuous lightning. It was pretty, since then, until this very second.

Mune's smile grew wider. It was a smile full of warm memories that soothed her in harsh times. The same memories that made her miss the life she had years ago. She remembered how restless she had to wait for these magnificent nights to come. The night is hers, and she had a whole of it to herself. Mune stayed silent, eyes still locking on the stars above. Deep down in her conflicted heart, she knew that no matter what was happening around her, the night still had its own beauty, and she couldn't help but look up and just admire...

Mune didn't click entirely to their explanation. Were they just a mere ghost type who acted like real ghosts? That didn't matter much. However, her mood shifted worse when they continued to mention how much better it was to dwell around in this hell.

"Don't try indoctrinating your beliefs onto me. No matter how damn hard you tried. There is nothing good about my home. I said as one who born AND grew up here."

Mune didn't want to dive deep into the details. Painful memories. Burdenful regret. It brought nothing but sorrow. It made her imagine things that time can't even save. She had priorities. Emotions can not take over her, for now.

"You're just a mere visitor. You don't get to have a say about positive sides of a forest you just visited."

"At this time?! Pick some time else, can you?! Try to read the arcdamn situation!"

The umbreon didn't want to try reasoning with him furthermore. That one seems stubborn. Not worth her time. Mune had to note to herself; avoid stubborn idiots.

Out of nowhere, a shadow ball shot out narrowly missing Mune. A Mimikyu jumped out from the bushes, giggling to themselves.

Mimi: “Hii!! Did I scare ya?”

Despite the attack, they didn’t seem to mean any harm. They seemed almost playful.

"Quit it, idiot! If you want to get someone to die with you, find someone else."

*Keldeo simply just revealed themselves to the Umbreon and gave them a simple nod. They had learned over the years not to assume that a Pokemon needed help, but it never hurt to offer it.*

Keldeo: Ah, no need to fear darkness-dwelling Umbreon. I’m just simply passing through. However, if you need help at any point, just call my name and I’ll be there to help as long as I’m around! You may call me Keldeo.

Keldeo. Surely Mune had heard that name somewhere. How stupid, she couldn't recall where. From the looks of it, perhaps this so called keldeo is a protector of certain place. Definitely not this forest. Those who are wouldn't have hopes this high anymore.

The longer she thought about it, the more pissed off she got. Those who called themselves legends. Where ARE they?! Pretty sure Ilex is also under their watchful eyes as guardians, right? They surely didn't abandon it out of the blue. Right?

The large scolipede would lay down in front of the umbreon gently

"Greetings, I apologize if I scared you, Mune, I believe you said your name was, I understand being nocturnal, I was too back as a whirlipede."

She decided to ease the mood with a bit of banter

"I do love umbreons, though sadly they are not native to my home region of Unova, ao i only get to see them when foreigners bring them in."

She would offer her a giant pecha berry for her time.

"A- ah!" Mune was taken back when coming across the large pokemon, but seeing their gentle demeanor calmed her down a bit. She's never seen a bug this big. Clearly it wasn't from this forest, nor this region. She eyed the pecha berry, but still hesitate to take it.

"Whirlipede? What kind of... its fine. You're probably from somewhere else."

However, when her thoughts were all about how to ditch off and leave, she stopped her intention the moment the scolipede admired umbreons like her. The words felt itchingly bizarre, yet comforting. No healthy mind in this cursed forest would think about it, let alone saying it as a form of admiration.

Mune has heard hateful statements about dark type pokemons. There is nothing to admire about becoming part of the night. She was ready to face fear, anger, and judgement coming out from anyone, yet, she heard the opposite. The umbreon couldn't help but putting a genuine smile.