FSE

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Chapter 7

Four years had passed, and Kishiko was now 22 years old and had developed her skills further in both unarmed combat and with her blades. She was surprised how much easier it was to train when she was constantly around her two friends, allowing for sparring matches whenever they were willing. It was also a fascinating experience to see more of Unova than just the Moor of Icirrus and her hometown. But to the Miens, this was nothing. They were used to seeing everything like this, meeting new Pokémon, seeing new places and towns. There was also a certain enjoyment for them showing off these things to their friend, knowing she'd never seen any of it before. Eventually they took a stop by the river to get a bit of rest for the moment.

"How about we stop here? This seems like a pretty nice spot to rest and relax," proposed the Mienfoo. The elder Pokémon nodded in agreement, looking to the flowing water nearby.

"A good idea, I'd say. Some nice shade, cool water nearby, it's a great place," Tai-Xun replied. Kishiko looked over to the river as well, appreciating the location as it would be perfect for her meditation. She took little time to go ahead and settle herself down on the ground, legs crossed in her usual meditative position. Taking notice, Mei-Xiu got an idea.

"Oh, I know. How about Tai and I go find us some food while you hang out here and do your thing? That way we won't disturb you."

Kishiko looked back their way, her expression unchanged though her tone reflected otherwise. "That does sound good, I shall listen for your return." Then she turned her attention back to the water, closing her eyes and beginning to allow her body and mind to relax and rejuvenate from the long day.

Mei-Xiu smiled to her brother and nodded off to the side. "Alright girl, have fun. We'll try not to take long." With that, the siblings left their friend by herself by the river, heading off together to see what kinds of berries or food were around the surrounding area. Given they were used to foraging for food and exploring, this wouldn't be too difficult for them. But as they made their way out through the forest, the sounds of footsteps echoed through the trees, and it wasn't their own...

"Wait, you hear that, sis?" Tai-Xun said quietly as he held up his paw to halt her movement. His ears twitched as it sounded like voices talking nearby, approaching where they were. Normally he wouldn't think anything of it, it was a pretty large forest after all full of other Pokémon and creatures like themselves, but this felt different. In case of it being dangerous, it was better they should be a little cautious for now. A couple minutes later, two shadows came into view, revealing them to be...

Carefully and quietly, a pair of Servines were rushing through the forest together, wearing full uniforms from the Serpent Clan's army. The one sported a bag full of medical supplies, as indicated by the red cross embroidered on its side. He also carried a small dagger on his hip, slightly tucked out of sight to keep it hidden from enemy sight... and possibly even his own. The other, slightly bigger Servine looked more fierce and tough, featuring multiple scars across his body and face, but covering some with bandages. On his person he also had a dagger, and a Shin Gunto blade, along with a bag for other supplies. It was clear the two were going somewhere, but it was difficult to ascertain from watching where they were going.

"Come on, we can't stop now, they're sure to find us if we don't keep moving," the larger snake remarked, having noticed his friend beginning to tire. "You don't want to go back there again, do you?" The medic panted heavily as he shook his head, pushing himself to keep moving. They had been running for what felt like an eternity now, but it was impossible to tell how far they had gotten or how long they'd been running.

"N-no... I hope we never have to go back... b-but we have to take a break eventually..." the medic replied hastily. He looked back over his shoulder, seeing it was clear for now, but for how long was a mystery to them both.

"Fine, I guess you're right... I just don't want to be a prisoner, so if we have to stop, it'd better be somewhere safe." The larger Servine huffed and slowed down as he looked around. There seemed to be good cover up ahead of them near some bushes and trees. "Hm... let's check over there then. It'll at least give us a good hiding place." His friend looked as well, giving a silent nod of agreement and followed him there, both quickly ducking down for cover within the bushes to watch and keep a look out for signs of trouble.

"What do you think they'll do if they find us, Vlad?" the medic asked in a panicked tone, his British accent becoming more evident with his fear.

"Who knows... it could be anything, really..." Vlad responded quietly. Truthfully he didn't want to think about it either. They'd seen a lot of things on the battlefield and in training, and heard many stories of what the Serpent Clan was capable of doing to prisoners and enemies alike. But who knows what could happen to them. They were running from their duties as soldiers, after all. The thought of getting caught now was too frightening to dwell on, so Vlad shook his head to refocus. "But let's not think about that. I'm not letting anybody take you away, Locke."

