Ettie has never really told stories. Or at least, she had never told stories in the same formats as the almost fairytale-esque orations many of the others who came and went from the tree told. It was just as fascinating for her, as it must've been for the Calyrex, to hear the different tales people had to say.

Though, at the same time, there was... A certain unease, in being around the Calyrex. It wasn't their fault - but to see the lapine pokemon, it leaves her thinking of that 20 year dream. That dream that always seems to make her heart ache. The fact that the Calyrex seems to recognize her, even if only faintly, doesn't help either - but...

... When one of the requests is about fairies and steel, a thought occurs to her. A story that she could tell, even if she wasn't likely to be the best at it.

Thus, when there's a chance to step forth, she does - showing a shiny Doublade, resting in its sheathes. "Is Scarlet!" Ettie speaks, smiling bright. "Is... Not wolf, or Flock... But is still Pack. Scarlet is... Claws for Ettie. Can fight, loves play-fight, but... Likes when held in fights." She recognizes that Scarlet is a bit intense in their love for fighting - but she also knows that it doesn't have any inherent ill will, either.

"Ettie meet Scarlet in... Border! Is... Not-here? Not-Hoenn? But can go to!" The child crouches down to pick up a fallen stick, that she uses to scratch in the earth - trying to draw, to show the Calyrex what she means. Drawing a mountain, with some strange 'rip' in the air above it.

(Haru, though, lingers near - the Delphox happy to use a more psychic form of communication to clarify Ettie's words.)

"Rift, up in mountain - Pyre - that way!" Ettie points with her free hand. "Pyre is... Where dead rest underneath. Border is... Where-go after? Ettie thinks? Lots-ghosts. Can be scary, and dangerous. But also is pretty." She nods a bit, casting a smile back to Calyrex. "Ettie go to Border with friends! Josh Devlin , Johanna Joy , Callan Young ! One day we find... Big human-pokemon-ghost-Pack, going somewhere! Ettie not-know where, but we make friends, and follow!" It had been a fascinating experience for Ettie, really.

"While moving... Ettie find pretty Doublade. Doublade was Scarlet! Scarlet was waiting long time, was bored, wanted play! So Ettie let Scarlet play. Scarlet play-fight with friends, have fun together! Though..." Ettie's expression was a little sheepish now, as she mused "Friends thought Scarlet want hurt, but No. Scarlet just wanted play-fight." Even if Scarlet was one to play a bit rough, sometimes.

"After playfight... Ettie take Scarlet with, as friends!" The child grins bright with this - she was happy to have met Scarlet - even a full year after. "Scarlet like Ruffian - thinks about fights lots. Also sleeps lots when not-fight, wakes up when playfight or fight."

"Scarlet likes when held... And when Ettie hold, Ettie... Shares self?" Possession was a word Ettie knew - but she wasn't sure if it was quite right. Because it sounded as though when someone is possessed, their 'self' - their body - isn't being shared. But Ettie and Scarlet had found that in sharing, things went all the more smoothly for the both of them. "Scarlet helps swing, protects Ettie. Ettie helps move, and gives play!" A fair trade!

"Ettie want-learn more, but... Not lots humans share-self. Says is dangerous, but... Ettie trusts Scarlet. Is Pack." There was only so much she could learn about wielding Scarlet, from letting Scarlet handle the swings, after all. But if she did get better at this... Then they could work together better, right?

Was this what people meant, when they say 'here's to another year'?

Returning to the Dyna Tree well-rested, Shalin stood near El Sunderland and prepared to regale the High King with another story, though this one had nothing to do with her travels in Hoenn. "Good day to you, High King Calyrex," the Rustboro Captain greeted. "Today I come to you with a tale of Fairy and Steel. A tale from long before I came to Hoenn. It was about five years ago, in the Arciel region far from here." Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she began to tell an exciting, harrowing, adventurous story of a forest unlike any other she had ever explored.

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-snes-spc/final-fantasy-v/208%20As%20I%20Feel%2C%20You%20Feel.mp3[/player]

MUSIC - "As I Feel, You Feel" - FINAL FANTASY V ORIGINAL GAME AUDIO

"In the northeast corner of the distant Arciel region was a tree whose leaves and branches sparkled like gold. Hidden deep within the Sequoia Forest, fairy trickery caused the woods and wild Pokémon to grow to colossal heights. The farther north one went, closer to the Golden Tree, the larger the woods and the Pokémon became.

