Chapter 12: Monster

"Eeeeee, do you think she'll draw me too grandma?"

The shorter half of the family may have taken their time getting ready for the big event today, but once they were finally awake, sated and ready, there was no extinguishing their combined enthusiasm. Cadence was busy demonstrating that fact the clearest, having to keep herself from running literal circles around her grandma and brother. Hops, twirls and leaps, the sheer extent of the Kirlia's excitement enough to overcome the biting cold of the winter morning. Or at least, enough in conjunction with Safeguard and a long scarf wrapped around most of her torso.

"You'll have to ask her nicely sweetie~."

"I will! It just sounds so cool, I wish I could draw..."

"I'm quite sure you already can draw Cadence!"

Elric's comment had the fairy stop in her dashing just to stick her tongue out at him, with the Gligar responding in kind and much more effectively at that. Any other time of the year and he'd be down on the ground, not wasting the opportunity for a bit of roughhousing... but no, not in winter. Not when they were on their way towards the mysterious human either.

"You know what I mean!"

The bat's resulting cackle, accompanied by a deft leap from the wall of one building to another, had the littlest member of the group join in on the giggles from his grandma's arms. Bell's very slow pace may have made his sister annoyed when he took forever to catch up, but it also meant that any longer marches would be spent being held by a loved one, teeny Ralts body squirming for the umpteenth time that morning at how nice it all felt. Grandma holding him, a warm blanket around him, they would be meeting a new friend! What's not to like?

"Maybe Anne will show Cadence how to draw?"

Bell liked that idea. It made him happy to think about. Friends being nice to each other- and of course they'd be friends with the human! Grandma told them she was nice, and nice people meant friends.

"Nooooo, she doesn't need to! I can't draw, it'd just be a waste of time."

"But would you want her to teach you?"

"She won't be interested, Elric!"

"You don't know that~."

Autumn's comment had her granddaughter's self-deprecating train of thought finally stop and fizzle with a grumble. True, she didn't know that, but c'mon, Anne wouldn't wanna waste her time on someone who couldn't draw at all, she'd have so many more interesting things to talk about! Humans could do so many weird, cool things, of course Anne would want to talk about those!

Before either Elric or Autumn could egg their friend or family member on, the entrance to the medical tent finally came into view. Cadence wasted no time before bolting straight ahead without a care in the world, the Indeedee's call for her to slow down getting stuck in her own throat and discarded shortly afterwards. Incorrigible, that one.

Her loved ones would not have it any other way.

The Gligar was only slightly behind his friend, the two getting all of thirty-odd seconds of head start in confusedly looking around the tent before Autumn and Bell inevitably caught up. No Aria, no Marco, the bed that the latter had slept in emptied and cleaned up. Hmm. The medics would probably know something.

"Esther? Do you know where Marco went?"

Autumn's call had the Blissey spare them all a brief look, a serious expression melting at the sight of the excited kiddos against her will.

"He and Aria left for some scout business I'm quite sure, haven't gotten back yet."

That much was clear, the quick 'thanks' letting the chief medic return to her duties. Figures Marco would've gone with Aria even if just to provide another vote in favor of letting Anne stay, fingers crossed it all ended up working out. No way of knowing at the moment though, but no matter what, Autumn's own duty took precedence. Gotta mentally prepare everyone else here for the existence of a wild human in their midst. Which meant...

"Alright. Cadence. Elric, can you both promise me you'll wait in this room until Marco is back and don't go rushing in on your own? Anne's been through a lot, the least we could do is spare her further anxiety, don't you say?"

The concerned question came just in time to stop the Kirlia from going in and taking a peek into the human's room for herself. Autumn took a sigh of relief at her emotional appeal working out, both the older kids growing that much more self conscious about how their sudden appearance would come off to a complete stranger like that. A bunch of gentle pats for both of them helped in melting through that blip of sadness though, especially when combined with Bell not hesitating to join in on the affection. Anything to make his family feel better, even if he didn't understand why exactly they were sad right now. He loved his family.

"Okay, grandma..."

"Relax, stay out of the medics' way, and wait for Marco, he should be here any moment now, okay?"

"Yes, grandma!" / "Yes, ma'am!"