The two went quiet as they suddenly heard noises, keeping down in cover as they watched. Suddenly a small group of fellow Servines they'd been with previously came into view, looking around with disgruntled sounds. They scanned over the area, communicating amongst each other about where to look and what to look for. "Those traitors can't be too far, they would have to get tired eventually!" They angrily trudged along, eventually moving on without success, and the pair breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew... that was way too close..." Vlad sighed.

"See? I told you it was good for us to hide and rest... we could've been caught otherwise..." Locke preached. Vlad just gave him a cold stare, and he quickly stopped to look away, knowing not to push him too far. The two had been close friends for many years after spending so much time together, so Locke was well aware how easily agitated his friend could be, and now was not a good time to make him mad.

"Let's just wait here a bit longer before we keep going... gives us time to catch our breath and maybe let them get further away," Vlad commented as he sat down on the ground. Locke joined him, setting his bag on the ground by their side. He opened it up to dig out a loaf of bread, splitting it in half to hand over.

"Here, this should help get our strength back, too," he remarked as he lifted his piece to bite into. Vlad looked curiously at it before he slowly accepted it.

"Wait... where'd you get this bread?" he questioned, before taking a small bite. A small smile crept over his face at the taste, satisfied to being getting some food in his maw again.

"Heh, well... I took it from the cafeteria back at base in advance of us leaving town. Figured it may come in handy for our escape, and guess I was right."

"Indeed... where would I be without you around?" Vlad smiled and patted the smaller Servine on the back. Locke chuckled and sarcastically replied, "In the ground perhaps?" The large snake hissed as he flashed another cold stare at him again. He took a quick bite of his bread before answering back. "Ha ha, very funny..."

The two continued to eat their bread until it was all gone. After taking a moment to let their bodies digest the small meal, they gathered themselves and stood again. Looking up to the sky through the cover of the trees, they could tell a short amount of time had passed, but how much was a mystery to them.

"Alright... I think we should be good to continue now..." Locke calmly stated as he adjusted the bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, just hope nothing else goes wrong either," Vlad responded. He made his way out of the bushes back into the clearing, looking around before signaling it was safe to follow, leading the way ahead.

As Locke followed behind, a thought raced through his mind. They were pretty much officially fugitives now, on the run from their home. Certainly it'd be suicidal to go back to the Serpent Clan now after what they'd just done, so they could never go home again. And Arceus knows what could happen if they ran into any Otts or asked for help from their clan. But was it really appealing to just live in the wild on constant guard? Of course, now it was too late for second thoughts about their plan. But he couldn't help but worry about it now, even if it was a bad time for these kinds of thoughts.

"Hey, Vlad... have you put any stock into where we're going from here or what we're going to do now that we're free?" Vlad halted for a moment as he stopped to think about the question. As much as he wanted out of the clan, he didn't really consider before where they'd go or any of that. Though it was a relief to know they wouldn't just be pawns in a chess match that seemed never ending.

"No... can't say I have, really. I've been so caught up in thinking about getting us out of there and staying safe, I didn't take much time to worry about that. But don't worry, we'll find something anyway, eventually."

It was clear he didn't want to dwell on it too much, even if it was difficult to ignore. It was true that they were all alone now, with nobody to trust but each other, and nowhere to go. What could they do after all? This position was less than desirable, but at least for now, their lives were safe, so that was something.

As the pair continued along, things seemed to settle down for them. It felt like a while since they heard anything besides nature's usual noises, which gave a sense of comfort to them. However, there suddenly were the sounds of footsteps echoing through the trees. There were even some faint sounds of talking accompanying it.

"Hey... do you hear that?" Locke quietly warned, sounding a little worried. But Vlad disregarded it.

"Don't go scaring yourself into imagining things now; we got no time for that. Now come on." Vlad grunted and kept walking.

Locke shook his head and continues as well behind him, feeling a nervous anxiety building up within him now. But as they continued walking, a few moments later he realized the other footsteps had stopped now. Maybe he did imagine it after all. Though it didn't feel right still...

"M-maybe you're right, I don't hear anything now..." he admitted in a meek tone.

