Tales of the Grind, part 2: Smile

by Skorupi-anon

The partly cloudy sky is painted in magnificent hues of red, pink, and orange, courtesy of the sun slowly creeping above the horizon. The silhouette of the town is projected in front of the numerous rays of light piercing through the treetops and into the sky above. It's still early in the morning, and dewdrops have formed atop the leaves of trees, making their ways to the leaves' pointed ends, before entering free-fall and splashing on the ground, if I'm lucky. A lot of them just end up landing on me instead. Laying on my stomach, I awkwardly attempt to use my body as a shield for the red bow tie that now adorns my neck. As my back and head block the incoming droplets, and with my head slightly elevated, I try to stay still, to make sure the bow won't get dirty from touching the ground too much.

Without the sun, I don't have any kind of heat source. I've tried banging rocks against each other to create sparks before, but I could never produce any flames. My survival skills still need work; I've been outdoors with no shelter for far longer than I can recommend to anyone. My lack of sleep only exacerbates this, thanks to a combination of stress throughout the day and early evening, and the moonlight hitting my resting eyelids as I tried to drift off to sleep the previous night.

Yet, despite being cold, wet, and feeling slightly sleep deprived, I am at peace. Yesterday, I was still sedentary, almost totally deprived of energy after overexerting myself while training the day prior. Right now, though, I feel enough strength to at least move around for more than a few steps, for the first time in what feels like an eternity. After all the time I had spent experiencing the harshness of the mystery dungeons, dozens upon dozens of enemies, and even nature itself, last night I was finally met with my first act of kindness since I appeared in this world.

Allow me to explain.

~The Previous Night~

The sky is clear. A dull darkness sets in as the sun dips out of view.

I'm not sure if I've moved an inch in about two days. To my right lies the red bow tie I had found earlier in the week, my sole possession. As the air cools, I feel myself becoming more and more on edge in the absence of the sun's pleasant heat. I'm having trouble seeing anything, as the moon has barely risen yet. My entire body is caked in dirt and sweat, with scrapes and marks in various places, though thankfully none of them should be permanent. I haven't been able to bathe myself at all during my time as a Pokemon, because I'm too afraid to even attempt swimming in this quadrupedal form, and I wouldn't want to accidentally bathe in drinking water or something. While it's true that I have quickly learned how to control my new body, that doesn't mean I've figured out how to go about life with no opposable thumbs, or any hands at all, for that matter. All of my meals have been in contact with dirt, and eaten off of the ground. I would try to wipe my face clean of at least some grime, but simply reaching my own face is monumentally more difficult than when I was human. If I stretch far enough, my tail barely reaches, but it isn't the most efficient way to clean myself, as my tail being behind me makes it much more difficult to judge where I'm reaching. And don't get me started on trying to put on that stupid bow tie by myself.

Eventually, I try to stop thinking entirely, in an attempt to not irritate myself further with negative thoughts. Unfortunately, that attempt is failing. I scowl to myself, lying prostrate in the dirt, before closing my eyes and giving in to my own mind. Living without modern conveniences is just about as horrifying as I had assumed in the past, even if I could defend myself now. My only respite at the moment is that the moon had emerged partially above the roofs of the town's buildings, giving me just barely more vision than before. Or, at least, I tell myself that, but it doesn't make me feel much better.

What feels like hours pass. The moon has finally revealed itself in the center of the sky, illuminating the land, and actually allowing me to see, albeit not perfectly. I still don't feel much better because of it. Despite not having the energy to move for an entire day, I feel like total shit and can't get even a second of sleep. At first I was kinda liking this place, but by now it's just pissing me off. I'm cold, hungry, dirty, anxious, exhausted both physically and mentally, and to top it all off, I think I'm gonna go fucking cra-

Grass rustles in the distance, somewhere in front of me. Something is dangerously close to me.

