#whismicott

She stood on a hill with Harper and Winnie, overlooking the path to a massive canyon. Luscious Cave’s entrance had been surrounded by greenery and flowers, the path studded with cobblestone and the occasional glint of crystal. This dungeon looked as if it had sapped the life from everything around it, all grey stone and packed earth. She shivered in her fur.

“Whew! That’s where we’re going?” Winnie whistled, eyes wide, “Looks pretty intense!” Despite their words, the Whismicott’s faced glowed with excitement. Cassander chose not to voice her misgivings; she didn’t want these explorers to think she was a wimp.

“It doesn’t seem too bad?” Harper’s voice shook, but only for a moment, “It just looks bad, it’s not nearly as difficult as Luscious Cove!”

Cassander nodded to herself, forcing down her fear. If this was the quickest way to Bounty’s Keep, then she would take it. Plus, with these other Pokemon around, she wouldn’t get wiped out nearly as quickly as she had with her last attempt at clearing a dungeon. 

As the trio approached the wall of stone, and as the sun disappeared behind the massive cliff, Cassander stuck closer to Winnie. There were no hostile Pokemon outside the dungeon’s mouth, as far as she could see. Still, the shadows were strong enough to leave some doubt,

“Well, here we go,” Harper said with a shudder, “I’ll be the leader, so let me go first.”

Cassander had no problems with that. She stepped aside, letting the older Pokemon inside first. The Archen gave her a brisk nod, shuffled her feathers, and hopped into the darkness of the canyon. When her plumed tail disappeared, Winnie took a step forward, then stopped.

“You can go through ahead of me, Cass,” Winnie gestured with their hoof towards the yawning darkness, “I can watch from behind.”

“Thank you,” Cassander dipped her head, hoping she didn’t look as nervous as she felt. This was scary, but at least she wasn’t alone this time. All she had to do was stick close, and they would protect her. Emboldened by this thought, she took a deep breathe, and scurried after Harper.

At first, it felt like the darkness would lead nowhere. Then, the ground disappeared underneath her. She bit back a cry of fear, and held her legs stiff underneath her, anticipating the landing. Still, when the darkness gave way to grey light, and the stone met her paws, she stumbled. 

With a shake of her ruffled mane, Cassander looked up. The walls didn’t lead to a ceiling of any kind, instead going up, up and up, until she had to almost stand on two legs to see the grey void above them. The light, though far away, was harsh, and Cassander had to look away. The walls themselves were almost perfectly flat, and she doubted even if she could climb them, she would ever reach the top. The floor, similarly, was flat and featureless, save for cracks and scuffs near the walls. The only other thing in the room was Harper, who started at Cassander’s sudden appearance.

“Where-” Harper’s question was both stopped and answered when, with a yelp of surprise, Winnie landed on the stone next to her. 

“This dungeon doesn’t look like the others I was in,” Winnie commented once they regained their footing, “How old is this place?”

“Fourteen floors, so it’s up there,” Harper said, before fluttering her feathers and adding, “It-it’s easy though, don’t worry!”

As soon as the words were out of the Archen’s mouth, the first enemy appeared: a Rhyhorn. From the single exit to the room, the rock-type’s massive head emerged, blinking blank eyes and looking around. Then, it caught sight of the trio.

“Stars!” Harper yelped, leaping out of the way as the massive Pokemon charged her. The enemy skidded to a halt, claws scraping the stone ground. It shook its head as if to clear it, then fixed its stare on the closest Pokemon-- Cassander. 

The Eevee barely had time to yelp before it bore down on her, all grey horns and yellow eyes. Before it could reach her, there was a flash of green light. The Hostile Pokemon roared as Winnie’s attack connected, and before it could recover, Harper darted over and slammed her body into it. It faded just as Harper began to retreat.

“Jeez! That was close,” Winnie panted after a moment of silence, “It was huge!”

Cassander nodded mutely, shaking from ears to tail. 

“You okay?” Winnie asked, and Cassander nodded again, dragging her gaze away from the spot the Pokemon had vanished.

“Thank you for attacking it,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as scared as she was.

“Let’s keep going,” Harper interjected, eyes darting across the room, “If we go quick enough, we can avoid other Pokemon.” She caught Cassander’s eyes, and looked away with a short, nervous laugh, “I hope.”

Harper’s theory didn’t last to the stairs. After only one room, a Xatu launched itself at the group in a corridor, only to be met with a flurry of wings as Harper buffeted it back. It faded before Cassander could get a good look at it, but she didn’t have to wait long for another chance to see a fight. Less than a minute later, Harper led the team into a room, where a Staravia stood on the other side. The flying-type’s back was turned, and Harper motioned for Winnie and Cassander to be quiet. 

It was no use. As if the Pokemon could sense their presence, it swivelled its head and locked eyes on them. With a screech, it raised its wings, and instead of charging, flapped them wildly in their direction. The breeze turned into a gale of cold wind, and Cassander yelped as her paws lifted off the ground. Quickly, she scrambled for a hold on the stone.

“Woah!” Winnie flew past Cassander in a blur of wool and scarf.

“Winnie!” Harper squawked. Like the other two, she was caught in the whirlwind. Just when Cassander thought they’d all be blown away, the wind slowed. The Staravia’s wings folded back to its side, and Cassander wondered if it had tired itself out. Then it dove at her, beak glowing in the white light.

“Eep!” Cassander scrambled out of its path, and felt its wings graze her tail. She turned back to see it already adjusting its path. She ducked low to the ground, and once again, barely managed to avoid the attack. 

The flying-type spun to look at her again, but in the moment of distraction, failed to avoid a storm of rocks and boulders. It screeched, then disappeared under the rumble of stone.

The source of the stones was made clear when Harper emerged from the cloud of dust, shaking her feathers and coughing.

“I hate doing that,” she grumbled, a certain tremble to her feathers.

“You did that?” Winnie called from the far side of the room. The Whismicott was sprawled on the ground, head lifted to view their companions.