The fairies of the woods were among the most aggressive in the region. Granbull trampling, Mawile chomping, Ninetales dashing, Gardevoir watching, Ribombee flitting. They were Pokémon that seemed to defy wild instincts. Though I sent out trained Pokémon to protect me from them, they ignored them and went for me, as if the only purpose they served was to keep humans from setting foot near the Golden Tree. It was as though their very lives depended on making sure I never set foot there. I still remember the day a Nidoking the size of a truck stabbing through me with its Megahorn. It was only the voice of one of the watchers of the Golden Tree - a Galarian Rapidash bigger than any Rapidash you could imagine.

Leading me to the tree, I was in disbelief at what I saw. At the tree's base was a sword in a pedestal, radiating Infinity Energy unlike anything I had ever felt. It was as though the power of every fairy in the woods drew from it.

The Behemoth Blade.

As I stepped onto the pedestal and lifted the sword into my hands, black streaks shot up the tree, from root to crown. As the tree's bark grew more black, its golden glow faded. All the while, a vacuum-like sound echoed around the grove, growing louder and louder as the tree's trunk became darker. Once the black bark had reached the tree's apex, a bright flash blinded me, and the unthinkable happened: the opening of an Ultra Wormhole.

With the Behemoth Blade in hand, I fought valiantly to keep the Ultra Beasts from flooding Arciel. Its weight and power were overwhelming; while every swing cleaved an Ultra Beast in two, it felt like it took just as much of my own energy away from me. As I felled them, more flew through the Ultra Wormhole, overwhelming many of the Golden Tree's giant guardian Pokémon.

After the Galarian Rapidash that had saved my life gave its own to close the Ultra Wormhole, only one fairy of the forest remained: a colossal Ribombee that flew me to the woods' edge. It was my mistake that caused that entire region to be overrun by Ultra Beasts. And it was by my Behemoth Blade that I swore to right that wrong. With steel in hand and a flitting fairy for a steed, I had been tasked with ridding the region of its invaders."

"And that's the last memory I have of the Arciel region before I came to Hoenn," Shalin exhaled. "I don't remember what came of the region, nor do I remember what happened to the Behemoth Blade. I wonder if it's still out there somewhere..." Out of energy after recalling her exciting bur traumatic story, she let herself fall onto the grass beneath her.

All these stories- heroic and fantastical tales aplenty- were more than intriguing to Sio. The reporter, having stayed towards the front of the crowd, had merely let her colleagues and peers take turns before her. They wanted to see what those who had not known what they did viewed justice. What *was* rightful retribution? Whose lights blew away in the wind, and who stayed triumphant? Were villains given undeserved second chances, or were heroes falling flat on their face in despair and detriment?

While all of these guesses and attempts had been grandiose in nature, they knew that only they held the *true* answers. The unadulterated, deniable facts of the world, told in blinding lights and spectacular movements on a self made stage.

“Ahem. Allow me, if you will,” the detective speaks, flashing a sly, almost cocky grin to those around her. On either side of her bound up her most faithful of companions- Kaló floating carefully at shoulder level, while Quill hops and skips right at their feet. The three turn to face Calyrex head on, Sio steeling what little nerves she had to take a precursory bow. They had never seen this king personally, and yet they knew that they had to perform at their best.

“This, dear friend, is a tale of trials and tribulations. Of fear and of triumph. Of true, heroic justice.” Sio stretches their arms out to their sides, graciously widening their presence before the Calyrex while cuing their pokemon to begin acting out the tale for them.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago, lived a young girl much like any other. She was no princess, nor any sort of regality; in fact, she was quite the opposite. Her family had little to come by, and she herself was horribly ill. Bound to her bed most days, the girl revelled in any time she'd get outside, even if bound by wires and tubes. She'd explore her hometown high and low, dawn till dusk, in between every crevice and in every bush." At this, Quill begins to move- using his roleplaying expertise to prnace about on wobbly legs, tail tucked in between them. He sniffs the grass, the tree, even near the Calyrex itself. "The little girl adored the world, believing it to be absolutely perfect despite her own shortcomings in such a feeble body. The only gripe that the girl had was with time itself; that she did not have enough of it to grow alongside the world, to see everything beyond her town borders. Until, by mysterious happenstance, she came upon a fairy one day, deep in the woods." Now Kaló joins the story, floating about not unlike the creature of myth. She draws closer to Quill, mouthing along vaguely to Sio's words while Quill does the same.

"Oh, sweet child, what are you doing out here all alone?" said the fairy.
"I only wished to explore the world once more. Any moment could be my last, and I so desperately want to enjoy it all," explains the little girl.
"Why, why must you be so worried about time? You are such a small and sweet child, there should be nothing stopping you from enjoying this world at its fullest," replies the fairy, confused and seemingly naive. The two chatter for some length of time. "Well, because μαμά said I was sick! Sick people cannot do much, unlike fairies." "What if I helped you to live longer? To be healthier, happier?"