Adrenaline courses through my veins in an instant. Without my body's consent, my instincts force me onto my feet hastily, as every one of my muscles cry out in agony. My head is low to the ground as I raise my tail. It curves into an arc over my back, my claws now bared in an offensive position above my head. I barely have time to wince in pain from the sudden movement of my sore muscles before I freeze in reaction to the sound of more rustling grass. In an attempt to try and ward off whatever is making the sound, I bare my teeth and hiss as intimidatingly as I can, but to me, I just sound like a dying cat. I'd feel kinda embarrassed if my life wasn't on the line right now. Amongst the grass I can barely make out a silhouette, but I can't distinguish it's form yet. Deep down, I'm truly terrified. This wasn't the first time an enemy had approached while I was out here at night, not even close to the first. Apparently the ferals around here don't respect the NAP. While I was able to deal with them as easily as the average dungeon feral before, tonight, I'm so unbelievably exhausted that anything could pose a serious threat to me. I've never been more vulnerable in my entire life.

I try to brace myself as much as I can but it proves to be extremely difficult. It takes everything I have to hold this pose.

Apparently my intimidation attempt didn't work very well, as the sound is only a few feet from me now. I pray to whatever god placed me in this hellhole, begging him to be more merciful in the afterlife.

"You look pretty dirty, y'know?"

A squeaky, feminine-sounding voice cuts through the silence of the night. I'm so taken aback at hearing another person, or, I guess another Pokemon's, voice, for the first time in weeks, that I nearly relax my muscles and collapse.

A lone Furret approaches me. A small bag hangs around her neck from a strap. Standing on her hind legs, she towers over me by at least a foot or two, which seriously isn't helping my fear. While the moon's glow is providing some lighting, I still struggle to make out her expression. Her face looks neutral, other than a slight smile. I don't move an inch. My eyes are locked on hers.

Adopting a curious expression, like that of a child, she paces side to side, apparently sizing me up. "And now that I've got a better look at ya, you look lonely, too. You're out here all by yourself, for crying out loud!"

I remain silent. She clearly isn't afraid of me, and I close my mouth, contorting it into a discomforted frown. It's true that I haven't met a feral that could talk before, and she doesn't seem aggressive, but I still have no idea what her intentions are, so I keep on guard to the best of my ability. She brings her face closer to mine, staring directly into my eyes, silent, unblinking, motionless, for about a minute. She's starting to get way too damn close. I avert my gaze and look pathetically to the side.

I'm startled by her sudden outburst of laughter, as she backs off and starts to wiggle her long body in joy. "Ah ha, ah ha ha ha ha! I win! I win!"

I experience a cross between bewilderment and terror. At first I wasn't really preoccupied with figuring out what she had "won", but she answers for me anyway. "I guess you're dirty, lonely, AND bad at starting contests, ha ha!"

Now I see. She's just fucking with me, talking down to her prey before she finishes it off. Frustration overtakes me as I realize how hopeless my situation is, and my footing becomes unstable as I strain myself to remain upright. Knowing I was gonna die anyway, I utter the toughest thing that comes to mind as a desperate, last ditch effort to save myself.

"Back off."

Jesus fucking Christ. Is that really the best I can come up with? I cringe to myself, and at this point I accept that I probably deserve to die, imagining how pathetic I must look right now. I even scared myself a little bit, seeing as how this is the first time I've spoken out loud since I was transformed. My own voice surprises me, but thankfully it sounds just about the same as when I was a human: kinda high pitched, while also monotone. Not that any of that really matters now.

Her expression swiftly drops, seemingly taken aback by my sudden rudeness. "Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry if I was too rude, I was just teasing you a little!" Then, her smile reappears almost as soon as it had just vanished, and she continues. "It's just, well, you looked so miserable out here, all alone! Trust me, I bet you could use some company~" I don't understand what sort of game she's trying to entertain herself with this time. Before I can dwell on it for much longer, suddenly, my thoughts are interrupted when, without my consent, she seats herself to my left, curling her long body up into a spiral.

I attempt to jump back, but I forget my physical condition for a moment, and I fall limply onto my back. I let out a brief cry of pain from the overexertion. Still aching all over, I just jam my eyes shut and accept my fate. I hear her gasp in shock and horror, as if she had just watched a small animal get hit by a semi truck. "You aren't hurt, are you?! Oh jeez, oh jeez..." She trails off and mutters to herself as I hear her rummage through her bag. I lay still. Internally, I joke to myself that maybe if I play dead she'll leave. I don't make myself laugh.

