DAPHNE

  From the mouth of the cave, Daphne stared at the dull gray sky through the roof of green leaves, now darkened as the sun hid behind rumbling, dark clouds. The wind was cold all of a sudden, and it made the sweat on her back feel like icicles clinging to her skin. But it was otherwise relaxing. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by another gust of wind. The weather started to get bad after the sun reached its zenith in the sky, and Daphne looked on with some concern as she planned the route ahead inside her mind. She and her “traveling companion” were supposed to leave Tourmarches Tower at first light, but this Julian person stayed up late last night to charge his electronic devices with the help of a friendly tourist’s Charjabug, and she had to kick him a little harder to wake him up earlier that day.

  “Hey!”

  A voice called towards Daphne from deeper inside the cave, she turned her head slightly back and looked at the person over her shoulder. It was Julian, and Mienfoo beside him. It appears like the young man got ready for the bad weather. Julian changed his clothes from the shirt and red jacket he was wearing when they left, to a dark green overcoat that looked water resistant and built for rainfall heavier than what Daphne thought they were facing now. It felt like a little bit of an overreaction to her. Such heavy clothes were sure to weigh him down. Daphne herself traveled light with just a bag containing a day and a half's worth of food, a single change of clothes, and an emergency kit. She was wearing simple clothes; a black tracksuit with white accents that allowed her to move so much easier, it also had a hood that she could put over her head, and her trusty white sneakers that were now muddy.

  “You shouldn't stay out like that, Miss Daphne. You'll get a cold,” said Julian.

  She huffed dismissively and waved her hand at him. “Thanks for the concern,” she replied. Then she turned away and back towards the dim sky.

  “We got a fire started, if you wanna stay here. I mean to say… Mienfoo got a fire started. Isn't that right, buddy?” he said, laughing.

  Daphne turned around once more with a frown, looking at the young man and her Pokémon. Mienfoo had an extremely proud look on its face, it crossed its arms in front of its chest and nodded at her, and it wore a smirk as Julian praised him.

  Julian continued. “He learns quickly! I just had to teach him to redirect the sparks from hitting two rocks together. And speaking of rocks, I think he crushed like, three rocks with his sheer strength before we got the sparks going. Very impressive! You're lucky to have such a dependable and strong partner, Miss Daphne!”

  She turned around, leaned on a rock wall, and crossed her arms in front of her too. Daphne’s gaze wandered towards Mienfoo, and she raised her brows while her lips were pursed into a straight line. “Is that right? You two seem to be getting along… very, very well,” she said with a huff. The fire glowed alone in the midst of the dark of the cave, and Daphne proceeded towards it. “Let’s take this time to rest. This cave is the best shelter in the area in case the weather turns bad. But if we can, we need to keep moving until the dark catches us.”

  Julian put a flat hand against the side of his brow. “Roger that, ma’am!”

  Daphne sat close to the fire on a flat, dry rock. Mienfoo was sitting next to her on that same rock, and holding a small plastic bowl with strained Gogoat milk yogurt placed in it. She put three pieces of flatbread on a flat surface that she made with rocks and sticks to serve as a makeshift grill to heat the bread with the fire underneath it, using just her hands to handle the bread and not flinching from the heat. From the corner of her eye, she could see the blue casing of Julian’s phone. He was holding it horizontally with both hands. Slowly, Daphne turned her head towards him - but stared conspicuously at the phone camera.

  “Mister Julian… please. Please stop recording me,” she sighed. “If you wanna film someone heating some bread, I’m not really the right person to point your camera at. Seriously.”

  “It’s about catching the moment,” replied Julian. He was eating something himself, it looked like hardtack and the sound of him crunching them filled the cave. He put the phone away. “But yeah, I hear you. And I’m sorry, again. You can drop the ‘mister’, by the way. It makes me sound like an old man.”

  Daphne shrugged. “Well, you can keep calling me ‘miss’, because I like the sound of it. And nobody ever calls me that,” she said, as she continued tending to her flatbread. “Oh and… the third pita is for you. I made it myself in the convent I live in. I’m not the best, but this sure looks tastier than that biscuit you’re eating. Is that even salted?”

  “A little,” Julian replied, smiling. “It’s not glamorous, I know. This is the kind of stuff that a soldier has to eat on the march, so I don’t doubt that your bread is better. Also, you mentioned… convent?”

