Caspian didn't stick around long enough to hear much of the debates going on. He was more preoccupied with satisfying his hunger. It was often said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and Caspian wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment. So having to miss out due to these delays was something he would not abide. He returned to the inn where he had arranged his lodgings, hoping that breakfast was still on the menu. Despite being late, luck was on the foreigner's side. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to sit down and eat it, so instead he took it with him to eat while he set up his shop for the day.

His breakfast was a pair of freshly cooked potato mochi that Caspian paired with a cup of his own personal coffee blend. The coffee especially went a long way in giving him the kick he needed to set up shop rather quickly. By mid-morning he had his shop blanket layed out with a few samplings of his wares on display while he himself sat nearby on an upturned crate that these objects had been previously stored in. Out front was his shop sign, indicating that he was currently in his business hours. Nearby where Caspian sat was a pot of the coffee he had prepared for himself earlier. He'd taken to offering a sample taste to passerby in the hopes of tantalizing them into buying more.

"Come on now, Flurrie. Do you intend to hide forever?" he asked the Vulpix during a slow period. He'd been meaning to work on getting her to come out of her shell a bit more, so he thought perhaps he could convince the Pokemon to come out at least for a little bit, "I know the people around here tend to stare at you, but that's only because of how rare you are in these parts. I'll bet most of them just want to greet you, even!" he offered, trying his best to convince her. She did eventually come out, but slowly and she stayed close by his side, sometimes darting behind him whenever someone tried to get a closer look at her.

_{Interaction: @AdmrlStalfos19}

---

Himaru barely noticed people were talking to her. She caught bits and pieces of Hanabi, which sounded like probably scolding her. She stood there for a moment making it seem like she was listening however she mostly just heard her own heartbeat in her ears. She knew better than to respond at the moment. She was more than a little annoyed, sure the beast was rampaging but there had to be a reason. Pokemon usually only attacked for a reason. She focused on thinking up potential reasons as to why the alpha cat had made its way to the village and what could have provoked it to attack. Most people feared pokemon, and for good reason, but if Zen, a pokemon with a horrible reputation in the wild, could live peacefully among humans, then so could the rest of them. That was her mentality at least.

She ended up standing in place stuck in thought longer than she intended and she focused in on the child who had also apparently started speaking to her. Though she had missed the first bit while she was thinking she caught the last bit about William. Her eyes narrowed at the girl. “You are new here, you know nothing about who any of us actually are.” Himaru paused, taking a deep breath to stop herself from saying something she might regret. “I have a stall to open back up, I am leaving now…” It was for the best, standing there arguing what could have been was useless. What happened, happened and there was nothing she could do about it now. Arguing certainly wouldn’t help, it would only make matters worse.

With that she walked back to her stall with the intention of opening it up again. Zen floated up to the strange girl and stared at her for a while, doing who knows what before Himaru could be heard calling for the Haunter a little ways down the road. The pokemon floated after her and excitedly circled around her as they walked back to open up the stall again. As she was opening she noticed a foreigner setting up shop nearby. She recognized him as the individual with the snow white vulpix. As much as she would have loved to walk over and speak to him, she had money to make. She placed her supplies on the counter area in front of her and waited for the first person. A line quickly formed and Himaru busied herself with the fortunes, most now seemed to involve the safety of the village and the people within. It seemed news had traveled fast about the great cat’s attack. This was just what she needed, to think about the events of the battle all day. It certainly didn’t help her mood.

“You are new here, you know nothing about who any of us actually are."

That wasn't a mere exaggeration; it was a bold-faced lie. Even with those few seconds she spent out there, Shaakira could gauge a lot from everyone that was around her at that time. True, it was in the midst of battle, where push would more often than not come to shove, but she still had plenty to go on nonetheless. From her experience, people would rarely, if ever, change from their ways that from which they'd been set. It was just a matter of figuring out what those ways were right from the start.

"You can tell a lot from one's first impression, y'know," Shaakira tried to tell the woman before she left.

Come to think of it, Shaakira's own first impression left a little to be desired as well. Here she was, thinking she'd done the right thing all along, but yet somehow she made two enemies out of her actions. That alone was enough to temper her faith.

Shaakira looked back towards the Alpha Persian's corpse for a moment. Something was off about that whole battle, she was sure of it. Surely that Pokemon had to know it was being overwhelmed, and it had to have had some form of self-preservation. So why did it keep attacking, and leave its fate to those who would fell it? Shaakira would have to get another perspective from someone else that participated in the fight. But not now; it was still too soon. Shaakira turned back to face Akeeta.

"Let's just go back inside," she told it.

...

Sure enough, morning struck. Shaakira opted to skip breakfast this time around. She had too much on her mind to be in the mood to cook anything, and she didn't want to spend money if she could help it. She considered opening shop but, knowing her product, it was a little early to be expecting customers to show up. So instead, she browsed the marketplace to see what Saffron Village had to offer.

Shaakira found herself at a coffee shop. It didn't seem all that out of the ordinary in its own right, but then Shaakira noted the man behind the counter... and seemingly recognized his face. He was one of the rightful passengers to the ship that Shaakira boarded to get to the Kanto region, and wound up stowing away on all that time. But that had to have been more than a couple years ago by this point in time, and Shaakira was a child back then. Surely this man was unlikely to remember seeing her in return... right?

Deciding against hedging her bets, Shaakira instead chose to greet the man like she would any other shopkeeper.