Smiles, relief, hugs, a few more pats- finally, Autumn could get out of the medic tent and on her way again. Her task was too important to waste any more time, though she wished she knew exactly how to go about all this. The one idea she came up with during breakfast would be a bit of a logistical mess and she doubted other teachers would be too approving of it, but... well, their problem, because she was going through with it anyway. First stop, her eventual destination.

__________________________________________

The village nursery was far from the liveliest of places this early in the day, many of the assorted tykes either still asleep or really wishing they were still asleep. All the warmth wasn't helping either. The well-protected fire pit made for a comfortable atmosphere even in the absence of their warmest elder, as evidenced clearly by well over a dozen little ones huddling up close to each other and their caretakers. It'd be a while before everyone would be here. And if the Indeedee had anything to say, today's "everyone" would be on the much larger end than usual.

"Morning Jovan, Pearl!"

Autumn's voice reached the two caretakers with mixed results. The Wigglytuff blinked away his momentary daze while the Grumpig looked like she'd been freshly woken up, limbs and curly tail awake stretching to the sound of a held-in yawn. Before either of the two could respond to Autumn's greeting though, another voice filled the sleepy gathering first, one much livelier and much more confused-

"Hiiiii Autumn! Where's Bell?"

Lil' Riolu underlined her confusion with a few more glances around the clearing, neither eyes nor aura having any success in sensing her favorite playmate, head tilting in confusion. Tilts gave way to very excited tail wagging once the Indeedee responded to her question in the most immediately comforting way, all the pets leaving her squirmish.

"Hey, Reya! Bell won't be around today sadly, he's gonna be visiting Anne!"

"Awwwhhh... oh oh oh, who's Anne?"

"The human at the clinic!"

Regardless of how drowsy the two caretakers had been up until that point, Autumn's clarification had managed to wake them up in record time. As uncertain as the Grumpig's expression might have been, it was the Wigglytuff that spoke up first, yesterday's mess still clear on his mind-

"Umm, Autumn, I hope he won't be alone in there..."

"Not at all Jovan, Marco will be watching over him!"

"Oh good~ wait, Marco!? How is he? Why's he watching over a human?"

As soft as the purple Wigglytuff's voice was, the alarm in it was clear to sense. Autumn took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding, dispensing affection to the lil' Riolu all the while-

"He's still a bit injured after his encounter yesterday, but doing well overall!"

"Oh thank goodness..."

Reya wouldn't be the only one receiving affection either, the fairy balloon flinching just a bit at feeling his own share of pets before eventually giving in.

"Yep! As to the human question..."

Part of Autumn wanted to bring up every single thing she'd seen. Every single horrific event the human girl at the clinic had been subjected to, every tragedy, every strike on the hands of people who were supposed to be her guardians. Every time she'd been treated like garbage at home or like a monster by the village. She really wanted to- but there simply just was no time, nowhere near. Instead, she took a deep sigh and gathered her thoughts, eventually resuming-

"It'd take a while for me to explain everything, but the gist is- the human is innocent. She used to be Ember's friend, she doesn't have a family to go back to, it's very likely that she'll end up staying here for a while."

"Ember's friend?" - The Grumpig had a particularly hard time visualizing that one, especially with all the fright the lil' foxie had experienced because of the alien in their midst still fresh on her mind. On the other hand, it's not like she could sense the Indeedee saying anything but the truth there... good gods, what was going on?

"I'm sure she'll be more than glad to tell you herself once she's up again."

"Even in the best-case scenario, I'm unsure how well anyone here would think of a human, even an innocent one..." - Pearl continued, her knowledge about the case limited enough to compartmentalize the unnerving facts for the time being.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk with you two about!"

Most of the assorted little ones were too young to get anything out of the discussion going on right around them, much to the adults' relief. That didn't mean they weren't listening though, dozens of curious eyes bouncing back and forth between their caretakers and the family member of one of their friends, especially at the repeated mention of humans and their mysteries. Both Pearl and Autumn were well aware of that, and the latter didn't shy from using that knowledge-

"All the kids are curious about Anne, and she might end up staying with us for a while. It's the talk of the village... I've spent a fair bit of time with her and I'm rather confident about most things now. How does me taking up a few hours to do a seminar about humans sound?"

Neither Jovan nor Pearl could deny the utility of an approach like that, but that didn't mean they didn't have their objections-

"What about your own class...?"