  Daphne nodded, and she watched Julian blink before his eyes slowly went wide. “So are you a uh, a nun or something?”

  Never had Daphne shaken her head so fast in her life, and it made her purple hair go awry. “Hell no. You think I'd have a day job if I was?” she said with a raised brow. “You think a nun would be in a cave with an unknown man?” she added and laughed. Once the smile was gone, it was replaced with a deep sigh and then silence. Daphne could see that Julian was still looking at her. “I just live there. It's the only home I've ever known.”

  Julian nodded slowly, looking away. Silence came between them and could almost be felt, so thick that Daphne felt she could cut it with a knife and throw it between her hot flatbread and eat it. She drew her knees closer together and moved slightly away from Julian's direction, and stared at the flickering flame. That round of question and answer felt awkward, and Daphne could not help but think that she spoke too much about herself to a stranger. This young man had an odd aura to him, and the way he spoke and carried himself made her lower her guard. She could have lied to him and he would not ever know, but the truth tumbled out her lips like it was natural. Daphne sighed; perplexed, confused, and uneasy. She was wrong about Julian more than once. She thought he was just another clueless tourist who had no idea what he was doing, but through the course of their hike, he continuously surprised her. He had legs and lungs of steel and was consistently able to keep up with her even during the sections of the forest where terrain was particularly rough, and all that while holding that stupid phone camera. Julian also knew his way around plants and berries and had them as snacks throughout the hike, and for someone who claimed to not have a partner Pokémon or even a damn Pokéball to keep many of the creatures in, he also knew a lot about them too. Julian seemed invisible to Pokémon of the forest who were either great predators or hyper-vigilant prey. He snapped pictures of them without difficulty or caught them in videos while he spoke loudly, often addressing someone named “Chat”, whoever that was.

  Courage found her so suddenly, and she turned her head towards him again. Intense lilac eyes stared at the blond youth, taking in every detail. This time, Daphne seemed to be the one who was trying to make Julian feel awkward. But he paid no attention to her, as he was looking at his phone instead. Daphne stared, focusing on his hair and his blue eyes and that easy smile. She stared until she felt something blowing through her, a gentle force that felt like a mild stream running, but she felt it with her whole body like she was fully submerged in it. It came from Julian, and it made her feel a peculiar warmth, see silhouettes that appeared like ethereal wisps, and look into murky thoughts like seeing through foggy glass. She could make out shapes and hear phantom noises, but nothing more. Daphne started feeling warmer, until a sudden onrush of a similar energy crashed into her from another direction, almost instantly severing her from what she was feeling. This second force was stronger and cold, and she could barely see or feel anything about it, much less figure out where it came from. It felt like it originated from the shadows itself, crashing upon her like a terrible wave instead of Julian's gentle stream. It roused Daphne to a feeling of unease. But she was sure about one thing: it came from a Pokémon.

  She shook herself back to the waking world. Barely a moment had passed. The flatbread had not even finished warming up. But to her, it felt like an eternity. Julian finally noticed her staring, and he looked up to meet her gaze.

  “There's something I find very odd about you, Julian,” said Daphne. Now he had his full attention, he stared back at her with a furrowed brow.

  “What's that?” he asked.

  She sighed. “I have a gift. I can sense the feelings of people around me, a little. But when I focus on you, I can sense… two streams of emotions coming from different directions.”

  “You have a– Wait! Back up a little,” replied Julian, raising a hand in the air and looking down. He looked like he was processing the information. “You have a gift, you say? And you can sense my emotions?” he echoed. “So like, an empath, right?”

  Daphne tried her best to not roll her eyes at the reaction, and instead just closed them when Julian repeated what she had just said, only in a questioning manner. She nodded, especially at the name she was given. Daphne hadn’t heard of that term before. Julian was looking at her, but she could tell that he was staring at her hair.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You see the color of my hair and my eyes, and then you learn something new, and then you start assuming things about me,” she rolled her eyes as she said this. “But… you’re right, in this case. I am a Myrmidon.”

