Twine

As the sun rises above the trees, Tassler lays sleeping soundly in the back of the shallow cave with Yanma by her side. When the sunlight breaches the mouth of the cave, Tassler is awoken almost immediately. She sits up slowly, yawning and licking her lips. Saliva drapes her left cheek and dirt covers her hair, and she quickly gets to work.

In the small stream, Tass washes her hair and cleans her face. Next, she cleans her hands and her feet. Then her arms and legs. And finally, it's time to clean her torso. She slips out of her long robe and starts washing herself off, making sure not to get her clothes wet. 

After she's done, she wipes the excess water off as best she can and lays on the grass, feeling the light hit her back in the early morning sun. She slowly dips her robe in and out of the stream, kicking her feet and humming to herself. Yanma wakes up soon after, and upon noticing Tass isn't in the cave, promptly flies quickly to find her.

As Yanma exits the cave, it sees Tassler and shrieks with joy as it swarms around her and nuzzles her with its head. Tass laughs and swats at it playfully, "Oh come on, already? A girl can't even wash without being harassed now?"

Yanma suddenly plunges itself into the water, tucking its wings and legs against its body, swiftly disappearing downstream. Tass lifts her head up just a bit before shrugging and continuing to wash her robe. Yanma pops out of the water roughly 20 meters downstream, its wings glistening in the sunlight.

Tass grins and waves Yanma over, "You know, your wings are gorgeous. The way they reflect light reminds me of the stained glass in Elder Olive's hometown. Speaking of names..." Tass catches Yanma in her hand, still carefully washing her robe with the other. "We still need a name for you, right?"

Yanma nods and looks around inquisitively, investigating the surroundings. All of a sudden, Yanma frantically gestures at the stream. Tass peers over slowly, confused. "Uhhh...what? The water?"

Yanma nods and starts patting the surface of the water with one of its front legs. Tass thinks for a second, then smiles wide and puts a hand in the cool stream as well. "Ohhhhh, I get it!" Tassler stares at the stream, closely observing the rays of light on the water's surface.

Tassler finally pulls her robe out of the stream and quickly shakes the excess water off, then places it on a nearby rock to dry. "Kaleido," she says under her breath. Yanma tilts its head curiously. "Kaleido. That's your name, Yanma. Like those fancy mirror tubes full of colors and shapes, "she points at Yanma's wings.

Yanma looks at its wings and slowly tilts them back and forth, causing a kaleidoscope effect. Yanma's eyes grow wide, and it buzzes happily while circling Tass. "You like that name, buddy? Kaleido?" Tass laughs and holds out a hand for Yanma to land on. Yanma lands and nods sternly, with a serious look on its face.

"Then it's official, Yanma. Your name is now Kaleido." Tass pulls her shoulders back, standing tall and proud. Kaleido does the same, standing straight with its wings pointing up. The morning sun refracts through Kaleido's wings, painting a gorgeous mosaic on the rocks behind them.

"You and me, buddy. Maybe some more friends eventually, but for now? Just us," Tass asserts. Kaleido nods and takes into the air right above Tass. "Can you do me a favor? Scan around the area, out to where we fought the Pidgey. I'm gonna cook us breakfast."

Kaleido nods and furrows its brow seriously, then turns around and speeds off into the distance. Tass waits until she can't see it anymore, then sighs and lets her shoulder back down. "Fuck me, I'm starving. I wonder..." she turns and walks towards her bag. She opens it carefully and still sees the Pidgey resting atop. She takes it out, unwraps the leaves, and inspects it.

"No signs of decay. No signs of disease. No signs of rot," She smells it carefully. "No smell either. I've always had my theories, and it really does seem like Pokemon bodies function similarly to ours, but they don't seem to decay very quickly."

Tassler shrugs and begins preparing the Pidgey. Carefully, and making certain to waste nothing, Tassler removes the feathers with her hands, the wings and legs with a rock, and the head with the same rock after carefully sharpening it on the riverside. She washes the body in the stream, making absolutely sure to clean every surface. 