"Hi there. Can I have a cup of the house blend, please?" she asked.

"I won't take long, Milady," the captain said with a momentary bow of his head. "I'd hate for Ajairu to be deprived of necessary care. I am aware that Lord Fuji is looking for a team of exceptionally gifted individuals to complete specific tasks for the purposes of quelling this civil war, and, having been here when the beast attacked, I can say that this group--yourself included--handled the situation with an effectiveness I only know to be rivaled by the Shogun's elite, even if the results were not as some would have hoped. And for now, many of these do not seem to have previous association with one another. With time, they might even learn to work even better as a team. Mayhaps we can request that these people have an audience with the Lord Fuji? If Milady finds this agreeable, of course.

"Now, as to the detection of this Alpha," he continued, "I will accept full responsibility for failing to do so sooner. Kanegi detected something retreating into the brush to the east earlier today, but I didn't realize at the time what it was, nor how dangerous it would prove to be. I had hoped it might not return, even if it were some threat--least of all within only a few minutes of its first departure. Such a behavior was highly irregular of Alphas we have seen near the city prior, and I did not prepare myself, nor others, for it. If someone has failed you, Milady, it is I." He knelt on the ground, his head bowed. "My sincerest apologies, and I will subject myself to whatever punishment is deemed appropriate."

And thus he awaited her response. He wanted not for the wrath of the Lady Hanabi, but he would not conceal his own faults in the matter. Lives that might have been spared were lost due to his miscalculations. Blood was on his hands for not preparing the guards sooner. But, he mused, the situation, grim as it was, may not have been without a silver lining. They may now have the tools to end this conflict, provided they didn't kill each other first.

Yasashi listened to the captain quietly, her eyes studying his face and expressions as he spoke. Her posture shifted, her physical attention shifting with it to Ajairu at her side. His flames flickered briefly and he favored a side, his front left leg curled up and occasionally testing itself on the ground. The horse snorted as the Captain bowed, and Hanabi returned her gaze to him.

"Captain, rise up. Your honesty and willingness to take blame for your people are exceptional traits." She gestures for him to rise, a slow smile appearing on her lips. "You can make it up to me..." Her demeanor evolved subtly, adopting a more casual and endearing posture as she slid her free left hand to her hip, the other still resting atop Ajairu. "By remembering what it is that was different about today, and teaching it to the other patrols. Strangeness and irregular behavior do not fall onto your shoulders for blame; preparedness and ensuring it does not happen again are your burden. You'll carry it well, Captain. If the Shogun truly wants to create this... Team...And I'm to be on it, then matters such as this will be fully your responsibility soon. I have faith in your abilities."

She bows to him partially.

"You already know everything else I would have said; I accept your apology and return you to duty. I'll try to locate a few of those others who intervened in the city, and let them know to come to the castle in the morning. I may not find everyone, so keep an eye out as well." She nods to him, before stepping away to go and get Ajairu stabled and seen to.

It had been a busy morning, and priorities being what they are... Ajairu came first.

"Hey, I'm back," William yelled at the top of his lungs. There was a rumbling from the back of the shop as a man, who had ducked underneath the doorway, emerged from the forgery. Standing as tall as Sanzoku, maybe even taller, and just as muscular, Rickard Nelson was his name. Brother to his father and uncle to that Extention, served as William's ward during his stay in Saffron Village. He left the Gold Clan a little after William had been born, so William didn't get to know his uncle. After spending the last few years with him, William had concluded.

"You look like shit. Did you fall into Rapidash manure?"

His uncle was a vulgar brute—the epitome of uncivilized and dirt. William didn't know how his uncle lived in this dump of a home before he had arrived. There were beer bottles littered everywhere, and junk was spread throughout the house. It took William an entire month to make the place even salvageable.

"Shut it, I almost died today, so I'd appreciate it if you left me alone." William retorted back before taking off his bloodied boots. Rickard eyed the bloodied boots and decided not to press on the subject. Instead, he decided to bring up another subject. "Where were you this morning? I thought I told you to man the shop."

"I went out to get breakfast; why does it matter to you, you-" Before William could insult his uncle, he flinched as his uncle hit him on the head. William hissed but didn't say anything else. He was going a little too far with his uncle, who was only showing his version of 'concern.'

"...After I got breakfast, I met up with some of our clients and made sure that their orders were coming. There was an accident at one of the gates, so that's why I got here a little late." William finally said before shooting a look at his uncle. Rickard only looked back before turning around. "Take it easy today; you can close the shop early even; we have enough funds to last for a while." With that, his uncle disappeared back into his forge.

William sighed and decided to head back into his room and change. Wynaut popped out of his faulty Pokeball and followed him inside. The sun was still rising, and today was going to be longer than usual.

_{Interacting With:@LostDestiny}

---

Having seen action first thing, Sanzoku felt more than fine in taking it easier in the morning than she had intended too. Oh they were still going to do some training, Marrow and her, but that could wait for a bit now. Instead she strolled back to the inn and picked up right where she’d left off, polishing off her now sadly cold meal while counting her unexpected payday.

”hmmm, not bad, not bad at all” she said to herself, as she neatly piled up the coins into countable stacks. Those would certainly keep her fed, watered and housed for a while longer than her existing reserves already would, but it also reminded her she should probably start looking for work again soon enough, which momentarily soured her mood.