“Oh stars, are you okay?” Harper’s tone changed to one of worry.

Cassander followed the Archen over to Winnie, who was already getting to their feet. To her relief, the older Pokemon seemed merely dishevelled.

“Yeah, just a little dizzy,” Winnie laughed, dusting themself off, “Didn’t expect them to blow me away like that! What was the move, anyways?”

“Whirlwind, I think,” Cassander said, and cocked her head at the Whismicott. She thought it had been obvious, but maybe she was wrong.

“Neat,” Winnie nodded at her, then turned to Harper, “What was it that you did, though? With all those rocks?”

“Ancient-Power,” Harper replied, looking almost bashful, “I don’t use it a lot though. It’s a lot of work.”

“Seems pretty cool,” Winnie said, then looked around the room, “So, are we ready to keep going?”

Ready they were, and so the trek through Lonesome Quarry continued. Thankfully, the next room of the dungeon held the stone-carved stairs leading into darkness, and they managed to get down them without issue.

“We can still see the sky?” Were Winnie’s first words upon seeing the second floor of the dungeon. Cassander followed their gaze upwards, and sure enough, the grey and white sky loomed above their heads as if they hadn’t just gone underground.

“Dungeons are weird like that,” Harper replied, seemingly unperturbed, “Don’t think about it too much.”

Much like before, the first enemy appeared before the team had set foot outside the room. This time it was a Crustle that startled Harper at the exit of the room, with clicking pinchers and narrowed eyes. Before it could make a move, Harper slammed her beak into its head, and Winnie shot a ball of green energy into its shell. It faded like the other enemies, and they continued onwards. 

This routine set the tone for the rest of the floor, and then the floors after that. Enemies, mostly flying and rock types, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, charging the team with reckless abandon. Even Cassander got a taste of the action towards the end of the fourth floor. 

“Ack!” Harper yelped as the third Rhyhorn they’d seen on the floor slammed into her, sending her flying in the air. She landed in a heap of feathers and talons on the other side of the room.

“Oh gosh!” Winnie’s eyes rounded in concern, and they started towards their fallen partner.  They didn’t notice the Rhyhorn fixing its steely gaze on them.

“Look out!” Cassander shot out from her hiding spot in the corridor. Her warning came too late; a moment later, the Rhyhorn bowled Winnie over. The Whismicott cried out in alarm as they too were tackled across the room.

The Rhyhorn was so occupied in them, it didn’t notice Cassander until she had already slammed herself into its stony haunches.

The attack didn’t do much damage, and Cassander’s ears rang from the impact, but it did manage to distract the rock-type. It swiveled its stony head around with a snort. It took all of Cassander’s willpower to not cower as it roared at her.  Instead, she dropped to a crouch and lashed her tail in the air. She hoped this technique that Pearlie taught her worked. 

“Hey! Look at m-me, you big Magikarp!” Her taunt sounded more like a whimper to her. Nonetheless, the Rhyhorn seemed perplexed, and froze in place. 

A flash of green light came from somewhere behind the Rhyhorn. With a whoosh, a sizzle, and a roar, the rock-type staggered, taking its eyes off of Cassander. In the same instant, Cassander leaped forward. She landed on the snout, just short of the behemoth’s horn. It locked eyes with her for only a moment, before the Eevee’s fangs turned black and fastened on its brow.

The Rhyhorn’s roar made her ears ring once more. It began to thrash its head around, and for a terrifying moment, she held on by only her teeth. Then, there was a thud from somewhere behind her, and the movement stopped. 

Cassander opened her eyes just in time to see the Rhyhorn fade. She dropped onto the stone ground with an ‘oof’, head spinning.

“Stars, are you hurt?” 

Harper was standing where the Rhyhorn used to be, with Winnie approaching from behind. 

“No...I don’t think so.” Cassander got to her paws, and stretched experimentally. Aside from her aching jaws and a bruise on her side, she was fine. 

“That’s good,” Harper breathed, “Lucky we all came out of that one in one piece, hah.”

“You were great out there, Cass!” Winnie exclaimed, sounding excited despite their dishevelled appearance. “What was that thing you did with your tail?”

“Thank you,” Cassander averted her gaze, “It’s Tail Whip. My friend taught it to me, but I didn’t think it would actually work.”

“Still pretty cool,” Winnie grinned, and then looked at Harper, “Right?”

Harper looked caught off guard, but sighed and said, “Honestly, yeah. I didn’t expect a kid like you to be able to stand up to such a strong enemy, much less do any damage.”

Cassander searched her gaze for any sarcasm, but found none. Were these explorers really complimenting her? Pearlie had always been so much stronger than her, she never thought of herself as anything but normal. The unexpected praise made her fur grow warm, and she couldn’t help but smile up at them. 

“Thank you very much,” she said.

“Should we take a break?” Winnie said abruptly. When they both turned to them, they laughed sheepishly. “We’ve had to do a lot of fighting, and I think we should rest before we keep going. Don’t wanna get too tired.”

Harper made an odd face, and for a moment, it looked as if she would say no. 

“I-uh...guess we can,” the Archen’s words came out as a sigh. 

Harper’s attitude was beginning to strike Cassander as odd, but she found it hard to care as she flopped to the ground. Winnie seemed to share the same sentiment as they sat down with a sizable thump. 

“These fake Pokemon are really tough,” the Whismicott said with a quick glance around. Harper agreed with a grunt as she reluctantly settled into a sitting position, wings folding at her sides.

“They’re a lot tougher than that last dungeon we went into too,” they continued, “Don’t you think?” 

It took Cassander a moment to realize they were talking to her as well.

“Luscious Cove was scary, but this place is scarier,” she agreed. A wave of embarrassment made her fur prickle, and she looked at the ground. “Thank you for rescuing me, back then too. It was dumb of me to go in there alone.”

“I’ve done dumber,” Winnie replied, “Don’t worry about it!”

