The rain had begun to fizzle out to a mere trickle by the time Dren really got exploring. With the sun still rising and the local hills casting deep shadows on the Mirelands, several nocturnal Pokemon could be seen yawning and preparing for their day of sleep ahead of them. One beast in particular was a peculiar coloured Golbat, sickly green in hue and desperately trying to nestle into a tree to roost for the night. Chattering caws from the tree told Dren that a murder of Murkrow had already claimed the spot and were viciously defending it.
Dren and Swirly approached the tired bat, chirping in greeting. The Golbat hissed, but it seemed too tired to really take off - something wasn't quite right with the poor Pokemon, almost as if it had barely managed to get anything done in the night. It seemed somewhat emaciated, a fact that was only really visible thanks to the stark contrast between the russet ground and its green skin. Perhaps it had difficulty hunting when it was so easily seen.
The Alolan took pity on the creature, whistling to her Goodra to use Ice Beam on the tree. The Murkrow took off in a panic before the Dragon could fire off the frosty blast. Swirly released her charge with an icy huff, dissipating her move's energy now that it was no longer needed. Now that the Golbat could rest, Dren clicked her tongue for Goodra to follow her and leave the creature to sleep. The sound of whining from behind her as she turned stopped her in her tracks.
The Golbat, now resting upon the ground with its wings limp beside it, looked up at the tree and whimpered. The poor creature was too weak to even fly by now, unable to get itself into the tree it so dearly wished to sleep in. As Dren approached with her hands in the air to show she was not a threat, the bat hissed. Despite being malnourished, the creature still had a fighting spirit. That was good - it hadn't given up just yet.
"Hey, big guy," Dren cooed as she slowed her approach, "it's okay... I won't hurt you. Are you hungry?"
The green Golbat hissed again, this time far more weakly. It seemed to be barely clinging on to its own consciousness, completely at the mercy of its own fatigue. Dren sighed at the sight.
"You probably won't like this but... I won't let you just die here. That would be rude." Dren informed the creature, procuring an Ultra Ball from her satchel and gently holding it to the Golbat. It looked to her, to the ball, and then to Swirly - the Dragon purred and wiggled her antennae which seemed to help the bat relax. It tried to raise a wing, weakly reaching for the ball, but failed to get itself very far. Dren pushed the ball the rest of the way, the capture mechanism activating and sealing the Golbat away into the capsule. The Ultra Ball barely rocked as the weak Pokemon succumbed to the capture.
The hike back to the campsite wasn't too long, thankfully. Dren hurried back with Swirly in tow to get the Golbat fed and watered as soon as possible, her concern for the unusual hued bat growing with each passing minute. By the look of things, Ingo had only just folded the tent away into his hiking bag - his Machamp stood by, chattering idly before the female Pokemon let out a gruff grunt in greeting towards the approaching Alolan. Ingo turned around with eyes wide, clearly surprised to see Dren back so soon.
"Miss Dren! You're back very soon," the man noted, his brows furrowing when Dren did not answer and instead dove right into Ingo's food tin, "Dren? What are you doing?"
Releasing the Golbat beside the extinguished hearth, Dren gestured to the sickly bat and broke off a piece of honey cake for the creature. It very nervously peered at the offering, before reluctantly allowing the treat to be placed directly into its mouth. The honey-infused foodstuff seemed to immediately restore some of the Pokemon's energy if the purr it let out was anything to go by.
"Well, colour me surprised," Ingo murmured, stroking his goatee as he watched the green Golbat grow tamer by the minute, "You really do have talent with Pokemon taming, don't you? Where on earth did you find a Shining Golbat?"
Only then did Dren respond, finally feeling confident that Golbat wasn't about to perish. "Shining?"