The "help" comes in the form of Kaló using Telekinesis to lift Quill up into the air. The two float together happily, whimsically. Quill's posture grows more relaxed, and he howls with laughter and glee.

"And all was well; that is, until everything had taken a turn. Until the fairy had decided it finally needed payment from the girl, now years older and even happier to be alive. The fairy pushed, and shoved, and demanded tooth and limb from the girl and her family. And when the family could no longer provide..."

All at once, Kaló slams Quill down to the ground. Pink energy swirls around him, until his mouth is forced shut. His eyes widen and almost tear up- he looks around, desperate for someone, anyone to listen to him. To help him. To please, dear lord, someone, save him again.

"'Is this it? Is this all my life will become?' Worried the girl. 'How will I continue on when I can't even speak for myself anymore? My family no longer looks me in the eye, my friends take false pity upon me, I'm worse off than I was before!" Quill brings himself down to his knees, weeping and rubbing his eyes, while the fairy contninues to loom over Quill. At least, until he reaches out and yanks her closer. They whirl in a dance of conflict and blows snarling and snickering. "The girl was determined to fight back. To get right to the source of what had dealt her such a horrible hand of cards." Kaló lets out a final defeated cry, wilting to the ground. "And when she had won, she'd go on to tell her friends- the rest of her hometown. She warned them of the dangers of fairies like the one she'd met, and would continue to..."

Until that girl stood here beneath the Dyna tree, bowing to a king and a captive audience. "Justice would continue to be fought for relentlessly, and continue to be won. The girl refused to stop until all the horrible fairies dropped like flies; and legend has it that she's still at it today, hunting down fairies and trapping them in the cold iron of justice."

And with that, they turn around- both pokemon standing to attention and back to normal as they follow Sio back to her seat.

“Oh ho, a hero, eh? Galar was never in short supply of those folks,” the man said with a glint in his eye. From the stars above, since he had returned once more during the cover of night. The four Pokémon had accompanied him as well, excited to hear the next story they’d already heard a dozen times over.

“Well– I have a great idea,” he looked to the other Pokémon gathered, “what do you all think? With so many options, I feel like it should be one we all agree on.”

The Obstagoon quickly signed something with gusto, but Tavish gave her a deadpan stare. “Obstagoon, come on. That one’s been done to hell and back. We can’t just give The King the most basic story there is. We need something heroic, something grand. Something that truly stands out.”

“Farfetch’d!”

The Obstagoon signed again, must less passionate this time. “That one’s a bit more... vengeance-ye, yea? Not what we’re lookin’ for. Maybe another time.”

It was the Stunfisk-Galar’s turn to sound off, and once again Obstagoon signed off for the man. He shook his head tiredly, which caused the living bear-trap to get snippy. The furry creature groaned and replied. This started a cascade of responses and furious hand movements that all four of the original Galarian homebodies took part in. None of them could possibly agree on what regal, grandiose, heartfelt story to tell their King.

Until the Toxicroak chimed in. His hand movements were much clunkier than the Obstagoons, much less refined. He had been learning sign language at a pace that rivaled molasses, but his hands were able to get a vague message across: “Woah there, who the hell is King Kenneth?”

The rest of the faces (sans Calyrex, who was probably just as clueless) gave him a shocked expression. “You… you don’t know King Kenneth?”

Once again, Bloke tried to sign his response. “Course not. Never been in Galar.”

“But King Kenneth… is the best one! His style, his elegance, his grand tales! Everyone knows him! He’s the biggest one!”

The other three spoke relatively similar things, about how he was the most important one to know just because of how cool he was. How he saved a kingdom from the hands of raiders, how he solved stalemates in seconds flat. Sir spoke the loudest of them all, about how he had solved the Devils’ riddle when no one else could.

“Devil’s riddle? What, he want your soul but only for a few dollars?”

“No, of course– okay, we need to talk about this, yea?”

They all agreed with a nod. The man quickly flipped the pages, desperate to see if he could remember the exact page that was on. It wasn’t a long one, but it was around the three hundreds– ah, seventy-eight, not sixty-eight. He smoothed out the page and quickly gave it a once over to make sure it was just how he remembered.

