Chapter 26: The Expedition Begins

  The morning came slow, the sunlight stretching thin strands of gold through the mist that clung to the rooftops. Dew hung heavy on the thatch, catching the first light like tiny shards of glass. Somewhere in the square, a door creaked open, a distant sound of someone sweeping, the faint clink of metal against wood. The village beginning to stir, though only just. The air still felt half-asleep, filled with that fragile hush before the day truly begins.

  Auri sat by the window, motionless except for the slow rhythm of his breathing. The scarf around his neck caught the light, the familiar weave shifting faintly with each rise and fall of his chest. He hadn’t packed a thing. There wasn’t much to pack anyway, no trinkets, no keepsakes, nothing that tied him to this place really. He hadn't really gathered any true belongings over these past months.

  He ran his paw along the edge of the scarf until his claws brushed against the faint shape hidden beneath the folds, the small yellowish-golden stone Miu had given him back when he'd freshly entered Newleaf Village. It was warm, even in the cool morning air.

  He held it between his paws for a moment, feeling its weight, the subtle hum of type-energy that never quite faded. That had been the first time everything changed. When the Mythicals had began to step directly into his path. Sometimes to guide, sometimes to test, always to pull him further into something far larger than he had ever asked for. He closed his paw around it gently, then tucked it back into place. The soft glow vanished under the scarf again.

  The room was otherwise still. The faint scent of wood and dust, a cracked window letting in the breeze. Outside, the dawn birds began their slow, uncertain chorus. Auri’s gaze drifted out across the roofs, the faint curl of smoke from a few chimneys, the silhouette of the orchard behind them. It looked so ordinary. Too ordinary for what they were about to do.

  The floorboards creaked softly behind him.

  "You’re up already?" Yuki’s voice came light and half-whispered, though the excitement in it easily broke through the morning calm.

  She stood in the doorway with her satchel slung across her back, feathers slightly ruffled and eyes gleaming with energy. The pack was clearly far too full; its edges bulged unevenly from whatever she’d stuffed inside. She looked like she had spent hours going over it, which she probably had. Auri didn’t even need to ask.

  "I couldn’t sleep," she admitted when he turned. "Kept thinking I’d forget something."

  Auri tilted his head slightly. "And did you?"

  "Maybe!" she said, eyes flicking toward the satchel. "But if I did, it’s for sure already in there somewhere!"

  He almost smiled. "That’s… one way to make sure you have everything."

  "Exactly!" she said, puffing her feathers just a little. “You don’t have to worry about anything! I made sure we’ve got enough food, rope, light stones and everything else we bought!"

  "Yuki," he said softly, the faintest curve tugging at his mouth. "You’ve been awake all night, haven’t you?"

  "Maybe," she said again, not meeting his eyes this time. "But only because someone had to make sure we’re actually prepared! You can’t just walk into the wilderness with nothing but a scarf and-!" Her gaze fell to him properly now, and she stopped mid-sentence. "…You didn’t pack anything?"

  Auri looked down at himself, then back up. "I’m wearing what I need."

  Her wings half-flared. "That’s not how packing works!"

  "That would actually be detrimental in a Dungeon, wouldn't it? Also, don't tell me you haven't packed triple of what we would need together."

  She squinted at him, clearly doubting the sincerity in his tone, but she let it go. "You really are impossible sometimes. You're completely right, of course, but still. And if you need something, you'll ask, understood?"

  "Understood," he confirmed, watching the sunlight creep higher through the window, edging its way across the floor. The golden hue reflected faintly in his eyes, turning them to warm amber for a moment. He drew a slow breath. "Well, it's time.E

  Yuki’s laughter faded into a steadier sort of focus. She glanced toward the window too, then nodded once. "Yeah. Almost."

  She checked the straps on her satchel again, then padded closer, lowering her voice as though even the morning might overhear them. "You ready for this?"

  Auri looked out again, at the rooftops, the mist curling around the edges of the crater beyond, the faint glow of the rising sun. "Ready enough," he said after a pause. "Though I think that’s as ready as I'll ever get."

  "Good!" Yuki said. "Because there’s no turning back once we leave Newleaf Village behind. Because from that point on we'll definitely get into very much trouble once we're back!"

  He glanced her way, and for a moment there was something steady, grounding, in his gaze. “I know.”

  The light through the window brightened further, spilling warmth over the floorboards and catching the edges of their shadows. Outside, the distant murmur of village life began to rise, a reminder that soon, others would be awake, streets filling, paths watched. They didn’t have long before someone might notice.

  Yuki seemed to realize the same thing. She straightened her satchel, flicked a feather back into place, and gave him one last sharp nod. "Alright then! Let’s move before anyone’s out."

  Auri stood, adjusting the scarf slightly so that it sat more comfortably against his fur. Yuki lingered only long enough to glance back over the small room, as though memorizing it. Then she shook herself lightly and followed him out into the morning.