Ingo chuckled, almost as if he anticipated the confused response. "This Golbat is green - hardly the standard colouration. I've heard the people of this land call such anomalies 'Shining Pokemon' since they stand out from their peers as if shining. They're exceedingly rare, if my information is correct," the Warden knealt down by Dren's side, keeping his movements slow so as not to startle the weakened Pokemon, "Poor thing is in dire need of a good rest, hm? I would assume being bright green doesn't allow a nocturnal creature to blend into the night very well."
"Maybe that's why... it doesn't seem to have eaten much for a while. It can't hunt properly," Dren sighed, frowning at the thought of a creature suffering from traits it did not choose, "I don't know much about Golbats... but it seems to like honey cakes. We should get along just fine."
The Golbat looked up, its large tongue licking its fangs as it glared at Dren - was it asking for more food? Or was this a threat display? Dren could read her Goodra like a children's picture book but this Golbat was more akin to an encyclopedia in a language she did not know. Experimentally, Dren reached for a second honey cake - this time, she did not break it up, instead she reached the whole treat forward and placed it into the Golbat's waiting mouth. It happily wolfed it down, its tongue lapping up the sweet syrup left on Dren's fingers with an almost gentle sense of caution. She giggled at the sensation before reaching for another wrapped cake, the last honey cake in the food tin.
"Are you not going to share?" Ingo scolded, his brow raised as he watched Dren's expression become almost sheepish like a child caught stealing from the sweets jar. Without even thinking, Dren broke the cake in half and offered half to Golbat, and then half to Ingo. The man's cheeks began to blush as Dren held the sugary cake up to his mouth.
"Eat it or I will." Dren's ultimatum was delivered far too sternly for someone offering cake, but it seemed to do the trick. Ingo averted his gaze and opened his mouth, letting the Alolan alien gently place the cake piece on his tongue. The sugary syrup stuck to the woman's fingers as she fed Ingo like she fed her new Golbat, prompting her to lick her fingers clean with a hum. She was too distracted by the sickly sweet honey to notice Ingo glaring at her, wide eyed and cheeks flushed pink.
From behind them, Machamp and Swirly exchanged a few snickering sounds which brought Dren back to reality.
"Now that you are sorta fed, we should let you rest. Here." Dren spoke softly to the Golbat, offering the Ultra ball once more to the beast.
With a little more strength and far less hesitation the creature immediately bumped its head against the capsule, triggering the return mechanism before being sealed safely inside. Dren held the ball in her hands, purring slightly as she placed the capsule into her satchel for safekeeping.
"Nice. Did you want to... come for that walk with me?" she asked Ingo, completely oblivious of how flustered he seemed.
"Perhaps we ought to make our way back to the Highlands." Ingo mumbled in reply, his eyes glued to the ground.
"Oh. Sure." Dren was confused and slightly hurt, but she couldn't say no to the Warden - he seemed to be the more rational and wise member of their two-person party, after all. She and her Goodra assisted in finishing up the packing before setting off with Ingo and Machamp to head home.
The long trek home was incredibly uneventful. Thanks to Machamp and Goodra - who both opted to simply pick up their respective Trainers and carry them on the final leg up the mountain - there was no need to set up camp. In the end, they arrived back at Ingo's little hut with Machamp cradling a snoozing Warden and Swirly carrying Dren upon her shell. It had gotten late fairly soon after they made it up the mountain and Ingo's body seemed to give up staying awake. Dren had initially wondered if she ought to wake him but he seemed so... peaceful in his sleep. She dared not disturb him if it meant breaking him out of that serene calm. It made her wonder how much sleep he had even managed to get in the tent out on the Mirelands.
Instead of waking him once they arrived at the door, Dren simply chirruped to Machamp with her arms aloft - the Fighting-type seemed hesitant, but upon Swirly communicating her strength, Ingo was placed gently into the waiting arms. The two Pokemon watched with vague awe as the seemingly meek looking woman changed form, opened the front door with her tail, and carefully brought the sleepy cargo into the yurt. Only when she had laid Ingo to rest upon his bedroll and removed his heavy satchel from his back did Dren set her own satchel down and return Swirly to her Pokeball. With a quick glow, Dren hastily resumed her human form - but only for a moment.