”Ach, now’s no time to be worrying about money though is it Marrow?” she asked her mon rhetorically ”After you’ve cheated death another day and gotten paid for it, that’s when it's time to have some fun. Morning appropriate fun though” she still had some training planned, and she also had to pick up her order too, so day drinking was out of the question.

”Well we’ve got cash to burn and now that I think about it, all those merchants we help ‘ll be setting up show around now, yes? So about we see if there’s anything of interest before we check in with William” she said, and so it was that a little while later the sell-sword (who had taken the time to change back out of her armor after eating) and her pokemon found themselves strolling through the freshly open market, casually pursuing the wares on offer to see if anything caught their fancy.

Ironically it wasn’t one of the newly arrived merchants that ended up catching her eye first, but instead the white haired young women and her haunter who the sell-sword had seen already seen in the inn this morning and then after that during the little incident with the alpha Persian, who she now found manning a fortune telling stand, and a quite popular looking one at that. Both interested in the novelty of this and, subconsciously, hoping this might help with her current lack of direction, the towering woman joined the queue and, after a bit of gossiping with her fellow waiters in line, she met Himaru in person for the first time.

”So you must be the rarely in business fortune teller I’ve heard people swear by” she said warmly as she stepped forwards, presently holding Marrow in the crook of her arm so he could see what was going on, and then added ”now I don't know much about that kind of stuff, but I do have a little spare coin to spend so, tell me, what’s the fanciest bit of fortune telling you can do for me? Be nice to know if life has any more surprises or, ah, opportunities coming my way, if that’s a thing you can do?”

”Oh, and I’m Sanzoku Shōkan, mercenary for hire, pleasure to meet you” she belatedly introduced herself, before saying ”I’d pitch you my services, but you and your Haunter there looked like you could handle yourselves just fine out there this morning” knowing full well that the fortune teller wasn't the kind of person who would want/could afford to hire mercs of course, it was all just a lead in for the compliment.

_{Interaction: @DracoLunaris}

---

Himaru had more or less been absentmindedly going through the motions. Honestly she had been tallying how much she would need to replace the crystal ball Zen broke on top of being able to survive for another while without needing to open up shop. That was until a larger figure entered her field of view. The large woman from earlier had made her way to her stall and for a moment Himaru couldn’t do anything but admire the woman’s rather impressive build. She hadn’t been too close to the woman before, since she stayed a ways back from the fight until it was over, but in Himaru’s seated position the woman towered over her.

“Oh yea, I tend to only open when funds are low. Glad you could stop by.” There was a soft smile on Himaru’s face, one that was only half genuine, as Sanzoku introduced herself. “Ah, Himaru Tamaki. Yes, Zen and I are a pretty good team.” She looked back at the pokemon who was watching her and the woman in front of her carefully. Himaru was unsure if the pokemon was plotting something so she gave him a warning look before turning back at the red headed women. “So,if you want a specific reading, the cards are usually the way to go. I can get a pretty good idea from them. There are many different spreads I can choose from. The simplest is a three card reading, Past, Present, and Future. However if you are looking for some surprises or opportunities. Perhaps a six card spread would be more appropriate.” She proceeded to tell Sanzoku her pricings. “Oh but, I guess since you helped out with that…disaster. I could give your first reading for free.” Her mood shifted a bit as she mentioned the incident from earlier. “Maybe you get another one before you leave town, or whenever you make your way back at some point.” She smiled attempting to remain professional not wanting her sour mood to affect anyone else or her potential business. Though it looked like the line had since dispersed, probably heading off to do the daily work. Looks like she could do a reading for herself after Sanzoku. Himaru took the deck of cards her mother made and shuffled the worn deck in preparation. “You interested?” She questioned just to be certain.

---

Rokuto couldn't help but scowl at the scene before him. It was good to see that he wasn't needed, but these shopkeepers had far too much drama surrounding them for a group of people who were nearly mauled by a giant feline. Nice to see even Saffron was full of idiots hellbent on dying for their pointless principles just like everywhere else. He'd have to give that Cinnabar samurai his gratitude at the castle later when he wasn't in character. Sanctimonious as she was, she salvaged the situation expertly. At least the craftsman's nephew wasn't injured; being skewered on a persian's claw would definitely delay Rokuto's order, and he wasn't so heartless to haggle for a refund with a mortally wounded man or his bereaved uncle.

Though he would've liked to stay around and ensure the gate's security while the guardsmen scrambled around to address the fallout of their alpha Pokemon blunder, with everyone dispersing, it was probably prudent to leave before he caught any eyes. Besides, he had a hungry venonat to attend to. Rokuto shot an unamused glance down to the bug-type at his foot, who had already tilted his body upward to stare expectantly at its master. Spoiled fuck.

"Fine. Let's go," He sighed, beckoning his Pokemon as he turned back toward the inn. Poyo bounced after him dutifully as ever, its mandibles clicking out a happy chitter at the prospect of breakfast at last. Despite the lucky fact that he hadn't needed to engage with the persian, that incident had admittedly still soured Rokuto's appetite. He could probably manage to shove down some rice while Poyo gorged itself.

It was a small comfort that no one involved in the attack had returned to the inn - they'd probably do something stupid like want to talk about it with him - and even more surprisingly, that 'Ikoma' actually did save his meal for him. Poyo leapt for his food once or twice, not making much in the way of altitude but still reaching heights sufficient to catch Rokuto's attention - and annoyance.

