Chapter 9

What followed were the strangest few hours of Hayden's life. Suddenly he was surrounded by creatures that he would've considered incredibly dangerous—creatures without humans of their own. Maybe it was for the best that his family wouldn't know what was happening in Shaymin House.

If he survived the trip back, he wouldn't include this particular adventure in any of his letters. Some things they were probably better off not knowing.

But no matter his fear, no matter the simple truths everyone knew about the dangers of wild pokémon, they never so much as threatened him. When they promised warmth, a quilava arrived to warm them up. When they promised food, they brought a wide variety of fruits and berries.

Hayden wouldn't typically eat just anything—but given the intensity of his exertions that afternoon, he didn't have the strength to be picky. At least in the short term, the wild pokémon showed him the error of that belief too. Berries weren't dangerous just because pokémon ate them. Most of them were pretty good.

At least when he had a mew to taste them all on his behalf, and make sure he'd like things before he tried them.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I could understand them," he thought to Liz, about the time his clothes finally dried enough to put them back on again. They were still filthy and covered with mud, but at least they wouldn't freeze him from the outside anymore. “How come you can understand them and I can't?"

Liz floated past him, sticking her tongue out. "I don't know why people don't understand wild pokémon."

His time with the wild pokémon was far from entirely comfortable, though. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky. If he was gone for much longer, would Shaymin House send someone looking for him? He hadn't snuck away—the staff knew what he was doing.

"I don't think we should stay the night out here," he said, mostly to Liz. The wild pokémon around him could understand too, but the exact amount was still a mystery to him. Could they get a general sense of when he was in distress, or actually understand every word he said? That was less clear.

Liz landed on his shoulder, tilting her head to the side. "Are you sure? What if we don't make it back before it gets dark? We don't even have a flashlight."

He shrugged. "Maybe one of these pokémon knows how to find a trail?"

She floated off towards the lopunny who seemed to be supervising the whole conversation, and spoke with her for a few seconds. She returned just as quickly. "They know, they just don't think it's a good idea to go back. They think humans are dangerous and unpredictable. They'd feel better if we stayed out here."

Hayden grinned in spite of everything. His clothes were a mess, he was covered with scratches, and he'd nearly died today. The pokémon still thought he was better off living outside? Clearly he had a lot to learn.

"I'd like to thank them for their help," he said. "But we have to get back. We're not strong enough to be out here on our own. Maybe when we know our powers better. We could still try to visit, if Shaymin House lets us leave again."

"I know the way back." The voice was so familiar that Hayden didn't even turn around. It felt like someone he'd known his entire life, someone he trusted. Evelynn, maybe. Except it wasn't her. "It's the 27th. That's your first day with Shaymin House, isn't it. This is the day you fell off a cliff."

With a little more to listen to, the strangeness of the voice finally got through to Hayden. A young woman, about Evelynn's age. The sense of familiarity and safety came from Liz's mental perception, not his own. Or maybe that was the way that none of the wild pokémon scattered on her approach. Whoever could earn the approval of all these creatures was obviously not someone to fear.

He looked over his shoulder, and froze, staring. The girl behind him was about a head taller. She wore cloth like nothing he'd ever seen, something tight yet flexible, clinging to her body in a style that had never passed through his family's shop. Yet it was dirty and worn, just like her bare feet. Strangest of all was her head. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, and a pair of antennae emerged from dark green hair, which was styled upward like a sprout.

This was Unity, though not with any pokémon he'd ever seen. Something much rarer than even his own daemon. Liz wasn't in front of him anymore. Where had she gone?

He turned towards her. He should be afraid—this was a myth deeper and older than the Firstborn of Arceus. This family had been so great that they had accidentally erased themselves from history. Should he bow? Say something profound?

"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked instead. "Don't you get cold?"

She giggled. "Not really. I have to—keeps my wings exposed." She turned to the side, showing that her strange clothing covered almost none of her back. Behind her were a pair of crystalline wings, somehow attached to her body.