"Keep an eye on things. Please." Dren whispered to Machamp as she quietly left the yurt and closed the door behind her. The Pokemon eyed her with a puzzled stare but opted to simply obey the instruction. The beast flexed her four arms to signal her acceptance before watching as Dren's wings burst forth from the flesh of her arms, lifting her off into the night.
Ingo awoke to find the little mountainside hut empty. The yurt was illuminated despite the lack of lit lamps, the glow warm and soft. The Warden stretched his arms with a loud yawn, a groan escaping him as his spine clicked and ached.
"I welcome you into my clan, gift you the title of Warden, and this is how you repay me?"
Ingo jolted out of his bed, scrambling to find his hat as his eyes landed upon Irida, the Pearl Clan leader. What in Sinnoh's name was she doing here?
"M-Miss Irida!" Ingo greeted, his brows furrowing as he failed to locate his beloved cap, "I must admit I... don't know what you mean. Have I done something wrong?"
Irida stared blankly before a male voice erupted from behind Ingo.
"You're housing a monster. Don't you think we need to know about these things?" Adaman snapped, startling Ingo as he appeared from seemingly nowhere, "How can we keep our clans safe with you keeping dangerous creatures around?"
"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand." Ingo muttered, abandoning his hat search to hold his hands behind his back. He bowed his head in an attempt to show respect but the rage of the two clan leaders remained fierce.
Irida poked a finger into Ingo's chest with such force that he felt pain radiate through his ribcage. "We know about that monster that fell from the sky. You've been keeping it safe, feeding it, bathing it," Irida snarled, her usually youthful face riddled with fatigue and anger, "what happens when it grows too strong? It will kill you first and then come for us all."
Ingo opened his mouth to speak but Adaman's booming voice silenced him immediately. "How do we know you aren't one of those things too? You didn't come from Hisui. You could be just like that... that thing."
"That's not even remotely true," Ingo pleaded, his eyes glued to the floor as he felt himself panic, "I would never endanger the people of this land. Their safety comes first, always. Dren is harmless. Please, she harbors no ill will against your clans!"
The Warden paused. Irida and Adaman grew silent. When Ingo looked up, the two leaders were gone - as if they never existed in the first place. Even more puzzling was the sudden appearance of a tunnel in place of the yurt's door.
Ingo stepped out into the dark tunnel with slow and wary steps. The tunnel was incredibly wide with two sets of unusual pathways cast in metal and stone running parallel to one another all the way through, something that seemed so familiar and yet so alien. The word 'tracks' came into mind but that was as far as Ingo's thoughts could get before he stopped with a startled gasp.
A copy of himself, dressed in white, lay motionless upon the tracks. Ingo darted forward with a panicked cry before a shrill shriek stopped him.
Dren, wings revealed and flared, stood over the body with dark stains coating her mouth and throat. Her eyes glowed vividly, a sickly green hue that seemed to bore deep into Ingo's very soul. She crawled forward on all fours, her wings trailing behind her like a great monstrous Noivern's, before she snarled at the Warden. The dark stains across her face began to glisten red in the dim light.
"Dren! What are you-" Ingo began, his voice choked out by the sudden shock of seeing his alien friend bite down into the unconscious man's flesh, tearing at his throat with her teeth like a feral beast. Ingo was paralyzed - he couldn't do anything but watch in horror as Dren all but consumed his identical clone.
As if Death itself was calling out, an ear-splitting sound erupted out from behind Ingo followed by the sudden glow of white light that intensified with each passing second. The tracks beneath his feet began to vibrate and tremble, visibly shaking beneath him as he stared down. When he looked up, Dren was right in front of him with blood trickling down her chin. The white light grew brighter as Dren lunged forward, sinking her teeth into Ingo's neck before the light swallowed them both.
It was as if he had fallen through space and time all over again.
