Novels2Search

Chapter 21

Vicus’s eyes widened at the mention of Palina’s planned betrayal. “I’ll pretend I didn’t just hear that, Palina. But if Irida asks…”

“Oh, she will not,” Palina waved him off with a fluttering hand. “But if she does, feel free to tell her the truth.”

“Palina, you know I am loyal only to you,” Vicus sounded exasperated. “But I have family back in the Icelands I must consider.”

“Why are you helping me?” I blurted, mostly to cut short the brewing argument.

Vicus paused as his interest flared. He studied Palina intently as she worked an answer through her head, thinking it over as if concerned her answer would change the course of action. “Because what she did to you is immoral,” she eventually replied in a smooth, confident, tone. “And because she’s already betrayed my trust once. Might as well return the favour.”

“You’re playing with fire.” Vicus warned with a disapproving shake of the head.

To be honest, I rather agreed with him.

We ended up bidding our goodbyes to the Pearl Clan members. I hugged Mille and she thanked me for the crafting lessons. Hectar slapped me on the back and told me he enjoyed the trip out with Machamp. Vicus warmly shook my hand and wished me luck whilst Empoleon bowed his head with a flipper across his stomach. When it got to Leuca, however, I sort of awkwardly smiled and waved. She’d emerged from the tent, likely to see what all the fuss was about, and I was surprised to see that she actually lingered while we made our farewells.

She approached me and placed a piece of paper in my arms, not even bothering to wait for me to react. I fumbled, almost dropping it into the sand, but managed to snag it between my fingers. “Think of her,” was all she said before turning to duck back into the tent.

Confused, I looked down at the paper. It was a pencil drawing depicting some sort of… event? I guessed? A circular basin filled with water surrounded a central island with a mound-shaped lump of rock at its centre. The rock cliffs of Mount Coronet were framed by a darkened sky which murkily illuminated the bodies strewn across the grass banks of the lake. Knelt in a position that exuded anguish, a lone woman screamed up at the sky.

My gaze lingered at the drawing, drinking in its details, before I folded it up and placed it into my pouch just underneath the scatterbang. I had no idea why Leuca had deigned to give something like that to me, but I had bigger problems on my mind to worry about.

Palina and I were eventually retrieved by Irida, who’d opted to bring her Glaceon with her this time. Palina shot the ice type an ugly scowl and it reciprocated in kind, but she didn’t say a word about it. “Where’s Iscan?”

“He’ll meet us at the shore,” Irida gestured us to hop on behind her. “Now hurry before Braviary starts to harass the Walrein.”

It was a very tight squeeze, but we managed to fit all three of us onto Braviary, who took flight without much difficult despite the weight. Growlithe felt warm nestled between Palina and I, however it did little to allay the frosted air emanating from Glaceon. Over the short, twenty-minute flight towards Firespit, Glaceon stared daggers at me the whole time.

We flew low on approach. A giant Braviary encircling the island would’ve just given away our location to the bandits and nobody really wanted that. Firespit island was a C-shaped encirclement of tall, jagged hills surrounding a narrow but sinister-looking volcano. Lava flowed around the charred and blackened rock. The only signs of life were on the thin sand bank neighbouring the ocean and the tiny plains which featured only a handful of trees.

“I hate this island,” Irida complained once we landed. Glaceon dutifully started regaling her with Icy Wind to fend off the heat. “It’s so unbearably hot, here.”

There was a little bit of a hot breeze flowing from the volcano, but otherwise it was quite mild I thought.

“It’s only hot to you, and we’re nowhere near the lava yet,” Palina retorted as she massaged her cramping leg. “Why do you think I like it here so much?”

Irida’s face fell, but she reigned herself in quick. “You don’t mean that…?”

Palina opened her mouth to answer, but her face suddenly brightened and she broke out into a beaming smile. “Iscan!”

She bolted towards the sandy shore where a man hopped off of a weathered-looking saddle fitted atop a long Basculegion. The ride-Pokémon sported an angry-looking permanent snarl and had ghost-like wisps for a tail fin. Sharp and angular white dorsal fins jutted out from its back, completed by the similarly shaped pectoral fins that exuded a sleek sense of speed.

“Palina!” the man exclaimed with a gentle smile as she collided into him. He almost fell back with the force, but happily wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. “It’s been too long, my… my love.”

