Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch

Chapter 53: Through a Glass Darkly

ACT TWO

-o-

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,

And Swellows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Pidgeys will wear their feathery fire

Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one

Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree

If mankind—

The piece of charcoal in my paw fractured into several pieces, covering my writing paper in a thin coat of black dust. I blinked a bit, only then noticing just how hard I was clenching the ruined pen, before giving a little sigh and shutting my notebook. And here I thought translating from Unovan would be an easy idea for learning Pokemon writing...

The town library was quiet as I sat there, as tended to be the case at this time of day. I had a decent while to go before the dinner bell, plenty of time to keep training myself on the language. But now I just didn't feel up to it, like there was a sour taste in my mouth. That had been the case for a good while now, in fact, since we'd faced down Palkia in the cave...

Frowning to myself, I pushed the manuscript I had been reading aside and stood to pack my things, glancing around as I did. The eyes of the Lampent squinting accusingly at my feral self, the casual glances from passing explorers outside, the bright look from the other Oshawott with the reunion cape as he returned from the labyrinth of the library; no matter which set of eyes I looked into, I just couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow judging me for... everything...

"I found more h-human books! I can help if... are y-you okay?" that other Oshawott asked, gripping onto his hood as he saw me packing.

"Yeh. Naht feehlin et," I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

"Oh, um, o-ok," he nodded. "T-take care."

"Tanks, Ch-Shh... G-J-Je... yeh," I sighed, giving a little wave before waddling out of the library, only allowing myself to frown once out of the Oshawott's sight.

The sky was overcast and gloomy, lending to the air hanging over Impetus Town as I trudged through the streets. It'd been a good two weeks since the expedition had returned, the three of us in stretchers, and the town had been shaken to hear our tale, to say the least. Even those two weeks on, it seemed like everyone was just waiting for some sort of disaster to strike...

Yet even despite everything, Arcanine's Guild still sat defiantly perched on its hill. Though the watchtower was now manned twenty-four seven and the walls around the campus were considerably higher and more dangerous-looking, spirits still seemed high as I waddled through the now-guarded gate. Shuffling past a departing team as I went, briefly appreciating the lack of suspicious glances from them, I took a glance up towards the peak of the hill, towards the Guildmaster's quarters. I really needed to talk to Arcanine soon, didn't I? He was probably the one I could confide in most at this point, the one who could understand me most besides... well, Xatu... but for now, I had a visit to make to the infirmary.

"Back again?" Audino asked, looking up from her work at the front desk as I waddled in. "Well, you know where to find them, take as long as you all need." Giving a sha of thanks, I rounded the corner past the emergency room where all this had started, pausing in the doorway of the medical wing.