"Down. You make a mess, so we're going outside to eat," The boy announced, bowl of rice cupped in one hand and fruit in the other. Once out in front of the inn - and certain no one thought he was stealing bowls or something by walking out - Rokuto gently set the procured fruit on the ground. Poyo wasted no time lifting up his meal with his grubby little paws to rip away the rind and gnaw into the succulent flesh inside, though his master dug his chopsticks into his own breakfast at a languid pace, his eyes drifting about listlessly as if boredly searching for amusement. The reality was quite the opposite; Rokuto could stand to avoid any excitement for at least the next week, but he'd probably have to look into the culprit behind that attack. At least long enough to confirm it really was a freak accident, a mere out of control alpha that strayed too close to the village and got hungry. Though unveiling a puppeteer that manipulated a rampaging Pokemon into breaching Saffron's defenses would doubtlessly ingratiate him to the Shogun, if it was the cover for an infiltration, they could already be inside the walls.

That was the possibility that really bothered him.

---

_@LostDestiny

---

”Ah you're spoiling me… but I ain’t gonna say no to that now am I?” Sanzoku replied merrily to the offer of a free reading. It did feel a bit like double, no, triple dipping into the town’s gratitude after being both paid, and promised a favor by William as a result of her last minute intervention into the morning’s incident, but she wasn't the kind of person to turn down what was freely offered.

Besides, there was a caveat in the offer that balanced it out and which she was more than happy to accept ”And I’ll be sure to keep my ears peeled for the next time you need the cash too. Plus you can be sure I’ll be joining the choir singing the praises of your services after this bit of kindness” she said, referencing the now dissipated queue of her regulars that the sell-sword had been at the end of.

While the woman talked, her Houndour’s curious eye wandered to and fro between whatever strange human thing his trainer was up to and the haunter that may or may not be up to no good in the back of the stall.

Sanzoku hmmm'ed for a few moments while briefly thinking over the two types of card reading on offer before going with the latter as recommended ”I think I’ll go with the six then.” The past, as far as she was concerned, was dead. No need to drag her less than stellar early years up into the light again, even via cards. What really mattered to her was what came next in life, be it danger or fortune or, as was usually the case for her profession, both at once.

”So how does this work then, am I picking the cards or are you?” she asked with curiosity and the will to go forwards with however this was supposed to play out.

---

---

And the morning continued its course. Though as it did, his flow of customers gradually slowed to a trickle. It made sense, really. Most of what he offered made for a tasty breakfast, but people tended not to have much use for something like Coffee later in the day. Unless of course they were heavy drinkers or had weird work/sleep schedules, but those tended to be the exception and not the rule. That was all fine with Caspian, however. Being able to close up shop at around noon would give him an entire afternoon to browse around the shops for himself. He was here to buy as well as sell, after all.

It was around now that he started to notice that Flurrie had actually been able to stay out of hiding all this time so far. He proudly beamed at his partner, "That's my girl." he said to her with a affectionate ear scratch, "I knew you had in you. And I think you deserve a little reward." and so he gave her one of the extra rawst-berry juice filled Poke Puffs he had in his inventory. The Vulpix gave an eager bark and happily munched on her treat.

"Hi there. Can I have a cup of the house blend, please?"

Caspian was quick to put his attention back in front of him. And with a welcoming smile he replied, "Of course. Well, I've only got one blend made but I guess that makes it the house blend by default." he poured the patron a cup from his personal blend that he had made for his breakfast earlier. It was also the blend that he offered to customers as a sample of what they could do with the beans he sold, "Truth be told, I'm more focused on selling ingredients than the actual drink. But I always make sure to have a sample blend made to offer to anyone who wishes to taste before they invest. My own personal recipe, in fact. Hope you like it!"

But the longer he looked at the young lady, the more familiar she seemed to be to him. To be fair, he'd met and spoken with a multitude of people in his travels so it was entirely possible to encounter the same customer in other locations if they were also travelers. And this girl was clearly not a Kantonian so he had to guess she was a traveler of some description. But it didn't hurt to make a little small talk, "Pardon me but... have we met before by any chance? I swear you look familiar to me but I just can't place it." he rubbed his chin in thought.

Meanwhile, the Snow White Vulpix just kept munching on her treat. Evidently it was enough of a distraction for her to have not noticed the stranger's arrival yet.

_{Interaction: @DracoLunaris}

---

Himaru nodded at the woman in front of her while she continued to shuffle the deck as she began to explain. “For this reading I will be doing a 6 card spread with what I like to simply call the journey ahead. You will draw 6 cards and place them in a rough shape of a boat. So the first two, representing the path behind and the path ahead will be placed here.” She motions that the cards will be placed next to one another. “The next two, headwind, or challenges, and tailwind, or things that will help, will be placed here.” Once again motioning to the spots the cards will be placed, tailwind placed beside path ahead and headwind placed above tailwind. “And finally the last two, guidance and destination will be placed here.” She motions for the last two cards to be placed similar to the first two on the other side of the 3rd and 4th card.

After the brief explanation she spreads the deck of cards face down on her table and motions for the woman to draw her six. “Draw the cards that speak to you, I know it may seem silly since you can’t see the faces but just trust me on this.” It was a sentence she had said to many a new or skeptical client. She waited as Sanzoku laid out the cards in their positions and then, with a deep sigh she began the reading, flipping the cards one by one as she explained the cards and their meanings. Each card clearly old and hand painted.