"Damn right I am," Vlad confidently stated. They continued a bit further, until suddenly, two figures appeared in front of their sight up ahead on the path. "Whoa, what the hell? Who are they?!"

"You doubted me and I was right, I did hear others!" Locke exclaimed nervously, trying to use his friend for protection as he tried to get a better look. "I just hope they're friendly..." Slowly they came into view more clearly for both Servines to see...

"Oh, well, hello there," Mei-Xiu cheerfully called out, waving to the two Pokémon. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"And what's with those strange clothes you wear? Why, I can't say I recognize them from our travels..." Tai-Xun added in.

'They don't know our clothes...? Hm... perhaps we can trust these two after all... whoever they are...' thought Vlad. He examined the two strangers a little more, noticing the lack of any clothing on them. "Uh, well... just looking around..."

"Looking around? Either you guys are lost or you just really love to explore like us, we're pretty deep in the forest after all," Tai-Xun remarked. With such odd looking clothing, there's no way these Servines could've been from the wild, and the closest town was quite a distance from here to their knowledge.

"What do you mean by that?" Locke curiously added in.

"Well, for starters we've never seen that kind of outfit before, so you must be from a town somewhere. But problem with that is no town is around for a long way, almost like the heart of the Moor of Icirrus. Other than that you must really love exploring to come all the way out here," Mei-Xiu explained. She continued to curiously look them over, giving special focus to their legs in particular, imagining how tired they must be if they'd been traveling a lot, along with wondering how strong they were.

"Ah, uhh... w-well..." Vlad stuttered, unsure how to handle this situation now. Could they trust these two? He looked over to his friend for help.

"Well... you see... a-about that... we got split up! Yeah, th-that's it..." Locke quickly blurted out. He just hoped this would be a good enough excuse. "We were traveling with a group and got sidetracked so kept going on our own. But um... are you two alone then, too?"

"Oh my, sounds pretty rough. But you two seem pretty well-prepared anyway," Tai-Xun commented first. "We used to travel all over alone and explored the land of Unova, but for the past couple of years we've had a friend with us as well. Perhaps you'd like to meet her?"

The two Servines looked back to each other again, thinking it over. These two Miens seemed pretty friendly, so how bad could their friend be? They had nowhere else to go either after all, and these two seemed to have a handle on the area, so perhaps it couldn't hurt to go with them, at least for a little while. Maybe things were starting to look up for them. Shrugging, Locke turned to look back at her and replied "Uh, sure... guess it would be fine."

Mei-Xiu smiled and turned around, leaning over to a nearby bush to grab up some berries. "Great! Let me just gather some of these berries first and we can head back. Don't want her thinking we didn't come out this way for nothing, after all." She cupped them against her body and nodded to her brother, giving the signal she was ready to go, and off the two went. Not wanting to be left behind, the Servines quickly took off to follow along behind.

The thoughts kept racing through Locke's head as they walked, occasionally passing looks to Tai-Xun in particular, and noticing his sleek and muscular build. It was certainly apparent these two did work out often. In contrast, Mei-Xiu had some powerful looking legs, but lacked any defined muscle in her upper body. He was certainly fascinated to learn more about these two when they had a chance, but more so he was curious about who - or what - their friend is. It was unclear to them to this point.

Eventually Mei-Xiu rushed on ahead with a smile as she called out, seeing their friend up ahead still seated by the river meditating. "Hey Kishiko, we're back! And we got some company for you to meet!" The Pokémon's ears twitched as she heard her name, slowly turning her head to look over as the others came into view. However, the smiles quickly wiped from the faces of the serpents as they noticed what Kishiko was...

"Whoa, what the...?! Is that a Dewott?!" Vlad exclaimed with an angry scowl. Then his attention quickly turned toward Tai-Xun first since he was closest, placing a hand on his blade's handle. "Are you two spies or something?! Is this some kind of sick trap you bastards set up to turn us in?!"

"Whoa! Settle down there, Vlad..." Tai-Xun responded calmly, backing away a little and putting his arms up defensively. "I have no idea what you're talking about... we're no spies, and we haven't set up anything more than a friendly meeting."

"You're lying! Why else would you lead us out here to meet that blue thing?!"

By now Kishiko had stood up, realizing who the guests were as well, and growled at Mei-Xiu in return. "What is the meaning of this, bringing these snakes to me? Such treacherous creatures cannot be trusted, from what I was taught!"

