FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Ma'am, wake up." A Ninetails knelt down beside Mercy, whose eyes opened in an instant then faded into a drowsy gaze as she tried to make out where she was, expecting to be in her enormous bed on her mountain of pillows and comforters, but the sudden splash of water from below and the orange glow in the distance told her otherwise.

"Hm? Where..." She shook herself awake, pulling her black jagged tail from under her, feeling terribly uncomfortable from having sat on it while she slept. Normally, she'd sleep on her side to avoid that, but the coarse and gritty wood beneath her would've made for a worse experience. Suddenly she remembered where she was: on a merchant boat that was en route to... somewhere. Her mother didn't tell her where.

"We'll be arriving shortly," said the Ninetails, picking up Mercy's luggage for her. He was actually familiar to her as one of the workers she'd often see with her father- after all, this was her father's boat, one of many for his trade business, but not only did she ever think she'd be on one, she never expected to have her first yet last ride just to leave her home so abruptly.

"Sir, uh," Mercy felt at her blonde hair, readjusting the low ties at the end of her pigtails, "Where are we going?"

"You don't know?.. Neither of your parents told you?"

"No, not at all. Mama woke me up, helped me dress and pack my trunk, and hurried me onto this ship... Goodness, is something wrong? Why was she so worried?"

"I wouldn't know. I was only told to escort you."

"Is mama or papa here?" She stood up, brushing off her cream yellow gown, "Where are they?"

"They're not here," said the Ninetails, standing up by her, "Our father I haven't seen, and your mother stayed behind as the ship departed Morthin Bay."

"Where are we going then?"

"Saent-Malô... Or Saint-Malo, as we'd call it."

"... France? I- I can't speak French!"

"It's mostly an English village, don't worry.

"But, why are we going there?" Mercy hurried over towards the land coming closer in the horizon, looking over the ship's railing at the far end of it. She could make out the walls surrounding a keep and its village, with a large red and blue flag waving from above.

"Again, dear, I don't know. Don't be scared though- your mother said you'd come back home soon."

Mercy refreshed her memory: her mother did say that. More specifically, she was about to walk aboard the ship with the Ninetails when her mother knelt down and hugged her tightly, scaring Mercy into thinking it may be their very last hug.

"Mercy, darling," she said, kissing her on one of her large pink dimples, "Something happened, and... I don't want you to be in any danger. You're my greatest treasure." She unclasped her necklace and put it around Mercy: it was a tiny heart, made from a beautiful, glossy piece of lapis of pure blue.

"Keep this so you don't forget about me and your Papa," she said, "We put gold and silver in your bag- it should be enough to last you until we come back for you."

"But Mama, where am I going?" asked Mercy.

"You'll see when you get there... But don't tell anyone where you came from. Do you understand?"

"... Yes, Mama."

"You're old enough to manage on your own for a while. I promise we'll come back for you- now go, the ship's about to leave. And please, make your money last, and remember what I told you about trusting strangers!"

She rushed Mercy onto the ship, who was so tired that she fell asleep once the ship set into a smooth sail, and here she was, nearing her apparent destination.

"Is it... safe here?" Mercy nervously asked.

"Honestly?.. I'd say yes. No Pichus like you that I've seen, though, but plenty of friendly Fennekin and Braixen, Panchams and Pangoros... A few Furfrous, if I remember correctly. Yet to see a fellow Ninetail, though."

"Ah..."

"But watch for the street urchins."

"Street urchins? They live on land too?"

He chuckled, "No, no... I mean kids. Children around your age, homeless and left behind for all sorts of reasons."

"... I'm not being left behind, am I?!"

"Eh? I doubt that. Your father talked too much about you in a good manner to ever give you up, I think. These other kids are just less fortunate, with no blessings to count like us. But they're devious about survival, and I'm sure if they see you and your luggage, they'll look to swipe something off you, so look out for yourself, kid... What's your name again, by the way?"