Ingo awoke with a gasp, his hand clutching his throat as his chest heaved with his rapid breathing. Sweat lay in beads upon his forehead which were swiftly wiped away with the back of his other hand.
In a mild panic, Ingo reached for his cap - a loud sigh of relief escaped him as he found the treasured item near immediately. With his hat back on his head, the Warden began his usual morning safety checks. He could do with a distraction, after all.
He found himself a fresh change of clothes, hanging up his jacket (had he been wearing it all night?) and donning a clean set of Pearl Clan robes. A brief moment was spared to fill the cast iron kettle with water before setting it to boil, and then-
Wait. Where was Dren?
Ingo stared at the empty space by the unlit hearth with wide eyes and a pale face, his nightmare crawling back into his conscious mind like a prowling Arcanine. The alien woman's satchel remained on the floor along with a single Ultra Ball loose by the canvas bag but Dren herself was nowhere to be seen. In a sudden panicked frenzy, Ingo rushed to grab his Gliscor's Pokeball before he burst out the door. Gliscor was a talented Pokemon and could easily track Dren down... right?
Before the worried Warden could release Gliscor, a large grey hand stopped him.
"M-Machamp?" Ingo blurted out, completely bewildered by his Pokemon being outside. The four-armed behemoth rumbled and dipped her head to her Trainer, confusing Ingo even more.
"How did you get outside? I am so terribly sorry, I hope I didn't leave you out here." Ingo mumbled, reaching up to pat the Fighting-type on her back. A voice startled the man, causing him to jump.
"It's okay. I asked her to keep an eye on your home." Dren leapt into view, having climbed down the mountainside with an almost frightening level of stealth. Ingo couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, his posture slumping forward slightly as his body slowly let go of his previous panicked state.
"By the stars above, Dren. You had me worried." Ingo scolded the woman in a tone that had himself somewhat taken aback. Dren blinked at him but didn't appear offended, thankfully.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take so long." the alien replied, finally stepping close enough for Ingo to cast a stern glance over her to check for any injuries. He didn't see anything of major concern, though he did note her kimono was sagging on one side as if she'd stored something within the fabric folds.
"Where were you?" Ingo demanded, his voice still a little louder and firmer than he aimed it to be.
Dren hesitated. The fins on the side of her head swivelled momentarily before drooping backwards like a sad Growlithe. "I... went to the mountain. At the very top."
"Without me?" Ingo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he shook his head, "It's very dangerous to be out alone. You didn't even take your things with you - if you had been injured or trapped or taken or-"
Ingo's ramblings were cut off by Machamp's stern grunting. The Pokemon cast a short glance Dren's way which Ingo followed - his heart sank at the sight. The Alolan eyes were glistening, her hand slowly reaching into her kimono to retrieve whatever object she had stashed away before she held it gently in her palms. It appeared to be some sort of small booklet - a passport of some kind? - and on the cover laid a golden print of four Pokemon with similar shelled bodies. Ingo vaguely recognised the four beasts as being Alolan deities, but that was where his knowledge ended.
"I... wanted to look for clues. About me, I guess. I found this. It... has my name on it. And a picture." Dren mumbled, her voice trailing off into a hoarse whisper. Opening the passport, Dren pulled out a loose printed photograph. It depicted herself, a massive Garchomp, and a man with white hair making a crude gesture to the camera. Everyone was smiling. The photo itself was slightly burned and warped but the picture was clear enough - this was Dren's previous life.
Ingo felt his heart break into a thousand pieces at the sight, with the photographed Dren seeming so full of life and joy and the real Dren looking defeated and lost. The Warden gently reached for Dren's shoulder, ushering her inside the yurt without uttering a single word. He didn't need to. He recognised grief when faced with it.
Dren sat herself down by the hearth in silence, her hands still firmly clutching the passport and photograph as if letting go would kill her on the spot. Ingo chose not to say anything just yet and instead focused on making the two of them a cup of herbal tea.
