Watching her partner remove the cannula from Ninetails’s body, Tanya passes a medicated adhesive bandage that Amelia quickly presses onto the wound, preventing any further bleeding and allowing the medicine to get to work.

  They’ve been here assisting the Head Nurse for close to two hours, and in the entire time Ninetails has been within arms reach of Amelia the ‘mon has not looked away even once. She’d barely blinked, the fourth time Tanya’s seen her do so was just now, as she watches the Joy smooth the bandage and wrap it in some sterile cloth.

  “Not that knot.” The elder nurse says in a barely raised voice from where she’s disinfecting and breaking down the dialysis machine. “Remember who you’re helping.”

  “Yes Head Nurse. Sorry Head Nurse.” Amelia calls back, disentangling her reef knot and retying a slip knot in its place.

  It would be quite difficult to untie most kinds of knots without telekinesis or thumbs, of which the patient has neither.

  Tanya tilts her head, filing the lesson away.

  The correction has Ninetails mutter something in her partially incomprehensible nonsense, to which the ‘mon struggles to piece together from context and what little she can understand.

  It’s not often she has to think about how exactly she’s talking, as a matter of fact she’s found thinking about it too hard causes problems all its own, but this strange corruption of her inborn tongue almost forces her to think about it.

  Because she never learned how to speak like this, the moment she came out of the egg she knew how to understand and speak the language, something that is –presumably– normal from everything she’s experienced, but the fact that this ‘genetic language’ appears to… drift is an interesting side effect she’d not considered.

  …She wonders if there are any academic papers on the topic, this strange cross between linguistics and genetics feels like catnip for scientists.

  Blinking to discard erroneous thoughts, Tanya gets back to work, packing everything that looks like it belongs in the current century away as they finish their work and Ninetails slowly rises to her feet with a synchronised swish of her tails.

  As she rises Amelia opens her mouth, but hesitates, then turns to her partner.

  “Could you tell Ninetails to not touch the bandage for another half hour–”

  “Till sundown. Hours don't mean anything to her.” The Head Nurse interrupts.

  “Right.” The younger Joy agrees.

  Tanya nods, turning to look at the ‘mon.

  Another artifact of this strange lingual drift, Ninetails appears completely unable to understand humans, and Tanya has no authority to even begin to guess at why that is.

  “Wait till sundown before removing that.” She says, pointing at the bandage. “We want to avoid… illness.”

  The patient rolls her eyes, shaking out her coat with a huff.

  “That is yliche, this hath beene doon to me for lengere than thou hast–” She cuts herself off with a grimace and narrows her eyes. “I will… do thus. I give, thanks.”

  With that the ‘mon rises, swirling her tails in a deliberately complicated pattern that gives the illusion they’re independent living things before looking to the Head Nurse.

  “Farwel y-chosen, I shal returne upon the nexte quarter day.” She says in her same almost arrogant voice, but as she does her gaze seems to catch on the wall where she’d been looking during the earthquake, toward the mountain.

  Keeping her gaze in the distance for a moment, she eventually enters a slinking walk toward the statue in the center of the room while her tails still shift in that almost mesmerising pattern, moving to go around her stone likeness in a shallow arc instead of moving toward the door.

  As she walks, her head turns slowly to Amelia, and when she speaks her voice sounds as if it’s echoed by the weight of time itself.

  “Farwel, Fyre-born y-chosen, frend of a wardeyn of hir lyne, I hope thy wille be strong ynough to eftsoones hele the maister of the lond.”

  Then she passes behind the statue, and nothing emerges from the other side but a few drifting sparks.

  Tanya blinks in surprise, glancing around for any hint of where the ‘mon went.

  How in the…

  “Wait, what!?” Amelia half shouts, proving to be far less reserved by the sight. “That voice– how did she– where– What!?”

  The head nurse, only looking mildly surprised by the gravitas and subsequent disappearing act, can only shrug.

  “She can do that. No idea, but her line are known to be skilled illusionists so…” She trails off, and by the tone Tanya can tell she doesn't really believe the explanation she’s offering.

  Amelia has no such qualms, nodding with a roll of the eyes.

  “Of course, thank you Nurse.” She says with a half laugh, as if embarrassed for falling for the ‘trick.’

  The Head Nurse hesitates, glancing at Tanya only to meet a mirrored gaze back, then kneels down and picks up the dialysis machine with a long groan of effort.

  “Right. Job done. Grab as much as you can carry on your way out, I want this done in as few trips as…” She trails off, eyes widening as Amelia picks up a full duffel bag of medical equipment, the battery bank, and two large jugs of used dialysate with a grunt while the rest flares purple and rises into the air. “...Oh.”

  Amelia gives an inquisitive hum as she adjusts her load to a more comfortable configuration.

  “Yes Nurse?”

  The elder Joy just shakes her head.

  “Let’s go, and be careful with the stairs, the quake could have damaged something.”