"Are you sure they'll understand everything?"

"Well Jovan, that's why I wanted to bring my class over here as well, reach all the kiddos at once. And Pearl... the little ones probably won't even with translation but it's fine, the big point will be teaching them that not all humans are scary and evil and they don't need all the details for that."

"I-I like the idea if what you're saying is right Autumn, but I doubt how effective it'll be if their parents keep talking about how bad humans are..."

That was the one objection the Indeedee couldn't disagree with. She took a deep breath before admitting defeat on that point, shoulders noticeably slumping.

"I know Pearl. This won't be enough in case Anne ends up staying, I know. But it's a start and it's better than nothing, and I want to do anything I can to help. The girl's been through a lot, as much as Ember, we owe her to at least try our best."

The emotional appeal was successful at breaking through most of the remaining hesitancy amongst the caretakers, Pearl acknowledging the idea with a firm nod before moving her attention to all the curious and confused young'uns. Jovan was almost convinced as well, but there was the one obvious remaining hitch, Marco's recollection yesterday making him shudder at the thought-

"I... can't imagine Cinder will be all too happy at the idea..."

"Cinder won't be an issue today Jovan."

Not the kind of direct reassurance the Wigglytuff was expecting, but an effective one at bulldozing through his concerns all the same, even with 'how' remaining unclear.

"Sure... I believe we can do that then, as long as you can manage your share of the kiddos~."

"Don't you worry about it one bit. I'll be going to drag them over now unless you two have any more objections-"

"Autuuuuumn... can I go visit Bell?"

Few more pets for the Riolu, a handful of scritches- but unfortunately, no agreement.

"I'm sorry Reya, but you should stay here with Mr. Jovan and Mrs. Pearl."

"But whyyyyy?"

"Marco will already be looking over four people, it wouldn't be nice to add a fifth one now, would it?"

Numbers weren't Riolu's strong suit, but empathy most definitely was. As little as she was, she could see the Indeedee's point, tail wagging deflating in intensity as she grumbled quietly.

"How about you come visit later today? He'd love to play with you at our place too!"

Offer of more play, immediate excitement, tail wags redoubled.

"Yes please!"

"You got it Reya! I'll talk with you later!"

"Bye bye, Autuuuumn!"

__________________________________________

"Is it true that humans can spit fire?"

Thankfully, retrieving the older kids from their usual location turned out to be a much easier task. Just the mention of talking about the mysterious stranger in their midst had most of them perk their heads up in curiosity regardless of their prior knowledge. And with it absolutely beating another session of practicing Protect or Safeguard or whatever, they didn't need any convincing whatsoever either.

The other teachers were a bigger obstacle... at least in theory. Cinder's absence eliminated the one voice that would've absolutely vetoed any such idea. With her out of the picture, there was only one other teacher that could've potentially disagreed with her. Autumn knew him well enough to capitalize on his own boundless curiosity and latest interest in human feats with a couple pointed questions. Even better, he'd agreed to go and grab someone who has had a lot of experience with humans, and apparently, it wasn't even the bad sort of experience either.

Things were falling into place, and now it was just a matter of staving off the flood of questions until they actually arrived back at the clearing.

…guess she could get the sillier ones out of the way already.

"Nope, they don't- they can't use any moves, remember?"

That particular fact never got any less weird no matter how many times it had been repeated to them, sounding just so... wrong. Deeply, utterly wrong, and yet correct all the same. How could humans just not use moves? What was wrong with them? Just how in the world were they so fearsome with such a dire handicap? Some of these questions could be answered, some couldn't, and some… very few people really wanted to ever delve too deep on.

"But that's so weird!"

"I know sweeties, I know. Humans are definitely a bit weird, but deep down they're not that different from us, I promise. Alright, we're here, please seat yourselves down everyone and keep mindful of the little ones!"

The resulting horde of children of various species and ages took a while to finish settling in place, most of the littlest ones continuing to stick to their softer caretakers as they were surrounded by older kids. Of the latter, a few faces ended up naturally coalescing towards the front of the group for one reason or another, Blossom in particular gulping a bit after Autumn gave her a knowing smile. Not all of them had the Dartrix's enthusiasm- if anything, most of them didn't- but that was Autumn's job to change, and she felt confident in her own ability.