"Mercy."

"Right- I'm Karnerick. I captain your father's ships to Saint Malo often, so maybe we'll see each other again, if you stay around for that long."

"But... I just don't understand..."

Karnerick patted her head, flattening her stout little hat that matched her dress's color, "I don't either, but I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you keep your wits." He left her side and called to his crew, "Man the sail for arrival!"

The ship rode the waves to the harbor of Saint-Malo, and once it was tied off and the gap between it and the dock was bridged, Karnerick politely walked Mercy down to the dock while carrying her trunk in one arm and holding her hand with the other. He stood with her for a moment, watching his crew exit the ship and prepare to empty it of its contents while she curiously turned her around in every direction, then he decided it was time for him to let Mercy go on her way.

"I'll have to deal with business now," he said, "Did your parents give you money?"

"Mama gave me some, but I don't know how much-" She stopped herself when she opened her unusually heavy bag, silently gasping at the dozens of valuable gold and silver coins, then she closed it and said, "I do have money, yes."

"There is an inn along the village's main road once you go past the wall. Their cheapest rooms aren't too expensive, so you should be able to stay there for a while." He walked her down to the village wall and pat her head, "If I can, I'll come around looking for you to check on you next time I'm here. Bless you."

The moment he left her, she felt naked around the many busy sailors and ship cleaners, who looked at her with similar confusion, finding it odd for a young girl of her class to be left alone at a place like this. She looked behind her to see if Karnerick was anywhere to be seen, but he had already vanished onto his ship.

Mercy struggled to carry her trunk with her bag as she stepped along the rock around the beach, but then she let it drag behind her feet when she reached the dirt and grass inside the village's walls, expecting a finished stone path to form eventually but... It never did. It was only then that she realized that, after having spent her whole life in Morthin Bay, that not every place was as urbanized and developed as her home city.

Still, she didn't imagine a village, at least the size of Saint-Malo, having no path of anything besides dirt except on the main road, which was barely complete with stone bricks scattered about. The villagers themselves seemed to think nothing of it though, carrying on with their lives as Mercy passed them by.

Like Karnerick told her, there were no fellow Pichus to be seen, let alone older Pikachus or Raichus (or Ninetails like him), but the variety of Pokemon was surprising to her, leading her to wonder why it wasn't the same in Morthin Bay. From the farmers selling their produce to the carpenters collecting wood for their craft, there were the sorts she was already familiar with, such as a pair of Rapidashes that looked to be a happy married couple, and a tall Breloom whose loneliness as the local scholar implied the opposite. However, the dozens of different Pokemon she'd never seen or heard of made up a majority of all the villagers she saw, and one in particular stood out to Mercy, not because of the lady's gray and black fur and wolf shaped head, but because of how she stared her down with a pair of red menacing eyes.

"Hey," she said, leaving the wall of a house she leaned against and stopping Mercy in her path, "Is that yours?"

"Er, what is?"

"The trunk, the bag, everything!"

"Y-Yes? I'm visiting." She looked at the tall woman up and down, realizing she had to have been a guard from the armor she wore, consisting of a piece of chainmail covering her torso and shoulders, and a leather skirt trailing from her waist to her knees.

The guard twitched her lips, unconvinced, and she asked, "Where's your parents?"

"They're not here, they're..."

"Where?"

"They're in Morthin Bay." She already broke her mother's instructions, but she wasn't sure of what to do when put on the spot like that.

"... Alright, I believe you. Obviously you're not from around here, now that I think of it. What are you doing all the way across the Channel?"

"That's... a secret."

She rolled her eyes and moved out of Mercy's way, "Whatever then. Watch for the urchins around here- they'll swipe whatever they can from you."

"Urchins?.. Oh, the kids, right. Well, thank you, ma'am." She was about to continue onwards down the road, but, even if it was rude to do so, she had to ask the guard, "What, uh, Pokemon are you..?"

"Me? You've never seen a Mightyena?"