When she was finished, she looked up at Sanzoku, wondering what the woman thought of the information given to her. Would the reading upset her, would she be pleased? Himaru wasn’t too sure honestly.

"And I told you not to touch the apricots!" William shouted at the small blue Pokemon. Taeru merely did a slight tilt of its head as if feigning innocence. This act of silliness only infuriated William more, but before continuing his tirade, he noticed an item on the counter that wasn't there before. Dropping his one-sided argument with his partner Pokemon, he picked up the item, a letter, from the countertop and checked it. A frown formed on William's face as he saw the letter's contents.

No words left his mouth as he folded the paper and placed it back into the letter. There wasn't much he needed to know once he saw who wrote the letter. Walking into the smithy, he saw his uncle raise an eyebrow as he threw the letter in the forge's flames. The sounds of iron beating into iron stopped. William didn't take notice of his uncle's gaze until he spoke.

"Heading off to somewhere?"

William stopped, "Duty calls," With that, William continued walking. His uncle understood what he meant by that; after all, members of the Gold Clan what it meant to be called by the Shogun, even one that has left. His uncle nodded, "Take care then, don't make any trouble." William only nodded before leaving the smithy. He grabbed his bag and picked up Sanzoku's order. William had a feeling that he would be able to deliver it Sanzoku along the way. The object was strange and crude in his sincere opinion, which seemed to fit Sanzoku's ogre character. He'd provide it first before heading towards the southern gate.

Taeru didn't seem to share his mood as the little menace grabbed his attention by tugging onto his pants. "Return, Taeru, now isn't time," William said as he clicked the button. With the Patient Pokemon gone, William was alone in his thoughts. What caused the Shogun to call on him after all these years? Even after his exile period had long since passed, his family didn't bother to recall him back, so it wasn't that.

The only thing that came into mind would be the disaster earlier in the morning. The mere thought made William wretch inside. Though it seemed like that would be the only reason since William didn't hold any meaningful connection to the Shogun other than his affiliation with the Gold Clan. He should focus on the task at hand: Delivering Sanzoku's order and following the Shogun's instructions. That's all that matters as of right now. With that being said, he headed towards the Grand Gate. He'd bound to meet Sanzoku there, considering they were both accomplices in the

@LostDestiny

---

”So just go with my gut huh?” Sanzoku said as she was presented with the face down deck of cards. She looked thoughtful for a half second and then gave a short laugh and said ”Well now, that won't be a problem. Lets go wiiiiith you, you, you, you, you aaaaand you” while quickly plucking card after card from the pile and popping them down as instructed. The woman wasn't one for half measures, so she wasn't going to naysay or second guess Humaru’s work. Also it was free, so, no need to worry about getting her money’s worth.

Safe to say then, that the sell-sword was entirely onboard with the reading in the moment, which left her perfectly primed to be taken aback by the first one being about a defeat. A very literal reading of that was certainly accurate, considering the defeat, and death, that had broken her former mercenary company.

Flowing from that into the talk of changing her way of thinking in response to that defeat, the physical representation of which was idly resting in her arm, and she swiftly went from being open to this to actually believing there was real power here. Considering there was an ice slinging coffee salesman somewhere behind her, that wasn't exactly an absurd proposition now was it.

”I can see why you're so popular” she murmured, before looking a touch sheepish at interrupting and apologizing ”Sorry. Keep going”

The woman furrowed her brow and pursed her lips in thought as she listened to the remaining four cards. A focus on openness and relationships certainly was an interesting through-line, though she had to smile at the last point a little. She had to balance the scales when it came to paying Himaru back for this free reading after all. It wasn't the only scale that needed re-balancing in the short term either however, which made her assume that had been a true reading. William owed her, or said he owed her, after all and she had a possession of his to return as well but she did wonder what else it might imply in the longer term.

”Well now, you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about” she said to Himaru. Then she looked down at the cards again and mulled about whether she should heed the advice about being open, really opener rather than just cheerfully affable, even with this partial stranger, when a pair of folded letters drifted down and landed neatly on the devil card, on her, or rather now their, the path ahead.

Sanzoku blinked in confusion about that for a moment, and then started when she realized they hadn't come from Mimaru a heartbeat later. She stepped back, hand on her Kanabō’s and looking up to try and find the source of the dropped letters, just barely catching sight of the pink body of a Gligar gliding its way over a rooftop. Once out of sight, the pokemon landed in the arms of one of a pair of unremarkable commoners, who’s marks had both conveniently been in the exact same location.

Any worry from the unseen pair that Sanzoku might go running after their messenger mon was dispelled when the sell-sword glanced back at the letters and noticed a tiny drawing of the symbol of the shogun on the letter, along with her name on one, and Himaru on the other. That certainly gave her pause.

”What in the world?” she murmured, picking up the letter addressed to her and giving it a quick read, her eyes widening with surprise initially before her expression turned to a hard grin. Her little intervention just kept on handing her boons, or so it seemed. It wasn't every day the shogun came looking to hire you after all. Though after the reading she did have to wonder about how she was going to tip the scales back. Considering the lateness of her intervention in the battle, this all hardly seemed fair.

”Marrow, burn this for me would you sweetie?” she told her Houndor, who after giving her a little look of confusion did as he was told and lit the letter with a lick of flame, quickly reducing it to embers. She stepped back and let the glowing ashes fall, before stomping on them for good measure, all to ensure she didn’t cause any accidents with Himaru’s stall.