  With that both Joys file out of the room, with Tanya following closely behind, taking what turns out to be unnecessary care on the stairs after sealing the large honden door and walking out the building the way they came.

  Having already broken one of the most extreme taboos of a shrine, and having received the explicit approval of the ‘kami’ within, the sense of wrongness of not following those old rituals is significantly lessened as they walk down the prayer hall. But even this lingering residue of broken taboo appears to be confined solely to Tanya, her traveling companions give no tells of discomfort or worry even after violating the supposed holy space.

  The ‘mon slows down a touch as she dismisses the thoughts on the lack of respect for the shrine.

  It’s not like she’s offended, every time before she’d thought that all the rituals were silly too.

  But what a shock that there’s a shrine here at all.

  She’d done some limited investigations on the religion of this place, her results were inconclusive and she’d let her search slip after discovering that, aside from a few old legends, there appeared to be no organized systems of worship, certainly none large enough to pose a structural threat.

  She’d meant to look into it further, but she’d been busy and the non-urgent personal project just… never came up. A clear oversight with the discovery of a complete shrine being treated with confusion and like a common building despite there being a kami just sitting right ther–

  Tanya exhales through her nose to expel the irritation, both at herself and at the world at large for behaving so strangely.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  As soon as possible, she’s taking a much more thorough look at the religion and spiritual lore of this place, she’d become far too lax with this avenue of inquiry after confirming the lack of organized religion, a threat she recognizes, that she’d unknowingly left herself unarmed to potential new dangers.

  The ‘mon is interrupted from her quiet planning as they approach the lone bell, hanging near the front steps she’d passed on the way in.

  Tanya finds her feet slowing, and as the others continue they don't seem to notice or glance back as the ‘mon comes to a stop beside the worn rope.

  …This is ridiculous. It’s not a spirit, and why would that ‘mon care about money?

  She doesn't have any food eithe–

  …

  Tanya looks down at her egg.

  …This is ridiculous.

  All the same, she finds herself reaching down, pulling the egg from its pouch, and placing it beneath the half rotten offering box.

  This is not a prayer. It’s… nostalgia. Ninetales made no claim to any power, she did not demand worship, and Tanya is not asking for anything in return.

  The patient lost a fair amount of blood due to them intruding on her home uninvited, a failure of their duty to heal. This is just compensation for damages.

  With that thought in mind she does not bow or supplicate herself as she reaches out and shakes the rope so softly that the bell barely whispers its chime, before turning around and speeding off to catch up with the others, who’d apparently not noticed Tanya lagging behind.

  Drawing up alongside just as the group gets to the stairs, Amelia gives her partner an inquisitive look, then leans closer.

  “So, with the spooky echo voice Ninetails did. What did she say?” She asks quietly in the darkening forest. “You said you had a hard time understanding her? How is that possible? I thought you were born knowing how to talk.”

  Tanya scrunches her face slightly as she tries to figure out how to answer the question.

  “I am. It’s… hard to describe.” She starts. “I could understand the broad strokes most of the time, but the details are lost to me. Something about saying goodbye, something about strength, then the rest of it’s incomprehensible.”

  “...I don't get it.” Amelia mutters, glancing forward before leaning back in. “Can you just… say what she said? Directly? I’ve never heard of two pokemon being unintelligible to each other.”

  Tanya blinks, then nods with a shrug, but as she opens her mouth to copy what she’d heard she realizes she’s genuinely struggling to express what she remembers hearing. But, after a bit of conviction and a few attempts of opening her mouth but nothing coming out, she manages to choke out a passable copy.

  As she finishes forcing the unfamiliar words from her mouth, the ‘mon realizes her partner has a slightly pained expression on her face, shaking her head and adjusting her cargo to massage around her eyes.

  “...ow. That gave me a headache.” She says at a normal volume. “I got none of that.”

  From the front, the Head Nurse gives something that sounds suspiciously like a laugh as they reach the bottom of the stairs.

  “You know I tried the exact same thing with my partner when I was first assigned here.” She says, coming to a stop at the inside of the external torii and turning around. “Only a tiny headache though, so unless you’re exaggerating that’s unique to… whatever that was.”

  “You’ve never seen that before?” Amelia asks, watching the elder Joy put down her dialysis machine and adjust her blouse as she stands up.

  “Never. But I’ve been caring for Ninetails since I was your age and it feels like she does something new every time I go up there.” She says, before clapping her hands together and giving a bow to the stairs, before looking as if she’s trying to mask embarrassment as she rises, as if just now realizing what she’d done. “Ah… It’s… just something my predecessor did before leaving this place.”

  Amelia blinks in minor confusion, then shrugs as Tanya files the information away for later.

  “Alright.” The trainer says, before adjusting her load and looking back behind her to the stairs. “...Should I do that too?”

  She trails off when the elder Joy dismisses the offer with a wave before picking up the machine again.

  “Dont worry about it.”

  —--

  The walk back from the quiet, almost abandoned, area of Lavaridge and back into the permanent streetlights and nightlife of the town is both gradual and stark.