After a short pause, I feel a soft paw pulling down my jaw, forcing my mouth open, and I don't have the energy to resist. Something is placed in my mouth, and she forcibly opens and closes my mouth, making me chew on whatever kind of poisonous fruit she chose to torture me with. ...I forgot I was a Poison type now, so I'm not sure that kind of thing would even work. I swallow, embracing the end, but to my surprise, a tiny source of energy awakens deep within me, and my pain begins fading. As I open my eyes, the Furret is inches from my face, on the verge of tears. I'd be more pressed about her lack of concern for personal space, but my thoughts are interrupted once again as she barrages me with questions. "Are you alive?! Does anything hurt? Can you move? Can you see me?"

Now possessing the energy to move once more, I roll over onto my stomach and back myself away from her sluggishly, creating distance as my tail returns to its offensive position. Returning to her default expression of joy, she remarks, "Wow, I think that really did the trick! You're already up and at em' again!"

In response, I narrow my eyes, asking bluntly, "What did I just eat?".

"Huh? It was just an Oran berry, silly! You should totally recognize it without even having to think about it!"

Now that she mentions it, I do recognize the aftertaste, and the sense of strength regenerating inside me is familiar, too. Oran berries were common in all of the mystery dungeons I had explored. For once, it didn't take me long to realize their usefulness of an item. It was the only kind of fruit that I have come to recognize so far. Since I knew it was unlikely I could keep any as long as I kept failing in dungeons, I just started to eat them on sight eventually.

I take another look at her. Now that I have some food in my stomach, I begin to think more clearly. Her demeanor is entirely non-threatening, and everything she's said so far has sounded pretty genuine, but I still can't bring myself to fully trust her. ...But why? It's not like I've gotten tricked by anyone here before. Hell, this is my first time speaking to another living being since I arrived. Staying cautious, I drop my guard ever-so-slightly and decide to ask some more questions, since she seems pretty chatty to me.

"Why did you feed me that?"

"Why?! Because you looked you were in TONS of pain, that's why! You could barely stand without shaking!"

Again, she's right. I consider objecting in an effort to seem tough, but being abrasive is obviously not an option with someone like her. Plus, if it weren't for the berry she just force-fed to me, I'd be totally screwed right now. I exhale deeply, not realizing how much I've been holding my breath the past few minutes. My guard drops further. As I lower my tail, she beams with excitement.

"See, I'm just trying to help! No need for you to get so defensive, little buddy. Come relax with me."

She's starting to convince me that she ISN'T here to murder me, but I continue being cautious. Despite her complaints, I remain on the defensive. "Why should I?"

The question feels kind of pointless once I ask it out loud, but she entertains it, and retorts, "Whaddya mean why?! You look like you haven't rested in years! Just take a load off already!" I'm still completely motionless. Her expression drops into disappointment, apparently pretty sad that I won't honor her offer. Her face scrunches into thought for a second, trying to keep the conversation going, before she speaks up again. "If you won't move, will you at least tell me what that is that you're standing on?"

For a split second, I have no idea what she's talking about, but I realize I am standing on something: my bow tie. I guess the red color made it stand out enough for her to notice, even when it's under one of my feet. I back up a little further so she can see it more clearly, and tell her, "It's just a bow tie."

Her smile and enthusiasm return in an instant. "Ooooh, it looks cute! You should wear it, isn't of just leaving it on the ground~." The grin on her face paired with her cheeriness are so sweet, I think it might give me diabetes. Before I can explain why I'm not able to put it on, somehow, her expression lights up even more, and she excitedly wiggles in place. "Ooh ooh ooh! I've got a great idea! Give me that bow, now!" She's so energetic, I'm surprised her tiny heart hasn't exploded. At this point I don't think there's any way she'll calm down until I listen to her... I exhale, and pick up the bow with my mouth, and walk towards her, resigning myself to whatever she has planned for me. I feel like I know what it is.