Just need a little bit of empathy.

"^Alright everybody, thank you all so much for gathering so quickly! It's a special occasion today after all! You're all gonna have a lot of questions so I'd ask you all to raise your limbs if you want to ask a question so that we can go through them one at a time!^"

It wasn't easy linking up with so many minds all at once, especially not at her age, but Autumn wasn't gonna show it in her expression. Age, schmage, she could do this. Anything to make this as clear as possible for the listeners, anything to give Anne more of a chance.

"^As you all probably know now, there is currently a human in our village, inside the medics' tent. She was rescued by our scouts a couple days ago- yes, Hawthorne?^"

"Why was it rescued?"

The Espurr's question was accusatory and annoyed, the Indeedee having to hide an inward wince at hearing it. She could empathize with it to a point. Hawthorne's parents had been on the receiving end of more human cruelty than most after all... but not the Espurr herself, that fact always making Autumn's grimace a bit more at hearing Hawthorne's vocal dislike of all humans everywhere.

"^She was rescued because she got very hurt in the woods, and would've died if not for our help.^"

Autumn wasn't sure whether the bluntness was the best approach with so many toddlers around, but at the very least it resulted in all the older kids getting the message loud and clear. Hawthorne wasn't satisfied with that one bit judging by her remaining grumpiness. At least she let her teacher continue for the time being.

"^There's a good chance she ends up staying with us for good- yes, Hawthorne?^"

"Why!?"

Sigh, focus- she's just a kid, just a kid.

"^She's been through a lot, Hawthorne. Anne had experienced a lot of abuse, and it's not safe for her to return to her human family. In addition, she used to be friends with Ember-^"

Half a dozen hands immediately, the same question reverberating through all the attached heads.

"^I know Ember hasn't said anything about her previously, it's because she didn't remember either. There are...^"

She'd need a cleanse afterwards after having to whitewash Cinder of all people, but bringing her up would just derail the whole class.

"^There are reasons as to why she didn't remember. It was all a very scary, very traumatic time for her. Our minds sometimes try to erase terrible memories like that because of just how much they hurt to remember, and that's likely what happened here. All this has already scared Ember a lot, and I'd want to kindly ask you all to not go and barrage her with your own questions about all this, okay? She'll tell you all if she's comfortable doing so.^"

The barrage of limbs finally began dying down, each individual kid withdrawing theirs after giving some thought to the concerns already answered. Each, except for one particular Stunky paw, still reaching as high up as the kit himself was capable of.

"^Yes, Zephyr?^"

"How- how do we know she won't be aggressive towards anyone?"

The small voice crack at the beginning aside, the question was asked with as much confidence as the Stunky was capable of projecting. Confidence and eagerness, the lil' one holding his steadfast position as he awaited an answer. There was an accusation in his question, yes- but it wasn't the point, not the main point. Much less interest in the human's underlying dangers, and much more in potentially being helpful in mitigating them.

"^Several reasons! You all might have heard a thing or two about humans being powerless without their tools and yes, that is true. Humans can't use moves, not even the simple ones, if it's just their own they're almost completely defenseless. The only thing Anne has with her that could possibly qualify as a weapon is a knife, no more dangerous than a single sharp claw. And that's something I really want you all to remember- she can't really hurt any of you, but you all can hurt her a whole lot. You will have to be much more careful with her than with most other kids, especially when it comes to any physical play. And... Blossom!^"

Blossom jumped at being directly pointed out, enough so to end up airborne for a couple moments before slowly gliding back down to the ground. She wasn't holding her wing up, everybody was staring at her, please Mrs. Autumn don't do what she thought-

"Y-yes Mrs. A-Autumn?"

"^C'mere.^"

Oh no, it was.

The selection sent chatters through most of the other kids as the Dartrix hopped forward until she was standing next to her teacher. She wanted to bury herself underground or fly right off into the distance, either or, anything but being stared at like this. As much as part of her nomination was Autumn wanting the owlet to feel a little bit put on the spot because of being so flagrant towards their request to not venture into the human lands, her reaction did make the Indeedee feel a bit bad. A gentle hug and a couple pets didn't immediately solve all the anxiety, but they were very appreciated all the same, helping Blossom in easing back out.