I gaped. Iscan was a tall and imposing man with thick arms and broad shoulders. He had similarly tanned skin to Akari and had kind brown eyes framed by bushy eyebrows and a bald head. All of this was nothing out of the ordinary, except for the clothes he wore. It was the signature Diamond Clan blue hoodie- logo and all.

“Iscan’s a Diamond Clan member?!” I had accidently said that aloud.

“Tell me about it,” Irida huffed from behind me. “That sly dimwit’s lucky Palina’s so fond of him…”

Palina, a Pearl Clan member, in love with Iscan, a Diamond Clan member. It was the type of forbidden love you’d see in movies. I wondered if Adaman knew about it, too? “Oh, this is abhorrent,” Irida growled to herself when the two snuggled further into each other’s arms. “I can’t stand him.”

I opened my fat mouth before I could even think. I blamed the teasing, school-drama office culture back in Veilstone for that. “Jealous?”

Irida looked like she was ready to kill me then and there. “No.”

“Uh. Can I ask you a question?” I quickly jumped to another topic before Irida could act on her murderous look.

I took Irida’s silence as confirmation, and so asked the pressing question that had been on my mind the entire trip to this place. “What did you talk about with Commander Kamado- back in Jubilife?”

“Don’t tell me you’re in on this stupid Giratina thing, too?” she let out an annoyed sigh. “It was a good try. You even managed to get Cyllene to lie for you, too. But I can see right through it. This supposed evil Pokémon doesn’t exist. It’s just a dumb distraction to get me to falter whilst the Diamond Clan moves against me. Besides. Even if it does exist, which it doesn’t, it cannot stand up to Almighty Sinnoh.”

I mulled over it a bit. I doubted there was any hope of convincing her. I did find it a little bit amusing that she’d leapt to the same conclusion as Adaman over her deity being able to stand up to it.

There was one avenue I could take, here, however. “Did Volo not speak to you about it?”

Irida’s eyes snapped to mine. “You fooled him, too?”

“No, no,” I was quick to deny that. “Volo was actually the one who told us about Giratina in the first place.”

“What’s this about Volo?” Palina asked, striding besides me with an arm linked around Iscan.

“Noth-…” Irida cut herself off. “Just some heresy over some stupid Pokémon.”

“If Volo thought it worth bringing up, then surely it demands respect?” Palina replied with a slight frown.

Irida’s nose twitched slightly and an annoyed edge crept into her voice. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“You know that isn’t how it-”

“Enough!” Irida snapped with a sweeping motion. “It’s none of your concern.”

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Irida’s anger only seemed to infuriate Palina, though. “None of my concern?! Do you hear yourself right now?”

“Oh, please.”

Palina’s scowl deepened into a full-blown glare. “Don’t you even dare dismiss me like that. You know I care deeply about the clan. I deserve to know about its issues and trials.”

“And I’d have told you all about my problems,” Irida started to raise her voice, “but you ended up turning on me the second I started to face an ounce of trouble. It’s done, Palina. None of your concern.”

“Don’t be crass!” Palina snapped back. “The last time you told me that, we ended up going to war with the Diamond Clan. And all because of your-”

“Eugh, you know I had no choice in that, Palina!”

“- stupid, vapid ‘supporters’ feeding lies into your head and you listened like a puppet on their strings and happily did their bidding. All the while turning your back on the people who actually mattered to you! The Pearl Clan has been a shadow of its former self ever since you-”

“Oh, damn you!” Irida’s scream cut Palina off, who reeled back at the sudden fury erupting from her leader’s small frame. “You speak to me about turning my back on you?! When you allowed me to suffer when I needed you most?! Where were you when I was forced into the Heartice ritual by my own clan?! Where were you when I woke up all alone and scared and in agony because my own body heat was searing my skin?! Where were you when the elders I barely knew isolated me and started pressuring me into upholding our traditions?! And even after you never bothered to visit me! When you never even gave me the time of day to explain myself, I still tried to appeal to you! But you would even look at me! You didn’t even give me a chance! And then, when I was all alone and scared after the Valor Incident, where were you?! Tell me…! Tell me! TELL ME!”

Her words echoed into the ensuing silence.

