The next day, when they were heading to take the lunch, they heard that a group of Pokémon arrived in the middle of the judgement of Kapon. There were three representatives of the people of the south and, since the expedition was heading that way, they wanted to know as much as they can from the tabirans. Harry told them that they had some time to talk with them to clear things out.
With only Sabine complaining for a bit, everyone nodded and searched for any of the guilds leaders to have some information. They found Chandra, who explained where the ambassadors were waiting and a few considerations to not give them the wrong ideas and if the Shaymin named Mirya was with them in the debriefing, have the patience to listen and be wary of anything they could say. With that in mind, they headed to the house the three Pokémon were waiting. When they arrived, they discussed a few things between themselves.
“I don’t know how I’ll be part of the conversation” Cornelius commented
“There’s a window you can look inside” Harry pointed. “Let’s hope that is the room they’re waiting for us”
“Are you sure all of us have to be in this?” Sabine complained. “With only you that should be enough”
“You can always stay outside” He rolled eyes. “No one is denying you to”
“More heads in cases like this have more ideas than a single one, just for you to know” Katrina pointed.
“Um, and maybe you can have the right words to say” Brandon said, trying to support his partner.
‘Not his attitude again’ Sabine thought. ‘Every time he speaks in that way, I’m ending accepting it… nghaaaaaaah shit, he won’. “*Sigh* Okay, but don’t expect me to talk”
“If you’re lucky, you won’t have to” Harry assured and with the rest, excluding Cornelius, headed inside.
From what they could see, there were a few rooms in the house and a few signs of deterioration. Harry deduced it had been abandoned not long ago. After a few steps, they found two Pokémon in front of a table and a window on their left. One of them was an old Skiddo and the other one was from a species Katrina was certain to remember from a book, but she didn’t memorize the name well.
“Excuse me” Harry started. “Are you Adrias, Cerise and Mirya?”
“That’s us” The Skiddo answered. “I’m Adrias; the one who stays beside me is Cerise and Mirya is in the basement at the moment; are you coming with the tabirans”
“Correct” He introduced his group. “My name is Harry; the rest are Katrina, Brandon, Cornelius and Sabine”
“I see four of you” Cerise pointed. “Where is the last one?”
“Right here” Cornelius answered from the window, surprising her.
“Now that’s something you don’t see often” Adrias commented.
“We’re full of surprises” Katrina said. “If the room was a bit bigger, he could be in with us; at least in half body”
“I think I prefer this way” Cerise was a bit unsure of have a Golurk in the house.
“Well; now we can talk about more important things” Adrias suggested.
Everyone took their seats in front of the ambassadors and Brandon talked first. “So um… what do you want to know about?”
“Mainly the reasons of why are you far away from you lands, your purposes here and your destination: Fever Flats”
“We’ll do our best to explain everything” Harry organized all the information he knew before starting to explain. “First, I want to ask you if you know about the contaminated water that flows upstream”
“We know about it” Cerise admitted.
“One of the reasons we’re going to the south is that; the contamination has affected the population of Mosswood, one of the towns near Tabira and since the problem can be potentially dangerous for the entire continent, considering that the goo travels through the water, the guilds called us to help in any way we can”
“One of the members of the Scholars, Menthe, had created a tablet that can clean the water from that goo” Katrina added. “So with them we’re been able to solve the problem here, partially”
“And what about your actions against Don Kapon?” Adrias asked. “From the few things I’ve heard, you and your guilds stole a portion of water from his private reservoir, something that contradicts your way to ‘help’”
“I hope I don’t sound rude, but it feels like you’re defending him” Brandon commented. “Um, I know we did a bad thing, but the criminal boss did worse things than us; from what we know”
“He tells the truth” Harry said. “The prices of the barrels he offered were far too high, even before the crisis; also that he’s responsible for a dozen of atrocities he ordered his henchmen to do”
“We encountered them in the reservoirs and they sure would have cut us in pieces if we would give them the chance” Cornelius added. “You normally wouldn’t put that kind of people to protect something if you don’t want to make sure that your position of power wouldn’t be jeopardized”
“If you want my opinion, that Ludicolo had a taste of his own medicine” Sabine finally spoke, having enough of the autosuggested accusation. “Yeah, we stole that water; but there’s a difference between that and keeping it for yourself, leaving the rest in complete desperation like a real scumbag”
That took off guard all of her group. The looked at her for a bit in surprise, annoyance and something like pride. Brandon was more impressed than the others.
