The Morning After

The early morning sun only slightly warmed Zandrophin. Perched on his tree branch, he could see a great distance in every direction. He looked down when Marcus shouted up to him. He saw Mentus dangling from the young man's arm, just swinging back and forth.

Having fun?

I am, actually...I never get to do this to you.

Zandrophin decided to join his comrade, and hung off of his branch by his feet before addressing Marcus, chuckling a bit at his antics,

"Well...do we have a plan for today, O Fearless Leader? As much as I enjoyed making camp and roughing out a night here...perhaps we could consider moving on?"

He didn't care either way...he had very few pressing matters to attend to, so he was relatively calm...considering the circumstances, but he figured he'd ask.

Zandrophin walked alongside Marcus as he was storming off.

"Eh, don't let her get to you. I'm impressed that you refused to let yourself get dragged to her by that thing...what was that anyway? Doesn't matter; you stood by your decision. If she wants to talk...she can track us down at our camp...which I'm assuming we will be making at some point."

Marcus kept walking, hunched slightly forward in his anger. Zandrophin smirked a bit.

For once, he's not angry with us, old friend.

We must not be trying hard enough...how dare that snowflake do our job for us.

Zandrophin noticed Marcus plucking the buds off of the trees. He thought he knew what they were, but he figured he'd ask, anyway,

"So...what are those for? Are those the things Rhys was talking about?"

"In point of fact," Zandrophin reached into his pocket and removed a book of matches, "I can."

He returned the matches and knelt down beside the fire. He wasn't terribly cold, but he knew that it was going to get cold as the day faded, so he had to start accumulating warmth. He couldn't help but notice the horribly bitter smell the bulbs made as they burned.

"This must be why these bulbs keep wild Pokemon away...that's an awful smell."

Zandrophin sat in silence for a bit. After a few minutes, he stood up and said,

"Mentus and I will go look for something to eat, if you're okay with that. Mentus....what's on the menu today?"

"Well, Sir...there's a few Sawsbuck not far from here...they are not aware of this encampment."

"That sounds like a good opportunity to me. Any objections, Fearless Leader?"

Zandrophin and Mentus headed off towards their prey without any delay. After a few minutes of trudging through the snow, they were almost in position. Mentus could sense the herd and directed Zandrophin accordingly so that they would not frighten any of the creatures. Luckilly for the hunters, the group was relatively close together, so Mentus was able to envelop them in a Calm Mind bubble.

Alright, old friend...how do you want to go about this? Either you pick one or I put this blade to use.

Sir, since you're wearing that lovely jacket, I would suggest we do this my way...wouldn't want to stain the material.

Quite right. Whenever you're ready.

Mentus floated away from Zandrophin to get a better angle. He picked out one of the Sawsbucks, one of the males; he knew the rules of engagement when hunting for food. He stretched out one of his hands. A psychic aura formed around his target. Due to the power of Calm Mind, both his quarry and the other Sawsbucks around him didn't recognize that anything was wrong. A flick of Mentus' wrist, and the whole thing was over. Mentus released his bubble and the other Sawsbucks fled into the woods.

Well done, old friend.

He didn't feel a thing, Sir. His last thoughts were of his mother...I made sure of it.

Zandrophin walked over to the Sawsbuck and looked at Mentus.

Help me carry this, old friend...he may be small...but he's still quite heavy.

Zandrophin took the front half and Mentus floated underneath the back half, mimicking the act of hoisting it over his head.

Not soon after, they arrived back at their camp, where Marcus offered them tea. Setting down the Sawsbuck, Zandrophin took the tea. After he finished his cup, he spun his knife in his hand and set to drawing and quartering the Sawsbuck, being sure to remove his coat before he started. He had a light jacket on underneath, and the fire would ensure he stayed warm.

After ensuring that the meat was cleaned...at least as best as he could, Zandrophin set about cooking the meat on skewers made from tree branches. This took the longest amount of time, but at least they'd have cooked food. All the meat was prepared, and though it wasn't all going to be eaten, the cold would preserve it well enough for the next morning.

Zandrophin offered Marcus some of the skewers,

"Hungry now?"

Zandrophin smirked at Marcus' naivete...he almost envied him for it.

"Ah, there's so much about that you don't understand...so I will try to enlighten you, so you don't go spreading any false tales about me...without good reason."

He took a bite of the meat and drank more tea before continuing,

"One did not simply move away from my father...especially not his only son. His influence was everywhere in Kanto...everyone at least knew his name...and some had seen his face. Changing my name was out of the question...my father had all of the registrars in his pocket...as is the nature of a man who administrates criminal activity. We had many people try to defect by "disappearing"...they weren't successful. How could my chances be any better?"

"Ironically....I managed to break my own shackles. I'd served my father loyally for many years, and then, one day, I refused to do a job. Father disowned me for it...after finishing the job himself. He must've figured I'd come back, at some point. It's almost laughable...how much he underestimated my will to survive. With Mentus beside me, I can thrive just about anywhere. We heard about this island and the rest, as they say, is history."

"I may not have the amount of influence he wields yet...but that will come with time...I made sure to keep in contact with people from all of the regions across the map after I left Saffron. If I call on these people, they will surely assist me, as my father has no idea they exist...which was no small feat. As for this island, I have laid plans to begin opening my fledgling trade company up to this island, starting in Celosia. Talks have already started between myself and Lady Akane. I'm sure we'll reach an agreement soon. Once goods begin flowing into the capital region of this island...hopefully other areas will see the benefit of interconnected trade...which will spread my company's name across this island...and perhaps even into the surrounding area."

Zandrophin looked at what remained of the Sawsbuck that he knew that both men and their companions wouldn't eat all of it, so he began to cover up some of the remains with snow, to preserve them through the night.

"Perhaps whatever we don't eat, we can send back to that snowflake, eh?"