He gasped. "Do they—"

They buzzed, and she lifted off the ground a few inches, giggling again. "I know it's not as graceful as what you do. You can brag if you like Hayden, I'm used to it."

He felt the familiar weight of his daemon settled back onto his shoulder, and he relaxed. At least with Liz there, they could face this stranger together. Except—

Ahuiliztli landed on the stranger instead. Her paws touched her shoulder, then she nuzzled up against the girl's cheek.

Hayden had never felt anything like it. For a lifetime, no one else had touched Ahuiliztli, not without gloves or some other barrier between them. Everyone knew you didn't do it, it was just—wrong! "Why are you—"

"You seem surprised," said another little voice, from his own shoulder. He looked down, and his shock deepened. An impossible, extinct pokémon rested on his shoulder, little legs hanging down over his chest. Another person's daemon, so close to him. Hayden's shirt prevented accidental contact, but it didn't stop the pokémon from touching his cheek.

He nearly panicked, heart racing, breathing accelerated—but then came calm. It washed over him from Ahuiliztli's body, as the stranger held her in her hands, stroking her back with two gentle fingers—exactly as Hayden always did. The kitten's relaxation was his, and his fear melted away.

Liz purred at the touch, her tail curling around the girl's wrist. "H-how… how do you know us?" he stammered.

"Since you saved us," the stranger's daemon said. Except—she couldn't be a stranger. She knew so much about Hayden, somehow had the trust of his daemon more than even his own family. "We've been trying to return the favor. Helping when we thought you needed help."

"You really don't know who we are, do you?" The girl was inches from him now. She took Hayden's hand, gently deposited his daemon inside it. "Is this the first time?"

"Y-yeah," Hayden gasped. But as Liz recovered, so did he, escaping from the kitten mind-fog. "I know you. But I don't know you. It's very… confusing."

The celebi took off from his shoulder, flying past him to rejoin the stranger. They hovered beside her, just as Liz might've done. Despite not looking anything like her, they were very alike—but much of it in ways Hayden couldn't quite explain. They just felt similar. Maybe that was why he wasn't afraid of her.

"I'm Cody," she said, taking Hayden's hand in hers. "I've known you since I settled, maybe before. I guess you… haven't met me yet. But you have now!" She patted his forehead with her other hand, wiping a few strands of hair from Hayden's face. "You never told me how cute you were before. Guess I should've expected—kids usually are. You take good care of him while he's vulnerable, Ahuiliztli."

"Of course I will," she said, sticking her tongue out. She'd recovered by then, though her fur was still disheveled from such direct attention. Strange that she wasn't in any hurry to groom it back into place. "That's what daemons are for."

They set off together through the trees. Hayden had no idea where they were walking, and with the darkness growing he couldn't even see very clearly to find his own way around. But Cody knew where she was going, leading him along the lake to a narrow game-trail. It wasn't marked with gravel or very wide, but at least it kept Hayden from having to fight through the weeds.

It was easy to relax with this stranger—because she wasn't a stranger. That might be hard for his mind to accept, but came easily so long as he didn't try to analyze it.

"So you said I—saved you? That's how we became friends? Dunno how I'm gonna do that. You're so much stronger than me. You're part pokémon, I'm not. You can fly. Probably you do other moves too. Why would you need me?"

"I couldn't always," Cody answered. "And you'll grow. You're growing already, if you didn't notice. You think your eyes are the only things that ever change? You and Ahuiliztli have a stronger Unity than anyone but the Gurus. There's almost nothing two mews can't do. But getting there…" 

She patted him on the head again. "Figuring that out is the fun part. I won't take it away. And…" She let go, looking away. Her daemon did too, in exactly the same moment. 

"Life isn't easy for us, Hayden. Telling you about the bad—won't make it not happen. You can't live your life dreading the future, that's not the Hayden I know. You're—clever, and spontaneous, and loving. Reckless, brave… some other things too. I'll explain them when you're older."

He folded his arms, glowering at her. "You think I'm not old enough to understand? I'm almost thirteen, Cody. I know a lot of things I'm not supposed to. I've heard all the worst words."