“I’m not defending him” Adrias pointed. “I wanted to know your real motives and you answered me with the truth and determination”
“In a way, he was bringing to the light your thoughts” Cerise explained. “Now we know you came here to help in any possible way”
“With that clear, we’re moving to the part of your destination, Fever Flats”
“That’s a point I want to explain; you see, I don’t live in Fernfrond Village, like Mirya does; I just stopped by once, and decided to stay for a while; but as long as I’m there, I might as well keep them in the loop of what’s going on; things aren’t going well for them… and you’re heading that way, which has historically been their land; that’s why Mirya was so agitated, by the way”
“So… she’s considering us as trespassers?” Brandon asked.
“More or less; and also that you’re a big group”
“Well, you know the reason of why we’re here” Katrina explained. “And it’s the same of why we’re moving to the south”
“Our guilds suspect that the origin to the problem comes from that place” Harry added. “There are some theories of what is causing it, but one thing is sure: we have to stop it at its source, before it becomes a real threat”
“Hmm, sounds like you have a plan” Adrias commented.
“Ehh, I… don’t think we have one, considering we don’t have much info to work with” He scratched his head a little embarrassed.
“If that is the case, I can fill you with everything we know about the situation in the south” Cerise suggested.
“So… we’re good?” Brandon asked.
“Actually, there’s one last thing I want to talk about, something a bit personal, and it respects to you and the Ninetales”
He started to get nervous. “W-what is it?”
She looked to Sabine. “For some reason, you were with the witch hunter Zavatier?”
Sabine tensed by the mere mention of her mentor. “How did you know that?”
“In my travels I saw him and a small Vulpix, accompanying him everywhere with the same necklace you’re wearing”
“And what if it’s me?”
“I know if this too blunt for you, but… how many witches have you took down?”
She looked to Brandon by pure instinct before giving an answer. “None, zero”
“But by the look of things, you’re with one right now; the only thing I remembered from you was that you were complaining for all the times Zavatier didn’t let you to hunt”
“And why do you talk like you’re relieved?” Cornelius asked from outside.
“From the stories, Zavatier is fast, sneaky and deadly; he’s one of the few witch hunters that don’t belong to any clan and refuse to join them, even fighting against them for the same witch” The next part put her nervous. “A few of his methods are questionable, but no one saw him doing them in public, just what he was willing to share; I thought that part of his ‘philosophy’ was in her life style”
“A bunch of Slowpokes and distractors” Sabine remembered his words about the clans.
“And how did you know Bran is a witch?” Katrina asked.
“Because the way they looked to each other; especially him, like he was expecting a number; that and the fact that an Absol with a diamond in the forehead is very rare and normally it corresponds to a witch, at least from what I heard in a few parts”
“Oh… sorry” Brandon apologized and lowered his head.
Adrias raised an eyebrow. “Why are you apologizing, boy?”
“It’s how he behaves” Katrina answered. “He… always thinks that he caused some kind of problem, even if it’s a small one”
“You don’t mind to explain how you’re ended together?” Cerise asked.
“Better ask Katrina” Sabine pointed to her. “She’s the responsible of pairing two opposites”
Cerise looked to the Espeon with a confused face. Katrina resumed the story of how they met Brandon and Sabine, and how she managed to create a team with them, against the witch huntress’s will. “In my opinion, that’s was a strange idea”
“For not saying insane, but I’m not going to find how her mind works”
“Then I have to warn you about something; Mirya is not very tolerant about witches, so in case of Brandon, he has to cover his identity from her”
“We can understand that he’s not going to bring any harm and will do the opposite, but Mirya will think as many times as she can before accepting his help” Adrias added. “As well as the southern people, since a problem with one of them”
“We’ll keep it in mind” Harry nodded.
