Tough Choices

The room itself is smaller than you expected, only about half the dimensions of the main den. Light streams in from the singular windows on the front and rear walls of the hut. The decor is mostly in line with what you’ve seen thus far, aside from a huge (by your standards) wooden frame covered in various cloths, tree fronds, and other comfortable looking padding. It is then that you focus on the chieftain kneeling beside the bed, currently facing away from you. As you step closer, you are startled to find a pair of teal furred legs weakly kicking out from beneath the firm grip of the Milotic. Growls and angered hissing are heard as the pokemon continues her tantrum but the bulky Elder shows no signs of strain or stress. You stand there stunned at this development, unsure if you should intervene or..

“Jona!” You flinch at the Vaporeons sudden outburst before he brushes past you, a look of worry upon his face. He quickly makes his way to the foot of the bed and, foregoing his usual grace, clumsily hops up onto the sheets and kneels to the side of the struggling woman opposite his Matriarch. A moment later you see him recoil, his features pulled tight in a grimace. “Jona…” He whimpers softly.

As you slowly creep closer to the distressing scene, you notice Lyra’s tail, specifically those multicolored scales at the tip, have been waving in the sunlight just over the Oshawotts head. Their glittering motions give you a slight tingling sensation, causing you to absentmindedly scratch at the back of your neck. You shake off the feeling as you pad up beside Lyra cautiously. Peering around the large woman, you manage to catch a glimpse through all the chaos. The Oshawott girl appears to be bound with thick kelp tethers which restrict her limbs. She seems a bit older than you and if it weren’t for those pale, violet eyes, she’d be rather attractive.

The sounds of the Milotic’s gentle voice become clear amongst the mindless snarls. Soon, this coupled with those beautiful scales dancing above, you watch breathlessly as the Oshawotts girls kicks slowly die down before ceasing completely. The Milotic exhales deeply as her grip loosens on the girl, softly laying the dazed girl back to stare at the ceiling. Meanwhile, Arro seems to be pulling himself together, though there is pain in his eyes. You suspect the two were well acquainted.

“She came to me like this a few hours before you two chased that other sick pokemon in here…” Now looking you in the eyes directly, her face mirroring the numbness of Arro’s own. “I was about to offer her some of my morning meal.. She just lunged at me.” The Vaporeon briefly expresses worry for her before Lyra assures him that she is unharmed. “Even with the sickness coursing through her, she had little chance of besting me. Even still, she charged like a mindless beast.” The Milotic motions toward the now dream-like guise of their infected friend. “I subdued her and put her into this trance. It would seem…” She briefly looks to an overturned bedside table, “That even that wasn’t enough to suppress her illness for long.”

After an eerie silence, the questions rolling around your mind finally get the better of you. “Do you know how this could have happened?” Both of the Cove Cresters turn to you, and you pick your words carefully as you continue. “She wasn’t like this yesterday, I’d guess. Pokemon with the sickness don’t tend to hide that fact…” You gauge the reactions of the two pokemon, even using the word Lyra used earlier when referring to the infected. Sensing you haven't yet overstepped in this tense atmosphere, you press on. “Something must have happened within the last few hours-”

“She was defiled.” Lyra interrupts your probing with a harshness to her tone that has you leaning on your back step. She now stares directly at you, a simmering rage just beneath those scarlet eyes of hers. “Likely by that pile of blubber you fought off.” Your shocked expression must have had an effect on the fuming Milotic, as she draws a deep breath and continues with a more civil tone, that familiar hum returning to her words. “I smelled it on her as we fought… and I confirmed it after she was pacified.”

“So that’s how it spreads? By…” The word is distasteful as you utter it, reminding you of your own treatment as the claws of your clan mate. “... forcing themselves on uninfected pokemon?” Lyra offers a grim nod in response, going on to explain that she’d seen a similar case when the first attack on Cove Crest took place.

“This lamentable tragedy has all but made certain of my guess.” She suddenly stands upright, her head just missing the roof, as she paces around the bed requesting that Arro dismount as well. Her disposition is once again changing as a firm, no room for argument emphasis coats her words. “You have questions, Kale the Sneasel?” You shiver a bit at the return of that intense glare. “I have questions too. If you still seek your knowledge, then you will offer up some of your own.”

As you are explaining that you have no reason to withhold information, she abruptly cuts you off with a wave of the hand. “I do not know you, stranger.” She gestures in Arros direction, the Vaporeon still wears his hurt from the loss of his friend, but he stares expectantly as you all the same. “One of my most trusted guardians tells me that you are worth believing. However, I will not risk further pain for my people on the chance that you are sincere.” Lyra then gets down on one knee and locks eyes with you, those red pools refusing to let you go. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the Milotics tail snaking up behind her only for those dazzling scales to shimmer tantalizingly in the daylight. “I don’t have the energy to sift through lies, Kale.”

You begin to feel lightheaded, the mention of your name in that harmonic voice rippling around your mind begins to fill you with a pleasant warmth. Still, something is there pulling at your senses, yelling at you to maintain your focus. Instinctually you grit your teeth and blink a few times to rouse yourself from the stupor. It is then, seeing those devilish tail fins that you realize what’s been happening. “You’ve been trying to do to me…” You indicate to the now slumbering infected Oshawott before continuing somewhat accusatorially, “what you did to her, yes?” You stare back at the imposing chieftain, matching her unwavering scrutiny.

Perhaps sensing the mounting tensions, Arro steps between the two of you and diplomatically remarks that you have nothing to fear from either of them. He speaks softly without a trace of his normal bravado, “Elder Lyra knows what she’s doing, Kale. We’ve all experienced her ‘abilities’ here in the village. She does not use them to **** or serve her own interests.” The Vaporeon looks back to his superior, the reverence clear in his tone. “She simply wishes to meet the real you. No barriers or omissions. Just Kale, pure and simple.”

His words do well to sooth the doubts swirling around in your head. It would appear that if you want a chance at the answers you seek, you’ll have to submit fully to the Milotics probing first. You’ve been given no reason to distrust these two as of yet. However, can you really relinquish control of your mind to another so easily? What if they ask about your childhood… About that night…? You look to the man who had previously sheltered and fed you before peering beyond him to Lyra now calmingly waiting for you to make your choice.