Only once the two of them were seated side by side with mugs of tea in hand did Ingo open his mouth to speak.
"I sincerely apologise for raising my voice with you, Miss Dren," Ingo sighed, refusing to look in Dren's direction, "I was incredibly worried when I awoke to find you gone. Your Pokemon and your gear were left here and I suppose I assumed the worst."
At first, Ingo worried the woman had not heard him - she seemed too preoccupied with her newly discovered belongings, her fingers gently rubbing the passport and tracing the shapes on the cover. The Warden was about to speak again, to repeat his apology, but Dren's quiet voice immediately had him silenced.
"I... sometimes see him in my dreams. This man," her soft voice was shaky as she gently pointed at the white-haired man in the photograph, "I don't remember him but... I think he is important. To me, at least."
Ingo felt his heart drop, but not for the reason it should have. He scolded himself internally for the jealousy that bubbled up like poison within his heart - whoever this man was, Dren was happy with him. Why did the sight of them smiling together fill Ingo with such venom? The shame he felt towards his own selfishess was enough to make him feel physically sick. The grip he held on his mug of tea tightened.
"I looked at the passport, too. It... has all these stamps in it. Look," Dren opened the little booklet to show page after page of official stamps with little labels underneath the ink, "If these are real, then... I am from Alola. I am... Champion."
Sure enough, a brightly hued stamp with all four Alolan deities lay upon one of the pages. A signature of someone called 'Prof. Kukui' lay underneath the stamp alongside a few smaller signatures that Ingo struggled to decipher aside from one that appeared to read 'Kahuna Hala'. It wasn't too surprising that someone with such talent for dealing with Pokemon would end up as a Champion some day, but Ingo couldn't help but notice the lack of pride or joy on Dren's face. Her eyes seemed... distant. Darkened by something.
"You don't seem pleased to learn this." Ingo commented, deliberately keeping his volume low.
Only then did Dren look up at him, meeting his eyes with a sad gaze. "These are so... human. It can't be mine."
Oh.
Without thinking, Ingo placed his mug on the floor nearby to free up his hands in order to softly wrap an arm around Dren's shoulder. Luckily she seemed more soothed by the gesture than startled or offended.
"This is certainly you in the photograph. Nobody else has such bright eyes." Ingo said sofly, pointing at the damaged photo still in Dren's grip. He found himself tensing up and blushing as he realised what he had said.
"That person also has my fins." Dren noted, pointing at the metallic spikes emerging from her head.
"Those too," Ingo agreed a little too quickly, though the Alolan either didn't notice or didn't question it, "Think about it - why would a stranger hold a photo of you in their passport? Does the document not have your name on it, also?"
Dren flipped to the front of the passport where her name, photo, and more lay printed upon the page. The ink was slightly fuzzy from whatever power the space-time rift used upon it but the name was unmistakable - this was certainly Dren's.
"I suppose I ought to call you by your title, now." Ingo mused, hoping to lighten the mood a little. He gave Dren a gentle squeeze, though he didn't anticipate her leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. He tensed up once more at the sudden closeness.
"I'm sorry I made you worry," Dren sighed, ignoring Ingo's light humor completely before she pulled away, "You were very tired. I didn't want to wake you. Besides, I have my wings now. I am strong."
"I'm just glad you're safe. Though, I do have to ask... did you put me to bed?" Ingo asked after a moment of thought, pulling his arm away from the woman so he could reach once more for his mug of tea.
"Yep. Machamp carried you to the door and I brought you in. You were so sleepy."
Ingo couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of the smaller woman holding him like a doll, tucking him into bed as if he weighed nothing.
"Well, thank you for that. Next time, however, please wake me if you wish to leave the station. If you seek alone-time that is fine, but at the very least please inform me of your journey plans." Ingo's stern tone crept into his words as he spoke, sending Dren's ear fins drooping once more.