"^So, Blossom~. You've spent some time around Anne, how would you describe her as? Age and personality-wise?^"

The resulting murmurs brought back some of her anxiety, the Dartrix of half a mind to just take off there and then. On the other hand... depending on what she said the other kids would end up liking Anne more right out of the gate! She wanted that, she wanted that a lot, especially now that she had a better idea of just what was yesterday all about, Anne deserved to be given a fair chance by others here. That realization didn't magically cut through all the worries in themselves, but it was still effective all the same, enough for Blossom to push ahead right as Indeedee was starting to second guess this whole idea-

"Ummmm... A-Anne is about m-my age. She's really shy too, I-I think even more so than I am! She got really scared for a moment when- when she spotted me in the clinic's window, h-heh..."

Autumn's sigh of relief was thankfully small enough to avoid being noticed by too many onlookers, the answer netting the owlet a couple more pets as it elicited more chatter in the crowd.

"^Yep! Anne is just a girl, close in age to most of the older kids here, and a really timid one at that. Besides- I'd hope that nobody here would decide to just be aggressive towards others without a reason, so I don't see why Anne would either. Sigh , yes, Hawthorne?^"

"But it's a human-"

"And what about that?"

The gruffness of the voice was enough to catch the attention of most gathered, heads turning towards the final two missing faces, neither of them the sort that anyone here wanted to upset. Few kids ever had a chance to chat with the source of the curt answer. The lumbering Electivire was known much more for having spent many years in human activity before becoming a scout rather than for being particularly talkative. Fewer still had a chance to ever see him don this particular headgear, a white human-made cap with several blue markings on it, nestling in comfortably between his horns.

As he arrived at his destination though, the gathered kiddos got a better look at something rather peculiar attached to his arm. Armbands weren't all that rare as articles of clothing around the village, but arm-Magnemite most definitely were. This one was on the smaller side and apparently asleep if the closed eye was anything to go by, the electric type they were leeching from not seeming to be minding their presence in the slightest.

Flanking them was the other remaining teacher, the Serperior's body not appreciating having to trudge through the snow one bit. He was no less respected than the former scout if for wholly separate reasons- but resilience to cold was not one of them and the kids knew it. He slithered his way in between the audience and towards the firepit the moment it came into sight, the amusing display immediately overtaken in importance by the gruff voice continuing-

"What about her being a human, Hawthorne?"

"N-n-nothing, M-Mr. Geiger."

"I certainly hope so. Well, hello everyone, I've been told you wanted ol' me to ramble on about humans for a while, ah?"

"^Thank you so much for coming, Geiger, and yes! Your point of view is a unique one in the village, and with the possibility of Anne staying with us for good, it's for the best that we all learn as much about humans as we can from the ones with the most experience with them. Yes, Zephyr?^"

"Ooh, will you ask my mom to speak too, Mrs. Autumn?"

A more innocent question, voice much more relaxed than the earlier posturing, more genuinely excited. Unfortunately, the Indeedee had no idea how to respond to the Stunky- yes, his mom similarly had a lot more human knowledge, and it was still used on behalf of her still being an active scout... but. But. Autumn wanted to be honest, and deliberately hiding someone's input on the matter just because it was very likely to not be what she'd wanted to hear was the peak of intellectual dishonesty...

Goddammit.

"^If she has a free moment during the day, then I can ask Rose to chime in as well. From what I know she's busy today, so let's focus on the here and now. Geiger, could you describe how much time you've spent with humans and in what capacity?^"

The Electivire straightened out with a proud chuckle, putting on as much of an image of respectability as he could physically manage. Granted, some of that was heavily cut into by the old man cough that went through him afterwards, but he was imposing enough that kids especially really didn't care.

"I have spent the first thirty-one years of my life under human watch."

Gasps all around, some of them at anyone surviving for that long amongst humans, the rest at any creature being this old.

"I used to live... uh... you, over there?"

"^Grace, what's your question?^"

The Zangoose onto whom the attention ended up getting redirected took a moment to finish gathering her words, eventually proceeding with the straightforward-

"Who is that on your arm?"

Geiger gave the Normal-type a hearty laugh at the choice of her question, one tail curling to gently lightly pat the sleeping magnet.