"Okay, now close your eyes, little buddy!" I finally let myself relax as I follow her instructions, and I feel her begin fumbling around my head and close to my back. Surely enough, she's trying to make me wear the bow. I sigh and continue thinking to myself. The moment I walked towards her, it was as if a massive burden had been lifted from my shoulders, even if I was still feeling anxious. After a few moments had passed, I finally hear her tell me, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

I'm not sure why she wanted me to close my eyes in the first place, seeing as how I can't see my own neck anyway. I also can't see I look right now, but I must look pretty damn great, as the Furret steps back to get a better view of me, before she squeals, "Oh my GOSH, you are just the cutest thing I've ever seen!!" with pure delight. I don't know if I should feel flattered, embarrassed, or patronized as she goes nuts over what I interpret as the equivalent of putting a goofy looking mini-sweater on your cat and taking pictures of it. To make matters stranger, I've never heard of any girl (or just anyone at all, really) who would think a scorpion is considered cute. The odd humor of my circumstances makes a smile form in the corners of my mouth for just a second, before I quickly return to a blank look, still avoiding eye contact.

She teases me more in reaction to my brief smile. "See? You ARE having fun! Ha ha ha!" For just a second, I consider trying to deny it again, but I give in and allow my stoic expression to release the smile I was containing. She can't get enough of this, especially now that I've fed into her desires. I'm not sure if I've ever experienced something like this before, even when I was a human, but I have to say that I'm enjoying myself.

Loosened up a bit, I start to laugh at the absurdity of my situation, and she joins in, but in her case, I think she just likes to laugh. It's around midnight, and here we are, two goons laughing like maniacs in the wilderness. At last, I shake off my feelings of dread for the time being, and allow myself to get comfortable by her side, relaxing on my stomach and letting my limbs rest, as she curls up again.

We spend the rest of the night telling each other stories about our adventures. I tell her all about my many outings (and failures) in the mystery dungeons, about my battles against the ferals, about my training, about why I was alone in a patch of dirt near some stones in the middle of the night. I also answer the endless questions she has about my stories, however one question she asks stumps me:

"Where are you from, little buddy? You don't seem like you're a local." Oh, shit. I had no idea how I could possibly explain my "human transformed into a Pokemon" crisis without sounding like a lunatic. It doesn't help that she found me where she did, so if I messed up, I'd look insane AND homeless.

"Well, I'm from, you know, 'that' place."

"...What place?"

Her confused expression makes me feel an incredible amount of guilt when I lie to her.

"Uh... around there?"

I point my tail in an arbitrarily chosen direction. I'm pretty sure she didn't buy it for even a second, judging based on the way she looked at me like I was retarded. But I guess I did a good enough job for now, as she puts on her usual smile and concurs, "Ohhhh, yeah! I know where you're talking about, little buddy! I've been there before!"

My feelings of guilt are amplified, because I can tell she doesn't believe me at all, and is choosing to blatantly lie right back at me in an effort to move the conversation along. Maybe I'll tell her more later, but I guess we've moved on from that for now. Taking the hint, I flip the discussion by asking more about her, as I don't recall ever seeing her in town before now. "I've told you about myself, but where are you from? And why are you out so late?"

"Oh, I'm from the Air Continent! It's such a wonderful place! Ohh, believe me, little buddy, it had some of the most brilliant forests I've ever seen~." She closes her eyes, swooning over her memories of the sights on the Air Continent, before regaining her composure and continuing. "But I love to travel, too! First I visited the Mist Continent, and then the Water Continent! They were both beautiful, but they couldn't compare to my home! And, just earlier today, I set foot here in the Grass Continent for the first time! I've only been here for a few hours, but like it a lot here so far! The locals are really weird, and funny! Oh, but I haven't gone to the Sand Continent yet, and I hear there are several other ones as well and I really wanna see them all and..."

Wow, she talks a lot when she's interested in something. I don't know how she doesn't pass out from talking so much, and with such enthusiasm. She reminds me of a little kid, and it feels weirdly refreshing. I nudge my voice into the conversation, asking, "Is there anything you wanted to see around here specifically? Like, landmarks or something?"

"Nope! I'm just gonna wander around until I spot something that interests me." She says this with a naive smile, untroubled by how careless she sounds.

