Clarification

    Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus. Each step was as natural as walking, but I silently repeated the mantra regardless. The world was fading away, the wind against my fur and the murmurings of the gathered crowd seemed miles apart from me, dreamlike, even. I slipped further and further into my trance, like sinking into a quicksand made of feather pillows, and all the while time and space seemed to halt and be pulled back like cheap wallpaper.

    That was ideal, or would be for most readings. But for this affair it was not necessary to go so deep. Catching myself, my eyes snapped open, and I thrust my wand out with a flourish. My eyes could see the crowd, but my mind could not; their forms were nothing but amorphous blobs that could not decide whether to be then, before, or later. But I cared little; this part was simply for show, and by the collective gasps it seemed to be adequately so. Besides, it was always much more enjoyable to give the overly flashy divinations.

    Only one thing stayed solid for me: the flame. Like a thousand times before and a thousand times after, it sprung to life at the tip of my wand. It burned brightly, swaying back and forth with slow movements. I was long accustomed to the psychic pressure it exuded, though judging by some of the unintelligible murmurs this crowd of pokemon were less prepared for the side effects of peering through the veil of time.

    I brought the wand closer, focusing on it. Everything but that dancing fire melted away, and I could see. Not one image, but a thousand, a million, all at once within the flame. Breathe. Focus. I squinted, forcing the set of images I desired to coalesce; it only filtered out an infinite number of scenes from a somewhat smaller infinite number, but it was enough.

    A galvantula. The galvantula. I saw her skitter forth, high on hope and the satisfaction of creation as she balanced the basket of accessories upon her back, affixed with her web. She seemed so proud, which made it even more crushing when the wind suddenly picked up from the clear blue sky. Her four legs kept her steady as she hunched down to endure it, but her webbing was not so resilient. With a snap, it came undone, sending the fabrics and clothing she worked so hard tumbling to the dirt and mud, her confidence and joy with it.

    I blinked. Everything stopped, frozen in place before dissolving. It didn’t matter how many times I did it or how much I anticipated it; the ensuing backlash as all the images rushed back onto me made my head spin. But as always, it was over before I knew it, and I stared out at the crowd of pokemon once more, the galvantula in front eyeing me expectantly. It took a second before their forms reshaped themselves into pokemon, longer than I’d have liked--I would need more practice.

    Regardless, the flame had vanished and the crowd was waiting. I was glad I could do divinations sitting down, as I felt I would collapse otherwise. Spinning the wand in my paw, I sheathed it smoothly into my tail before nodding sagely--or at least, what I had practiced to appear as sagely.

    “Mmm, yes. I see. You’ve been working very hard to perfect your accessories for the Artisan’s fashion show within a week. A commendable endeavor, and your works will be amazing.”

    A voice rang out from the crowd, yelling “Tell us something we don’t know, fake!” A heckler and unbeliever. There always was one, and given the sheer amount of charlatans I didn’t blame them. But it didn’t matter. The best course of action was always to continue, and so I did.

    “However, the day of the event, it shall be far windier than expected.” I could see her eyes light up when I mentioned it. “I saw you get the idea of strapping down your designs, carried in a basket, to your back with your webbing, but I am sorry to say that such threads are not strong enough. As you venture to the fashion show, a gust of wind will assail you, breaking your webbing and spilling your accessories to the mud.”

    I could see the distress upon her face, rearing back as she frantically waved a leg. “What! Oh my gosh, ALL of my stuff? I can’t lose ALL of my stuff! What do I do!?”

    I smiled, tilting my head. “Hm, well, I would suggest perhaps some rope, or to get a friend to help carry them for you. Your leavanny friend will find himself free, and I saw he would be perfectly willing to assist you. I would suggest that, though obviously there are many different paths you can take to avoid such a disaster.”

    I wasn’t prepared for her to advance upon me, bringing out both forelegs to pinch my forepaws and shake them vigorously. “Thank you thank you thank you! I’d be super screwed if I lost all my stuff, like, oh my gosh, you don’t even know!”

    “Heheh...well, I’m just hoping to provide aid and avoid unfortunate events. After all, that is the purpose of divination.” My goodness, for a pokemon without hands she had a strong grip. I felt like my own paws--no--forelegs would go numb with her shaking assault.

    “No, really, it helps a lot! Oh my goodness I wouldn’t have even known to think about that!” She finally released me, thank the stars, and nodded with a gleam in her eyes. “Seriously, thank you again. I’m gonna go get some rope right now!”