"Well, no. I never saw them at home anyway."

"I've never been up north, so I wouldn't know... Anyways, move along." She moved back to her position against the one wall and eyed her down until Mercy finally turned her head away, when she could only assume she was safe from her gaze.

Along the road were vendors of all sorts, and the sight of baskets of fresh red apples reminded Mercy she was hungry with a slight grumble in her stomach. It surely wasn't a delicious breakfast of pancakes and syrup, but she wanted to make her money last like her mother advised.

She approached the vendor selling apples, who was a large Grumpig with an apron stretched around its belly, and asked, "How much is it for one?"

The Grumpig was busy chewing on his straw of wheat and staring off elsewhere to notice her immediately, especially since she was shorter than the entire stand; he leaned over and looked down at her, at first irritated to see her, but after he realized her respectable clothes and cleanliness, he thought otherwise.

"Er, it's one- Hey!" He stopped himself as a child smaller than Mercy suddenly dashed past the both of them and swiped one of the dozen baskets of apples, spilling several of them and scattering them everywhere. Mercy looked past the stand to see what the blur of brown and red was, only briefly but long enough to see it was a tiny legged Buneary, who was barely able to carry the basket with her stubby arms yet managed to quickly scurry into the closest alley.

"You're not getting away again, you leech!" the Grumpig shouted in a deep, bellowing voice as he ran after her, starting a cat and mouse chase that went past the buildings and out of Mercy's view.

She stood in disbelief, holding her bag as she was just ready to pull a coin or two out, then yet another child popped out above the stand, leaning over towards Mercy with his dot of a nose on his brown furry face. He was quite young, perhaps too young to be responsible enough for any vending management...

"Hi!" he greeted casually, "Sorry about that- I can still help you though."

"Uh, you can?" Mercy looked at him curiously.

"Yeah. It's ten francs for an apple."

"Ten... francs?"

"What, are you not from around here? Ten silvers!"

"Ten silvers?! No way!"

He laughed smugly, "Okay, five then."

She looked at him puzzledly, but the shine coming off of one fresh apple in particular looked too delicious to pass up, so she reached into her bag and collected the five silvers he asked for, dropping them into his unusually dirty hand; thankfully, she was able to pick the apple from the basket herself, rubbing it on her gown before taking a bite.

"What are ya anyway?" the boy asked, "I've never seen anyone like you."

"I'm a Pichu," said Mercy, "You're an Eevee, right?"

"Yeah! Are there Eevees where you come from?"

"No, I just know of them from school."

"You go to school! Woah!" He looked behind himself and said, "Well, I've got to go. Bye then!" He hopped down away from the stand and ran down the road, just as the annoyed Grumpig came back empty handed, and he sighed angrily as he ran his hand down his head and over his pearls until he looked at Mercy and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Were you planning on paying for that?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Mercy stopped chewing.

"As I was about to say, before one of those rascals swiped off me with their rodent hands, it's a franc for one of them!"

"But I just paid that..." She turned her head towards where the Eevee had run off to, turning red in embarrassment for her senselessness, and she collected yet another silver coin to pay the Grumpig with before she hurried out of his sight.

Mercy sighed disappointingly at herself, shameful for already letting her guard down after the one other warning her mother gave her: to be wary of the strangers you trust. Her instinct tried to tell her otherwise when she gave that Eevee the silver; he couldn't have been more than five years old, and his scuffed tunic and overall dirty appearance wouldn't have ever been acceptable for any parent letting their child handle food.

Carrying her trunk around was starting to become too much of a burden for Mercy, so she continued through the village to find the lodging that Karnerick told her about; it was down the main road like he said, albeit far down it to almost the opposite side of the village.