  “A Myrmidon!” Julian stood up emphatically after the exclamation, his hardtack with a bite mark falling to the cave floor. “I kinda knew it, to be honest! I’ve read the stories! I never thought I’d meet a Myrmidon in real life! That hair, those eyes–”

  Daphne waved him off dismissively, looking away with a pout. “Oh I’ve heard it all before! My hair and my eyes are pretty, I know. But this isn’t about me. This is about you.” Those lilac eyes of hers were pointed at Julian like a pair of sharp daggers. Daphne followed him with her gaze even as he sat back down.

  “Me? What about me?” asked Julian.

  “Like I said before, whenever I try to get a feel of your emotions, I get suddenly blindsided by a second wave coming from… somewhere,” she replied. But after she spoke the last word, Daphne shook her head. “No! Not just somewhere. It's also coming from you too! I've never met a person like that before.”

  Julian had a slight frown on his face. “I mean, I'm sorry? I don't really know what to say here…”

  “You can start by telling the truth,” said Daphne. “You have a partner Pokémon somewhere in here, right?”

  Julian shook his head. His shoulder-length blond hair swayed with the motion. “No, Miss Daphne. I have never had a partner Pokémon, nor have I ever tried to capture one with a Pokéball. I told you the truth.”

  Daphne was about to retort, but no words came out of her lips. She felt something like a gentle breeze emanating from Julian, and it felt soothing if not slightly cold. This was not the sensation she expected to feel when facing a liar, but she hesitated to acknowledge Julian's truth. She wanted to keep pushing him, but realized how terrible of a look that would be for her. Daphne put herself in Julian's shoes; she did not have to imagine something too different, as the color of her hair and her eyes always led to attention she would not rather have, and then questions she would rather not answer. Julian was actually unique, in the sense that he had no laundry list of questions to throw at her once she unceremoniously revealed her heritage.

  “I'm… sorry,” said Daphne. In the end, those were the only words she managed to mutter.

  “Aw come on, don't be sorry. You were just asking. No harm done, right?” Julian replied with another laugh. That was another thing that perplexed Daphne; how he could smile so easily, and so brightly at that. “But hey, maybe I have one of those… multiple personalities. Julian by day, and someone else by night!”

  Daphne straightened her lips, her eyes narrowing. “So this other personality of yours is just depressing and sad?” she asked.

  The blond youth did not answer. Instead he looked away, and quietly reached for another hardtack in his bag to replace that one that tumbled to the cave floor. He bit down on it, and it crunched louder than she expected. Daphne waited for a laugh and a quip like she had started to get used to, but got nothing. The silence was almost deafening, and between them only the crackling of the fire was heard. She was about to speak to him when she felt her sleeve being tugged to the other direction. Daphne turned to glance at Mienfoo who was pulling her attention to the flatbread whose one side started becoming the perfect shade of brown she and her partner preferred. Daphne flipped the pita over and then looked over her shoulder. Julian was still quiet, and remained still.

  “Are you alright?” she asked finally, if only to break the silence.

  He was quick to answer. “Yep! Nothing wrong here. Also, you said depressing? Me? With this smile?”

  He pointed at his face with two fingers from both hands and smiled, his eyes squeezed shut and pearly white teeth on display, though she did notice that his canines were actually gold - or at least covered in gold. Daphne could not stop the laugh that tumbled out of her. Again he caught her off-guard, and got her to do things she normally would not. If Daphne laughed in the presence of hikers or tourists that she was guiding, it was usually just for courtesy or not to appear rude. There was always a distance between them and her. She tried to keep the same level of distance between herself and Julian, but he seemed able to easily connect with other people. Daphne could not sense any hint of ill intent from him, and though she was still trying to figure out exactly what he was, she no longer thought of him as a bad actor. Mienfoo was very comfortable around him, and for her that was enough.

  Daphne took the small bowl from Mienfoo and offered it to Julian. She was now wearing a smile too. “Here. Some yogurt for the bread,” she said. “You get to eat it first, like a guest.”

  Julian picked up the hot pita and struggled to hold it for a moment, before accepting Daphne's offer and scooping some yogurt from the bowl and putting it on his bread. “I'm your guest?” he asked with a raised brow.

  “It feels that way, doesn't it? You're new here, and this is my hometown. It's only proper,” she said. Once Julian got his share, Daphne and Mienfoo split the yogurt among themselves - with the Pokémon getting more than her. Mienfoo happily munched on the bread and even knew how to fold it in half, as well as eating the parts of the flatbread that had the yogurt in them.

