As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Genesis 8:22 NIV




Chris Christodoulou's A Glacier Eventually Farts


I look up at the light that illuminates the surrounding waters. It's not the magical light of the dream that shone through the ice like it did weeks ago; it's the proper light of the sun, piercing the frigid waters of the deep through the hole in the frozen ceiling.

Shards of ice—remnants of the break in the surface—float all around me as I contemplate surfacing. It took me almost two weeks worth of dreams to break through, each attempt bringing me closer and closer to salvation.

Now, as I float midways between the abyssal depths below and the surface above, I find myself waiting. I wait for the same reason I didn't ascend last dream, even though I broke through then, a feeling that formed in the pit of my stomach the very second I ice shattered and the sun shone through freely:

I can surface only once.

Just as I knew by instinct so long ago that the dream would end if I found myself back aboard that bygone ship, I know now that breaching the waters would be the closure of this dream, never to reappear again. And I admit that I'm afraid of losing the one thing that connects me to the past world, even if I don't want to take that path back.

A glance at my white paw, still unchanged, causes me to shudder. I don't dare to look at the other whose hue of blue, like the rest of my body, is also different than when I first evolved. I close my eyes.

I'll just be here the next time I sleep, torturing myself. It's best to go now and see for myself.

I breathe in, the water feeling just like air as I swing my body into position. Like a dolphin I move my body, a set of swift motions propelling me upwards. The waters rush by me, their temperature dropping as I make my way skywards.

The cool air of the world above greets me, the alien heat of the sun shining over me as I hover in the air for a moment before landing beside the hole. My body nearly buckles under the weight of my landing, but the small layer of snow on the ice softens the force of the impact.

I look around me. The entire world is frozen, only a white expanse of snow and ice bordered by a dull, cloudless blue from the horizon upward. I inhale the sharp air, and the cold makes me feel my teeth.

A cloud of condensation leaves my nose as I look around me, trying to figure out where to go. I know this is a dream, of course, so my brain should force something to happen, but wandering aimlessly seems wrong. Feels wrong.

I slowly move my eyes around the horizon, everything identical beneath my gaze until I get a strange, nagging feeling in one particular direction, like something is drawing me there.

It's been so long since I had the boat in view that I don't remember if that's the same feeling from then, but I've no choice but to follow. Thus, I walk in that direction, into the empty void, hoping.

My paws leave small prints behind in the thin snow, but my tail leaves one long line. I know it's a dream since I don't feel cold at all, just numb.


The dot on the horizon, the little speck of black in the sea of white, grows larger and larger as I approach. How long I've been walking I don't know, but I keep my pace; I have to.

If I slowed, I'd stop, and I'd eventually wake up and never really know. I'd never forgive myself for that, for refusing to know the truth if it meant I'd be blissfully ignorant. But I don't speed up either. I already know what I'd find in the shattered remains of the hull that grow more and more familiar. It scares me.

I'm alongside the ship now. It's not upright, but listing slightly to the side, jagged shards of ice piercing the hull and leaving a terrible hole. I walk around the perimeter and see no other way in, but when I re-approach the hole I do notice a half-dozen pairs of shoeprints walking into the distance, fading out of sight into the horizon.

I take a step to join them but stop myself. It would be too easy.

Who am I kidding? I don't belong back in my old world. My fate's here; it's not fair for me to escape what I've done.

I enter the ship and inhale, and a distant scent strikes me like a wave upon a shore, my memory of that bygone world flooding my mind. Food around the dinner table, hard days of work, long hours of paperwork, people with brave, good souls everywhere I looked—save for the mirror—all flash before me.

But it's just a memory, one that I force myself to exit, leaving me alone, forced to confront the sheer emptiness of the ship. The only sound is the winds blowing outside, making the hull of the ship groan.

I can't just stand here. I need to know. Did they leave anything for me?

Searching the far reaches of my mind, I am able to wrest a memory from long ago and a world away. I used to be aboard this ship before I was thrown into the ocean below. The dream always started with me in the captain's room, trying to chart our course. I retrace my steps, looking at everything from a different perspective: half my human one.

I find my old quarters; the door is ajar and I go inside. The interior is as bare as I remember, the one storm-tattered flag on the wall frozen stiff. I look at it before walking up to the desk and hoist myself to the counter.

Strewn alongside the various papers with terrible handwriting marking them—I wish I took more pride in that back when I had opposable thumbs—is a paper wrapped in string, taken from the braided rope for the sails.

I extend a claw and cut it, letting the paper unravel on the table, the fluttering sound it makes like a thunderclap amid the overwhelming silence. I read it once, then twice and a third time, my eyes glancing over every word.

I sit back and let out a gasp, a mix of surprise and sadness.

It's... a goodbye. I-I don't think they ever intended for me to read it, though.

I look over it a fourth time to make sure my eyes don't deceive me, but it's so. Their words are clearly ones that they left not in the hopes I'd find it, but for their own closure, so they could move on. Kindnesses and farewells, lamentations and mourning. To them, I've passed on.

I have to. This life is behind me, isn't it?

I study the words to the best of my memory, doing so over and over until drowsiness begins to overcome me, a distant thrumming like a clock striking twelve. It seems that my time here is over.

Still, I don't go out in the cabin; it'd be inappropriate. I make my way to the top deck, frozen in its gentle list to the side, and curl up as I watch the sun fall over the frozen landscape, its orange light glinting beautifully over the white.

I hold onto the letter as tightly as possible, between my paws as I curl up the floor above my cabin, on the storm-battered deck. I am lulled into sleep, the only occupant of this ship and the vessel itself both a shadow of what they once were before fading away altogether.


Chris Christodoulou's Petrichor V


The echoes of that clock, I realize, are actually the sound of a fist hitting the wooden door to my room. I open my eyes and look past my empty room to focus on it, just as it subsides.

