In a world full of floating islands, sky pirates, exiled magicians, and Pokémon, peace is difficult to maintain.
Shaymin, kind Pokémon who'd guided travelers once man learned how to fly, were hunted to extinction for their Gracideas: magical flowers...
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At the end of the day when the sun was low and the moon was high, Lang stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. The once beautifully crafted landscape was reduced to broken statues, fallen fixtures, and loose ashes which tumbled across the burnt lawn with every passing breeze. She managed to glimpse what was left of the keep; the tower was floored to the ground in a massive rubble heap. Despite all the destruction, no lives had been needlessly spent during the big escape.
It's better to be brutally maimed than to be murdered, she supposed, drawing her shawl closer to herself. If magicians weren't killed on the spot here in Scarlet, she would've helped to heal the soldiers wounded in combat.
She had yet to figure out how Shannon's plan had worked as well as it did. Between the Shaymin releasing the most fearsome dragon in all of Caelum to Shannon succeeding in brainwashing the prince with her Claydol's Confuse Ray, it was a miracle no one had made any fatal mistakes.
All of this trouble just to save the life of one woman who constantly sought it. Lang sighed and looked upward to the twinkling stars, reminded of August and her constellations. She wondered if Shannon had loaned August and Cyryl any of her luck; perhaps they were now peacefully hidden away in a safe place deep within the Far Plains. Gracie's flock of runners were sure to find them once they were dismissed. Lang couldn't wait to be dismissed.
"May I join you?"
Lang breathed a laugh through her nose as she recognized the voice. "Of course. You out of all people don't need to ask permission for that."
Shannon half-smiled as she joined the nurse, tucking her folded hands behind her back. "There's never any harm in asking for permission."
"You're right about that."
Silence fell upon them, but it wasn't dark nor heavy. It was comfortable for the women to say nothing as they collected their thoughts, allowing the faraway noises of hooting Rowlet and buzzing Nincada to fill the quiet air instead.
At long last, Lang cleared her throat and asked softly, "Was all of this trouble worth it?"
Shannon made eye contact with the magician as she answered, "Yes, it was. If your family member had been sentenced to death row, wouldn't you have tried to do something about it?"
"I see your point." The only thing a member of Lang's family could do to warrant capital punishment was to out zirself as a magician to the public. If that were to happen, she'd definitely attempt to do something to save zir life.
"I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to help August," Shannon admitted, sincerity clear in her tone. "If there's anything I could do to repay you, please do tell me."
Lang wondered to herself what she wanted most in the world at the moment. The image of stacked, inked papers flashed through her mind. She knew exactly what Shannon could do.