  “This is good!” said Julian, wiping some of the yogurt from the corner of his lip with a thumb, and then sucking on that thumb. “You made this too?”

  Daphne shook her head and swallowed before answering. “I bought this one from a farm, just outside the city. The farmer and his wife have been looking after me since I was a kid, so… we're very close.” She paused for a moment, and shook her head again. “The truth is… I didn't pay for this. They insisted on giving it to me once they learned I was going up the mountains. Lovely people. It's probably why this tastes better than normal,” she said with a smile.

  Julian was smiling too. “You've got good folks around you. That's great to hear.”

  “What about you? You have family traveling with you?” Daphne asked.

  The answer she received at first was a chuckle. “Nope. I'm traveling the south all on my own! Actually, not just the south. East and west too, when I get the chance, and maybe even outside Apeiron one day!”

  Daphne huffed, and shook her head. “I still find it hard to believe you're traveling all over the empire without a single Pokémon. Doesn't that get… dangerous?” she asked.

  “If you don't know what you're doing and where to pass to reach certain places, then yeah it can be. I prefer sticking to the roads and the towns myself, and joining a group if I can.”

  “And yet you're going to the black mountains?” Daphne asked. “What could possibly be there that would interest someone without a Pokémon?”

  “My reasons are my own, Miss Daphne,” said Julian, as he reached for his water container and began unscrewing the cap. “I'd like to ask you the same thing.”

  “I was called to fetch someone and… from what I understand, something. I'm not sure what's what, but I'm hoping Professor Evergreen can tell me all about it when I get to her villa near the mountains.”

  Julian was drinking water when she replied, and suddenly pulled the container away from his lips and spat the water in his mouth out. Both Mienfoo and Daphne were jolted from such an action, and they both looked at him with certain looks on their faces; Mienfoo's eyes were wide with confusion, Daphne's eyebrow was raised also with confusion.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “P-P-Professor Evergreen?!” Julian echoed. Daphne and Mienfoo nodded at him at the same time. “You two PERSONALLY know Professor Claudia Evergreen?!”

  “Yes!” Daphne snapped. “I only know one person named Claudia Evergreen. What about it?”

  Julian's eyes widened. “What about it? What about it?!” A breath seemingly got hitched in his throat, as he stopped whatever it was he was about to say. He took a moment to compose himself but had to puff out a few breaths. “So… where do I even begin? You're friends with a celebrity. And not just a celebrity, but THE Professor Evergreen! The youngest Pokémon Professor ever! I knew she lived in Argyros Town, but I didn't think I'd be able to meet her!”

  Daphne put her hands in front of her, palms facing the young man. “Hold on for a moment. I didn't agree to take you to the professor. I told you I'd accompany you to the home of someone who can take you up the mountains, and then he'll manage you from there.”

  “Pretty please?” replied Julian. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to meet the professor when she's in the field and not in some… crowded audience hall in Chrysopolis University.”

  Daphne straightened her lips and sighed. “Didn't you have something to do in the mountains?” she asked.

  Julian responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Bah, I can postpone it. To some extent. But please, please, please! I don't know when I'm gonna cross paths with the professor ever again!” He was pleading with glossy eyes, and he was seated on the edge of a flat rock as if he was ready to get on his knees in front of her at any moment. “Is it out of the way? Like…” he turned away and began rummaging through his bag. “I still have some cash in here, I can pay y–”

  Daphne interrupted, hands crossed over her chest. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

  “Yes!” said Julian. “No!” he added not even a breath after. “I'm trying to pay you for your services, like I did back in the tower. I've got… oh no…” his voice faltered after that.

  Daphne looked at Mienfoo, and the Pokémon stared back. She tried to get a reading on what the Pokémon felt, or what it wanted to say to her. Mienfoo's feelings flowed through Daphne like a gentle breeze, it wrapped around her and she felt its subtle warmth. There was nothing vague about it, and nothing was hidden. Daphne saw Mienfoo's aura rising from its body like thin smoke, and then it moved towards her as if carried by wind. Julian's was nothing like it, she remembered, and the second one she felt was so much worse. He would never know it, but Mienfoo was making a case for Julian. He was friendly to the little Pokémon and tried to be friendly with her too, and he had been able to keep up with them in the arduous hike without being strained. She was convinced.