    “Well, like I said, there are multiple…” But it was too late. She had already scampered off, though not without placing a few coins within my tip jar. That was the most important thing; I didn’t need to predict the future to know that I’d be sleeping hungry without generous donations. Further inspired, I turned my attention back to the enraptured crowd.

    “Very well! Which one of Tabira’s residents would desire a divination next?” I gave a friendly face, waving to the murmuring crowd with one paw. In truth I’d lost count of how many readings I had done that day and I can already feel a migraine starting to come on, but Casnein and I hadn’t eaten anything the past day and a half since coming to Tabira, and half-full tip jars make half-full stomachs. At the very least, the gathered pokemon seemed entranced by my showmanship, so there was definitely a call for business. Despite all their excitement and talking amongst themselves, they all seemed hesitant to step up. Well, save one.

    As the blue-furred electrike padded forward, oversized eyebrows only accentuating his skeptical scowl, I instantly knew this one would be trouble. “Me. I’ll take a reading,” he said, and I instantly recognized the voice of the heckler not a minute ago.

    “Of course! The universe holds many secrets, and I’d be glad to unravel--”

    “Spare me the theatrics and rigmarole,” he said, sitting on haunches and folding his forelegs. The way he glared at me carried an uncomfortable authority, like a king staring down an upstart subject. “Just tell me something in my future that you couldn’t know by just looking at me. And be specific; I know all soothsayers tricks.”

    Well, that was decisive. I nodded. “Very well. Then please, sit back and allow me!” He only gave a grunt in response. Characters like him were always trouble with the way they turned the crowd. It was only natural; I’d seen many a phony seer in my day myself. But pokemon like him could be useful, when I proved their skepticism wrong at least. Regardless, if he wanted specific, I would have to pull out all the stops.

    Breathe. Focus. I gathered my power again, taking out my wand. The crowd became nothing but distant shapes, their words muted, unintelligible babble. I was sinking, further and further, into a nebulous ocean, yet this time I could not afford to come up for air. The world became nothing. My body became nothing. I could not even remember my own name. All my years prior and all my years to come squashed into a single dreamlike moment. Nothing was real, except for the flame.

    Like a lighthouse, it shone out across this ocean of time, inviting me forward. I reached out towards it, but it wasn’t my paw that did; the dainty orange was replaced with a tough, hardened blue. The flame drew closer before enveloping everything, sight, sound, smell. It all faded into a light blue, like snow.

    I could hear crying. Somewhere, someone was crying. With each step, my pained and weary body trudged through the snow towards it, a figure in the distance. They felt familiar...my heart jumped when I heard them, but I could not tell if it was out of nostalgia and the joy of reuniting, or fear for something I wished to forget.

    But it didn’t matter. I had to go forward. Each step was wobbly, everything fuzzy. The figure before me would not stay a consistent shape, their sobs masculine, feminine, both, neither, all at the same time. It was like looking through a deep fog; I tried to concentrate, but that only brought a shaking, nauseating pain through my body. Was it my own lack of perception? No, I remembered this, the real I. This was something the true me had encountered before, this fuzziness. A block. It was from someone else, a curtain that I could not hope to claw through. I called out with words I did not know, trying desperately to reach them. The figure turned, looked at me with a million different eyes, and--

    I was torn away. Everything collapsed as I was pulled back violently. I held my paw out, seeing it flicker between orange and blue, before the scene before me dissolved. Everything became a violent cacophony of a million different points, myself shattered and spread across innumerable scenes. For a brief moment that lasted an eternity, I felt everything. And then, nothing. Absolutely nothing. The thing that was me floated in an unfeeling mass.

    Eventually, I felt something. It was a grasp. Noises...a voice, called out to me. At first it was nothing but babble, heard six feet underwater. But it seemed to pull me to the surface, becoming closer and closer.

    “S...S...a! S...Ca...Can you….Sonata!”

    I opened my eyes, gasping for air. My surroundings twisted back into something resembling real, and I recognized the paws on my shoulder and the face in front of me.

    “Oh...Casnein…”

    “Sonata! You alright, dude?” he said, his snout nearly touching mine. “Sheesh, I told you to be careful; are you ok? Can you walk?”

    I brushed his paw aside weakly. “Thank you, Casnein, but I’m fine.” Mostly fine. My head throbbed like it was cracked open with a hammer, and every small movement made me want to vomit. I pulled myself up and looked out across the crowd, my vision shaky. Gone were their entranced smiles, now replaced with a collective grimace of concern. Even the electrike seemed afraid.