Not sure I heard her correctly, I push further, asking, "Seriously? Nowhere at all? Do you even have a map?"

"Where would the fun in that be? I wanna explore! A map is boring. It just shows me where everything is, and I don't need a dumb map to tell me where I can have fun."

"That sounds really irresponsible."

"You say that, but aren't you out here, living all by yourself? I don't think we're that different, little buddy~."

I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out, as she makes a convincing point. At first, my cheeks turn red from embarrassment and I look away, but my gaze returns to hers, and I ask her, "Well, then why are you out here, too? Shouldn't you find somewhere to sleep?"

A twinge of pity shows in her eyes, and she appears to try keeping a straight face. "Oh... um, you see, like I said before, I arrived in Capim Town not long ago, and when I got here, the first thing I did was find my way into the local inn, and I reserved a room. That way I had more time to look around town. I planned on going to bed early, so I could have as much time as I wanted for exploring, but... while I walked around the outskirts of town, I saw you all alone out here. You weren't moving at all, and I thought you looked tired, and I was feeling pretty worried... so... I couldn't stop thinking about it and later I had trouble sleeping, and I wanted to check on you, so I came out here after the sun came down..." Throughout her explanation, she breaks down a bit. Her voice becomes audibly shaky, and she fights to hold back tears once more.

I'm immediately made uncomfortable by her emotional display, and I scramble to comfort her, a worried expression on my face. "P-please don't cry. I'm fine."

Through sniffles, she can barely ask, "A-a-are you sure?"

I gently reassure her, saying, "I promise I'm okay, just... please stop crying. I'll be okay."

It looks like she's started to calmed down, but internally, I beat myself up a little for being a bit insensitive. We sit in a tranquil silence, underneath the stars.

By now the edge of the moon touches the peaks of the trees in the distance, significantly lower in the sky than before. As a human, I was used to being awake at this time of night, but for some reason it felt almost ethereal in this world. I guess it's very different to be outside, rather than inside, past midnight. The Furret hasn't moved since we last spoke, and assuming that she fell asleep, I go to prod her. Before I can, I'm startled as she rises on her own. Her face is beaming with her typical positivity, as if she hadn't just cried earlier. Turning to face me, she tells me, "I had a lot of fun tonight! But I should head back to the inn. It's really late, and I doubt the owner would be happy if I rented a room, and then didn't stay in it, ha ha." I'm filled with a faint nostalgia, but for what, I'm not sure. Stifling her concern, she asks me, "Do you want to stay at the inn with me tonight?"

My mouth slowly shifts into a grin as I remind her, "Didn't I tell you? I'll be okay." Before, I think she would have freaked out, but she seems to trust my judgement this time. She turns and begins walking away, when I ask, "Will we see each other again?"

Turning back to face me again, she responds, "Sure, why not? I just got to this continent, and I plan to stay for a little while, y'know, go sightseeing! I'm leaving town in the morning to go explore, but I'm sure I'll return some day, little buddy." Walking closer, she produces an apple from her bag, and places it on the ground in front of me, while saying, "You can remember me from this... and from this!" After dropping the apple, she adjusts my bow tie again, before turning one last time, and disappearing into the night, giggling to herself.

She's gone. Only now does it occur that we never asked for each others' names. Normally I'd be worried about it, but my mind and body are relaxed. Just as she trusted my words, I trust hers: "I'm sure I'll return someday." I bite into the apple before me, the first actual meal I've had in two days. It's delicious.

~Present Day~

Much like the past several days since I trained to learn Rock Tomb, I doubt I'll be moving today, but this time, I'm not bothered, thanks to that Furret. I was beginning to lose hope that I'd survive in this world, or that I'd ever make it back to the human world, but that girl's optimism is so infectious that I don't have a care in the world. Despite how early it is, with how much energy she has, I wouldn't be surprised if she's already out of town by now. I spend the rest of my day thinking about what happened last night, and gazing at the town in the distance, hoping that soon, I'll have recovered enough energy to get up and enter the Clover Guild, and to tackle the dungeons again.

At first my only motivation was getting stronger. Then I told myself I'd visit the guild as well. But now, someday, I want to see her again.