  Sighing, she turned to look at him. “It's okay, Julian. No need for any of that,” said Daphne. “The hunter that I told you about also works for the professor as a caretaker of her villa when she's not there. They live not that far away. We can go to Professor Evergreen's villa, I suppose.”

  He looked at her with wide eyes, not speaking a word for a few moments. Slowly, Julian turned towards her too. “Really?” he said in a breathless whisper. His eyes were practically gleaming, and it made Daphne roll hers. After that, Julian towards the mouth of the cave. “The weather's not getting better. But it's not getting worse either. You think we can… you know.”

  “Yes. Sure. Whatever,” Daphne sighed. “Once we finish these snacks, we'll pack up and leave. Now listen, Julian. Keep this excitement of yours in check! Not only because you might overwhelm the professor, but before we even get there, I need you to be as cautious and careful as you've been so far. My advice is still the same: follow me, and listen to me.”

  The young man smiled, and saluted her. “Yes ma'am!” he said.

  Mienfoo's tiny bites on a piece of pita meant for human consumption caused a little bit of a delay. Daphne insisted that they stay put until they finish, since eating while hiking could serve as a dangerous distraction. She and Julian spent the time packing up instead, and within ten minutes they were all ready to go. Mienfoo led the way and ran ahead of them to warn them of danger, while Daphne led Julian around the forest and avoided terrain that was hard to traverse. Daphne felt a little different about the second leg of their journey. She was able to relax better around Julian, they talked when the path was straight and even, and walked side by side more times than before. Their pace was slower too, a fact that she noticed but opted to ignore. There was just enough time for them to make it to their destination before they were waylaid by the dark.

  The pair walked along a path flanked by bushes, so narrow that they had to walk shoulder-to-shoulder. Before, Daphne would have insisted that Julian remain at least ten steps behind her but she found that she did not mind it much now, though she was cognizant of it. He asked many questions about the professor, barely able to contain his excitement, and especially wanted what she was like when outside a professional setting. Daphne told him all she knew, but admitted that they were not really close.

  “If anything, the professor is my boss,” said Daphne. “Her family owns the land that comprises the Argyros Natural Preserve, and her mother runs it currently.”

  Julian was shaking his head. “You'd never expect her to come from a family of powerful landed magnates, huh? She's so cool, so professional, and so intelligent… so pretty… and not snobbish at all! Very patient with students as well. A model Pokémon Professor, if you ask me! People are also saying that she's a decent Pokémon Trainer, in her own right.”

  Daphne remained silent regarding that last part. She never saw the professor engage in a Pokémon Battle herself, but she did have several Pokémon stored in Pokéballs as well as a partner Pokémon that always stays by her side. “Well, I wouldn't be surprised. The Evergreen Family are nobles, so she probably has the right to demand a duel.”

  “That's true,” Julian said with a nod. “What about you, Miss Daphne? You and Mienfoo take part in Pokémon Battles?”

  “I'm lowborn, Julian. In case you didn't notice. My apparent Myrmidon heritage doesn't count for anything in this day and age.”

  Julian shrugged. “Yeah, well… the restrictions about that are more like guidelines anyway. Nobody really imposes them anymore. Anyone can participate in the Pokémon League Challenge and battle the Archons, and it's also the start of Tournament Season too.”

  “Mienfoo and I fight to protect ourselves or others. There are still people like us who have no love for this ‘modern sport’, Julian,” Daphne replied. She did not want to say anything more about the subject.

  A little while after their little talk concluded, a loud cry of distress in the distance shattered the quiet tranquility of the forest. Daphne froze on the spot and she stopped Julian from taking another step by holding him back with her arm. Not a moment later, she recognized that sound.

  “Mienfoo!”

  Without another thought, she bolted towards the sound and left Julian to eat the dirt she kicked up with her feet. Daphne fought her way through bushes with sharp twigs and uneven ground, leading with her arms violently swatting away obstacles that stood in her path. The cries had not stopped, and she was getting closer and closer to it. On instinct, she grabbed a thick stick that was laying on the forest floor before she burst out of the bushes to the spot where Mienfoo was. It's as if time slowed for her as she watched her partner Pokémon being pinned to the ground by a large feline beast, a Pokémon with glowing red eyes and fur as black as night called Jagunyx. Its jaws clamped around Mienfoo's shoulder from the back. Daphne's vision darkened around her, everything faded from view except her partner and the assaulting Pokémon. In just a few long strides, she was close to them, and Daphne swung the stick she was holding at the offending Jagunyx.