“Okay, now I can explain what’s going on…” Cerise started, but the sound of a growl caught everyone’s attention. “What was that?”
Brandon had his eyes closed from embarrassment. “It… it was me; I’m hungry”
“I almost forgot it’s lunch time” Katrina remembered and grabbed her head. “The food!”
“I think we took a little longer than expected” Harry commented.
“Um, but we still have to know what’s going on in the south” Brandon said.
“Go to lunch, I’ll stay here and hear it”
“I’ll stay as well” Cornelius added since he didn’t need to eat.
“Are you sure?” Cerise asked.
“Yup” The Mightyena looked to Katrina. “Just save something for me”
She smirked. “No promises”
“Really?”
“Yipi”
With that settled; Katrina, Brandon and Sabine said goodbye to Cerise and Adrias and ran as fast as they could to have a portion of the lunch while Harry and Cornelius stayed back to learn about the situation. The Mightyena even asked for a paper and a pencil to take notes to explain it to the guild leaders later. When he finished, he was too hungry to think in anything else that was not food. The Golurk grabbed him and both headed to the rest of their group.
On arrival, the trio was too concentrated in eating to pay attention to anything else. Harry hopped down and saw that it wasn’t a portion for him.
“Kat, where’s my portion?” He asked when he was close to them.
“Sorry; we managed to get the three last portions” She answered, pointing to where they took them.
He left out a huge groan and slammed the table with his forehead. Then, with a poker face, he headed to Brandon. The Absol tried to look away and sitting beside him, the Mightyena left a sigh out. “Okay, buddy; where she hid the food?”
“Um…” He tried to keep the secret as Katrina told him.
“We both know what she’s capable of and the only witnesses here are you and Sabine, so tell me, where is it?”
“Well…”
“Below that barrel” Sabine answered, pointing it.
“Sabine! You’re taking out the fun part” Katrina complained.
She shrugged. “You only told Brandon to follow your idea, not me”
“Pff, buzzkill”
Harry chuckled, picked his food and put it on the table to eat. Later that day, he heard that the local orphanage needed some teams to help with reparations and some paws with the kids. When he commented to the group, Brandon started to shake. The mere mention of that place scared him, surprising all but Sabine. She explained very little for him about his situation giving them the idea, given that the moment he tried to talk, he was stuttering.
“Bran; I understand that you’re afraid, but this is a different orphanage” Katrina explained. “You’re much older than them and they’re not the same kids”
“Consider that they don’t know you and they live in worse conditions” Harry added. “And we’re together in case something happens”
“Just try this one time, okiie? I can help you if you feel lost”
Brandon took his good minutes to think with his memories and own apprehensions mixing with them. His respiration was forced, trying to not fall for the dizziness. Then Sabine stood in front of him and looked to his eyes.
“Brandon, look to me” She ordered.
When he looked her eyes, he felt that he was seeing concern, authority and… security. Something odd to see in someone that is your opposite in the witch terms.
“You maybe still are a crying baby boy, but you’re not defenseless; you can fight back” Her tone was rude as usual, but trying to get him focused, as she remembered in her training. “Imagine what would happen if they know you’re a witch: they’ll be ones who’re scared; you’ll be the bully instead of them”
He didn’t say anything.
“Do you want to return the favor doing the same those assholes did to you to them?”
“N-no” He shocked his head. “Because… because I won’t b-be better than them”
“Exactly; so get this to your brain: they’re not your bullies, they’re not part of your fear, and they’re not anything to you” She grabbed his head with her paws. Now he was feeling a little afraid. “So you’ll get your ass there, put you good guy face and make them forget their problems for a while, understood?”
He nodded as many times as he could.
“Good, shall we move?”
Katrina and Harry were trying to process what they just witnessed. Sabine took her a few seconds to get him on the line while they didn’t know how to help him. Then they realized that those two are a team, something that they started to forget since they were always moving as one single group. Obviously, they knew better how the other thinks or acts, or at least that is what they believed. When they arrived at the orphanage, they saw that the structure was standing barely and severally damaged.
“I heard that it was in a bad shape” Harry commented. “But I never thought that it was going to fall in any moment”
“Well… there are some repaired parts there and there” Katrina pointed the locations were other teams worked. “So I guess it’ll hold a little longer”
“Do you know to who we’re supposed to meet?” Cornelius asked.