Of course it was. Hell, he could probably tell it by heart. But for the sake of posterity, he cleared his throat and looked down at the page. Then, he began to read:

“Once upon a time, King Kenneth was in his castle. All his retainers, family, and blessed Pokemon were seated for supper, enjoying the bountiful harvest of their fields. Yet something was amiss— only the King himself could tell. The rest of the people were unable to notice, for they did not have the sixth sense the King did. This food was good, but tasted strange. As if someone had sneaked in a strange herb.”

“Sure enough, the rest of those in attendance for the grand feast soon fell ill. All but the King, who could only watch as they soon fell into a stupor. Strange. Odd. He knew there was a foul presence behind this. ‘Show yourself, you foul being of the night!’ he shouted. How furious he was!”

“And the Devil showed himself– dressed in all black, with horns that curled into infinite circles and hooves that left hellfire as he crossed the grand hall. Despite the bright sun, the sky soon turned to despair and became clouded with sin. Eventually, the stood face to face.”

“‘Why do you act as you are, Devil? Undo your foul trick!’”

“‘Ah, but for I to do that, it would endanger these merry fellows. For you see, I’ve granted them a deep dream. They do not know what is happening, but they are in bliss. Their wildest dreams, come to life. And to wake them is to kill them. I wish to rule over a people of peace and calm, and if you wish, I can send you off into a deep sleep. One free from problem or hardship.'”

“Of course, the King did not want this. Instead, he drew his sword and pointed it straight at the creature. ‘You fiend! I shall end your terrible existence in but a moment, if you don’t unhand my people! For their lives must be filled with hardship, as that is what makes it worth living!’”

“‘Then I shall grant you instead a question. A riddle, if you will. Answer it correctly and truthfully, and I shall grant you your desire and let your people go free. However, answer it wrong or without your full heart, and I shall damn you all to my domain. This kingdom and mine will be intertwined, and you all sent to a hellscape beyond your worst nightmare.’”

“Of course, the King did not falter in the face of a trial or tribulation. ‘Then lay your silly question onto me, so I may send you back to the land from whence ye came, o’ devious creature of the night.’”

“‘Very well, then. Riddle me this, Wise King Kenneth: I’m always coming, yet never show. People look to me, yet never see me. When I arrive, I’m back at the start. What am I?’”

“The Great King too much time pondering the question. He returned to his throne and put his head into his hands. For seven days and six nights, the King thought without break. All the while, the Devil waited as well. Yet while Kenneth never broke a sweat, the Devil grew impatient. This lasted until he could stand it no longer, and stomped a hoove into the granite floor. ‘I grow impatient, Kenneth. Answer, or I shall take what is rightfully mine!’”

“‘But you said I have to answer your question wrong for that to happen, and without my full heart behind it. A heart is not a thing to rush.’”

“‘I grow tired, Kenneth. If you do not have an answer, that is as good as being wrong.’”

“‘Incorrect, you foul creature. For a King must never rush to a conclusion when it comes to his people. That would be to put your own interest at heart, for tomorrow is but a day away from damnation.’”

“The Devil paused, clearly flabbergasted by Kenneth’s response. ‘How could you possibly know the answer to my riddle? It was quite a difficult one! No one has ever surmised its answer correctly.’”

“‘I did not, devious Devil. You gave it to me yourself.’”

“He realized that he had, in fact, confirmed the answer without the King ever speaking of it. He’d been fooled by his own question. In a huff, he undid the spell on the people and stormed out of the castle. The flames of the night were quenched, and day finally returned to the land. The people came to, and were clueless as to what occurred. King Kenneth spoke what happened, and they all rejoiced at the clever thinking of their King. Instead of the harvest, the celebrated their wondrous and smart ruler, for his thinking had saved the people without even so much as a worry of his success.”

“And they all lived happily. Ever. After,” the man finished his story with a tear in his eye. He quickly wiped it away and looked at Bloke. “Rather inspiring, right? Makes me tear up every time.”

“... That was stupid, ain’t it? Hell, I figured it out in a moment or two. Not too many things can ‘come’ yet never arrive.”

“Yea, right! That was rather hard. If it weren’t for the tale, I’d never get that answer.”

“Ya can’t be serious, right? What else do people look towards yet never see? Infinity, maybe? The future? Just think about it. Not hard, not one bit.”

“Oh, shut up! Liar.”

“Who you callin’ a liar, huh? Just cause you’re too caught up in the details– that’s where the devil is, I hear.”

“Oh for the love of–”

Their bickering came back, but the King watched with joy. Their tale, even if simple and easy to see the end of, had been a tale nonetheless. It was rather heroic to goad an enemy into giving you the answer to a problem. Especially if it held many a life at stake. After all, it takes a lot of courage to act in the face of hardship. And if that isn’t heroic, then what was the meaning of the word anyway?