  It smashed into the side of the jaguar Pokémon's face and broke into pieces, with splinters flying everywhere and a loud cracking sound that Daphne found very satisfying. She swung two more times with her diminished weapon, until the Jagunyx let go of Mienfoo, who remained on the ground moaning in pain while bleeding. She stood over her partner and gripped her broken stick hard, now just barely longer than a dagger. The black jaguar growled menacingly at her, baring its teeth and walking slowly to the side as Daphne followed it with her gaze and kept herself in front of Mienfoo at all times.

  When the Jagunyx charged at them again, she was able to see a faint image of the beast a second later than where it actually was, allowing her to narrowly evade the pounce and then strike again. This time, Daphne's weapon broke and it only barely rattled the jaguar Pokémon, who leapt at her again with sharp claws ready to swipe at her. Like before, those lilac eyes saw phantoms that allowed her to avoid the strike by ducking and moving to the side, and then retaliating with her own. Daphne inflicted three rapid strikes from what seemed like open palms on the side of the Jagunyx, the last one strong enough to send the feline flying. But no sooner had the Pokémon hit the ground when she saw another pair of red eyes staring at her, hidden in the shadows of the forest, and then several pairs of smaller red eyes surrounding her. Once again, she returned to Mienfoo's side and tried to pick the injured Pokémon up, while keeping an eye out ahead of her.

  Mienfoo was too hurt to be moved, and they were not out of danger yet. Daphne could clearly sense the presence of all the hostile Pokémon surrounding them, including those behind her back. Two of them had aura that were more intense than the others, and she could tell the force came from the two Jagunyx she was facing, while the lesser ones were emanating from the five Mynx that completed the circle around her and Mienfoo; the latter were the juvenile form of the large jaguar Pokémon.

  They renewed their assault. The little jaguars pounced at Daphne almost at the same time, but she was able to predict where they were attacking and was given ample time to react. Her open-palm strikes hit vital spots on the torso, she parried their claws with her arms at great risk to herself, and any attempts to bite her were met with punches or kicks to the face. No matter how or where they attacked, she was able to sense them coming and she was lithe and agile enough to respond. The fact that she had been walking all day did not matter to her, she fought through the pain and the fatigue and stood her ground near Mienfoo. Her objective was still to protect her hurt partner, and that kept her going. Daphne's lilac eyes soon glowed with a faint light, and it left behind a streak in the air as she moved. Her fingertips glowed too, and the Mynx that were struck by those took a longer time to get up. All of them bled from their mouths despite the absence of sharp weapons, and for all the trouble they only managed to scratch her once in the arm. It was a good scratch, and the wound bled through her tracksuit's sleeve, but there was plenty of fight left in her.

  The two Jagunyx growled and stepped forward, eyeing her intensely with red gazes that burned through her, and she felt a shudder. She thought she was being sized-up, and after she dispatched the young members of this pack, the two beasts seemed intent on getting a kill that day. Daphne dared not speak, for she knew it was a lost cause. The aura she felt from these Pokémon were thick and dark, almost suffocating. These Jagunyx were not just attacking them for food. Daphne felt like they were being treated as toys, and in her mind she had only one strategy left: stand and fight. Running was a lost cause, for the Jagunyx would be able to outrun any human in the dense bush or uneven terrain of the forest. For her specifically, she knew she would not be able to go as fast as she could because she would be holding Mienfoo in her arms. This was not a choice.

  The Jagunyx lunged at her, far faster than she ever expected. After she blinked, the black jaguar Pokemon's maw was already gaped wide near her left forearm, and she was witness to rows of sharp and terrible yellowish teeth for a moment, before those jaws locked around her arm, and the forest was rocked awake by the sound of her chilling scream of pain. Daphne played an unwilling tug of war with the jaguar, with each second causing agonizing pain as teeth rended her flesh. The Jagunyx was trying to pull her away from Mienfoo and seemingly did not care if her arm came off first. She dug her feet as hard as she could into the ground and steeled her legs with as much strength as she could muster, but the pain was sapping her strength. She also sensed the second Jagunyx moving behind her, towards Mienfoo, and she was nearly willing to rip her arm off when she realized who the target was.