“The Artisasn architect, Cetra; and the owner, Seren”
“Um, I think they’re inside” Brandon said.
“Then let’s go, the rest of the building won’t repair itself” Harry said.
In the orphanage, they saw a lot of kids running everywhere as a Liepard was trying to keep them out of danger. They also saw Prier, sitting there and doing nothing to help. Meanwhile, an Electabuzz was marking some weak points of the structure for immediate reparations. The four Pokémon bypassed the bored Absol and headed directly to the other two.
“Miss Cetra?” Katrina asked.
The Electabuzz turned around and greeted them. “It’s me; are you here to help us?”
“Yes, all of us” Brandon answered.
“That’s good, which reminds me… you have a Golurk in your team, right?” She asked to Katrina.
“Yipi, he’s outside” She answered.
“I’m going to need him with that ability he possesses to stay in half body to put some supports; he can check through the windows the marked places he has to stay”
“Okiie”
“So… who will be the ones who can help me?”
“Me” Harry offered.
“I guess me too” Sabine added.
“Me and Brandon are going to watch the children” Katrina said.
“Okay, talk to Seren to see what you have to do” Cetra looked to Harry and Sabine. “You two, come with me outside with Cornelius to explain the details”
While Cetra, Harry and Sabine were heading out, Katrina and Brandon approached to Seren, who managed to calm the kids for a bit. From the looks of her, she was not having a good day and she was about to lose the patience.
“Um, are you okay?” Brandon asked.
Seren turned to them and she expressed her relief. “Oh, thank heavens; I thought I wouldn’t make it”
“What’s going on?” Katrina asked worried.
“The kids are quite hyper active today” She explained. “I think someone had the pleasure to teach them how to make a mess and because of that, it was hard to keep them calmed”
“Is there any way we can help?”
“Yes” She took air to relax and continue. “Do any of you know a game in which the children can tire enough so we can do more relaxed things?”
Katrina thought for a moment. “OH! I know one, but we have to go outside and we need a ball”
“That should be good” Seren agreed. “Cetra won’t have to worry about the children while she’s working”
Before they could head out, Brandon called Katrina to talk. “Um, can I stay out of this one?”
“Are you sure? It’ll be fun” But from the look of his face, she deduced that he was still afraid. “*Sigh* Okiie, don’t worry; but watch that none of the kids wander of their own; this time we’re all in the opening”
Once outside, Seren let Katrina organize the kids, while she, Brandon and Prier were watching at some distance from them. The game the Espeon had in mind was called “Cities and towns”, where everyone had a name of any settlement in the continent and in the moment the name was mentioned when the ball was launched, the Pokémon had to run to it while the others took distance. If they catch it before it touched the ground, they could call another one until it hits the floor. Then they had to throw it to the nearest player, giving themselves three jumps to approach.
The children and Katrina were playing for at least a quarter of hour. Since she put the rule of no using any moves that can give advantage in the game or they would have to go with Seren, the kids were having a hard time. In the meantime, Cetra, Harry, Sabine and Cornelius were repairing the building. Without anyone inside, it was easier to move the materials, make the replacements in the key points of the structure and seal the cracks in the walls. In one opportunity, Prier tried to sneak away, only to be spotted by the Mightyena before he could do it.
“Going somewhere?” Harry asked.
“It’s none of your business” Prier replied, still furious about the last time.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I guess is Cetra and Seren’s business, too”
“Get out of my way”
“Maybe we should tell Seren about your intentions, shall we?”
“You wouldn’t…”
“MISS SEREN!”
Everyone turned around and saw them. Seren wasn’t pleased to see Prier too far away. Without any word, she headed to the pair and, grabbing his horn, she forced him to return with them. The kids were laughing at the scene and singing ‘The Absol is in trouble’, making his mood gets worse. Brandon and Katrina tried to avoid eye contact with him to not add ‘wood to the fire’.
Later, Cetra gave the word that they could get inside now that the orphanage was in a better condition, but she warned that they still working, so the kids had to stay away from them. Inside, they did more relaxed activities as Seren suggested, such as: drawing, storytelling, memory games, etc.