Harper, who had been rummaging through her bag, wordlessly pulled out an apple and handed it to Winnie. Moments later, another landed at Cassander’s paws. 

“Figured you guys would be hungry,” Harper explained, tossing a third apple to the ground near her feet, “battling wears you out, y’know?”

“Thanks!” Winnie said, already shoving their’s into their mouth, “I was getting pretty hungry.”

“Thank you,” Cassander added. She waited until the others had started to eat before joining in. Part of her worried that the others thought her rude for taking it without complaint, but her stomach rumbled a strong argument. For a minute, the only sound was the crunching of apples. Then, Winnie pushed their bare core aside and stretched.

“Y’know, I was wondering something,” Winnie looked at Cassander, “You’re pretty strong for your age, I think. How many dungeons have you been in before this one?”

“Two,” Cassander answered after some thought, “I went through a swamp to get out of Wisteria Village, and then I went to Luscious Cove. Maybe that doesn’t count, since I got beat.” It occurred to her how low of a number that must have sounded to explorers like Harper and Winnie, and she added, “I practiced battling a lot, though.”

Winnie nodded, seemingly unperturbed. “Oh, same, actually? I’ve only been through one really little one, then the one from the other day. And now, this one!”

“Really?” Cassander’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You’re so strong though!”

“Haha, thank you! I’m a total newbie when it comes to all this fighting,” Winnie laughed, “Mostly, I just practiced with my friend Anais before all this.”

“Oh.” Feeling foolish, Cassander lowered her voice, “Sorry, that makes sense.”

“Nah, I was wondering too, actually,” Harper spoke up for the first time, “Since you used to,uh-” the Archen glanced at Cassander and cut herself off, “I mean, you’re like, level 20-ish? Was Anais that good a teacher?”

“I guess so?” the Whismicott tilted their head thoughtfully, “They were really, super strong. I’m not good at all this battling stuff, but even I could tell.” In a less serious tone, they added, “It helps that they let me use a TM too. Wouldn’t be able to use Energy Ball without it, I don’t think.”

For a moment, Cassander wondered how the Whismicott had evolved without having ever had a real battle. She knew, like herself and her brother, the Pokemon evolved with a stone, but she had thought that you had to have at least some experience to actually evolve. Maybe Winnie’s species was just weird, she decided.

“I guess you’ve been through a lot more dungeons that us, huh Harper?” Winnie laughed.

“Oh-yeah, definitely,” she sounded caught off guard by the question, “You know, I explored before all this, so I’ve been in tons of ‘em.”

“Ooh,” Cassander replied, unable to keep the interest from her voice. “Have you ever explored with Clarity Guild? My brother, he’s a part of it. He’s found tons of cool stuff.”

 Something flashed in Harper’s eyes, and she looked away from Cassander as if struck. 

“Nah, nope! I’ve always explored alone! Never liked guilds.”

Winnie shot an odd look in their direction. Feeling as if she had said something wrong, Cassander clamped her muzzle shut and looked at her paws. There was a strained silence between the trio, until Winnie broke it once more.

“You mentioned that you practiced battling before?” Winnie asked, “Was it with your brother?”

Cassander shook her head, a little too vigorously. “No. My brother is always busy at the Guild. I trained with my best friend, Pearlie, and her moms. She’s really strong already, she already knows how to use Razor Shell.”

“You, uh, mentioned that last night,” Harper said, “ You’re from Wisteria, right?”

Cassander modded. She thought Harper would have a follow up question of some kind, but the Archen just nodded to herself, an odd look on her face. She looked back to Winnie, and spoke once more.

“We should get going now,” she said, already getting to her feet, “You two are done, right?”

Cassander glanced at her apple, which was only half done. With a glance at Winnie, who was also climbing to their feet, she bit back her protest and nodded. 

“Yes, I’m ready,” she said.

If Harper had been acting a little odd before, Cassander thought she was acting downright weird now. It was as if someone had set the flying-type’s feathers on fire. She moved quicker and quicker through the dungeon, and despite her earlier complaints about using Ancient Power, she now used it almost every fight. Cassander followed behind Winnie, wince as the ground rumbled with each fight, and wondered why the Archen wanted to get out of this dungeon so badly.

The dungeon seemed to be doing everything in its power to delay her exit. Compared to the swarms of enemies the team now faced, the first few floors were nothing. It got to the point that it took all three members of the team to make it from room to room. 

Cassander jumped away from her latest enemy, a rather loud Vullaby, and watched it fade from sight. She sat down with a thump and a sigh, and stretched her aching jaws.

“C’mon, kid!” Harper squawked from across the room, already headed to the next corridor, “There’s not a lot of time to waste!”

Cassander bit back a whine of protest and got to her aching paws once more. It was only natural that the explorer be impatient, having to travel with someone as weak as herself must be boring. 

“Let her...rest a little?” Winnie said between breathes, surprising them both. The Whismicott stood with hooves on their knees, near the corner of the room where they had been fighting a rowdy pair of Dugtrio. “You’ve gotta be tired too, right?”

“Not really…” Harper’s wings trembled in a way that suggested otherwise. “We’re near the end, I swear! We just have to keep g-going!”

“Hmph,” Winnie didn’t seem convinced, “Can you at least toss me the map? I wanna see how far we are.”

“What- I don’t--” Harper was cut off when, with a screech, a Staraptor soared from the corridor in front of her, “Ah!”

When the Archen raised her wings, Cassander braced herself for the shower of rocks sure to follow. The ground rumbled once more, but faded a second later, and with it, the Archen stumbled back as if struck.

“T-thorns!” She gasped, “I’m out of moves!”

The Staraptor dove for the smaller bird, who squawked and hopped out of the way. Once more, it struck, its razor sharp beak barely missing the tip of Harper’s tail. Both Cassander and Winnie made a move to help, but before they could make it, the ground heaved beneath them. 