  A small rock came flying in the air from somewhere and hit the second Jagunyx right on the face, dazing it and stopping it in its place. Daphne gasped as she saw Julian approaching them, with another rock in his hand. He was taunting the Pokémon he just struck, with words she could not quite parse together due to the shock. Pain was still ringing across her body from the brutal bite on her arm. Before she realized it, Julian threw another rock that hit his target again, and he bolted towards the thick woods now with a brutal pursuer. Daphne only had enough in her to yell out his name.

  “JULIAN!”

  The two were gone before she even noticed. Mienfoo and herself were not yet safe, but Daphne could focus on the beast whose jaws were locked around her arm. She raised that arm upwards with strenuous effort, given the Jagunyx's size and weight, but it was just enough for her to get a clean angle to strike at its heart. She drew her good arm back and then thrust it towards the jaguar Pokémon's chest with all four fingers pointed outwards. The hazy purple glow from the tips of her fingers were more intense at that moment than it ever had been, and her lilac eyes focused on its chest. The strike found the area where the Jagunyx's heart was, protected by flesh and ribcage, but the Pokémon paused - as if frozen. Daphne struck again, and again, in rapid succession until she felt her forearm go sore. She conjured the image of the beast's heart inside her head, imagined that her fingertips were the tip of a spear, and stabbed over and over until the heart stopped beating. With every strike, her hair and her face were splattered by blood expelled from the Jagunyx's orifices, especially that mouth that was still biting her arm. She felt it go limp too, and loose. The jaguar soon fell lifeless to the ground, blood seeping out its eyes, nose, mouth, and even its ears, as its legs and tail twitched.

  Daphne looked at her arm. It was shaking, she could barely feel her fingers, and on her forearm were gashes and lacerations from the bite that bled profusely. She grunted as she tried to put pressure on the wounds, but there were so many of them that her other hand could not cover it all. She swallowed the stinging pain that she still felt, and turned towards Mienfoo only to realize that she had to make a decision. Her partner Pokémon was still hurt, but Julian drew the other Jagunyx towards himself and now she did not know where he was. He could also be hurt, and she would not know from here. She wanted to go off in pursuit, but she also could not leave Mienfoo undefended. Thoughts raced inside her head, assumptions about how the situation would end even though she had not taken any action yet. The pain she was still reeling from was not the only reason she was slow to react. In the end, she decided to help Mienfoo first. As she crouched down near the injured Pokémon, Daphne tried to convince herself that it would have been the only decision she would make after all.

  “Y-You alright, buddy?” she asked, trying to sound calm.

  Daphne reached for her bag for a roll of linen bandages she always had in reserve, as well as a disinfectant made from crushed herbs that she applied at Mienfoo's wound. The Pokémon hissed, and then whispered pitifully, as Daphne reassured it with her presence by talking. She was working with just hand, her injured arm was still shaking uncontrollably and she was barely able to endure the pain. Thoughts of Julian only served to impair her further, and Mienfoo ended up with bandaging that was clumsy and perhaps too tight. Daphne was trained and experienced in these sorts of emergency situations, but her handiwork on Mienfoo betrayed that fact. But though it was ugly, it was still effective, and she was able to carry her partner towards the side of the trail, hidden behind bushes.

  “Stay here,” she said. Daphne did not need to say that she was coming back.

  She broke into a sprint to the opposite direction, heading to the place where she saw Julian run to. While on the run, she tore off the sleeve of her tracksuit which was already ripped up anyway and tried her best to bandage her own wounds and at least stop the bleeding. The pain made her eyes well up with tears, but adrenaline still coursed thickly through her veins. She ran wildly into the deeper woods, guided by nothing but the last place she saw Julian standing, and then just dashed in a straight line from there. Her teary eyes were of little help in seeing her surroundings, she smelled nothing but her own blood and Mienfoo's, her ears were ringing, and she felt cold. The sharp senses that she usually relied on were of no use to her at that moment.

  Daphne was interrupted by someone that jumped out of the bushes, right onto her path. Her first instinct was to strike at it with her good hand, but the sight of that golden head and blue eyes made her pause. “J-JULIAN!” she almost screamed. “Where is it? Where’s the–”

  He shushed her, holding both her hands. “It’s okay! Don’t worry about it. It’s all been taken care of,” he said.