Speaking of Himaru, she wondered what the other woman was feeling about this turn of her own fate. She resisted making a joke about if she could have predicted this and instead held out her hand and said ”If that one says the same as mine, then I can do the same for yours as well” offering to burn the fortune teller’s own note once she was finished reading.

"I see; so the product would be the beans themselves..." Shaakira wondered how such a process would even work. Wouldn't the customer need to have a mortar and pestle in order to grind the beans? Could they ask the shopkeeper to grind the beans for them? Was that how they came? And how was the customer supposed to use the beans to make the drink in the first place?

Shaakira watched the shopkeeper work on making the drink for her, figuring that doing so would at least answer the vast majority of the questions she had about the whole process. She watched intently, but then something the shopkeeper asked her had distracted her.

"Pardon me but... have we met before by any chance? I swear you look familiar to me but I just can't place it."

"I, uh..." Shaakira hesitated, evidently taken aback by such a question out of the blue, but took a moment to think, "Now that you mention it, you might've been one of the many passengers I saw, when I boarded one of the ships that was headed to Vermillion Port. ...except that was years ago. I can't have been older than ten, maybe even eleven at that time. Are you saying you noticed me that whole time?"

...

Before the shopkeeper could respond, Akeeta prodded Shaakira with a couple letters that it just happened to pick up off the ground. One of the letters was addressed to Shaakira herself. The other name she didn't know, so she just placed it on the bench and slid it forward. She looked like she was about to open her letter, but then she saw the insignia on it and froze, dropping the letter itself. Shaakira knew that insignia. It was a summon from the Shogun himself. She didn't need to read the letter to know that. Nor did she want to.

Akeeta looked like it was about to pick Shaakira's letter back up and prod her with it again, but Shaakira stomped on it the seconds her wits came about her again. She didn't want to give it any more attention that it already had.

"Where did you find it, Akeeta?" Shaakira interrogated her companion Parasect.

Akeeta tried to imitate a Golbat flapping its wings. That impression failed on Shaakira in its entirety, but by the way it brought it claws down, she gathered that both of the letters must've dropped from the sky from where said Golbat let go of them. Still, Shaakira's expression had only changed from anger to sadness, as she lifted her long skirt a small amount, just enough to reveal that the toes on that one foot were all pointing to the insignia on the corner of the letter.

"Do you see this symbol right here? That means we got this directly from the Shogun himself, which in turn would suggest that he's summoning us to his castle. There's a number of reasons why he'd do something like this. The recipient could've even done something wrong for all but Arceus knows. That's why..." Shaakira looked over to the shopkeeper, and then back to face Akeeta, "That's exactly why I don't want us to go. Not just yet. I... still need to mentally prepare myself, for one..."

_{Interaction: @DracoLunaris}

---

The white haired fortune teller blinked at the letters laying just perfectly on the devil card. She couldn’t help but let out a slightly annoyed chuckle as she grabbed the one addressed to her. Oh how the fates had a way of playing with her. She broke the shogun’s seal while Sanzoku gripped her weapon and looked up at the sky. Himaru had little concern as to how the letters got there and rather why, after all these years, had the shogun decided to contact her. Not even her mother, who was a far more well known fortune teller had received a summons. Had the leader finally given in and decided he needed spiritual guidance, or perhaps he had a ghost problem? She chuckled at the thought as she opened the letter and read it.

Her amused smile quickly faded, so this was because of the incident with the Persian. Great, just what she needed. “Like I need more of a reminder of the needless loss of life that happened today, both human and pokemon…” She muttered. She had meant to keep that statement in her head but it seemed her brain and body wanted it to be said out loud. She handed Sanzoku the letter when she offered to have hers burned as well and looked past her for a moment at an individual approaching her stall. “Sorry, last reading of the day. I have other business to attend to.” She stood as she said this and gathered the cards that lay in front of her.

“Looks like I will be seeing you around then. I have to clean up here, you are welcome to stick around if you want but I am just going to tidy, close up and then do a personal reading for myself. I am sure you have more important things to do.” As she said this she reached for the crystal ball that was off to the side of the table. Looking in it she expected to see her own reflection in it, however what she saw instead was a creature peering back at her red eyes locking with hers in the split second that she had the ball in her hands. She jumped back in shock sending the crystal orb in the other direction as if the thing had shocked her. It hit a wall and shattered. Himaru would be upset if it wasn’t for the fact that her heart was racing. She hadn’t realized it but she had clutched the cloth of her black robes above her heart. What had she just seen? An omen? A pokemon? A glimpse of the future? She wasn’t sure.

As she calmed down and her mind started racing she realized that Sanzoku hadn’t even had a chance to leave before this happened. Himaru attempted to salvage the situation though she knew deep down it was an obvious lie that was coming out of her mouth. “Heh, caught a weird angle of haunter’s reflection in there. It spooked me…” The pokemon had been nowhere near for Himaru to have seen it, but hopefully the larger woman hadn’t noticed that. “Anyway…I guess I will see you later. Have a good day,” and she quickly ducked behind the counter to pick up the shattered pieces of the ball. “Looks like I will need to replace two crystal balls.” She muttered under her breath peering into a piece to try to see whatever it was she saw the first time, it was just her however. “Odd.”

---

The commotion has died down. The citizens went out on their merry lives as the vagabond, Ryuji wanders off the streets of Safari village as a free man. He spends his time mostly observing and tasting their delicacies, strolling around in the famous capital of the region all day long.