At first, Cassander thought it was Harper again--but the bird hadn’t made a move, and like the other two, looked for the source of the disturbance. This lapse in concentration left an opening, and several things happened at once.  

The Staraptor swept Harper off her feet with a swift battering of wings. 

The canyon wall in front of them split with a groaning screech, showering the explorer and her foe in boulders and earth.

Through the rumble of shifting giants, Cassander heard a roar that shook the insides of her skull.

The dust made it impossible to see anything but the behemoth of a shadow emerging from the new hole in the wall. As soon as she caught sight of the giant stone horn on the enemy’s head, Cassander knew what it was. Whatever courage she had left abandoned her, and she dropped into a trembling crouch.

It was an Onix, and a very angry one. Barely visible on its massive head, beady eyes swept the room before landing on the Eevee. Cassander scrambled out of the way as the thing charged, but still found herself smacked into the air by its massive tail. 

The attack did little damage, but Cassander still struggled to get off the ground, the air knocked out of her. She didn’t hear the words, but saw Winnie beckoning her from the other side of the room. Adrenaline kicked in, and the Eevee dodged the next attack, instinct driving her behind the older Pokemon.

The dust kicked up from the Onix’s attack cleared, and Winnie let out a grunt of exertion. Cassander dared to look around their bulk of wool. A green ball of light was forming in their hooves, and as the Onix charged again, they released it. The Onix roared in pain, and faster than Cassander could register, Winnie turned to face her, wide eyed.

“We have to get out of here!”

Cassander nodded mutely. Winnie beckoned her towards the wall of the room before turning and firing off another Energy Ball. This time, however, it hit the ground before the Onix. A cloud of dust rose once more.

“Harper? Harper, where are you?” Winnie cried, a silhouette in the fog. 

“I’m right here!” Harper’s voice was nearby, shaking and rough, “Are you two okay?” 

Cassander tensed at the sound of footsteps, but it was Harper. The Archen looked worse for wear, feathers covered in sand and dishevelled, with a nasty gash above one eye and blood dripping from a wound on her tail.

“Are you okay?” Winnie’s voice rose in pitch, and they took a step back.

“F-fine,” the Archen coughed, “Stupid thing just got a lucky hit on me.”

“We need to get out of here, where’s the badge?” Winnie said.

“What!”

“The badge Anais gave us?” The Whismicott replied, reaching for the bag, “They said we could--”

“We can’t use it!” Harper yanked the bag out of their grasp.

“What--why not?” Winnie stopped in their tracks.

“We just can’t! I can beat this thing, let me--” Harper began to rush forward, but Winnie caught her by the wing and pulled her back.

“You don’t even have any moves left! Just give me the badge, this is crazy!” 

“No!”

The dust had cleared, but the two were still arguing. The Onix jerked its head to the source of the sound, eyes narrowing. 

“Can we please just get out of here?” Cassander whimpered, not taking her eyes off the enemy. Her companions didn’t notice.

“Harper, what’s wrong with you? We can just come back later!”

“I’m- I’m not going to use it!”

There was a rumble in the ground that drowned out Winnie’s reply. The Onix charged, and the trio dove out of the way.

“Ack!” Harper was knocked aside by the giant’s tail, and the contents of her bag spilled out.  The Onix swirled around, knocking the other two to the ground. 

Then, it let out the loudest screech Cassander ever heard. 

Her shriek was drowned out by the cacophony, and she curled into a ball, paws over her ears. Even when the sound stopped, the ringing in her ears continued. The Onix locked eyes with her, but she couldn’t force her trembling legs to move.

Winnie let out a cry, and a moment later the Onix reared back, a green light barely missing its belly. In that moment, Cassander’s hind paw brushed something cold. She dared to look away.

On the ground was Harper’s wonder map, and half hidden underneath it was an ebony object the size of her paw, with a glittering diamond as its core. Cassander’s heart soared; it was the badge.

The Onix began to charge once more, but this time, Cassander was ready. She darted to her paws and leapt onto the map and badge. She trapped the badge under her paw and pressed it, bracing herself for the collision.

It never came.

Instead, behind closed eyelids, she saw a bright light, and felt air rush through her fur. She didn’t look up until she felt rough stone under her paws.

They were back at the entrance to the dungeon. Sprawled beside her were Winnie and Harper, wounds healed and bag empty, save for the map and badge still under Cassander. The entrance looked as empty and lifeless as it had hours earlier, but it was now bathed in afternoon light, bright and warm. 

“Who…” Harper hopped to her feet, eyes wide. Cassander shrank to her belly when the bird caught sight of her, badge in paw.

“You’re the one who used the badge!” Harper exclaimed, and Cassander didn’t reply, heart thumping in her chest. Before she could apologise, Winnie stepped in front of her. The Whismicott’s expression was uncharacteristically angry.

“Don’t get mad at her, she just saved us!” they exclaimed, “What’s wrong with you!”

“We weren’t supposed to use the badge!” Harper’s reply was hot, but there was a spark of fear in her gaze.

“We’re supposed to use it in emergencies,” they shot back, “We could have died if we hadn’t used it!”

“Ugh, who cares now,” the Archen turned her back on the two, “We’re out, so I guess we just try again!”

Cassander’s heart lurched at the thought. Even if it was a shortcut to Clarity’s Guild, she didn’t think it was worth it. A thought came into her mind unbidden: was it even a shortcut? Lyre never mentioned it, not even once. Winnie began to speak again, but Cassander didn’t listen, instead shuffling to the side to reveal the map.

It was back to displaying the area surrounding the dungeon. Cassander poked the glowing dot representing Lonesome Quarry, and scanned the information displayed, heart sinking.

The dungeon wasn’t easy like Harper claimed; it was ranked “HARD”, with Pokemon more than twice Cassander’s level. Why would Harper lie about that? Frowning, the Eevee looked closer at the map. Lonesome Quarry was on the other side of the village they stayed at the night before, opposite of Luscious Cove. It was nowhere near Bounty’s Keep, not like Harper claimed. There was another town, though, on the other side of the dungeon.