  The village beyond was still mostly asleep, the paths empty, only the faint smell of baking bread and damp earth in the air. Mist clung to the edges of the orchard behind the houses, the path still dark beneath the trees. It was quiet, fragile, beautiful. The kind of dawn that made it easy to forget danger existed at all.

  Yuki led the way with a careful bounce in her step, though she tried to make it look casual. Auri followed quietly, his gait measured, deliberate. "This is way too early for anyone to be up," Yuki muttered as they crouched near the edge of the orchard, the western pallisade looming ahead. "Even the guards don't start their more regular patrols until... more or less now. Yeah, we should really get going."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Auri gave a small, amused hum. "Then it’s good we're already here."

  "Right," she said, flattening her feathers as a branch brushed her head. "Perfect time for me to get my wings ripped to shreds on these stupid bushes!"

  The orchard spread wide around them, neat rows of fruit trees glowing faintly in the morning haze, their blossoms not yet open but touched by dew. Between two of the trees, half-concealed by a mound of undergrowth, was the hole in the palisade. He crouched beside it, testing the opening with one paw. The wood creaked faintly.

  "I’ll go first," he said.

  Yuki grinned. "What, you worried we'll get stuck? Trust me, I've used this exit for so long, that won't be a problem!"

  "Nope, I just don't want to be stuck behind you when you set the brush on fire in frustration," he countered, but his tone carried a faint warmth.

  She stuck her tongue out at him but let him take the lead. He pushed through the brush, fur catching on thorns, the smell of sap sharp in the air. Branches scratched faintly at his shoulders as he forced his way through the thick barrier. On the other side, he emerged into the open forest, where the trees stood older, wilder, and the air felt heavier with morning mist.

  Sunlight cut through the treetops in broken rays. A faint, narrow trail ran from the orchard’s edge into the deeper woods, the same path he’d taken before, the same way that led northward to Wet Grove.

  Auri turned back, steadying a branch for Yuki as she squeezed through with considerably more noise than he had. When she stumbled free, feathers ruffled and a leaf stuck behind her ear, she muttered something that sounded like 'totally fine, didn’t hurt at all.'

  He tilted his head, mildly amused. "Graceful as always."

  "Ha! You try squeezing through there with wings instead of hands!" she shot back, brushing herself off.

  He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze had drifted past her, back toward the orchard. Through the faint gap in the leaves, he could see the roofs of Newleaf Village catching the light of the rising sun, the faint curl of smoke from early cooking fires. It was quiet, peaceful, ordinary.

  Yuki noticed his silence and followed his gaze. For a long moment, neither spoke. "Guess that’s it," she said softly.

  Auri didn’t reply. He just gave a small nod, tail flicking once. He didn’t need to say what they were both thinking. It would take days for them to reach their destination and even longer for them to get back. It was probably the longest Yuki had stayed away from Newleaf Village and he... well he had not many memories to go off.

  They stood there for a moment longer, two silhouettes framed against the pale morning light, before Auri turned towards the path. "Come on," he said softly. "Before someone does wake up."

  Yuki gave a small laugh, the sound bright but edged with emotion. "Well then, lead the way!"

  Sunbeams fell through the canopy of the forest in narrow columns, catching dust and dew in their glow, turning the path ahead into a shifting trail of gold and green. Every step sank slightly into moss, the ground damp but not unpleasant beneath their paws.

  Yuki breathed in deeply. "Okay," she said after a moment, her voice breaking the spell of silence. “I know we’ve been through here before, but it feels different today. Or am I the only one thinking that?"

  Auri didn’t answer at once. His gaze moved over the underbrush, the scattered shafts of light, the faint trails that cut through the trees. "Maybe it does," he said eventually, his tone quiet, unreadable.

  Yuki blinked, half-laughing. "Don’t tell me you actually believe that!"

  He shrugged lightly. "Well, to us it feels different because of the emotions we're currently feeling, right? So it makes sense to me."

  A breeze wound its way through the branches overhead, making them whisper, a sound just close enough to words to make Auri glance up. For a heartbeat, it did feel like the forest was aware of them, ancient, slow, listening. But the feeling passed as quickly as it came, replaced by birdsong and the steady hum of morning life.

  They walked in companionable silence for a while, the world narrowing to the rhythm of their steps and the play of sunlight on leaves. Yuki kicked a pebble down the path. "Do you ever think about what’s out there?" she asked suddenly. "Beyond all this? Beyond the crater, I mean. I really want to know how it looks outside of the Umbral Abyss compared to... here."

  "Who knows?" Auri said.

  "Yuki shook her head with a grin. "Of course that's your answer. You really have a way with words, you know that?"

  He gave a soft chuckle. "I'd rather leave the guessing up to you."

  "Yeah, well, I like guessing!" she said, hopping over a root that crossed the path. "Keeps things exciting! Otherwise, we’d just be two random explorers wandering into the middle of nowhere, and where’s the fun in that?"