While she walked along the road, she couldn't shake off the feeling she was being watched. Yes, many villagers of various ages and occupations glanced at her curiously as she passed them, but she was still concerned someone (or some people) hadn't lifted their eyes off her since they saw her. When she finally found what appeared to be an inn, which was signless so there was no honest suggestion if it really was one, she passed an alley where a group of kids made her come to a stop, as she saw them picking from a familiar basket of apples, and they all looked at her with mouthfuls.

She recognized the redheaded Buneary and the young little Eevee, the latter of which swallowed his food and smiled at Mercy, saying, "Hey, you're the girl who helped us out there?"

"Helped..?" Mercy wasn't following him.

"Yeah! You're clean, well dressed, and you had coins on you- a perfect distraction while Diana went for the apples!"

Mercy looked over at the Buneary, who turned red as if ashamed of herself and hid her face while she ate her meal. Around her and the Eevee were three other Pokemon, each one unique from the other:

The tallest of them was a Fennekin with a fluff of light yellow, white and fiery orange fur that was typical for them; her height was attributed to the fact she was obviously older than the rest of them, including Mercy. Out of any of them, she was also the cleanest, though that could only be said for face and clothes, which consisted of a short-sleeved orange tunic and a thin, red cloth coat tied along her torso- otherwise, her hands and paws for feet were as dirty as the rest of her friends.

Beside the Fennekin was the shortest of the group: a curious looking Espurr of silverish-gray fur, whose ears, hands and stubby feet were tipped with white. She wore a cute, little green tunic that was quite fitting for her small stature, but her strong purple eyes assured Mercy her sight was not held back by her tininess.

Lastly, there was the face-hidden Furfrou, a Pokemon that Mercy was very familiar with from back in Morthin Bay: they were typically guards there, with gorgeous manes and fur that was well kept all around. However, this Furfrou was far from well-kept, so badly that one couldn't even see their face under their overgrown mane of scruffy white fur, masking their identity and gender; Mercy assumed from their chest pluff beneath their dull colored garment of many patches and repairs that they were a female, but she didn't lean on that too confidently.

Even if she couldn't see the Furfrou's eyes, Mercy knew they were staring back at her, just like the four others were.

"You... You stole those apples!" Mercy cried out, and they all shushed her in response.

"Keep your voice down!" said the Eevee, "It's just one basket... That fatty has plenty more to sell."

"And you stole my silvers!"

"Wait," the Fennekin looked over at the Eevee, "You stole silvers off of her?"

"It was a friendly deal that she accepted, and..."

"Connor! Give her money back!"

Connor shrugged, collecting the silvers from his pockets and handing it over to the Fennekin to hand back to Mercy. "Sorry about that, madame," she said, "It wasn't our plan to steal from you."

Mercy looked at the coins nervously, remembering how dirty all of their hands were, so she kept them in her hand instead of mixing them up with the other clean silvers and golds.

"Still, you stole those apples," Mercy said disappointingly.

"Well, we... We did, yes." She took a big bite out of her apple almost shamelessly, "We're hungry."

"You couldn't have just paid-"

Mercy stopped herself, forgetting who she was speaking to, but the Fennekin was already responding, "We've no francs at all, if you couldn't tell."

The Espurr walked over in tiny steps and looked up at Mercy, asking in a vibrating, monotone voice, "Could you spare a few?" She chewed on her apple and stared at Mercy, her gaze unwavering.

"I, uh..." Her mother told her to make her money last, but... Oh, it was too hard for Mercy to say no. It wasn't even because she felt sympathetic for them- it was just difficult to avoid the obligation when they all looked at her so eagerly.

"I... suppose I can give up five silvers." She handed them back to the Fennekin, who, like the others, raised their ears up gleefully and smiled.

"Ah, thank you so much, madame" she said, "That's one for each of us! And to think Connor was going to keep them all for himself..."

"Hey, I- I was going to share them!"

"Is that why you didn't tell us about it?"

He crossed his arms, turning red as he was caught in his lie, and the Fennekin turned back to Mercy and said, "Merci beaucoup, madame. I'm Melisandre- you can call me Melisa." She put her hand out as if to shake Mercy's, but she decided against it when she realized how clean she was, and her own hand would dirty her's up at the slightest touch.