"Okay." Was all she replied, staring blankly at the unlit hearth before taking a tentative sip of her tea. For a moment the reddish-brown liquid in the cup seemed so much darker, so much redder - Ingo flinched at the thought, scrubbing the image of Dren's mouth coated in blood from his mind with little success. He flinched again when he heard his name being gently called.
"Ingo? Are you... okay?" Dren asked quietly, her eyes slightly wide in her concern.
"Hm? Yes, yes. I'm fine, my dear. Don't you worry." Ingo replied a little too quickly, grimacing as the woman beside him squinted at his very obvious lie.
"Ingo." Dren's voice was now the stern one, causing Ingo to let out a soft sigh.
"I... had a nightmare. Nothing out of the ordinary, it just caught me off-guard is all. I suppose it has yet to leave my system." He offered Dren a weak smile in hopes of steering her away from the topic but it seemed to do the very opposite.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I really do not, Ingo thought to himself. The way those teal eyes seemed to bore into him only made his night terrors all the more memorable. A shiver passed through his body.
"It was about the clan leaders. They had all come here to scold me. There was also... some sort of tunnel. Someone had been attacked and then I was hit by something." Ingo recited, hoping his omissions would not be too obvious. Unfortunately for him, Dren was all too perceptive - for someone who lacked all social skills she was certainly talented at reading people.
"You are being dishonest," Her blunt answer struck the Warden like fangs in the throat, "but that's okay. You don't have to tell me. I didn't mean to pry. I should sleep... I've been out all night."
Ingo didn't know how to reply. He stared incredulously at the woman as she slowly got to her feet with a wide yawn, finishing her tea with a sense of urgency before she wandered over to the Shoji screens and positioned them to create a little nest of sorts against the wall. With a slight chirrup, she settled herself down - Ingo could see her shadow against the screens as she laid down without another word, leaving the man alone with his thoughts and his fears.
It was very clear that lying was not ideal when it came to dealing with the extraterrestrial woman. Ingo scolded himself internally for even thinking he could manage it. Why even try it, anyway? Dren had been nothing but honest with him - even if it meant being somewhat blunt on her part - and he repays her with deceit?
It's not like I'm trying to hurt her, he thought to himself as he silently finished his own mug of tea, I don't think she would be happy to hear that I dreamt of her killing me.
His thoughts drifted over to Irida and Adaman, how enraged they had been. What would happen if they truly did learn about Dren? Would they shun her? Shun him? He was lucky to have even been accepted into the Pearl Clan with how wary they tended to be of outsiders. Falling out of space and time was one thing, but doing so as a shape-shifting monster was another.
No, don't you dare think of her like that!
Ingo grimaced as he sternly told himself off, his hand rubbing his eyes as he fought to regain control of the runaway train that was his thought process.
Dren was no monster. Right? What even makes a monster?
The shape of their body? The sound of their cries? The power they posess?
Perhaps the clan leaders would think of Dren as a monster, what with her membranous wings and whiplike tail. Would they allow her a chance to show her humanity? Would they allow her a chance at all?
The thought of losing Dren now was like a ferocious clawed grip on his throat, threatening to choke him until the world turned black.
Then again... he had only known this woman for a short while. It wasn't like Ingo knew her from another life or had years of memory to form the foundations of his bond. He was just some lonely man in the mountains with no memory or purpose. Even his role as Sneasler's Warden was one that could be filled by another - he was not special. He didn't even deserve such a title, being an outlander from another world. When he was with Dren, however, he felt the gaps in his memory seal themselves up. The fog may not lift very much but the slightest shift in the murky memories was enough to make Ingo believe Dren was somehow special, not to mention the way she seemed to embrace everything Ingo was - and wasn't - with a casual indifference that was more comforting than offensive. It was like she didn't care what Ingo remembered or did or was - she took it all in stride without hesitation. Ingo was Ingo and that was enough for Dren.
The Warden smiled warmly at the thought, standing up to wash the mugs in the washbasin by the stove.
Perhaps the people of Hisui could learn a thing or two from this 'monster'.