  "That’s… exactly what we are."

  "Details!"

  Yuki's energy filled the quiet spaces between them like sunlight filling the forest. Every few steps, she’d point something out, an unusually shaped mushroom, a glint of crystal caught in the bark of a tree, the faint marks of claws in the dirt. Most of it was probably nothing, but she looked at each thing as if it might be a clue to something greater.

  Auri let her words wash over him, half-listening, half lost in thought. The rhythm of her voice was grounding, something to focus on while his mind wandered.

  Their path wound upward, narrowing and twisting around roots thick as tree trunks. The forest here grew older, trees gnarled and broad, their bark carved by centuries of wind and rain. Somewhere above, a flock of Dungeon Pokemon cried out, their calls echoing faintly through the canopy.

  Eventually, the trees began to thin again. The air grew fresher, cooler, and ahead, the faint rise of distant hills marked the forest’s end. By the time they reached it, the sun had already begun its slow descent across the crater rim. The light turned warm and low, spilling amber across the ridge that rose gently ahead of them. Trees grew sparse, the ground rocky beneath tufts of grass, and the forest behind whispered like a tide receding into distance.

  Auri was the first to climb. Yuki followed close behind, wings brushing the air as she pulled herself over the last stretch, stray leaves tangled in her feathers. When she reached the top, she stopped abruptly.

  Below them stretched the green sea of the forest, endless and shimmering in the evening light. And beyond that, barely visible between the trees, one could see the faint shapes of rooftops glinted like scattered embers, nestled against the imposing crater walls. A soft thread of chimney smoke drifted lazily into the sky.

  That was Newleaf Village. From up here it looked impossibly small, fragile, almost. "It looks so small from here," Yuki murmured beside him.

  Auri stepped up next to her, paws silent on the stone. He didn’t look down immediately. His eyes traced past the rooftops, past the crater’s rim, toward the distant line where the light faded into violet shadow. When he finally did glance back at the village, his expression was unreadable, steady, but with something heavy behind it.

  The ridge fell still except for the sigh of wind through the grass. "It’s strange," Yuki said after a while, her voice barely rising above the breeze. "To walk away from Newleaf Village knowing exactly how worried it'll leave everyone because our trip's so long this time. Honestly, I feel guilty."

  "That's understandable," Auri replied. "I feel the same. But we already agreed that this is more important, even if we hate to do it that way."

  The sun dropped lower, painting the ridge gold. His scarf caught the glow for a heartbeat, its threads gleaming like light woven into cloth. Without thinking, he touched it briefly, a small, habitual motion. When he let go, Yuki was watching him. There was understanding in her gaze, though she didn’t voice it.

  "Y'know," she said, her tone lighter again, "you’re not as unreadable you'd like to, Auri."

  He glanced at her. "Is that so?"

  "Yep!" A quick grin. "But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me!"

  The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "Well, that’s reassuring."

  "It should be!" she said proudly. “I’m great at keeping secrets!"

  “Yuki.”

  "Right, serious moment! Got it!"

  He huffed softly through his nose. Not quite a laugh, but close.

  The wind swept across the ridge again, and Auri turned his gaze northwest, the direction Miu had pointed, the direction they had to take to meet Sia, the one the world itself seemed to beckon toward. The last light broke across the grass, stretching their shadows long.

  "Let’s go," he said quietly. "We'll need a place to set up camp in, preferably a small cave. TThere's no way I'll sleep out in the open or in the forest."

  Yuki shifted her satchel, nodding once. "Right behind you!"

  Together they stepped off the ridge. The grass rustled underpaw, the air cooler now, carrying the faint scent of rain and something older, an echo of faraway places waiting to be found. Neither of them looked back.

  The forest fell away behind them. The horizon opened wide before them. And side by side, they walked into the deepening gold of dusk, towards the west, toward the unknown, and toward the first whisper of the wild lands beyond.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Pikachu (Auri) – Level 15

  Ability: Lightning Rod

  Battle Nature: Lonely

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 71

  Attack: 47

  Ranged Attack: 41

  Defense: 49

  Speed: 55

  Total: 263 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Nuzzle], [Tail Whip], [Quick Attack], [Brick Break], [Thunder Wave], [Feint]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Thunder Shock], [Electro Ball], [Swift], [Thunder Bolt]

  Utility Moves: [Nasty Plot], [Charm], [Double Team], [Growl], [Agility], [Dig]

  Torchic (Yuki) – Level 16 (Evolution Requirements Not Met, Stat Boost Applied)

  Ability: Speed Boost

  Battle Nature: Hasty

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 80

  Attack: 47

  Ranged Attack: 47

  Defense: 55

  Speed: 40

  Total: 269 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Scratch], [Quick Attack], [Feint], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Aerial Ace], [Counter], [Slash]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Ember], [Sand Attack]

  Utility Moves: [Growl], [Detect], [Dig]