A voice with an archaic, medieval, Britannic accent—Ikarus, of course—comes though. "My apologies, d'Alin. I hadn't seen you earlier, so I presume you are recovering. I went up to the dining hall and brought you some foods."

My sleeping has been sporadic ever since the storm since my only job has been to recover, so I doubt that weirdo thought I was asleep at what I'd assume to be midday. Still, I'm too tired to say anything, nor am I hungry enough to get up. Plus, knowing what I already know, chances are it's spiked with some potion that'll forcibly melt me or something.

I stay on the blanket that takes up much of the floor and I grasp with my paws. I feel only air. I refocus my tired eyes down and see that there is, in fact, no paper here.

It doesn't quite feel real that, just like that, it's gone, that dream already half-remembered. But then again, none of this really feels right. Sure, I've been a Pokemon for almost two months now—first as an eevee and then as a vaporeon—but even that is surreal.

My attention turns to what was grasping at the paper in my dreams, what I can open and close like my own hands: my paws, the left white and the right blue. I'm still tired, so my focus on them turns blurry as I lose my grasp on the real world once more and fall back asleep.

But it's not really sleep. It's more like a tired lull back to shallow unconsciousness, a reprieve from having to confront the lonesomeness around me, all crowned by a feverish memory flashing by, centered around the last thing I laid eyes on.

A dream again? Not quite, a memory. Really, a combination of the two. I see the past in a dreamlike state.

I woke up with a start in the hospital bed. Pirth stood at attention beside me, then so too did Arimis and an audino by the name of Kina, the Guild's nurse. I tried moving but she held me down, and when I struggled against her Arimis joined her efforts, putting a paw on me to steady me. That calmed me and my feverish babbling.

Still, I looked at my paw and asked what had happened.

"Freeze dry. A strong one," was Kina's reply. "You went unconscious."

I remembered the last thing my paw had touched. I asked about her.

Pirth answered, his voice flat and wavering. "We checked all around Capim. S-she's not here."

Next I asked how long I was out.

Kina said, "A few days. The storm has already passed."

My attention went back to my paw. I asked her.

The audino blushed. "I tried... uh, I don't know the medical term... re-liquidating you."

My look of "what the fuck" spurred her into explanation.

"Vaporeon," Kina began, "are able to meld with water. This would ideally help you cure any physical ailments you had if you were able to liquidate—reform—in water. I don't think you know how, but it's natural to most vaporeon, from what I'd guess.

"Actually, I always thought you all were blubbery from afar with how you shine, but you've got fur like an otter or sea lion. I would've known more about your species but the only texts on vaporeon in the Clover library are about, well, I'm sure you can assume..."

Kina shakes her head with a blush. "It doesn't matter, sorry for bringing that up. My point with that is that you didn't need to know how to liquidate, though my guess is that you'll learn pretty quick since your body was doing it automatically as some sort of response."

A raise of my eyebrows prompted her to clarify. "Your body underwent extreme stress. The attack was concentrated and highly potent. A lot of energy is released in that one. It burnt off the pigment in your paw and leg. The same thing probably happened to your frills and ears since they're so sensitive, but that berry juice in your arm stopped it from getting any worse. Still, we had to get waters from the sea and, uh, poured them onto you. I don't think it would normally happen unconsciously but your body basically took the initiative. It took in the new water and expelled the old water, as if it were healing itself."

"It was messy," Pirth interjected, "you soaked the whole room."

Naturally I asked if that was why I was a slightly different shade of blue.

"Like I said, vaporeon color changes with the water. You evolved in a different place from here, right? If you happened to evolve the tropical waters of Capim Bay, you'd look like you do now."

After first calming me and preventing me from sitting up, Kina answered wave after wave of my questions:

"Well, d'Alin, if you knew how to liquidate I suppose so. I guess that's why every vaporeon I've run into looks a bit differently-colored than the next."

"No, only water. If I had to guess, it's whatever minerals are dissolved, but light and temperature could play a factor in color? I'm not an expert on water, sorry, and I only know this because we asked a local vaporeon for an explanation."

"No, d'Alin, I don't think particles like mud and dirt count. I don't think anyone has reported seeing a brown vaporeon either; you'll be fine."

Pirth and Arimis stayed by my side for the next day as Kina made sure I was fine and stable and not randomly melting, and once I was clear, they took me to the room and explained that Althi—

I'm jostled back to consciousness by a rumble from my stomach, one that makes me shake myself awake. I'm back in my room, the mystical, deep-red-and-purple lantern on the wall still illuminating the empty space around me.

I wonder when Arimis and Pirth will be back. My mind completes the thought that had been interrupted by my growling stomach.

Althi is still nowhere to be found.

After they dropped me off from the infirmary and the storm had passed, they said she was reported missing. No one in Capim Town had seen her.

Pirth thought she'd be at their old orphanage since only he'd know where it'd be. Arimis would accompany him, disguised.

They came back three days ago with no luck. Arimis had the idea that she'd go back to Treasure Town, to the Wigglytuff Guild, and they went together again.

I tried to go, and even though I really was fine, they insisted I rest. Arimis was quick to communicate to me that I couldn't disguise myself and trail Pirth unlike her, and that her seeing my paw still being white would not be beneficial.

So they left two days ago, and should be back at any moment. I've just been sleeping it off, waiting until they returned; I certainly wasn't able to undertake any sorts of missions on my own, not that I would've been able to anyways. Team Eevee still wasn't officially registered here.

My stomach's rumbling is accompanied by a pang of hunger, one that makes me grimace. I prop myself up and let the blankets I was wrapped in fall beside me. I don't make much noise as I tug the door open, something I'm loath to admit I've gotten used to since I've been down here. I both hope for the day I don't give it a second thought but also afraid for it, like I'd be signing away a part of my humanity.

The door opens to reveal a tray at the entrance, placed by Ikarus.