  Daphne could not utter a word, as she looked him in the eyes. He looked haggard, with unkempt hair that stuck to his forehead with sweat, he was breathing heavily even as he held her. Despite all that, he was smiling - and his eyes were smiling too. To her relief, he did not look injured and did not even lose a single item to his person nor an article of clothing. When she tried to get a feel of his aura, she could not get a clear sensation because her own was in a dizzying flux, and she felt like she was in a whirlwind. She was about to ask about the Jagunyx who was pursuing him, but before she could speak, he noticed her injuries.

  “The One preserve us!” Julian suddenly cried out. “You’re hurt! Miss Daphne, where’s Mienfoo?”

  She could barely speak, but she managed to answer Julian in between sobs and gasps. He let go of her injured hand, and immediately she felt the cold creeping in, starting from the last point of contact between them. But her other one was wrapped in tight warmth as Julian wrapped his fingers around it, unbothered by its callous surface, as his own were calloused too. After that sudden exclamation when he saw the extent of her injuries, Julian’s tone became soft but he seemed reassuring, and it helped Daphne calm her breathing and in turn clear her head. The pain was still there, and it made her wince. She and Julian started back to the trail where Mienfoo was, their pace was slow and Julian led the way this time. He did not let go of her hand and, Daphne soon realized, neither did she. The warmth that was spreading from that contact helped dull the pain, at least in her mind. Staggering, they eventually made their way to the spot behind the bushes where Mienfoo hid.

  “I can carry him,” said Julian, as he crouched down to take a look at the Pokémon’s injuries. A grimace formed on his face. “Can you manage to walk on your own?”

  Daphne simply nodded, and said nothing. Julian tried a few times to lift Mienfoo off the ground without aggravating its injuries, but every method he tried caused the little Pokémon some pain as it was being lifted. The pitiful whimper made her hold her breath, but it was over in a second and Julian appeared to know exactly what she was doing. The battered party of three had no choice but to continue along the way, so close they were to their destination.

  “It’s the weather,” Julian commented. “It’s a common mistake for people to assume that Mynx and Jagunyx hunt at night. No, they only need darkness. The thick forest cover and the dark clouds formed the perfect environment for this ambush. I’m sorry, Miss Daphne.”

  The apology perplexed her, but she was too much in pain to make a fuss over it. None of this was his fault, and she only realized a little later on that he was just trying to be respectful and sympathetic. Daphne uttered a quiet thanks, a few seconds late, but at least she acknowledged him. They had to take a long and narrow trail, and her senses were basically dead, so they moved through the forest practically blind. A small hill followed it, which Daphne was barely able to climb in her state, but once at the top, a small clearing came into view. There was a house built in the middle of it, built with sturdy wood and large enough to accommodate a family or three. Light from the windows and some rooms in the upper floor as well as smoke rising from the chimney meant that the home was occupied, and Daphne released a great sigh that seemed to untangle the tight knots that her insides were twisted to. They only needed to make it.

  Thankfully, The One did not seek to test them further. They reached the house with no incident, but they were spotted by two people as soon as they stepped into the clearing. One of them carried a shotgun with a wooden stock, the other was ostensibly unarmed. There was a Sandslash in their company.

  “Daphne! What in the seven hells happened to you?!” said the man with the firearm, who dropped his weapon carefully to the ground before jogging towards her.

  He brushed away stray hair from her face and wiped all the sweat and the blood. The warmth in his hands were calming and this time they were familiar, and she felt herself able to relax fully. She grabbed a hold of his wrist and must have squeezed too tightly, given how he jolted and grimaced, but quickly put that face away as he waited for her response.

  “Help,” was the only thing she could say. “Mienfoo is hurt.” Her throat was dry now, and it hurt to swallow. It must have been like that for a while, and she only noticed now. The last embers of her fiery adrenaline were starting to fade, and the searing pain of her fresh wounds took its place. Daphne watched the man turn to look at Julian, and immediately held his arms out for Julian to pass Mienfoo on to. He did not say anything, and she was thankful for that. But perhaps she simply did not hear them, as after she watched her cherished partner Pokémon being handed to safety, the pain finally got to her and her vision darkened.