Wisteria Village.

Cassander began to tremble, and her vision began to blur.

She tried to speak, but her voice caught in the back of her throat. Winnie turned to look at her, fierce expression fading.

“It’s okay, Cass!” they said, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Harper’s just--”

Cassander flinched at the sound of her nickname, and backed away. She was scared, but she realized that she was something else, too--angry.

Even if she’d been inside, she probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep. She glanced towards her companions. Winnie lay on their side, hooves tucked under their head, the blanket tangled around them. Cassander was merely a lump under Harper’s blanket, only her muzzle sticking out to the open air. The knot in Harper’s stomach tightened.

Why had she agreed to help the kid? She knew why, but why? This kid was the sibling of her would-be murderer! And she was looking for him! Harper would rather walk into Giratina’s mouth than return to Clarity’s Guild. How could she, knowing Pokemon were out to get her there? Even if it was just Lyre, she couldn’t bear to see him again. Not when things had just started to look up.

Nothing was stopping her from simply packing up and running away. Harper glanced to the path ahead, a familiar itch in her talons. She really was good at running, it wouldn’t be anything new.

Then, Winnie snorted and turned to face her. Harper froze guiltily, but they were still asleep, snoring softly. Harper’s feathers grew warm once more, and she turned away. She couldn’t leave them, not now. Maybe she could ditch them once they got to a town, where they would be safe, and find other, better Pokemon to help them.

That plan seemed sound, so why did Harper still feel guilty?

Harper must have fallen asleep without realizing it, for she awoke suddenly, her heart pounding again her ribcage.

“Who said that?” she said groggily.

“Huh?” the slurred response came from a few inches away from her. Harper jolted in shock when she came face to face with Winnie, who blinked blearily at her.

“D-did you say that?” Harper asked again.

“Say what?” Winnie yawned, “Was I talking in my sleep or something?”

Harper’s heart sank. No, it hadn’t been Winnie who’d spoken. The voice she’d heard had been in her dreams, and had been deeper, and more familiar. She’d heard this voice before, in her sleep. What had they said?

“You okay?” her companion asked, looking concerned, “Did you have a nightmare or something?”

“Can’t remember,” Harper replied, “Must not have been important, hah.”

Harper’s blanket shifted, and a moment later, Cassander’s head popped out from underneath.

“Issit morning?” she mumbled, large ears twitching.

“Yep!” Winnie replied, “Did you sleep well?”

Harper tried to hide her discontent. The more she looked at Cassander, the more she saw the Eevee’s brother: in the long, pointed ears, the fluffy mane, the somewhat long snout, and the green eyes. She seemed content, at the very least. She gave a small smile at Winnie’s questions, and answered in a quiet, bashful way.

“Yes. Thank you for the blanket, Harper,” she dipped her head in Harper’s direction.

“O-oh, it’s fine!” Harper replied with a flutter of her wings, “Not a problem at all!”

Cassander nodded. She opened, and then closed her mouth, looking nervous. Winnie glanced at her, and turned to Harper.

“So, what’s the plan now, Harper?”

“Oh,” Harper’s stomach dropped. She had no plan. “I-I have a plan! I just, uh…” Her beak grew warm at her companions’ stares, and she looked at their makeshift camp. “First we need to clean up the camp, then we can talk about it.”

Cassander tilted her head, and Winnie shrugged, but they got to work. Harper busied herself folding her blanket into her bag, mind racing with half-formed ideas. She couldn’t lead them right down the road to Bounty’s Keep: she would almost definitely run into another team. Winnie bumped her on the shoulder, a sizable stack of blankets and tent-pegs in their arms. Harper snatched a Wonder Map from her bag and stepped away.

The group was camped outside of Luscious Cove, which led onto the main road to Clarity’s. The path they were on circled back to Lavastone Village, which branched off into a few more paths, one of them containing a dungeon called Lonesome Quarry. Harper’s heart skipped a beat when she realized that, less than a day’s walk from that dungeon was Wisteria Village: the place Cassander had come from.

A plan unraveled in Harper’s mind, and not a moment too soon; Winnie had shoved the final blanket into their bag.

“So, the plan?” they asked.

“We’re going to go through Lonesome Quarry,” Harper said, hoping her voice didn’t tremble. She showed Winnie the map, making sure to hide Wisteria’s placemark with her wing. “There’s a path there that leads to Clarity Guild, a-a side path!”

Winnie didn’t seem to find it strange that there was no visible side path, instead nodding. Harper’s gut twisted once more.

“Um,” Cassander interjected, “I thought Luscious Cove was the best way to go,” she looked at the ground and shuffled her paws in the dirt, “That’s what my brother always said.”

“Well, your brother must have been wrong!” she replied, forcing a grin, “I used this route tons of times!”

“We’ll have to pass through Lavastone Village,” Harper closed the map before Cassander could look at it, “We can try and stock up there, maybe sell some of the things we picked up in Luscious Cave?” she glanced at Winnie, “You know, since that was our plan originally.”

“Alright,” Winnie laughed, “But I don’t know how much we can sell all these berries for.”

Soon, the trio was walking down the path, Harper in the lead, while Winnie and Cassander chatted behind her. They sounded happy. The knot of guilt in Harper’s gut tightened. It was the best thing, really, for Harper to return Cassander home, and to leave Winnie with her. Lyre was bound to return there at some point, and it wouldn’t hurt Cassander to have to return home before leaving again. Maybe, someone would come with her when she left again. And, with a pang, Harper remembered how Winnie would be better off without her anyways.

As the sun met the midpoint of the sky, Lavastone village came into view. While Harper had made the journey in silence, a few steps ahead of her companions, Winnie and Cassander hardly seemed to take a breath between sentences.

“So, you don’t go to school, then?” Winnie asked.

“No, no one I know does.” Cassander replied, voice as soft as the rustle of the leaves, “I think only big towns have those.”