I wondered if the contents of Beast's meal today would've been some sort of pot-pie alongside raw berries; I don't actually know since it's smeared all over an engorged, sleeping dreepy.

Ugh. Gross.

I poke it, and it just rolls over, revealing a green, noodle-like body stained with berry juices that pays me no mind.

I contemplate swatting it off my plate completely, but that would be rude, and I know that these pokemon are the pet-assistant-things of the alchemist next door. I don't want to get on his bad side, though, so I decide to just let him know. Thus, I step over the package by my door and trot over to his and, after a moment's hesitation, use the back of my paw to knock.

A myriad of high-pitched voices start to sound out, and I start to wish that maybe my ears were a bit more damaged. I hear Ikarus faintly through the door. "Hmm? Why are you fiends swarming me yet again? Oh, is someone at our door?"

The door swings open and I don't like that I have to look up to see the towering hisuian typhlosion look down at me as he speaks, "Oh, d'Alin, how fortunate it is to see you! How might I be of service to you?"

I make note of his bandaged up ears and remember what I had to do with Althi. I ball in my stomach forms as I perform the eerily familiar ritual where I meet his red eyes and speak, making sure the movement of my mouth is very slightly exaggerated. At the very least, it's second nature by now. "Your, uh, dreepy. He ate all of my food."

Ikarus' ears fold back as he steps out and looks at the tray to see that there is, indeed, an obese ghost-dragon-thing that has taken the place of the food he gave me.

He rushes out to grab it and has to use two claws to carry the cylindrical blob, that fat mass just flopping over like dead weight. I heard him mutter as he walked past me, "I should just call you Sloth, too."

As Ikarus waddles back into his room, he stops and looks at me, as if he forgot I was there at all before saying, "Please, d'Alin, come inside! I have some small morsels for whenever I feel famished and must actively attend to an experiment!"

I peer past him and see a handful of dreepy within, observing me. One looks at me with a bored gaze and it eventually floats off, while another seems to be wagging its tail as it observes me with very happy eyes.

I also notice one is basically perched on Ikarus' shoulder, a clingy, off-color dreepy that has its tongue sticking out. I look back to my room, but it is as empty as before . A second rumble from my stomach further convinces me.

He's been... okay so far, and Arimis did say that she didn't think the rumors were true. Worst comes to worst I don't have to worry about everything that's happening right now.

"Sure," I say, and I notice that the one on his shoulder latches on tighter as I follow him in, giving me a weary, side-eyed stare.

The first thing I feel is a wave of heat. That reflects on my mouth immediately going dry, and I see it's because of various purple flames like the one in my room igniting various vials which contain unidentifiable, multicolored and bubbling liquids.

It reminds me of a mad scientist's laboratory I'd see on TV cartoons, and this almost comical environment surrounds me as I enter. I hold my breath for as long as I can, but when I inhale I'm greeted with a surprisingly neutral odor. Fresh, actually. Ikarus seems to take notice of me sniffing.

"It reeked of chemicals when I first started working here. One of the first things I made was an odor neutralizer—though I'll admit that originated by cause of a rather terrible client, that abominable Cyndaquil whose base proclivities tainted my very reputation before I had even a chance to—"

An angry-looking dreepy flies in and bites his finger, causing Ikarus to wince. He quickly realizes, however, that I am staring at him confused.

"My apologies," he says, "I tend to find myself going upon wildly unrelated tangents. Now, I do believe I was speaking of the odor, yes. Well, I am able to effectively neutralize it. Then came the issue of myself smelling like nothing, so I made an artificial scent after much trial and error. The scent is... how might I say..."

I sniff, then take a much deeper inhale. "My God, is that lavender?"

Ikarus nods with pride. "I'm surprised you know. It was rather difficult to reproduce, but it was accomplished! I also concocted a false incense for my own, personal application as I dislike smelling like a wild animal. I was fortunate enough to have encountered both while I was being trained in the fine alchemical arts. The roads of the east are truly a marvel of human culture, so naturally its end is at The City itself. I do miss..."

As Ikarus continues on, I find myself looking around, the dreepy floating around me, inspecting me from my head to my fin in a show of curiosity. My attention turns to where there are no traces of alchemy being performed: a small blanket nestled in the corner of one room with seven small pillows all beside it. I then turn towards a red curtain with various tubes coming and going out from whatever's behind it.

Out of curiosity I approach and Ikarus immediately exclaims, "No!"

I shoot him a look of confusion and he quickly recomposes himself. "Back there is... how might I say... toxic and volatile organic material. Off-limits to all but myself."

A set of purple-looking liquids in vials on the table beside me catches my eye, and I ask, "And these aren't? It looks exactly like a stereotypical purple poison."

"That vial as well," Ikarus admits, looking at the surrounding room. "Truly, practically everything is off-limits, but you need not worry about spillage! These... aides of mine can be clumsy at times... not to mention myself. So I've taken proper precautions!"

He shakes a table and I instinctively back up, but surprisingly the spherical vials stay put in their cases. My look of bewilderment meets Ikarus' pride. "A counterweight! Plus they are locked into their stabilizers—only opposable thumbs, not dreepy claws, can open and close these latches—which are in turn attached to the table. Far too many accidents—and my assistants—have necessitated this, but all in good fortune! I doubt that any further misfortune will befall me; I have had enough for this life and the last!"

Ikarus' innocent face made me wonder just how much of what I heard was actually true. He continued, "Even with that rather large tail of yours potentially knocking things about, I've no fear. Now, you said you were hungry right?"

"Yeah, I am."

He opened up a jar and placed a handful of white, round objects on the table, which were immediately swarmed by the dreepy—except the one sleeping and the other which the other five took turns beating back—before he approached me.

"Here, have this. These are dumplings."

I don't think I've ever seen Beast make these before—though I've not been here very long—so I take a hesitant bite, unsure of what he put in them but too hungry and tired to care. They are delicious and my stomach instantly begs for more; I'm happy Ikarus can't hear that.