"Ha, I wish I knew in all honesty. From what I know, they followed Lumi yesterday and ended up clinging to him by the time he woke up. He tried to get them off but couldn't figure out how, so he approached me and... now they're attached to me. In all truth I'm not sure why they're here in the first place or why are they so clingy, but even their hunger is nothing for my charge so I don't mind. Can always ask one of our skilled psychics to help translate later. Anyhow- any other questions, uh, Grace?"

"What's that thing on your head?"

"Ha! I was about to get to that. I used to live in a large human facility where humans used to make electricity. I- okay. I hope this question is less prejudiced than the previous one, Hawthorne."

The teacher in Autumn was opposed to shade being thrown onto one of her students like that. However, the grandma that wanted to look out for all the little ones, no matter how weirdly they looked most definitely wasn't, a chuckle getting held in through the sheer power of will.

"It's not-"

"Then what is it?"

"Did humans keep you enslaved there to make electricity for them?"

"No. Anyway, my duty there, after I'd evolved into an Electabuzz, was much more benign. To the best of my knowledge, my responsibility was to intervene in case of severe emergencies and help to either stabilize the electricity output, or shut the whole system down depending on the severity. You, the Gloom."

"^Mint-^"

"...aren't humans Normal types? ....and if so, how do they make electricity?" - The Gloom's voice was as engaged as it was possible for a voice this sluggish to be, the living flower leaning in forward as much as he could.

"I think they are, yes. As to how, I wish I grasped more than a sliver of it. Human creations are incredibly complex, even most humans only know about one or two in any detail- for much the same reason I doubt the one inside the village with us will be of much help answering that question either. But, from what I understood of it, it involved a very dangerous process that glowed blue and which we were instructed to stay well away from. That process heated up a lot of water to devilish temperatures, and that hot water was then used by a separate machine to make electricity."

"...if they just need hot water for electricity, why not heat it directly?"

"I am not entirely certain, Mint. I'd advise not to come up with any half-baked ideas to explain that conundrum, though. Humans are many things, but as a collective, they're not stupid. I'd even say they're devilishly smart as a whole, which is good for their ingenuity, and bad for us when it comes to hiding from them."

"Which is why we have to try our best to keep hidden from them!" - Zephyr butted in, his voice once more having that bit of courageous pretense to it, even if it was accompanied by a handful of nervous taps on the snowy ground. Before Autumn could chide him for speaking up out of order, Geiger responded-

"Correct Zephyr! It's all too easy to underestimate any singular human whenever our intimidation or misdirection succeeds, but the mere fact of us having to try as hard as we do is enough proof of their intelligence as a whole."

"But if they're this devious, th-then how can we trust any of them, even that injured one?" - Zephyr's voice maintained his fearlessness, at least aside from the one, noticeable crack, its appearance making the Stunky squirm in place. Thankfully for him though, it went unacknowledged.

"They're no hive mind, they can just communicate very effectively with each other. On a few occasions, I was asked to help with a part of their electricity infrastructure having sustained significant damage and ending up unsafe to be near. It was well over a day's march away, and they knew instantly when it got damaged, and were able to cooperate on the repair effort with others even further than that in moments. More than anything else, it was that communication that made the biggest impression on me. Yes, Mint?"

"...isn't that Psychic?"

"Similar in use, completely different in how it functions from what I know. Suppose no Psychic has that high of a range, Autumn?"

"^Nope, even from one end of the village to another would be impressive, what you're describing just isn't possible.^"

"Not for an actual Psychic, no. Sigh... Hawthorne?"

"Even with all that "communication" we wouldn't need to hide from them if they weren't all evil!"

"Define 'evil'."

The sudden task was unexpected, the Espurr sufficiently surprised to just shut up there and then. On top of having absolutely no idea where that question even came from, she simply didn't know how to answer that with how philosophical it was, only managing to mewl out 'ummm's and 'ehhh's.

"'Evil' is too banal of a label to be useful for this context. Imagine... hell, imagine if all the labor in our village was being done by humans, had to be done by humans. Nothing about us as individuals needs to change, merely that we need human labor to survive. None of us would be any more inherently eager to go out and hurt them any more than we'd want to hurt anyone else. We'd simply be aware of the "fact" that we need to have some humans enslaved, that we need to control them, that we need to kidnap them from their houses if needed, and act accordingly. We wouldn't hate them, but... if kidnapping one or two was what it took to let our entire village continue existing like it does, then we'd begrudgingly tolerate it. Not as a good thing, but as a necessary thing. Zephyr, go on."