  It’s also the greatest shift in age demographic Tanya’s ever seen.

  When she’d seen all the young people both working and patronizing the gym, an idle thought she’d had was to wonder where in the world they are in the rest of the town. It turns out they were just hiding out in the nightlife, where both Tanya and Amelia had chosen not to explore, a lack of interest on the ‘mon’s part and presumably the same with her partner.

  The streets aren't crowded, not like how it is with the elderly during the day, but the vigor and life of the small pockets of young boys and girls with belts of pokeballs on their hips and partners by their sides more than makes up for it.

  The sun isn't even down yet, if this is the state of things at the start of the night, Tanya’s almost worried about the potential state of things when the night really gets going.

  From the sideward disapproving glances the elder Joy is giving a few of the groups as she passes them by, it’s clear she agrees with Tanya’s prediction, and considering the fact that she’s lived in this place it’s practically a confirmation.

  Thankfully, aside from some slightly surprised or confused glances, no one bothers them and soon enough they leave what appears to be the heart of the nightlife and make their way the final distance back to the pokecenter.

  The instant the Head Nurse steps inside the sliding doors and confirms that there’s no one inside, she seems to sag, breathing a long sigh of relief with a nod to Ambrette as she mans the counter.

  “...Goodness, I need a shower.” She breathes, reminding Tanya of exactly how disheveled she looks.

  “Lily!” Chansey’s voice calls from the back, followed by a series of thuds and the back room door being thrown open by an out of breath partner. “Finally! I was getting worried!”

  The elder Joy nods.

  “Well. I’m back.” She says, smiling slightly as her partner bounds over and presses a sparkling green arm against her partner's thigh. “Thank you Chansey.”

  “Thank me when we’re home.” The ‘mon counters, half dragging her partner toward the back by the hem of her skirt “You look like you didn't eat anything while you were up there. I bought the stuff for goulash so you can have an actual meal. But first you really do need a shower because…”

  Her voice fades as the duo disappear into the back, leaving Tanya and her partner with the synthetic Joy watching them from the counter.

  “Everything go alright?” She asks from across the room, glancing at the baggage they’re still carrying. “All that needs to be cleaned before it can be put back in storage, just drop it off in the cleaning supply closet. If Tammy doesn't deal with it on her shift tonight you can tomorrow.”

  “Yes Nur– aw shoot!” The Joy cuts herself off with a shout, looking up at the clock on the wall. “...Ok, I still have time!”

  Watching her partner rush toward the cleaning supply closet, Tanya is confused at the sudden rush, an emotion apparently mirrored by Ambrette, who watches silently as the Joy shove everything she’d been carrying inside, glancing at the clock all the whil–ah.

  The meetup with Marshtomp’s trainer and his friends.

  Tanya glances at the clock again, then picks up the pace shoving her own cargo into the closet as she realizes the time.

  They’d meant to spend an hour or two in their hotel between getting off work and heading out to meet up, but with the delay they’ll be lucky to be on time at all.

  Slamming the closet door shut, Amelia yanks the ribbon of her apron loose and throws it underneath the counter as she rushes behind it to log her clock out time. But as she ducks down to do so she lets out another cry of alarm.

  “Shoot!” She shouts, popping up from behind the counter with a wax paper wrapped package in hand before vaulting over the countertop to get to the door faster.

  Before she can get there the door opens on its own, revealing the suspicious and irate gaze of the disheveled Head Nurse, the top button of her collar undone.

  “What in the world are you shouting about out h–” She’s cut off by the package being shoved into her hands and Amelia’s flurry of words.

  “HeySorryIForgotButAuntyVeeToldMeToGiveThisToYouHappyBirthdayI’veGotToGoBYE!”

  The elder Joy is stunned to silence as Amelia breaks into a dead sprint to the front doors, barely stopping for them to open and waving for a likewise stunned Tanya to follow.

  “Hurry! If we run I can change, grab Taillow, and still not be late! GoGoGo!”

  With that the door slides open enough for her to slip through and out into the twilight.

  Standing there Tanya hesitates for a moment, glances at the co-workers and relatives the girl had just embarrassed herself in front of, then to the slowly closing door.

  In the end all the ‘mon can do is give a respectful nod to the others in the room.

  “Excuse me.”

  Then break into a bounding sprint after her partner.

  TRANSLATIONS!

  "That is yliche, this hath beene doon to me for lengere than thou hast–"

  'Obviously, this has been done to me for longer than you've been-'

  "Farwel y-chosen, I shal returne upon the nexte quarter day."

  'Fair well Chosen, I will return on the next quarter day.' (the day between the solstice and the equinox)

  "Farwel, Fyre-born y-chosen, frend of a wardeyn of hir lyne, I hope thy wille be strong ynough to eftsoones hele the maister of the lond."

  'Fair well Fire-born Chosen, friend of a warden of her line, I hope your will is strong enough to once more heal the master of the land.