"Satisfying, are they not? A holdover from my upbringing!"

My mouth is full and I have to swallow in order to speak. "You can cook?"

"I come from peasantry; of course I do. While I profess I am nowhere near as proficient as Chef Beast, my toying with fire is what spurred me into the alchemical arts in the first place! "

I don't let the surprise of this fact stop me from asking for more, which Ikarus happily obliges. As I stuff one after the other into my mouth, I notice he is staring at me.

I wonder if there is something in the food after all, and I prepare to regurgitate until I realize it's not the joyous face I've seen for the duration of my stay here but instead a darker, more concerned expression.

"Can I, uh, help you?"

"F-forgive me for a lack of subtlety. I abhorred the Court's necessity for such things and my forwardness was my greatest asset as a student. But I must ask, d'Alin: are you alright?"

I nearly choke on my food before I swallow, giving me time to think. I don't dare take another bite.

What the fuck is this guy talking about? Is he trying to see if something is affecting me?

I push the dumplings aside and my response comes out appropriately hostile in tone. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Ikarus, however, is unable to hear my hostility and proceeds innocently. "Oh, well I was merely aware of your situation and was concerned. I noticed you had shut yourself off from the wider world for the duration of your recovery."

I flick my tail towards me. So I'm not poisoned but he's... aware.

I say, "How much do you know?"

"Enough," he replies with a weak smile.

I narrow my eyes. "How, Ikarus?"

Now he seems to notice I'm not responding very happily, and in a bout of nervousness he summons a fire in his hand. He looks into it while he speaks. "It is... I am grateful that I have someone to speak to here. Linoone is such a delight but always is he busy. And well, with... her, it is nice to be able to hear again, even if my ears do not function."

Guilt and betrayal both rise within me. Arimis. Behind my back.

Ikarus continues, paying me no mind as he continues to look at the flame. "I—she... saw that I am who I say I am, one of the few that does. It was nice to be in the company of someone else who treated me with dignity. We talked while you were in the infirmary and when she would return from searching for your leader. She said many things of you, but noted you would likely be hostile to me..."

Ugh, what's wrong with me, I think, biting my tongue. Here's this guy pouring his heart out to me and trying to be nice, and I'm angry at him for showing concern. All since my friend cares about me to have someone check-in.

Ikarus looked at me now, his eyes sad. "I am afraid you, too, share the guild's tainted impression of me, do you not?"

I feel a twang of guilt. Get over yourself, dumb-ass. You're being like her. Don't you want to change? Isn't that the whole point of you being here? To have a second chance? To actually make change unto the world? It starts here, by doing what's right. By being kinder.

Before I can say anything he stands up and approaches the door. "Nay, I understand. I-I do not know what to have expected; I can see by how you look upon me with disdain. I shall leave you be, my apologies, Sir d'Alin."

Speak now, idiot. SPEAK!

"Ikarus," I say, then say once again after the dreepy gets his attention. "Listen, I'm sorry. Please, let me admit that I do have an impression of you, but you clearly are not that way. If you're willing to pour your heart out, then so should I."

"Oh, you needn't discomfort yourself on my behalf."

I grimace, but say, "Just, listen, alright? Or see. Whatever."

I don't know what compels me to speak so candidly, but I realize it's freeing as the words leave my tongue, as they float in the air for the dreepy to hear and as they roll off my lips and into my audience's eyes. Still, it's easier to talk with my eyes closed.

"I'm... hurting, alright? I fucked up. I should've listened to her, them, but you know what I did? I went out there. I did it not because I cared about her, even if that's what I told myself. Really, I was just angry at her, and I wanted to get back at her. To tell her she was wrong and steer her where I thought was right. Just like I'm angry now and I wish I could control everything, but I can't. Not at you, by the way. The world."

I take a breath, a sharp inhale before the frustration explodes once more. "I had a second chance! Here! I could've turned my life around—I told myself I would, I promised Garchomp I would—and what did I do? I went out there at her most vulnerable and pushed her too far. I caused this, not because I wanted to help her. I was angry at her and I used it against her. What kind of person does that? And now my teammates are out looking for her, wherever she is.

"I—I don't know how I'm supposed to move forward from this. I'm just angry at everyone, at this goddamn situation I caused. But that's me being stupidly emotional. I'm... I'm angry at myself. I'm hurting. How can I move forward from this? How can I be worthy of trying to do better if I'm just as bad as before? I had a second chance and I failed."

I take a moment to breathe some more, almost panting before my breathing subsided. Ikarus looks on intently, his brows furrowed in deep thought. I meet his red eyes. "How do you do it Ikarus? I mean, I came in here and treated you according to what I heard about you."

He has a small smile as he speaks. "I assign you no blame in that. As I said, Arimis forewarned me. But she said also you were of a kind soul, deep within, and that though hard to get to, was worth an effort. So I made an effort; I'm rather glad it paid off, even if at the very last moment."

"As for myself," he continued, looking idly at the flame once more. "I do what I can here. My second chance was taken from me before I had even a passing moment here. I confess I still abhor that cretin Cynaquil for such a fate; I cannot help it. But it does not mean I cannot be kind, try to help others. It is preferable to be just rather than to seem just; I am loath to admit that I was at first not satisfied with that.

"I wanted to be a knight in my past life. I longed for adventure in this world also. In both lives I was driven towards alchemy. Even as an alchemist here I acted so others might see value in me to have me accompany them; I acted with the intent to seem just and useful rather than to genuinely be so. That struck me down further, and my reputation was further sullied. I see, now, however, that my intent was flawed. Now, I am glad to say I act to be just rather than merely to seem so."

He dismisses the flame and pats my shoulder. "Every day is a new chance. You merely need take it. Had I given up, I would have never spoken to Arimis at all. By cause of that, here am I, speaking with you, d'Alin."