In all that time, Brandon was still away from the kids. No matter how many times he remembered the words of Sabine, he was still unsure of how to interact with them. The only memories he retained from his orphanage the most is that he spent the great part of his time alone; hiding in any place he could find to cry, even with the owner to feel a bit of safety, since she was the only one who cares for him.
Then something caught his attention. A Spearow was popping out his head from the common bedroom. When the bird looked to him, it closed the door and run back to hide. Seeing that the rest was occupied, he stood up and headed to the kid. Slowly, he opened the door. He counted fifteen places to sleep, but no sign of the Pokémon. He tried to think which places he would use and started to search.
After some time, checking below in some of the beds, inside the remaining cracks in the walls and other hiding places; he found the kid in a small crate with a few construction materials. The Spearow was crying with both wings covering his head. ‘He’s like me, an unwanted’ Brandon thought. Being careful, he tried to place a paw on the bird’s back, but he startled him and seeing the Absol near him, he covered with his wings again, trembling.
“Please! Don’t hurt me!” The Spearow pleaded.
Brandon felt sympathy for the kid. He resembled a lot of his past and as his caretaker, he tried to be as gentle as possible. “It’s okay, um… are you alright?”
The kid didn’t answer for at least a minute until he realized that nothing happened to him. He looked to Brandon still scared. “Y-you’re not going to hurt me?”
He shocked his head. “I won’t, bec-cause I don’t want you to suffer more than you already had”
The kid was still unsure, but little by little, he got out from the crate. He avoided eye contact with Brandon and kept his eyes closed. “Y-you don’t what I’ve been through” He said depressed.
“You mean the humiliation of just being different?”
The bird opened his eyes and stared at Brandon as if he found someone who understood what he was saying. The eyes of the Absol were expressing similar things in terms of emotions as the Spearow. They kept quiet for some time.
“Um, what’s your name?”
“Stuart, and yours?”
“Brandon”
“Heh, cool name”
“Um… thank, I guess?”
“Are you alone, too?”
“Not anymore, I have some friends now”
“But you were before, right?”
“… yeah, it’s something I wanted to forget, but…”
“… yeah, a little hard, isn’t it?”
They both laughed a little. Stuart was feeling better with Brandon around. Even if he was older than him, he felt that he can talk freely, without the fear of being pointed and mocked by the other children.
“Um, do you want to do something?” Brandon proposed.
“Hmm, can we try something?” Stuart asked.
“Sure, but what is it?”
Stuart approached to Brandon and whispered to his hear.
“Oh, I think we can do that; let’s ask Seren if she has those games, papers and pencils”
When they got out; Harry, Sabine and Cornelius had finished their part. The Mightyena was keeping an eye on Prier while the Ninetales was only watching Katrina playing with the children. They headed directly to Seren and asked if she had what they needed. When she gave them the stuff, Brandon took one of the empty crates and turned around to be a table.
They spent the rest of the time playing with a tower of wooden bricks to see who would make it fall first, completing the word before a Pidgey gets strangled and drawing what the other was thinking with a few clues. Harry also joined them when Sabine switched with him. The other kids avoided Stuart and didn’t make him join with them.
When the children were heading to sleep, Brandon asked Seren about Stuart, with Katrina listening. She told him that the boy was found in a ravine with a wind broken. She tried to make him interact with the other kids, but the few times she tried, it ended in mockery and sometimes in abuse. One of his problems is that he couldn’t fly and others derived of his solitude were his imaginary friends and have a better relationship with people older than him. The Liepard couldn’t find a solution, given the circumstances the territory was experiencing; only separate him from the rest until she can find someone to take care of him as a viable option.
Brandon supposed with bitterness that Stuart’s life was following a similar pattern like him. He could end running away, finding refugee in another place. He commented it with Katrina on the way back to the tent and the Espeon started to see their options. Having a kid in an expedition like the one they’re in was risky, but what he said was a big possibility and the boy could be in something even more dangerous. She replied to him that they need some time to think about it, because it was not a decision to take lightly.