“Wow!” Winnie’s voice was incredulous, as if the idea of not every Pokemon attending school was foreign to them, “Then how do you learn, like, math and stuff?”

Harper glanced back and caught the puzzled look on Cassander’s face, and before she could speak, cleared her throat.

“We’re nearly there,” she pointed towards the town ahead, “I’ll handle selling stuff. Winnie, you and Cassander should wait in the town center.”

“Aw, okay,” Winnie nodded at her with a smile, “You hungry, Cass? I’ve got some berries we can snack on while we wait.”

Harper left the pair in the same spot she and Winnie had stood the day before. At the sight of their comfortable, happy conversation, she felt an unbidden sense of jealousy. How ridiculous, she thought to herself. What kind of ‘mon gets jealous of a child?

After nearly an hour of negotiations of varying success and awkward stammerings, Harper’s bag was less than half as heavy as before, and now had a wad of money tightly tucked inside. As she made her way back to the others, she couldn’t help but wish Winnie had been with her. She got the distinct feeling if someone more confident had done the talking, she would have a lot more money to show.

“Harper!” Winnie spotted her almost the moment she stepped foot into the square, “We were wondering where you were.”

“It took a bit to sell everything,” Harper hopped over to her, “Here’s what we have.” She shoved the wad of money towards Winnie.

“Woah, that’s a lot!” they exclaimed, eyes wide, “How much is this?”

“Around 3000(p), sorry,” Harper said, uncomfortably aware of Cassander watching her with rapt interest, “It’s not a lot, but it should do for tonight.”

“Seems like a lot to me!” Winnie shrugged, “More than what I made, y’know, before.” They gestured vaguely, unaware of Cassander, who tilted her head at them, a familiar expression of confusion on her face.

“We should go buy stuff now!” Harper said, perhaps too loudly, drowning out whatever question Cassander asked. “We still have a long walk to Lonesome Quarry!”

This time, she brought Winnie and Cassander with her to the vendor’s area. The way the two regarded each mundane purchase with childlike wonder was somewhat infectious. Before Harper knew it, she chatted amicably with them,  almost forgetting her anxiety.

“We’re down to 500(p) already?” Cassander stared at the much smaller pile of coins, eyes wide. The trio had decided to count up what the had left, and sort out the items amongst themselves. Harper and Winnie’s bags bulged comfortably with berries and food, and they had even managed to get a discount on a couple of elixirs.

“Around 435, actually,” Harper said, “But I think we’ve gotten everything we need, at least for now.”

“Does that mean we can buy whatever we want now?” Winnie asked, eyes wide. Harper began to protest, but when she caught sight of Winnie’s pleading stare, and the hopeful gleam in Cassander’s eyes, she sighed.

“I guess so?”

With a hoot of joy, Winnie grabbed her shoulder and dragged her towards the nearest vendor, Cassander on their heels. They went from vendor to vendor, browsing TMs and berries and accessories, and despite herself, Harper found that she was having fun. Winnie didn’t seem to care that 435(p) wasn’t enough to buy anything cool. It seemed like they just enjoyed the possibility of buying something fun. Cassander was happy, too. Though she was quiet, her excitement was plain to see, and she even made a few bashful attempts at conversation with Harper.

Soon, the group retreated to an empty corner of the market, clutching a paper bag with fresh-baked cookies. Winnie passed them out, and with no more than a second’s hesitation, shoved theirs into their mouth.

“Ooh, this is good!” they exclaimed, “What kind is it?”

“Pecha and oran chips, I think,” Harper said. She gave hers a doubtful sniff, and then shook her head. “I don’t really want mine, though. I don’t like pecha.”

Cassander mumbled something inaudible.

“Yeah?” Harper looked over to see the child still holding her cookie between two paws.

“Um...we can trade, if you want,” Cassander said, louder this time, “Mine just has oran on it.”

“Oh,” Harper blinked, somewhat taken aback, “That’s really nice of you, t-thanks.”

The group lapsed into silence. As she ate, Harper couldn’t help but examine the strange child in front of them. She looked like her brother, with her long, sharp muzzle, and her olive green eyes, but the two couldn’t be more different. Lyre wasn’t this quiet, or this thoughtful, or this kind. Cassander didn’t know her, though. If she did, she’d probably hate her just as much as Lyre did. Harper grimaced, her appetite gone.

“How long is it to Lonesome Quarry?” Winnie broke the silence, swiping the crumbs from their scarf. “Will we need to make camp?”

“Err…” Harper’s heart skipped a beat, “Let me check.”

She pulled out the map once again, and held it close to her face. Lonesome Quarry was listed with 13 floors, and was only a mile or so away. If they left now, they would be at Wisteria in less than five hours.

“What’s the matter?” Winnie must have noticed her change in attitude, and laid a hoof on Harper’s feathered shoulder.

“N-nothing!” Harper crumpled the map, forcing a toothy grin. “I just realized, uh, it’s going to take until nightfall to get there!” She shoved the map into her bag, and when only half of it would fit, gave up and looked at her companions. “W-we should hang around, leave early tomorrow morning. Then we can, um, get to Bounty’s Keep tomorrow evening!”

“Oh…” Cassander nodded, her ears drooping a little. “I didn’t know it would take so long. My brother never acted like it did”

“Well, it does,” Harper looked away from the Eevee’s disappointed stare, “We can stay at the Lavafill Inn again, if that’s okay?” She looked at Winnie, who shrugged after a moment.

“Better than sleeping in the forest again,” they replied.

“Let’s go ahead and book the room, then!”  Harper didn’t give them time to protest.

The innkeeper didn’t seem at all interested in why Harper was now accompanied by a child. She simply pointed Winnie to the same room key as before, and soon, the group had made themselves comfortable in their temporary room.

“Huff!” Winnie dropped back to the ground, having finally managed to hook their scarf to the highest rung on the rack. Their wool flared around them, soft and bouncy. It was only when they turned to look at her that Harper realized she’d been staring.