"I'm sure you have. But remember what I just said about not ruining it? Let's just get you home safe, okay? Try not to fall off any cliffs from now on. Until you can both fly, try to stick to the trail."

He groaned, but didn't keep fighting. In the same way that he knew Cody, he knew arguing with her was doomed. She'd made up her mind about something time related. Why did that feel so familiar? He scratched his head with two fingers. "Is my head supposed to hurt this much around you?”

She laughed. "Pretty sure you get used to it, or you pretend to. Oh, while you're a kid—" She dropped down in front of him, taking both of his arms suddenly. "This is for you too, Ahuiliztli. Don't copy Sierra. And when you ignore me, just don't copy our powers. You've got a whole world full of interesting pokémon you can be, and all of them are safe except for one. Don't forget."

So Liz does figure out how to change again. That alone was good enough that he could overlook the harsh command. Cody wasn't someone who would boss him around for no reason. She wasn't Corrin.

A little further along the trail and they reached a clearing, obviously man-made. It went all the way to the shore, with several old wooden benches and a few trash bins. A gravel path led directly there, cutting away into the trees. 

Hayden watched the sunset over the lake. He shivered, then reached for Liz, tucking her back into his jacket for warmth. Mostly hers, her fur wasn't warm enough for this mountain air. Her heat helped him too.

"Shaymin House is beautiful," Cody whispered. She stood behind Hayden, wrapping her arms around him and holding him there like Evelynn might do. Protective. "The Great Families might be monsters, but at least they know how to keep their lands safe. Gotta give them credit for that."

"Monsters?" Hayden repeated, tilting his head to the side. "Sinnoh is peaceful. What's wrong with Shaymin House? Is this… politics stuff?"

His parents talked about that sometimes, in hushed voices when they thought Hayden and the others were all asleep. He often overheard, but usually didn't understand anything he heard. Maybe it would be clearer when he got older. 

"Sure, yeah. Politics stuff. Big, nasty politics stuff. Too boring for a kitten like you. Mew ought to be out here exploring, not worrying about all that. And here you are, exploring. On your first day."

"Well I wasn't gonna sit around inside—" Hayden began. But something was coming. Hayden felt it in the same moment Cody did, from the sudden tension in her arms. They looked in the same direction, towards the mind that Liz sensed coming towards them down the trail.

"She's here." Cody let go, springing away from her. "I have to go, Haydie. I'm sorry. She can't know I'm here. Please don't tell!"

Hayden turned after her, extending one hand. "Don't tell—what?"

Cody didn't just run, she flew. Her wings buzzed, and she shot through the air faster than the fastest sprinter. She vanished into the trees the way they'd come, leaving only a few stray leaves drifting in her wake.

"We won't tell, will we?" Liz asked. "I like her."

Hayden's face felt warm—his whole body did, really. His daemon's feelings weren't different from his own, they were a manifestation of them. He liked her too—but she was so much older, stronger, more mature. If Lin heard about this, she would laugh at Hayden until she couldn't laugh any more.

Footsteps sounded along the trail behind him as the newcomer rounded the bend. They were moving quickly, not making any attempt to stay hidden. Hayden turned towards them, and put his back to where Cody had fled. 

A girl approached him from the trail, about Hayden's own age. A green and white pokémon circled through the air around her, but not a bird. 

That was why she'd drawn their attention so powerfully. She had a shaymin daemon, in the forme the pokémon always used in military portraits, rather than the delicate paintings of the noble sophistication of the family. This was their powerful side, that enforced the law and protected their land.

This one was a tiny airborne fox, only slightly bigger than Liz would've been as an eevee. He flew directly towards Hayden, but pulled up short before he got too close. He sniffed, baring his sharp fox-teeth. "It's past nightfall. You shouldn't be out here."

Seconds later the girl caught up. She was taller than Hayden, like most girls his age. Her hair was bright green, but not full of leaves like her mom's. This was only a color. "Did you mean to cause a panic on your first day, perfect child? Or do you just enjoy making others uncomfortable?"