Mei-Xiu looked to her with bewilderment, similar to her brother. She had no idea what had gotten into them, this wasn't how this was meant to go at all. "Whoa, girl, easy now... we didn't think there'd be any trouble, they were just wandering around out there alone and we thought they could use a little help..."

Locke watched in horror as the others argued, fearing that this Kishiko must surely be with the Ott Clan, and only hoped things wouldn't come to blows. Then suddenly he heard Vlad's cry snap him out of it. "I'll take care of that dirty Ott!" His attention shifted quickly to his comrade, who'd just broken away from Tai-Xun and drew his blade, charging at the Dewott with it. "W-wait, Vlad! Don't do anything to her yet!" he tried to call out in desperate hope it'd stop him.

Kishiko looked to him as she saw him coming, and without hesitation or fear she drew her shells and put them out in front, parrying his slash as it came at her with relative ease. "So, you wish to challenge me is it? I have not had a real fight in a while." Her expression remained unchanged as she stared at him, her yellow eyes glaring at him in an unnerving fashion.

Vlad gasped as he was deflected away, regaining his footing so she couldn't catch him off guard, staring back at her as he growled lowly. "Gah... yeah, I'll cut you down, right here and now!"

"Vlad, enough! Can't we just talk this out first?" Locke called out again to him, hoping he'd come to his senses. But the other snake refused to listen, blinded by rage and his burning hate for the Ott Clan. As much as he hated the war, he sure didn't hate getting to take down those dirty Otts to make himself feel a little better now and then. The Miens looked on in confusion, unsure what was happening now. But they were confident in their friend's skill, so decided to see where it'd lead.

"No! I'm not backing down from this, I'm no coward!" Vlad shouted back in reply. He let out a battle cry and charged again to attack, slashing with his sword. But once again, Kishiko was up to the task and blocked it with her shells, and sending a kick into his stomach to push him away. He let out a heavy grunt from the blow, stumbling back and panting for a moment. "Ugh, damnit... I won't let you win!"

Determined he tried once more to swing at her, and was denied once more. She clearly was fast and definitely looked strong; it certainly wasn't what he had seen coming. The others still looked on watching, waiting to jump in if it looked evident they'd go too far. Though Locke was more concerned than anything, hoping for the best, the Miens just looked surprisingly calm and relaxed for the situation. Growling, Vlad tried once more to attack her, but she quickly sidestepped his attack and hit him in the face with her shell's handle.

"Hmph... you are much too slow. Your anger is clouding your judgment and ability. Perhaps this was a mistake for you to challenge one such as myself," Kishiko quietly remarked. Vlad groaned in pain as he rubbed his face, getting more visibly angry as she seemed to taunt him like that. He wanted to keep going, however. He couldn't possibly let her get away with such a remark about his skill like that.

"I'll show you, damnit!" he shouted and charged one more time, only this time he sheathed his blade and came at her with his fists, and threw a hard punch at her. Kishiko didn't expect him to attack unarmed, and took the hit across her cheek, snapping her head to the side.

"Oof!" she grunted and cupped her face with a paw as she looked back over. "I did not anticipate you would attack without your blade... you have good strength and power, at least." She shook it off and put her shells away, preparing to keep going that way on even terms. But before they could go any further, Locke rushed in between them, trying to pull his friend back.

"Alright, please, I think that's enough! Clearly there must be a misunderstanding here, right?"

"Hmph... fine, we'll have it your way then," Vlad said in a disgruntled tone. "But if she's going to try taking us in, she'll taste my blade!"

"You have much nerve to talk that way to a warrior like myself. And I am not taking you anywhere. Who do you believe me to be exactly?" Kishiko replied sternly. She crossed her arms and glared at the two.

"W-well... you looked like someone from the Ott Clan... so we believed maybe you worked for them," Locke began to explain, still sounding a little nervous to be talking to her. "Given we are Servines after all, they seem to value capturing us to hold prisoner and torture, from what we've heard." He stopped for a moment, shaking his head at the thought. "Sometimes an even worse fate than that."

"Is that so? True, I hail from the once honourable Ott Clan village, but I left years ago on my own accord. I do not serve or visit them any longer or wish to associate with them. I have no interest in taking you there if you have done any harm. So clearly you did peg me for the wrong person."