"What's your point with all this, Ikarus?"

"You lost your second chance. You fell; you're in pain. But as certain as the sun will fall, it will no doubt rise again; so too can you rise. Life goes on, and your pain likewise can numb."

"It's not fair for me to have that chance."

"Would you say the same for Arimis? Or your other companions whenever they inevitably err?"

"No," I say defensively, "of course not."

"Then don't say such things about yourself."

"But where's the line?" I ask. "What if I go too far? Did Althi go too far?"

"I wish I knew, d'Alin. A line, I suppose, exists. Man is not infinitely forgiving, and to be so is foolish. But I cannot say definitively; I suppose that is something we both must uncover for ourselves."

"I see," I say, unhappy with the uncertainty.


Stavros Markonis & Chris Christodoulou's We’ll Rain Together


After a brief moment of silence, his words settling in the air and floating among the dreepy that seem uncharacteristically still—I could've sworn they were far more rambunctious before—his ears perk up suddenly. He turns to me and asks, "Does your barbaric world know of the Stormwing?"

"A what?"

"A Stormwing? The noble bird that is able to be reborn from its own death?"

"Like a phoenix?"

"I've not heard of that," Ikarus replies.

"A phoenix," I explain, trying to remember what exactly the history was, "is a bird that was so hot it burnt itself alive. But from its own ashes it was reborn."

"Interesting," muses Ikarus, pulling out a notebook and quill, "but that is not my own fable. Similar, I dare say, but not exact. The Stormwing was struck down in the midst of the storm. It sought to contest the fury of the deluge it faced and was smited by the gods of some barbaric pagan pantheon.

"Regardless! By sheer will it rose up again from where it was struck down, the heavenly thunder that felled it now coursing through it, making it all the stronger. It then flew and, with newfound energy, reached the zenith of the storm. If not for its own fall, never could it have been made stronger for it.

As he finishes, he shows me a drawing: three spirals all meeting at the center in some sort of triangle.

"That is the symbol of the Stormwing. It serves as a sigil to many of change, of rising after being felled. How apt that you, too, went through a literal storm, is it not? It is a triskelion!"

"I guess," I say as I study the symbol for a bit. "It looks like a triquetra."

Ikarus' flames grow brighter and he smiles. "Oh, that one is my favorite symbol, so rife with meaning! Three pieces make a fourth within, yet the center cannot exist without the other three! I associate it with the Stormwing also due to the two's similarity, but I knew of no others who did so. And as some alchemists say: 'As within, so without; as without, so within.'"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that your inner self reflects on the outside, as your surroundings shape you. Already you surround yourself with good people."

"I don't think I deserve them."

"Then be grateful you have them at all," he mused. "Furthermore, if you wish to make the world better—something I don't doubt—to do so requires you to better yourself first. If you want the world to be better and to forgive it for all it has wronged you, you must first forgive yourself."

"It's not fair for me to seek forgiveness. For what I've done, I'm not deserving of becoming better."

"Nor is the world," he replies, his eyes focusing on empty space. "It is undeserving of much. It throws upon us storms and turmoil. Mystery dungeons are quite literally this world being hostile against its own inhabitants, is it not? Does that change your mind regarding helping the world?"

"No," I admit after some thought.

Ikarus says no more but instead smiles, seemingly satisfied with his foray into philosophies. But the silence doesn't last long as I hear a loud thunk against the door. Everyone but Ikarus is startled by it, though the alchemist figures it out rather quickly what is happening and he goes towards the door.

"What great fortune, you're back! d'Alin is right in here," said Ikarus, and he moved aside, revealing an espeon—Arimis—with a single red paw.

Ikarus motioned inwards. "Please, please, come within! Even a blind, er, supreme leafdog such as yourself will be just fine!"

Behind him was Pirth, towering above her, his ears perked up but his tone worryingly neutral as he said, "I'm a raindog, not a leafdog, but thank you anyways."

And last to enter is a mix of blue and an off-white which has hues of...

Yellow. Macom the mareep is there, dragging a package inside with his tail wrapped around the string that bound it.

My fins droop.

Hello, d'Alin. The room was empty and I reached out for your mind, and I was surprised to find it here.

I glance at Ikarus and, even though he couldn't hear nor was he looking at me, I think to her Ari, hi. I'm so glad you're back. It was... surprising, I'll admit.

She notices that as I think my eyes glance past her, towards the door and the basement beyond, and I am met with a swift response. d'Alin, Althi is gone.

That can't be. You just didn't find her. Where else—

The eyes of Arimis burn into me with a gentle but firm force, an unwavering, harsh truth in their whites. The thought is mired with anger and pain. She left Pirth messages at the Wigglytuff Guild. She's left us, and Team Eevee is no more.


Stavros Markonis & Chris Christodoulou's Mistery


Pirth was silent the entire time, his whole body splayed over most of the free space of Ikarus' lab. We all sat around him, though Pirth's head rested on my lap as I sat against a wall, letting me give him reassuring pets. His pleasantly cool crest of silky-smooth fur rested over my tail.

That's why I felt all the more guilty that I was unable to provide much reassurance as Arimis communicated to everyone—from myself to Ikarus to Macom—that Althi was gone for good. She recounted the events by skipping over the journey and the long, tiresome search on the road from Capim to Treasure Town, how they passed by various trees uprooted and shattered by lightning from the storm.

When they arrived at the Wigglytuff Guild, Arimis and Pirth were greeted by Chatot who knew exactly who they were, even in spite of Arimis' fennekin disguise.

Generations upon generations of Wigglytuffs and Chatots to continue the tradition of long ago only served to make them caricatures of their predecessors, and Chatot acted accordingly, raising a massive fit for them abandoning the world-famous guild that dared to give them a chance and becoming a turncoat for a place like the abominable Clover Guild.