Irida’s breaths came out haggard. She seemed stunned at her own outburst. Her Glaceon was letting out a low snarl and I saw its icicle-like hackles raise. Iscan held Palina tensely in his arm and was refusing to meet anyone’s eyes whilst his partner had her mouth partly open- pupils dilated. The Pearl Clan member worked her jaw as if speaking, but nothing came out. She swallowed and let out a slight exhale. “Irida…”

“I see I’m not welcome here,” Irida clenched her fists for support and measured her voice. “I’ll remain on the south side of the island. Make a plan and I’ll help you the next day.”

“Irida!”

But the Pearl Clan leader ignored her and turned away. Palina tried to step out after her, but Iscan held her close. “Let her be, Lina… I th-think she needs the space.”

“But I didn’t isolate her, though!” she protested in his arms. “They told me she didn’t want to see me! They said I wasn’t welcome by her side anymore!”

“I’m sure Irida might… speak to you about it later,” Iscan cooed while running a hand up her arm. “But for now, the b-best thing to do is to let her work through her emotions.”

“I’m sorry about all this…” I spoke up into the ensuing silence.

“Don’t apologise,” Palina seemed to take solace in my morose tone and offered a weak smile. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“Let’s settle down and move on from this, if nobody minds?” Iscan broke away from Palina and patted her back. “I- I think the Magmar would be happy to see you.”

“Yes, lets.” Palina’s smile grew warmer as she started to compose herself.

Iscan held out a somewhat shaky hand out to me and I accepted. He shook with a weak grip. “H-hi. Nice to meet you. I-I’m Iscan. I… heard about you from- from Adaman.”

I was kind of put off by Iscan’s skittish attitude, but I was too caught up with what he’d just said to care much. “I’m Rei. And… from Adaman?”

“Y-yes…” Iscan kind of grimaced slightly. “He borrowed Basculegion from the Mirelands and… and arrived in our half of the Coastlands y-yesterday. He said the Pearl Clan had just committed an- an act of war and… that we were to look for you… if possible.”

Palina lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Iscan…”

“It’s… it’s okay. A-Adaman is just angry. I don’t think he’ll actually start, like, the war up again.”

I really hoped not.

We ended up being led towards a family of Magmar huddled by the trees with their little Magby children surrounding them. Like kids having lain eyes on their mother after months apart, they all rushed over to Palina the second we drew near and a genuinely rare smile spread across her face. I felt my forehead grow slick at the sudden raised temperature, but neither Iscan nor Palina seemed bothered by it. A small Magby tugged at my trouser leg and stared up at me with its perpetual pouty face- accentuated only by its snout-like mouth. They were about Hisoko’s size but exuded heat as if I were huddled next to a dozen people. The Magmar were a lot cheekier looking and had Ducklett-bills for mouths, red-hot spines and a tail reminiscent of a Charizard- flame and all. They were the really hot ones, especially as they reached around chest-height to me. “I’m glad to see you all safe,” Palina knelt down to bring herself closer to the Magby and a few started to clamber all over her. “I was so worried about you.”

“W-what are they doing so far from the volcano?” Iscan didn’t seem quite so fond of them. I noticed him flinching every time one of them made a sudden movement nearby.

“I imagine Arcanine forced them out,” Palina’s tone soured. “Whether it was of his own volition, or because of those bandits- I don’t know. I suppose it matters not.”

“They must be awfully cold… here.” Iscan grimaced in guilt.

It was at that point that Braviary decided to show up, completely on its own, and stalked behind Palina. I tensed and reached for my Poké Balls, but Braviary simply nuzzled its beak between her shoulder blades and Palina giggled in surprise. “Bless you, Braviary! It’s been too long.”

She turned and started to pet under its beak. The giant flying type seemed to enjoy the scratches quite a bit. I… hadn’t been expecting that. I saw Braviary with Irida so often that they’d almost fused into a singular entity within my mind, but it seemed Palina’s hatred only extended towards Irida. Iscan, like me, did seem a little wary though.

Braviary turned its sharp eyes towards me and I saw little in the way of animosity within its expression. There was no love, either. But to it, I was just another person- despite it kidnapping and threatening me. Just business.