"Huh, this city is not much different from Goldenrod. Living in exile has its benefits I supposed, You get to travel the world more often " He smiled at Mori, steadily perched on his shoulders. The crow didn't answer and is simply sleeping like a log on Ryuji's side. He scoffs and lets his partner get its well-deserved rest.

While he was walking, something caught his attention. A strange heavy-looking ball rolls over his way and bumps into his leg.

"What a strange-looking ball" Curious, Ryuji picks up the ball and held it up high, and begins to examine it. The ball uncurled itself, stretching out its arms and legs, taking the form of a pokemon known as a Sandshrew. In its hands holds an invitation with the seal of the Saffron shogun himself.

"Would you mind giving back my pokemon?" from out of nowhere, A voice spoke behind him.

"Whhaat.. the hell man, you scared the ghastly out of me!" Ryuji exclaimed and quickly turns around, comedically taking a pose like he was about to throw some fist.

"I'm but a humble messenger of the Mudslap ninjas. That message is for you" The mysterious man spoke in a monotone voice as the Sandshrew rolled to its master's side.

Ryuji begins to examine the authenticity of the letter and right before he can ask any further questions; The shinobi quickly vanished, leaving a sinkhole from where he used to stand.

"Huh.. I guess we're being summoned, I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

_{mentions:@LostDestiny}

---

Sanzoku gave a little commiserative expression and a side nod of her head in response to the fortune teller’s speaking her thoughts on the morning’s incident out loud, and left it at that. She could have said something about that just being how the world was, or try to sooth her sadness, but she guessed that the younger woman would rather not dwell on it and so let the moment slide past.

Instead she took the letter and had her houndour burn it too, professionally not sneaking a peak at it to double check that it was indeed the same, and then dusting her hands of the ashes, careful not to jostle her crook of arm held mon.

That was more or less the end of the affair. Humaru wanted to close up shop, and while the sell-sword would have been more than happy to waste the day getting to know the fortune teller she was going to be working with, she did have a few things to do today before they met up again. That didn't mean she wasn't going to linger just a bit

”Seems like we will” she replied in response to her talking about them meeting up again, before offering ”and I have a little time, so I’d be more than happy to do a bit of your heavy lifting before I go, if you want to close up quick”

She leaned casually on the stall’s counter as she said that, only to be startled back upright by Himaru’s sudden jump back. The surprise wasn’t enough to go for her weapon, this time, but it was just enough of a start for it to jostle Marrow in her arm. The mon gave a little yip of complaint to which Sanzoku gave him a little comforting pet in reply.

”She just gave me a little fright is all dear, nothing to worry about” she said down to him, meaning that by the time she looked up again and Himaru made her excuse the woman wasn’t in a position to naysay it. Haunter could have just moved away in the time she had spent reassuring her own pokemon after all.

The event was still a little eyebrow raising truth be told, but after a moment she shrugged and put it behind her.

”Ah you’re fine you're fine. To be expected with that spooky fellow about I suppose” she told her, waving off the embarrassment, before taking the dismissal and desire to be alone without any begrudgement, biding her farewell with a ”Take care Humaru, and I’ll see you later” before heading out.

It was about time she got her business for the day underway anyway.

The warrior knelt beside Ajairu, delicately examining the pokemon's favored leg. Her eyes were soft, but narrowed in concentration as she slowly lifted and manipulated the horse's leg, working it upwards, then back, then bending it slo-

Ajairu hopped softly, even in its injured state he was deft enough to lift himself out of Hanabi's hands and to the other end of the stall. He landed hard, his hooves imprinting deeply upon the dirt of the stable floor, and its mane flared brightly for a moment only to fade back to calmness. He whinnied and lowered his head, taking another limping step. Hanabi offered a smile and outstretched her hands, wiggling her fingers in a placating manner as if showing the Pokemon she was, in fact, unarmeed. Then she rushed forward at the ponyta, suddenly lunging upwards and hugging it around the neck- her arms passing harmlessly through the fire of its mane- as she laughed...grunted...and lifted the ponyta up onto its hind legs, taking the weight of its body off the injured foreleg.

"Attaboy..." She urged gently, dancing in a slow circle with the creature. "Let me take a look at it now, yeah? This is just like we practiced. Dance with me." And so they did, dancing in a slow circle; Hanabi upon her knees, bracing the Ponyta upwards, and Ajairu prancing lightly on his rear hooves to keep his balance as Hanabi studied the deep wound trailing along the Pokemon's flank. Her eyes narrowed again, memory flashing through her mind...

The beam slicing through earth and air, raking across Ajairu. The flash of worry- no, the flash of anger! How it flared in her mind! How it broiled from within, bubbling like a- The Volcano! Home! Memories so far away and so long ago! How the smoke rose! How the heat seared her flesh as she gazed down! Her father! Her brother! Ajairu- The Persian, malice and cruelty radiating from its eyes. Blood soaking its fur. The anger held in check. The Volcano could not erupt. Could never erupt. Could never be unsealed. Her body went cold. When her blade moved, it was not driven by emotion. When the Persian's head fell, she could not even let emotion in then; the deed had been done with simple purpose. It was the Samurai way. The Volcano remained sealed. As it must. As it always must.