"We wouldn't, we'd know better than that!" - Once more courage, once more a veneer of it.

"How can you be sure? There's no inner fairness within us that would stop us from doing so. Just think of all the bloodshed being done by feral mons, how needless it ultimately is, if only they knew how else to survive... actually. Ha, I got it! Hahaha!"

The Electivire's laughter was bellowing, managing to knock a couple of snoozing tots out of any rest they might have slowly been falling into, including the Magnemite attached to his arm. Soon after, all the gathered eyes refocused on him once more to the furthest extent possible, the electric type sparing the lil' magnet a lil' chuckle before continuing-

"You can simply think of most humans as 'feral', in that way. That's the only way to live that they've ever known, there's no hatred behind it, no targeted malice, merely cruelty taken as a necessary evil. And just like the only difference between us and our feral cousins is our upbringing, much the same holds true for humans. I've no doubt that the girl in our clinic will turn out perfectly alright and no more malicious than any of us- less so if anything, just to overcompensate. Just like we protect ourselves from feral mons that would have us for dinner, so we have to be on the lookout for "feral" humans."

"Except that feral pokemon can join the village if they express willingness to."

The low, heavy voice captured everyone's attention away from the Electivire, most of the present adults giving a quick bow towards the Torkoal. Most but not all, Geiger limiting himself to just a modest tip of his hat and an unamused look. Autumn's expression of respect was similarly scuffed, though in her case it was caused by much more concern than disrespect. What did they end up deciding for Anne? She wasn't shutting this entire conversation down so they couldn't have said no- or at least that's what Autumn was sincerely hoping for.

"Indeed Elder Ana, that comparison isn't quite perfect. Even then, the only difference is that feral mons won't cooperate with each other on a large enough scale to ever pose a serious threat to us. If they could communicate well enough, there would absolutely end up being a group of mons that bands together and tries to overwhelm us in one fell swoop to feast on those of us who cannot defend ourselves. It's simply a matter of organization."

"As opposed to that theoretical, human intervention is a serious and constant threat."

"It is, yes, but it's only because of the ability to communicate with each other. If the girl in the clinic can't talk to other humans, there's no risk of the knowledge of us ever spreading through her, and at that point, she's no more dangerous than any one of us. Zephyr?"

"So we just need to not let her leave the village to communicate with other humans!?"

"Hold your enthusiasm lil' one. Doubt your mom or any other scout would appreciate having to babysit the girl just to keep her from escaping. More of a cage than a home at that point, isn't it?"

"I- I could do that! I could watch and keep her in here!"

"I like your spark Zephyr, but these matters need much more careful thought. Besides, I was wrong in my assessment there now that I think about it again. Even without being forcibly kept here, she's no more dangerous than us, everyone gathered here could potentially result in humanity becoming aware of our village. Mistakenly showing ourselves where humans don't expect to see our kin, accidentally stumbling into someone the scouts haven't caught, deliberate treachery. All those are possible for all of us. We're doing ourselves a disservice if we keep thinking of humans as the sole outlet by which we may expose ourselves to the world."

Much to Blossom's despair, there wasn't any covert way for her to bury herself underground while remaining unnoticed at that remark. Thankfully, Ana's response caught everyone's attention before the Dartrix could focus any more on feeling bad for what she'd done-

"I can't imagine anyone here resorting to treachery against their home."

"Neither can I- which is why I imagine the girl won't do such an act either if this place does become her home and not merely a cage for her to be contained in."

The Electivire and the Torkoal stared each other in the eyes for a few long, tense moments, age sharpening their wills enough to make neither want to relent. Silence grew uncomfortable, especially to those more in the know about what was going on. A handful of small shocks jumped between the prongs on Geiger's head and back, and even through the freely hanging magnet of the little one on his arm, the steel-type feeling the tension very acutely. Autumn used the opportunity to finally answer the distressing question for herself, hoping the elder would be too distracted to notice her thoughts being briefly investigated-

Vote deferred. Neither damnation nor redemption, just more of this interminable limbo.