The duo said nothing and, after Chatot realized that he'd get nothing from them, with hostility directed Pirth alone to come with him. Arimis' ears are perfectly normal, but even she was able to hear Pirth arguing that Althi would not ask for only him to join her to where she went, that the conditions stipulated meant he'd be unable to bring anyone else if he was to follow.

Pirth, after some thought and remembering his promise, as he had explained to Arimis, refused. Chatot then sighed and gave him two frisms.

Arimis was shocked beyond measure when she heard this; here was a hostile guild and they not only, for reasons unknown, helped Althi leave, but likewise afforded to give up two of the rare artefict.

The frisms, like Chatot's instructions, were for Pirth's ears only. However, he spilled the contents of the first frism to Arimis who now relayed it to us all, that Althi said that she went away, to another continent altogether, to do good. Even if Pirth stayed behind, she had said, she would always love him.

I think about all this as Arimis looks at me with empathy as she continues the tale. Pirth told me that Althi said she always wished for her little brother to live a good life, and if he could possibly find that here, it would be with d'Alin.

Arimis closes her eyes. She also said to never trust me, that he should be wary of my manipulation. That I'm the reason Pirth would even consider staying away... She said someday he'd be free of my deceit and she'd be ready to accept him when that time came.

Pirth speaks up. "That's not her. I know it's not her saying that; i-it's not who she is. It's just the hurt in her speaking, you know? She's just hurting and speaking nonsense... she knows you as much as I do, Arimis. And I know you're not bad."

Two silences—an uncomfortable one from Macom and Ikarus and a somber one from me and Arimis—permeate the air around the room.

He whimpers, "Sh-she's only leaving because she doesn't want to hurt us accidentally any more. She's s-selfless like that. It's because she loves me. Right?"

Arimis and I exchange glances, and neither of us say a thing immediately, but I can't just let Pirth wallow in this. "I do think she loves you, Pirth. She's your sister."

"If she's doing the right thing," Pirth asks amid his dampening blindfold, "then why does it hurt me so much?"

I glance at Ikarus before I speak. "Because life is like that. Sometimes the right things are the hardest to do. But it's important that we do the right thing, right? We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going."

My voice fades as I glance at my own paw and then at Arimis' before I continue, "But we don't have to do it alone. We have each other, you know. We're here, together, Pirth."

Arimis likewise lays a paw on Pirth, caressing his leg.

I feel oddly comfortable stating this in front of Ikarus, but a shift in Macom's stature draws both my attention and ire to him. "Yes, Macom?"

"Wasn't there a second frism?" he says.

"There is," Pirth responds, "but that one really is just for me. Not even Arimis and d'Alin. Sorry."

"It's fine," I say, and Arimis nods as if she already knew.

Macom's tail light slowly glows as he retains a neutral tone, unconcerned with Pirth's refusal. "So be it; if it bites you in the back later that's not my concern, but I can't help what I don't know."

"Regardless," he continues, now his tone bearing hints of tiredness. "I'm here for a few other reasons. Firstly, that package outside: I brought it in here so it'd be out of Toge's way. He does a thankless job and I'm pretty sure Pirth is worse than a bull in a china shop."

Arimis tries to make sense of what Macom said but, after deciding it is a futile effort, reads the label. It's for you, d'Alin.

As I stand up to drag it towards where I am, Macom continues. "Your former leader caused much trouble for us. I don't know what Althi said or to who, but clearly enough for the Federation to provide her something and enough for the Federation to initiate a 'trial-of-no-confidence.'"

What do you mean?

"Your return, Arimis, was beaten by a Pelipper. As you said, we too received notice that Team Eevee was disbanded, but that's not all. Alakazam wants to make an example out of you. They just lost a seasoned Exploration team training you..."

Team TwinStar, came Arimis' thought that was more like a gasp.

"...And you all just left for us. They want us to prove we have some standards in recruitment so they're forcing us to undergo a trial. I read the Federation laws; it's exceptionally rare but I'd bet they've been hoping to use it for a while. You just happened to give them the justification."

I grimace. "Well, what's the trial?"

"The Exploration Team Federation is requiring a mission to prove new explorers are actually competent and trainable. Unsurprisingly, this one involves a Rift. They're dragging in a team we let in just a few days ago too. Team Cypress, I think they're called. They're... recovering from injuries at the moment."

"If we fail?" I ask.

"We get audited. Very strictly, too; not the usual ones they do every chance they get. This one would allow them to access the information we're allowed by law to keep secure from all eyes... this includes the notes that many here are human. I think you know how much Lliam and everyone else here wants to avoid that given what you've heard about the ETF and humans. Furthermore, both new teams are blacklisted from joining Clover Guild or any other ETF-related organization."

I growl. "Two fresh teams? One injured and the other broken? We're shafted."

"Your team is more competent than you'd think, d'Alin," Macom says, his tone uncharacteristically uplifting. "You kept up with Team Brave in Checkered Chasm well enough... except for the end. Speaking of..."

Macom did his best impression of furrowing his brow. "Since this is a test of the competency of the Guild since new teams are expected to be trained, a duo from a senior team is allowed to assist. I'd nominate Sneasel and Booker or KFC since they're some of the best, but we've been beaten to it. The notice we got already declared the team that'll be helping you, so Alakazam is definitely involved; he's had it out for us since our foundation."

"Who's advising?" I ask.

Macom sighs, "Team Misfits. Phanpy is their leader."

I shuddered when I was able to piece together which members were a part of that from when we arrived before the New Year. Very slim pickings there.

Yep, we're shafted.

"Regardless," Macom says, "you three remaining members need to do this; Team Eevee is disbanded in-name but the structure remains. I'll try to pull some strings and sneak in a well-timed 'delivery' but that's the most I can do. They'll be watching closely."

With that he rises and starts to walk away. "The mission is in a week. Train and prepare the best you can."

"Wait!" I say, standing up. "We'd need all the help we can get, right?"

Macom answers, "Without a doubt, d'Alin."