Tass rebuilds the campfire and crafts a makeshift spit, slides the meat onto the wet branch, and rotates it slowly. At the same time, she mashes a few Figy berries against a stone and impales them on the same branch. After a few minutes, the berries insides begin to curdle and bubble like hot custard. Kaleido immediately smells the berries as soon as a breeze passes it by and quickly makes its way back.

As soon as Kaleido gets back to camp, it stares with gleaming eyes at the wonderful food Tass prepared. Grilled poultry lathered in sweet, sticky Figy berry jam. "In case you don't want the meat, I saved the biggest of the berries," Tass wipes a little bit of sweat from her brow. "My robe is almost done drying too. By the time we get done eating and wash up, we should be good to go!"

A bit less than an hour later, Tass and Kaleido lay on their backs in the late morning sun. Berry jam covers both of their mouths, and bones lay in the embers of the long-since extinguished bonfire. Tass burps aloud and hears it echo off the cave behind her, causing a few Pokemon in the distance to fly away.

"That was INCREDIBLE, right?!" Tass blurts out. Kaleido dramatically throws both front legs by its side and plays dead, the other 4 legs holding its belly. "Oh really? Sheesh, looks like I already found my next meal..." Tass laughs menacingly as she leans over Kaleido. Kaleido shrieks and tries to crawl away, but it isn't fast enough. 

Before it can resist, Tass begins fiercely tickling all over Kaleido's body. For a few minutes, Tass and Kaleido plays in and around the stream. After they've both worked off the banquet and caught their breath, Tass slides her robe back on and ties it tight around her waist. "Okay, feeling good? Ready to start the day? It's only..." Tass looks up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun. "Not quite midday, so probably...11:30? We have plenty of time to get to Grove Town and look around before we set off again!"

Kaleido poses in the air, flexing as if saying 'Bring it!'. With that, the 2 friends set off back into the forest, taking in the dark green forest scenery and the aroma of small flower bundles. It doesn't take nearly as long to navigate the woods when you can see, as it turns out, because Tass and Kaleido arrive in Grove Town with no issues. 

Well, other than Tass tripping and falling on her face right after leaving camp.

No later than 1500, Tass and Kaleido arrive right outside Grove Town, staring up at the gigantic wooden stakes that block their path. Tass clears her throat and announces herself. "Hello~! Can you open the gate please?"

A few seconds of silence pass until 2 large panels of lumber separate down the middle and swing slowly open. As she takes a big step forward, eyes closed in a happy stride, she is stopped suddenly by something hitting her chest. She winces for a second before looking up, and her face drops instantly. Her eyes go wide, and she stutters.

"Uhhh..ummm...I umm..." She stammers

Standing in front of her is a man she recognizes only by looking at him- he hardly ever speaks but stands as tall as most homes. Standing next to him, is a woman she only recognizes by the feeling Tass gets from being near her. "H-Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Twine!" Tass manages to blurt out, bowing slightly. Kaleido looks confused but does the same.

"Hello Tassler. How are you? Good, I hope." Tass nods but keeps her head slightly bowed. "Excellent. In that case..." the woman practically sings. Mr. Twine slowly leans down and speaks very slowly.

"Where...is...our...son?" He drones.

Tass swallows heavy but keeps her composure. "Last I know of, Hust is back in the village. He said he was given a mission but couldn't speak about it. He was acting like himself though, so he was in good spirits about it."

The Twine's look at each other, then back to Tass. "And what do you think about it, Tassler?" Mrs. Twine questions. "Personally ma'am, I think he more than likely was assigned to a mission similar to both of you."

Mrs. Twine smiles and nods. "You're a smart girl, Tassler. As you were." They walk past Tass with incredible grace. Mr. Twine wears a giant green robe with a hood, but Mrs. Twine hardly wears much at all other than a pair of leather slacks and a dirty, stained coat. Attached to their hips are large, ball shaped objects- 6 each. Tass thinks about asking but doesn't really want to interact with them any more than she has to. 

"Good Arceus, they're horrifying..."

After she watches the 2 disappear into the brush, she finally lets out a heavy breath and looks at Kaleido, who is breathing equally as hard. They both take a second, gather themselves, and enter the main gate into Grove Town.