    I took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I apologize for the wait.”

    The blue pokemon spoke up. “You just...went catatonic…”

    Ugh. I really did push myself too far. No matter. “Ah, how unprofessional of me. I mean to lay no blame or anything of the sort, but I simply wished to be more accurate. Now then…” I tried to concentrate. So many images, and still a fuzzy power. It pressed down upon me even now; every time something solid formed, it tore into me, ripping the scene apart. I frowned. This wouldn’t do, but I’d have to give my verdict.

    “I see...cold. Yes, lots of cold and snow, a biting cold. In it, you saw someone. Someone you had all but forgotten about and do not not truly even know, but you will be reunited with.” He raised his large eyebrow as I continued. “The meeting is inevitable...there is a tumult of emotions. They are important, but whether you seek out this meeting or wish to avoid it…”

    “What did they look like?” His voice was curt, foregoing the concern he had before. “Can you tell me?”

    “I…” I tried to pull up the image again, and again I was met with a wave of nausea and fuzziness. What species? What gender? What was their voice? What was their smell? Every question brought up a million contradictory answers. After awhile, I had to sigh and admit defeat. I slid my tip jar away.

    “I...I am sorry. I do not know. The image was too convoluted; it is quite unprofessional of me.” I dug out some coins from the jar and laid them before me. “Here, as compensation. I’ve no excuse to have a reading interfered like this, and I apologize for the inconvenience, my good ‘mon.”

    The electrike looked down at the coins, then back at me. There was a quizzical look upon his face, as if he were himself trying to remember something. He reached out, laying a paw on the coins before pushing them back towards me. “Keep it,” he said. “I didn’t put down any money, and I’m not so hard up that I need to rob the destitute anyway.”

    I didn’t know how to take that, but all I wanted to do was not faint. Fortunately, Casnein was there to support me. I simply murmured, “Thanks…”

    “Alright, folks!” the rattata called out. “That’s it for today! The Great Sonata needs to rest a bit; come back some other time for all your fortune telling needs!” The crowd chatted amongst themselves, but eventually dispersed, leaving me and Casnein alone.

    Well, mostly alone. Two pokemon remained; a lucario and a shiny mawile, each wearing an accessory about their chests made of green leaves. I could tell they were not the usual crowd when they approached us.

    The lucario was the first to speak. “Ah, did we catch you at a bad time? We saw your performance and couldn’t help but notice it.”

    Casnein folded his arms. “If you have a question for Sonata here, you’ll have to wait--”

    “Casnein, please,” I said, raising a paw. “I don’t think they’re here for divinations.”

    “That’s mostly true!” the mawile said. I noticed she did not walk, but float, a quill in one paw and a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard in the other. “My coworker did tell me of two new pokemon arriving the other day, but did not mention that they’d be street performers.”

    “Oh, my divinations aren’t just performances!” I said. “I truly wish to help the people.”

    “Then...what is with the jar of money?” The mawile pointed her pen towards it. “It seems like quite an odd way to busk!”

    “Oh...well…” I looked at it sheepishly, my ears turning down. “The readings are free; these are simply tips. We haven’t been in Tabira long, and…” I didn’t need to finish my statement, my body doing it for me as Casnein’s and my stomach grumbled. I’d been entranced so long I’d forgotten just how hungry I was. I looked away, my face warm, as the lucario spoke for once.

    “Well, that is very charitable of  you! Though please don’t push yourself; if you two need meals, the guild has plenty to provide for the hungry.”

    “Ah, thank you…”

    “But the real reason we’re here,” the lucario said, directing her attention towards Casnein. “You had wished to meet with the guilds and register, yes? We can definitely do that, and are always looking for more pokemon to help out!”

    My tail swished, and I looked to Casnein. “You told them we wanted to register?”

    “Of course, dude!” There was a proud glint in his eye. “It is a job, right? After all, isn’t that what you wanted to do?”

    The question pierced me, but I nodded. At the very least I could feel some comfort in the fact that they sent these two pokemon in particular to scout us out. It was surprising, really, but at least knowing they were part of the guild eased my fears of repercussions. I looked up to them. “Yes, we would like to register.”

    “Excellent!” The mawile said. She put her quill to paper. “Now registration will take a little bit, but why don’t we get your names, first?”

    “Sonata.”

    “Casnein.”

    “I see…” she scrawled something down. “And as for your team?” I looked to Casnein, and he nodded before I responded back.

    “You may call us...Modal Soul.”