"Uuuuuh, Mr. Geiger?"

The keening voice snapped the Indeedee and the Electivire out of their own thoughts and back to the crowd, nodding towards the Zangoose that had tried to grab their attention-

"^Yes, Grace?^"

"Hmm?"

"You still haven't told us what that thing is in your head."

The reminder and the burst of laughter it elicited were very useful when it came to diffusing some of the built-up tension. Guess he really forgot to mention that particular detail, ha. Alright, at that point the kiddos had earned a closer look. With a single, swift motion, the cap was yanked off of his head and tossed towards the Zangoose, catching her off guard. And so did all the static that had accumulated in it, the Normal-type's fur ending up frizzling out to a near-comical degree, Grace herself too surprised to even immediately react.

"That's just a cap with the symbol of the facility I lived in. Everyone that had responsibilities there had it, human and mon alike, they just modified this one to fit better on my head. Everyone feel free to take a look, just be careful with it."

Even besides the weird blue markings on the front of the headgear, the white fabric it was made out of looked unnaturally well-weaved. It was perfect in a way nothing really tended to be, confusing most of the older kiddos as it changed hands. The blue parts were mostly incomprehensible geometric shapes that most adults knew of as the fabled human writing, with one much simpler symbol off to the side- a circle with three radial, widening arms coming off of it.

As much as Geiger appreciated the assorted kiddos' reactions to his hat being passed around, there was one sight he could only shudder at, shudder before begrudgingly taking the bait anyway-

"...yes, Hawthorne?"

"Weren't you trapped there Mr. Geiger?"

The question quieted most of the chit-chat, neither Autumn nor Geiger appreciating the swerve of direction towards that unpleasant topic. Still, it merited an answer even if just to be appropriately thorough, as messed up as it was.

"In a way, I was, yes. I could only walk around in so much of the facility and I couldn't leave unattended, or for good. I wasn't really free, and I can only imagine the horrible circumstances behind just where my egg originally came from. All those are true."

"How can you say that humans aren't evil then!?"

"In which relevant ways does my situation back at that facility differ from the human girl's current situation?"

The Espurr was taken aback at such a question, at its downright absurd gall. It was obviously different in so many ways, way too many to speak of, but there was one biggest one-

"If she just left then we'd all be in danger!"

"From the perspective of humans overlooking me, exactly the same was true of me. I was incomparably stronger than them, I absolutely had the capacity to not just doom them in the abstract but to singlehandedly end their lives in the most direct, immediate way without them being able to do anything about it. I had to be contained, I had to be controlled. They couldn't give me all the freedom I wanted, or even all the freedom they wanted, but on an individual level, they treated me as well as any were all capable of. They trusted me, and I returned the favor. I don't know if they ended up thinking of me as a full-on equal, but that's how it felt much of the time- up to and including me in their entertainment or discussions even with me unable to speak their language, only listen."

Geiger paused for a while more, following up shortly after-

"The only reason I'm even here is because they broke their rules. The facility eventually shut down, I was meant to be simply moved somewhere else, away from them all, and they covertly let me free. It's oh so easy to assume humans are uniquely evil and that none of us could ever stoop to their level. All that does is a disservice to them, and a disservice to us."

Once more, heavy silence, younger kids left confused as the older ones pondered. The Electivire's description was evocative for a good chunk of the audience- but there remained one key detail that got kinda overlooked in all the deep chat up until then-

"Hmm? Grace, right?"

"Yeah- how do humans look like? They've got to be small if so many of them couldn't stop you."

"Did- did I end up never going over that?"

"^Spirited discussion makes us overlook simple things like that, ha.^"

"That it does Autumn, that it does. Now, as for humans as living beings..."

As Geiger got to going over the things Autumn was much more familiar with, she spared one long look over at their audience, noting all the expressions and underlying emotions. A good chunk of the little ones were confused or just sleepy, both of which were very understandable- but again, not all. Many of them, especially the older ones, were paying close attention. Their emotions were a somewhat even mix of concern, curiosity, distraught, empathy towards all sorts of parties, and good wishes towards the one human because of which they were here in the first place. She couldn't quite spot Reya anywhere, but maybe her dad just ended up picking her up after he got done with his scouting duties.

Wonder how Anne and the kids are doing.