A weak Ember from a Magby hit the majestic Pokémon just beneath its neck and it huffed in amusement. Gently prying itself away from Palina, it spread its wings and- like when it was with me on Mount Coronet- started to furiously shake its feathers. Warmth bellowed like a Heat Wave from its form and all of the Magby started to shiver in pleasure. A spiral pattern of flame erupted next to the Magmar and they all coalesced around the flames to soak up the warmth. “Irida taught you Mystical Fire?” Palina sounded surprised. “Is that right, girl?”

Braviary broke out of her- I would’ve sworn she was a he based on her looks- concentration for a brief moment to caw lowly in my direction. Palina’s brows furrowed as she turned to face me. “She taught you Mystical Fire because of Rei?”

“Th-that doesn’t sound like… like Irida…” Iscan mumbled.

Palina looked deep in thought. “It doesn’t.”

In the end though, despite remaining convinced Braviary’s presence there was to keep an eye on us for Irida, I felt my emotions soften at seeing another side to her. We ended up enduring the waning temperature outside within the small spattering of trees by the beachside- though it felt like the pinnacle of a summer’s day in Alola with so many Magby and Magmar around. After reassurances from Palina that the fire types would love the company, I had released all of my Pokémon to hang out with us.

To say all of the Magby adored Hisoko would’ve been an understatement. They were absolutely fascinated by him. I supposed it was because he was of a similar size to them, but Edith was too and she didn’t get swarmed like Hisoko did. Hisoko, for his part, seemed quite fond of the attention and would twirl and frolic between the trees as Magby dutifully followed him like a troupe. Golett was the centre of quite a lot of curiosity from the older Magmar. They were leaning into it and examining its arms and legs with tender eyes. With some more experience under his belt, Golett was now nearing seven-foot tall and looked all the more imposing for it. Yet despite the four-foot height difference, Magmar seemed unafraid and would happily pile on their hands onto its as if huddled in formation for a sports event.

Bibi and Edith, comparatively, seemed fairly lonely. Edith sat atop Bibi’s head minding her own business while preening at her wings. I noticed she was doing that a lot lately and had even been pulling out an almost alarming number of feathers. Was she growing new ones? She was still early on the path towards evolving into a Staraptor, but perhaps she was making faster progress than I thought?

Bibi for his part hardly seemed to question the sheer heat and the numerous fire types surrounding him. He did eye one of the trees with a glint in his eyes, but a warning look from me made him back off. Give him a few hours, and Bibi could’ve easily deforested the entire area- essentially robbing Firespit Island of its tiny tree population.

“I-I’ll go get some supplies from Basculegion!” Iscan suddenly perked up as an idea formed in his head. “I still need to, to send him away and we can all have a… a wonderful meal, you know, t-together.”

I had to marvel at how someone as nervous and whimsical as Iscan managed to snag a beauty like Palina, but I supposed they had their own stories and preferences. I did feel a bit guilty over looking down on him at first like Irida clearly did. But it was a little hard to find common ground when he seemed so skittish around anyone but Palina. “Great idea,” Palina nodded her approval and Iscan smiled slightly. “We’ll need our energy for tomorrow, that’s for sure.”

Braviary seemed to want to go with. I eyed her cautiously as she stomped after Iscan, who flinched at her presence and shot her an alarmed side-eye. “You want to g-go, too? O-okay…”

I watched them trudge towards the beach and turned my attention towards the looming volcano to the east. The air shimmered around the traffic-cone shaped rock mass, making it look a little like a mirage you’d expect to see after going without water in a desert. “Won’t Arcanine come down and…?”

“Arcanine’s deathly afraid of water,” Palina’s eyes darted to Growlithe like always when his friend was mentioned. “And the Magby and Magmar, thank goodness, seem unmolested here by the shore. Whether or not those bandits are able to override his fear, however, is another story…”

I really couldn’t think of a way a bunch of bandits could go about subjugating a Noble Pokémon to their will. There had to be a trick somewhere. Was it to do with that strange golden glow that would assumedly be the cause of his frenzy? Lilligant certainly displayed a lot more emotional intelligence after we managed to return her to herself, but I doubted there was any way we could’ve taken advantage of her ‘dumbed down’ state to somehow reason with her. “Who are these bandits, anyways?”

“I don’t know,” Palina sighed deeply and allowed a flood of emotion fill her eyes. “I don’t know…”