“Man, there must be some tall Pokemon out there!” Winnie exclaimed.

“My friend Pearlie’s mom is tall,” Cassander replied, “She’s a Samurott.”

“Huh,” Winnie nodded, “Haven’t seen one of those before.”

“Wow, really?” Cassander exclaimed, eyes wide, “There’s tons of Samurotts around here!”

Before the conversation could continue, Harper cleared her throat.

“I’m gonna go sit outside for a bit,” she said quickly, “It’s, uh kinda hot in here.”

Harper dropped her treasure bag on the ground near the window. As she passed Winnie and Cassander, she felt something soft against her wing.

“You okay?” Winnie’s eyes were round with concern, “You’re acting kinda weird.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” she squawked, “Just tired, is all.”

The door swung shut as she stepped out into the hall. Confident now that no one would follow, she slumped against the wall and heaved a sigh. What was she thinking? It was bad enough that she was going to ditch them, what was the use in lying now? She trudged down to the lobby, past the baleful gaze of  Ms.Marcargo at the counter, and out the door. The air outside was cool, and to Harper’s surprise, it seemed like the sun was already setting. The sky was shot through with streaks of purple and pink, and the sun sunk orange beneath the treeline.

“What am I doing?” she muttered, “Should’ve just left the kid in that Arceus-forsaken forest.”

She nearly jumped out of her feathers when the door swung open behind her. With a squawk of surprise, she turned to see a grinning Winnie and a wide-eyed Cassander in the doorway. Harper’s bag swung on Winnie’s shoulder.

“W-what’s up?” she asked.

“I just realized, Cass doesn’t have anything to carry her stuff with!” Winnie replied. “Will the leftover money be enough to buy a bag?”

“Should be?” Harper replied, “If you want to use it, you can, I guess, but-”

“Great!” Winnie skipped in place, then seized Harper in a fierce hug. “Thanks!”

Beak burning and feathers rustling, Harper pulled away from the hug with a nervous laugh. “No problem!”

“T-thank you, Harper,” Cassander spoke softly, shuffling her paws, “Thanks for helping me and buying me stuff.” The Eevee’s shy, nervous smile only made Harper feel more guilty.

She watched the two take off down the path, and her gut twisted. The best thing for all of them was for Harper to leave them in Wisteria. Then, she could just worry about herself again.

He knew what he had to do short term: help his team find the lost Pokemon, and return the lost Pokemon to her mother. It was simple -- until he had been greeted by his little sister and his boyfriend on the brink of an actual fight.

Pearlie knew what Lyre had done. Bayer shouldn’t have been surprised: Pearlie’s odd knack for seeing the future was always unpredictable like that. And, this explained her inexplicable hostility towards Lyre from the moment she laid eyes on him. What he hadn’t expected, though, was her complete and utter dismay at her brother’s request to help them.

“I don’t want to help a murderer!” she’d shouted, “I saw what he did!”

Bayer’s insistence that they only wanted to see if Harper was really dead or not didn’t help.

For his credit, Lyre hadn’t continued the argument. He was quiet, quieter than he had been in the dungeon, brows furrowed and muzzle wrinkled at the ground. What was bothering him was hard to say; everything about the situation was troubling.

To make matters worse, Cassander wasn’t found.

At least it was quiet now. The sun lay low on the horizon, and Bayer stood alone in the clearing he’d set as the team’s camp. Lyre was lying in the shade of an oak, back facing Bayer. Pearlie had gone off to who-knows-where, in such a foul mood she only nodded at Bayer’s warning to come back before dark. He hoped she would listen.

Bayer glanced at Lyre. The Jolteon hadn’t moved since they set up camp, and Bayer frowned. Careful to not wake him, if he was asleep, Bayer crept across the clearing. To his surprise, Lyre was looking at the map. It lay in between his paws, showing a wide view of the area. Lyre’s muzzle was scrunched in the way it did when he was concentrating, and his quills quivered on his flanks.

“Plotting a course?” Bayer asked.

“Huh?” Lyre twitched his ears, and dragged his gaze away from the map.

Bayer repeated himself, and Lyre made an odd gesture between a nod and a shake of the head.

“Trying to figure out where Cassander could have gone,” Lyre looked back to the map, “She wasn’t in Puddle Swamp, so she either cleared it or passed it by. But there’s so many dungeons around here, I don’t know where to begin!” His voice became sharp, but after catching the look on Bayer’s face, he sighed.

“I wish I knew where she went,” he said, head on his paws, “I don’t even know why she left.”

“Did she ever mention… running away, or something?” Bayer asked.

“Never to me, and definitely not to mother.”

Nothing else was said for a few moments. Bayer furrowed his brow at the map. From where they were now, there were at least half a dozen trails within half a mile. That wasn’t even counting the possibility that she had doubled back past Wisteria. What had the officers said, again? All they knew was that Cassander had last been seen walking home.

“Wait,” Lyre spoke, jolting upright, “Do you think...Cassander knows?”

“Knows what?” Bayer replied.

“That I,” he seemed to struggle with the words, “killed Harper? Do you think your sister told her?”

“Oh!” Bayer smacked a paw to his head, “That makes sense! She ran away after leaving our house, maybe she does know!”

“We need to find your sister,” Lyre said. He got to his paws in a blink, his face set and determined. “She can tell us if Cassander knows or not.”

Lyre led the way, following the path Pearlie had gone. Bayer jogged behind him, a spark of hope in his chest. He was willing to bet his badge that if Cassander knew, she was on her way to Bounty’s Keep to find her brother. If Pearlie could confirm this, they would have a solid lead on how to find her. Lyre seemed to be more hopeful now, too. His green eyes glowed in the sunlight, and his pace was brisk.

It was easy to track down Pearlie. Every few yards, Bayer caught sight of a tree or brush looking as if it had been shredded, or a puddle of water that seemed very out of place. She must have been particularly angry, Bayer decided. She was known to retreat into the woods to blow off steam, but he’d only seen her shred the bark of trees to this extent a few times.