"Even if the name is gone, we still exist as a sort of entity, right? Including the number of members too? Four?"

Macom raises an eye. "I don't think your former leader will be joining anytime soon."

I let out a painful sigh. "No, I know. Someone already in-Guild, though?"

"I... suppose that could work. But everyone here is already a part of a team, and the Feds will know if we reassign someone, even temporarily."

"I meant someone without a team. Ikarus."


Chris Christodoulou's Dehydration of Risk of Rain


I turned to him. "You can join us. You're available, right?"

Ikarus' flames flare up intensely and he raises his claws up. "I—I am quite flattered d'Alin, but I am untrained. I can hardly even move swiftly in this body of mine."

Are you not friends with Linoone? You two are of similar physiology. Can you not ask him to teach you movement and combat? He is rather fast.

Ikarus, still, stuttered. "I... I cannot say."

"Ikarus," I start, "this is your chance to be that adventurer you wanted to be, right?"

"Well, yes, however, I've tried before. I cannot fight, and when I tried to help it made things worse. I—"

I interrupt him. "Ikarus. I'm asking you to help. You wouldn't be doing it for the wrong reason anymore... I can see that you're a good man; our talk earlier proved it to me. Even when I was hostile to you, you still tried. I'd be remiss if I didn't return the favor."

"No favor need be returned, assuredly!"

I shake off my smile. "That's not what I mean. Look, Ikarus. You told me, uh, 'as within... so it's out?'"

Ikarus' reply is a proud one. "'As within, so without; as without, so within.'"

"There. You said that it's important to surround yourself with good people. I'd be honored to do that with you. So please, Ikarus, do me the honor of helping us and helping me move towards a better tomorrow."

I turn sheepishly to my teammates. "If, of course, that's okay with you two?"

Arimis nods but Pirth is silent for a moment before he speaks. "I heard you d'Alin, but... Arimis! I remember on the road you told me about him, how we were wrong about him, that the rumors were false. Do you really believe that?"

I do, yes.

"Even though I heard him... 'stuffing' a dreepy?"

I hear a high-pitched giggle come from one of the dreepy as the flames wreathing Ikarus practically turn into an inferno and as the cream fur on his cheeks turn red. "That! It wasn't—"

Arimis' extrasensory interrupts Ikarus' objections. Truly, Pirth, I do.

Pirth's splayed body collects itself as he slowly lifts himself upright. I admit to myself the sight of a deer trying to stand up is a rather amusing one, and I'm glad he can't see the smirk I fail to hide.

He walks up to Ikarus and sniffs him. We all hold our breaths.

Then, he's silent for a moment, and though he stands at Ikarus' eye level, his antlers combined with his demeanor make him dwarf the alchemist. Finally, "Okay, Arceus says you're not too retarded to join."

Ikarus breathes a sigh of relief and says thanks. Now we all look at Macom expectantly.

He sits up, and prepares to leave, his tail-light blinking in a vaguely familiar pattern I still can't decipher. "Alright. I guess your team—nameless, for now—is set. Like I said, you have a week. Please, you four, train diligently,"

He stops at the door then turns back. "Good luck. You're going to need it."

He leaves us entirely, and now it's just me, Arimis, Pirth, and Ikarus—not counting the dreepy, obviously—who are gathered together in a sort of dreamy, stunned silence in the center of Ikarus' workshop.

"Ikarus," I say, breaking the silence as I brandish a claw and slice open the seal of the package. "You need to figure out how to move. If there's one thing Garchomp taught us it's that speed is survival. Can you go and ask Linoone to see if you can join him on a delivery?"

Ikarus' fires betray his nervousness, but he nods. "Most certainty. I will prepare brewing various potions for our mission."

"Alright, now... as for me," I say, turning to look at Arimis. "I can't fight. I need to learn how. You have experience, right?"

She nods. I do, but I don't know what I could do for you. My speciality is not physical; that's Pirth. And—I wish you no offense—your water gun is weak; it works only with… other pokemon.

"I know," I cringe, "and I don't think that can improve much. I'll of course talk to Pirth about physical combat, but I meant more... concentration."

What do you mean?

"My energy," I say as I sift through the package. "I want to learn how to use it better, especially when summoning my armor. I'm wondering if I can concentrate it on specific parts of my body, forgoing the rest. Making the defenses there stronger."

I... can try. I promise nothing. But... why not protect your entire self?

I grin as I hoist the contents of the package out. "Because of this."

All eyes save for Pirth's turn towards my cloak, the one I ordered weeks ago. They all wander over it and Arimis even feels the material, but Pirth's ears droop.

"Let me describe it, Pirth," I say, looking it over. "It's a, uh, cape? Cloak? Do you know what those are?"

"I do," he said.

"Okay! Well, it's between those two—Arimis, could you help me put it on?—and at first glance it'd look flush, smooth, but it's really a bunch of layered feathers from a hisuian braviary?"

"A what?"

"Uh, a rephshek? Right?"

The two natives nodded in understanding as Arimis lifted it with her dexterous paws, and I continued. "Well, it's got white feathers—not that you know what that is—and they are supposedly resistant against the cold since those birds live in the mountains."

I hurriedly keep speaking so as to not dwell on why that previous fact is suddenly relevant. "This drapes over my right side, from my back to my side. It tapers sort of like a wing, the long end at the base of my tail and the shorter part over my leg."

I step through the blue sash—half the price of the outfit—that's made from a ribbon imbued with my aura color, a serene, crystal-clear aqua blue. As Arimis helps secure it to me, her red paw soft and gentle to the touch, I feel a paradoxical surge of serenity and energy flow through me; it's almost electric.

It prompts me to let out a half-gasp before I look over my back and see it fits me perfectly; the ariados did its job well. Its feathers are soft against my side and the bow radiates energy.