The reptiles audibly sighed with relief as they heard her straighten it out. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all, meeting a Dewott that wouldn't try to kill them or take them in as prisoners. In fact it could be a great chance to learn more about them and see if they shared any other common thoughts or feelings. Not to mention the two friendly Miens who'd introduced them.

"Well, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. We were fighting in the war but we'd had enough of it, so we fled from our post," Locke began to explain to them. "But they seem to have realized we ran away and now we're wanted men. If we go back to the clan now they'll surely throw us in prison or worse. The only thing we can do is keep running until we find a safe place to go or until the war ends."

"Wow... that sounds pretty rough..." Mei-Xiu commented after a moment.

"So you two wish to travel alongside us for safety and having no home to call your own or friends to trust? Is that what you are saying?" Kishiko added with her usual serious tone.

"That's the gist of it, yeah. Better we travel with others who know the area than keep wandering blindly. Plus there's strength in numbers," Vlad answered. "So what do you think?"

The others looked amongst each other, taking a moment to think it over, particularly Kishiko. The Mien siblings had no issue having Servines around them, let alone any type of Pokémon, since to them everybody was equal. But Kishiko had never met one before until now, and didn't seem to trust them. However, this could be an ideal chance for her to learn what they could be like and see if she could trust them.

Finally, the female Dewott spoke up for the group. "Fine, you may come. Just do not try any tricks on me and we shall be fine." A relieved sigh came from both snakes as they smiled along with the Miens. All of them were pleased that she was approving of it.

"Oh thank you!" Locke exclaimed proudly. "We're in your debt for this. We'll do anything you guys need us for to make it up to you." Vlad nodded in agreement with the sentiment, just glad they wouldn't be up against this challenge alone.

Though deep inside, he knew this would be a true test for himself as well. He never could've imagined this situation before in his wildest dreams. He'd been told how his father had been killed in the war before his birth, and that an Ott Clan member had done it. But when he first heard that, the result was a burning hate for the Otts and a promise of revenge, which led to him joining the military in their fight. All the hate he'd been harboring for years against them, and yet here he was, talking to one peacefully, about to embark on a journey with one. It was a strange twist on his perception of reality. Though he and Locke could both agree, it was probably for the better. If they wanted this war to end and peace come for both sides, it wouldn't hurt to start spending time around them and finding out more about their so-called enemy.

"Don't worry about it, we won't force you to do anything different. Just stay close to our group when we travel and watch out for trouble," Tai-Xun said with a friendly smile. "And don't be afraid to ask us if you want to train or spar either. We're all very capable fighters."

"Heh, good to hear. I'm a pretty decent swordsman myself, but I can always use the extra work," Vlad proudly stated. They shared a small chuckle, though Kishiko's expression remained unchanged.

"Hm. I am glad you still wish to improve. It appears you have much to learn from what I witnessed. I shall take pride in showing you what I can."

"We'll just see about that, now won't we?" Vlad replied with a confident smirk, but Kishiko still didn't flinch from it. She merely gave a small nod then turned to walk away from the group towards the water again.

"Hey, um... Mei-Xiu, is she always so grumpy like that...?" Locke quietly whispered as he leaned closer to her.

The Mienfoo just chuckled as she looked over to him, smiling as she answered. "Don't worry, she's just really serious about everything, doesn't really like to joke around or take things lightly. She's a really good girl at heart, really passionate about what she does. You just gotta treat her with respect and there'll be no trouble."

"Sounds pretty easy to me... I've just never seen someone always so serious like that. It's almost unsettling."

"If you guys stick around with us long enough, you'll get used to it, really. How about we go relax for a bit before we head back on the trail?"

The Servines nodded, following Mei-Xiu and her brother to go rest their legs, watching the river and continuing with some idle conversation. Before too long, the group was back up and heading on their way again, off to explore the land and see what they could find.

In the meantime, a figure sat in the shadows high amongst the trees, having been watching them the whole time. "Oh Kishiko... you are so easy to track without you realizing... the master will be most pleased with this discovery indeed..." It grinned and chuckled deviously to itself. Waiting for them to be safely out of earshot, the figure leaped away from its perch to track behind them quietly, quite content with their findings.