“There,” Lyre stopped, and flicked an ear ahead of him. The path led to what looked like a clearing, and in the center was Pearlie. She lay, sprawled on the ground with her scallop a few feet away.

“Hey, you okay Pearlie?” Bayer asked.

Pearlie lifted her head up, saw her brother, and let it fall back to the ground with a thump.

“No.”

“You still mad at me?” Bayer approached her. Judging by an oak with extremely shredded bark, the answer was still a yes. Instead of speaking, Pearlie snorted and reached for her scallop.

The scallop soared through the air, hit Bayer on the chest, and bounced to the ground.

Lyre snorted in laughter. Pearlie’s ears flicked, and she sat up, glaring in their direction.

“This isn’t funny!” she exclaimed, “You’re working with a murderer! You’re my brother, and you’re working with a ‘mon who did the worst crime, ever!”

Bayer was taken aback to see tears forming in his sister’s eyes.

“Why haven’t you turned him in! He could hurt you, or me, or anyone, and you’re dating him!”

“I won’t hurt anyone,” Lyre exclaimed, taking a step back, “I haven’t yet!”

“You hurt that Archen! You killed that Archen!” Pearlie shouted. Her hand shot to her belly, and then to the ground beside her. Before she could grab it, Bayer kicked the scallop behind him.

“I didn’t want my first mission to be like this!” Pearlie’s accusatory gaze met her brother’s. Then, she flopped back onto the ground, and turned her back to them.

“I just wanna find Cass,” she whimpered, “I just want to apologise.”

Bayer glanced at Lyre once silence fell. The taller Pokemon’s eyes were wide and his ears were laid back. He shook his head, and Bayer knew he would be of no help.

“Pearlie,” he sighed. She didn’t lash out at his approach, so he continued, until he could sit on the ground next to her. He put a paw on her side. She didn’t jerk away.

“I’m sorry, about all of this,” Bayer said, “It was wrong of me to not tell you all of this before.”

“I already knew,” Pearlie replied, her voice muffled by her over-sized bandana, “I saw it in a dream, but I didn’t know you knew.” She turned her head a little and looked at him with wide, teary eyes. “Why are you okay with him?”

“Pearlie, I’m not okay with...what he did,” Bayer struggled for the right words, “That’s the reason I wanted your help to begin with.”

“Huh?”

Pearlie turned fully around to face him. Bayer, with a glance in Lyre’s direction, tip-toed into an explanation of what he and Lyre had decided to do, and why. At the assertion that Harper may still be alive, Pearlie’s face lifted a miniscule amount.

“We wanted your help so we could see if Harper is alive or not,” Bayer finished, “But I won’t ask you to do that right now. Right now, we need to find Cassander. Can you help us with that?”

“Yeah,” Pearlie rubbed her eyes and sat up, “It’s my fault she ran away anyways.”

“It is?” Lyre asked. Pearlie shot him a glare, and Bayer shook his head at him. Lyre sat back down with a sour look on his face.

“I told her what he did,” she said, “and she got mad at me. She thought I was lying to her. I was mad that she thought I lied. I don’t lie!” she looked at her brother, who nodded. “We went to sleep, and then in the morning, she didn’t even say anything to me. She just...left? And then she was missing, and it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault, Pearlie,” Bayer put a paw on her shoulder, “You didn’t do anything wrong.” He put a paw on his chin, and furrowed his brow thoughtfully. “Actually, you just helped us a lot.”

“I did?” Pearlie asked.

“Yeah,” Lyre spoke before Bayer could. He didn’t move from his spot, and kept his muzzle towards the ground, “Now we know where Cassander went-- to Clarity’s.”

These Pokemon were really strange, Cassander decided.

The Whismicott and the Archen in front of her were a lot different than the Pokemon from Wisteria Village. They didn’t ask her where she came from, and didn’t even seem to know that she ran away. In fact, ever since she told them she was looking for Lyre, they hadn’t spoken a word to her.

The Archen--Harper--pulled aside Winnie--the Whismicott--, looking as if Giratina themself had burst out of the ground. She spoke in hushed tones, but Cassander knew she must have said something really wrong to get her this upset.

She considered apologizing, but these Pokemon weren’t paying her any mind. Could she just walk away? They certainly wouldn’t notice. But, she reasoned, last time she went off alone, she’d gotten stuck in a dungeon. The only reason she was out now was because of these strangers.

“--I don’t see why we can’t help her?” Winnie’s voice became clearer, “We don’t have anything else to do.”

“I don’t get along with, uh, explorers!” Harper squawked, “She can find L--her brother herself, probably?”

Cassander’s heart sank. Would they not help her after all?

“I’m sorry if I said something wrong,” she said meekly, “You don’t have to help me.”

Harper’s feathers fluffed,  and Winnie’s gaze snapped towards her as if they’d forgotten she was there.

“Oh, honey, of course we’ll help!” Winnie exclaimed, pushing past the Archen and dropping to a knee to look Cassander in the eyes.

“Hey, I didn’t say yes yet!” Harper replied.

Winnie ignored her, and continued looking at Cassander.

“C-Cassander, right?” they asked. When she nodded, they continued, “How old are you, Cassander?”

“I-I’m eleven?” she replied with a nervous flick of her tail.

“See! She’s just a kid, we can’t let a kid just wander around! We gotta help, come on!” Winnie’s tone wasn’t angry, but there was a flash of intensity in their gaze that made both Cassander and Harper take a step back.

Harper made a groaning sort of whine, and turned away from them. Her plumed tail twitched as she muttered incoherently to herself, and Cassander glanced at Winnie, who looked back with a small smile.

“Come on, Harper,” Winnie said, “It’s not like we have anything else to do, remember?”

With a long sigh, Harper turned to face them. She ran a talon over her face, sighed once again, and then spoke.

“Fine, sure,” she replied, “I’ll help you out.”