Chris Christodoulou's & Malvi's And They Murmur Not


I feel good in this, born anew, almost. I know it's just the feeling of getting something new, something that fits and feels so right on me, but maybe it's not just that. Pirth walks up and puts his nose against my cloak, feeling it, and Arimis looks at me and nods in approval, her eyes meeting mine for a bit more of a moment before we both avert our gaze.

I do feel strangely electric.

I then look at our newest member, Ikarus, who inspects a feather before patting the cloak and my hind—this guy really is just too innocent—and smile. He returns it alongside a flare of the fire on his chest.

I look back over my new teammates, all of us standing together, some strange hope in the air. But it's not just hope. Ikarus is practically exuding anxiety. I know I feel a distant pain that causes me to look at my paw, and I notice Arimis does the same, studying her red before looking back up at us, her eyes stately and resolute.

Arimis, it feels wrong—hard—to even try to move on. I feel like I'm turning my back on Althi, or her memory, or something...

I glance at Pirth and see he has a frown. Although his eyes are covered, it's almost as if he's looking elsewhere, thinking of distant memories. I'm rather surprised how well he's keeping it together, but he is. Probably for us.

I really care for her, you know? Even now, even after what she's said to you, even after what she did me, I still care for and miss her, a-and—

I... I will admit. I do not miss her. She has hurt me, and she crossed a line when she hurt you. I... regret the severity of my response, but I saw what I had become. I let the anger get to me and it was because of her.

Her hate overcame me, d'Alin. I want to heal, and I fail to see how I could begin beside her. I drove her away, and I feel both guilty about that as well as hopeful. I know how you feel, d'Alin.

So, what should I do?

What... would you ask me to do?

I pause and flick my tail, trying to think. It takes a moment, but I can finally offer a response. You can't live under that shadow forever, Ari. The past is over but the sun will still rise. Life goes on and you have to press forward, even if it hurts now, even if you don't think you deserve what you're working towards.

Why?

I stand upright, trying to have my thoughts muster within me, closing my eyes to picture the scene before I can properly express it. I can imagine a future. One to aspire to. If I'm being poetic, I can see the sun shining down on us as it sets over some beautiful waterfall, the rush of water a gentle white noise. But in that future you'd be there.

A zorua, no longer in your disguise. You know, Ari, every time I've seen your eyes, they were always sad. In Ruined Roost you had just been struck. In the ship you told me goodbye. And here, you just dreaded facing Althi. Right now you feel guilty about having hope. I'd want to see that hope in your eyes, a pure one. I'd want to see you look forward to what the next day would bring. That's what I'd want you to do; to get to that moment.

Arimis glances at her paw, then back at me. Then I ask the same of you. You, too, must try, even in spite of your guilt. Even if you've fallen, I want for you to attach yourself to that hope of making the world a better place, of doing what is right. That was your promise to Garchomp, was it not?

It was but... I don't deserve that. I don't deserve to feel okay, to leave this behind me.

Arimis' gentle eyes meet mine. Perhaps not. But you are not alone in envisioning futures. I, too, can do so. It is difficult, I admit, and I do so only because of what you said, but I can picture myself as a zorua.

I see myself there, bereft of a disguise, beside you, watching that sun set, observing its red, fading light be captured by the falling waters. But the greatest joy in that moment is not that I am free nor is it the scene before me. It is that I can see into your eyes and know that you, also, look forward to tomorrow.

Do you promise you can do that beside me?

I can promise I will try.

Arimis' eyes glisten. Then I promise the same, too. Come now, let us begin our training. I... I...

What, Arimis?

Arimis' disguise shimmers by her eye—a tear, I see, cascades down her face. But the disguise does not go back up.

I can feel it, a little already.

Feel what?

Aside from the guilt, the pain of this life. I can feel it within me, a seed but a start nonetheless. Something I don't imagine I have truly felt in a long, long while.

She looks at me, and I see my own reflection in her blue eyes, her tears having revealed them. The pain is still there, regrettably, but so too is something else. I feel hope that what you envision might someday be so.


<- Ch. 9, The DelugeHomepage



Maria Papageorgiou & Chris Christodoulou's Coalescence Returns


Tomorrow is the day of our mission, and even though everyone—even Arceus—is asleep, I just toss and turn like I've been doing all week, just like it's been ever since Althi left three weeks ago.

I don't actually move much. Arimis and d'Alin are both sleeping on me, so I stay still. Ikarus joined us after he came back from that delivery with Linoone a few days ago, and he sleeps where Arimis slept when we first got here, alone.

Still, I think he'll join the two old members of Team Eevee on my blessed coat soon enough. Arimis revealed herself to him the day after he joined and she seemed happy he was more amazed than anything. But that makes my heart ache for the third member of Team Eevee. It's been hard sleeping without her, but at least I can use the trick I've had since we got back.

I know the second frism's exact location, tucked away by the pillow where I sleep. I crane my head over and nuzzle it with my snout, activating it.

I listen as she, with a voice I know is holding back tears, starts to hum a lullaby.

She's extremely soft, barely a whisper, one that's hard for even me to hear. I know she'd be embarrassed to do this and especially record it, but I know why she did it.

She loves me.

There can't be any other explanation. I think she knew I'd stay or she wouldn't have recorded this. She raised me to stick by the promises I’ve made, and I kept mine to Arimis.

I still don't know why she said those things about Arimis, but I don't want to think about it, not now. I instead close my eyes as I let her hums guide me to sleep, just like it did all those years ago.

It's easier to dream of her when I hear her voice, and it helps me get through the day knowing that at night I'll feel her fur against mine, hear her voice while I sleep.

I drift away, but my last thoughts are that I know she'll do good just like she always wanted to. She'll save the world in her own way. And since we both want to make the world a better place, it makes sense that we'll meet again someday.

But for now, though, her lullaby will be enough.

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Pub: 01 Jan 2026 03:09 UTC

Edit: 01 Jan 2026 07:59 UTC

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