"A potion will suffice for that- or, perhaps, a bit of rest and some apples-" she laughed as Ajairu's excitement grew and she was forced to rise up and release the pokemon from their embrace. She produced one of the favored treats from her saddlebag nearby and idly dusted it off in her hands. "We're running low, before long I'll need to place an order for more."

Ajairu snorted as Hanabi tossed the apple back and forth in her hands, teasing him with its distance from his mouth. Finally he stamped- then whinnied in pain- only for Hanabi to finally close the distance and softly cup Ajairu's head beneath the chin with one hand, her other holding the apple above the Ponyta's mane.

"Patience." She said softly. "Temperance, too. You showed much Courage today; and I'll never question your Loyalty. Never." She whispered the final word as the apple warmed in her hand. This always amazed her; the Ponyta's flames had never burned her, never so much as rendered her uncomfortable, but it could bake this apple even as she held it. Soon she had to toss it again to cool her palm, the apple smoking in the air lightly, and finally she released Ajairu's head and allowed the pokemon to snatch the baked apple in its mouth. Two loud crunches later, and the ponyta was chewing away happily as it relaxed in place.

"Rest well, friend."

---

The day had passed...uneventfully. The morning's climax had burned into a quiet denouement and eventual calmness. Lady Hanabi's day had progressed as they often did. Patrol. Training. Sparring. Archery. Archery was always the highlight of her day; a time where she could practice the ancient Hanabi clan art of the bow in peace and without shame. Archery practice was a time when she felt closer to her ancestors, but it always ended with a deep meditation; closer to her ancestors meant closer to the Volcano. Closer to the spark of Rebellion she felt from the shadow'd memory of her Father. From the dishonored scar that is her Brother. From the omnipresent image of the Shogun. It was a time of reflection and for the endless test of the Samurai Way.

As she rose from her meditations on this day, an origami Hoothoot stood watching her from the door to her chambers. Had her meditation been so deep she hadn't heard the disturbance, or was this something else? The thought calmed her wandering thoughts with the chill certainty of the present as she picked up the excellent work of craftsmanship. Lettering along the owl's cheeks caught her eye, and thus she unravelled the creature. The words within further cemented that Certainty of Now. The words within instilled within her the Certainty of Purpose.

---

Sunset was a sacred time to the Hanabi. Fire kissing the earth, the ending of a day, the coolness of night, the certainty that the sun will rise again tomorrow. Today, with how her thoughts had wandered and introspection had haunted her, the sunset was significant to Yasashi. She had doffed her armor, and though she still carried her Daisho and Longbow on her, her attire was lighter and more comfortable; her Hakama, once again a subdued attire bearing the colors of the Shogunate, of archery practice. It was a formal attire, but comfortable and meant for ritual and activity. Clothing meant for function and form alike. Her hair, however, bears that subtle Hanabi Clan influence; it was tied in a loose braid that kept the wildness of her hair tamed- but the hairpin that tied it together was the orange flower of Clan Hanabi. As with her armor, she kept her family close but quiet while wearing the Shogun's colors proudly and openly.

She clasped her hands together and bowed towards the sunset, her eyes closing in quiet prayer. Thusly she awaited those she suspected would be arriving soon.

---

---

When he didn't get an immediate answer, Caspian just shrugged it off and decided that he was imagining things. Even if he actually had seen her before, it likely wasn't of much importance lest one of them would surely recall it. Besides, by this point he had begun double checking his profits for the day so far as well as did a quick inventory count. Nothing was out of place and everything seemed to be in order.

Now of course this had the side effect of causing him not to notice the letter, even after the girl had placed it on the bench and slid it forward. His back was turned and thus he didn't see any of the deliver that had transpired. Luckily for him, his snow white Pokemon had just eaten the last of her Poke Puff and was now finally noticing her surroundings. The Vulpix jumped a bit at first, startled at the sudden sight of strangers in front of them. But before she could scurry away she did see the letter on the counter and sniffed it at curiously.

Caspian was still turned away when he heard a little bark from Flurrie. He turned around only to find her with a curious letter in her mouth, "What's this?" he asked, retrieving the letter from his partner and finally noticing the seal, "The Shogun? Now what on Earth could he possibly want with us, I wonder?" he gently broke open the seal so that he could read the letter.

"Hmm... 'recent actions proven worthy'," he mumbled to himself, "...'presence requested at the Grand Gate at sunset'. Seems odd to request from little old us, don't you think?" he asked the Vulpix, whose response amounted to a quizzical look and soft bark, "Well I'm afraid I don't know either. But it looks as though we're closing early today. Whatever this summons is for, the last thing I want is to make such an important person wait."

Remembering the end of the letter, Caspian did the only thing he could think of to destroy it. He crumpled the letter into a ball, but rather than toss it he instead channeled some magic. Ghostly purple energy swirled around the balled paper, resembling the move Hex used by various Ghost Type Pokemon. The swirling energy tore and burned the paper into shredded cinders that dissipated into the wind. That little detail taken care of, the only thing left was start cleaning the stall and preparing it for closing time.

"Unfortunately I'm going to have to close early today." he told his current customer, "I trust you can see yourself out?" well, not that they were inside of any place for her to show herself outside of. It was merely a figure of speech to indicate that he wasn't planning to stay around for too much longer.

Eventually, after cleaning up and closing the stall, Caspian and Flurrie wandered their way in the direction of the big castle. They kept to the south side, keeping an eye out for the Gate they were being summoned to. Though Caspian did also take in some sights along the way, so he very likely would not be the first arrival when the time came.