"Well, I'm Mercy... Are you all, er, alright?"

"As alright as we can be, I guess. Right guys?"

They all nodded silently, eating in synchronization like the pups of a dog.

"You're definitely not from around here," said Melisa, "I can tell by your accent. Are you from up north?"

"I can't exactly say, but no, I'm not from here. Is this an inn here?"

Melisa looked over, "L'auberge? It is, yes. How long will you be around?"

"I don't know, honestly."

"Then, uh... Where are your parents?"

Mercy sighed, almost irritably from both her situation and being asked that yet again, "They're not here with me."

Melisa looked at the others curiously, who returned the same look to her, then she said, "I see... Well, we'll be up at the pond later today, which is up the road and past the prairie fields."

"We will?" the Espurr asked.

"Yes, remember? Anyways-" She picked up the basket of apples and gestured to everyone to follow her out of the alley, lastly saying to Mercy before they left, "Ciao, Mercy."

Mercy watched them leave, feeling awkward for too long a moment to say bye immediately, but they were already gone before she had the nerve to say so. What an odd bunch, she thought, and she grabbed hold of her trunk and walked into the inn, excited to just be able to give her arms a rest.

Inside the inn, there was a great Bouffalent, easily the largest of all the Pokemon Mercy had seen around the village thus far; his size made it rather intimidating for her to come up to his desk, but his eyes had already crossed with hers, so she pulled herself together and did so anyway, barely able to see him over the tall desk.

"Uh, how much is your cheapest room?" she asked.

He hunched over the desk to look at her, likely as curious as the other villagers as of where her parents were, and he answered, "Two gold per night."

Goodness, she thought. Was that normal? Admittedly, she had no real sense of value when it came to prices, given her upbringing being somewhat luxurious and quite spoilish (Though even she wasn't foolish enough to pay ten silvers for a single apple), but she knew she couldn't have had more than perhaps a little less than fifty gold coins in her bag. She assured herself that paying for one night wouldn't hurt, and maybe she'll figure out some other way to find shelter without depriving herself of her money.

She reached up and placed two gold coins onto the desk, sliding them towards the Bouffalent until he took them into his hand, and he turned to collect the key to her room. Meanwhile, she looked behind to hear who was chatting behind her: two people in hooded cloaks that hid their whole bodies in darkness paused their conversation as she glanced at them, and she shyly turned herself away before it became too awkward. She couldn't make out what they were supposed to be, though she did see a hint of purple under each of their hoods, quite peculiar in shade and texture, but she wasn't sure what to derive from that.

The Bouffalent gave her the room key, "Room '4' on the second floor, madame." He pointed to the stairs past the wall behind him, and she thanked him and carried on to her room, looking back at the hooded strangers nervously. Perhaps it was them that invoked her uneasy feeling of being watched from earlier, she thought.

Mercy took her trunk and bag into her room, which was small but just enough space for a bed, nightstand and a window, and she dropped her things and herself onto the bed and sighed, still taken back by the position she's been thrown into. Even if it was rather... She thought it was rude to use the word, but even if it was "lowly" of the other kids to steal those apples and swindle off of her, it was relieving to see other kids like herself. She sat up and looked out the window, where she had a good sight of the prairies beyond the village that Melisa mentioned. Only then did Mercy realize that Melisa was hinting for her to come along to the pond they were heading to; it might do her some good to make friends if she was going to be stuck in Saint-Malo indefinitely, so she hid her trunk and bag under the bed, attached her key to the necklace her mother gave her after she locked the room's door, then left the inn towards the prairie to see if she still find Melisa and the others.

Whatever those kids were up to, it was definitely a good day to be outside, with only a slight breeze to falter the admirably clear, blue sky and the overhead late spring sun. It hadn't yet occurred to Mercy how quiet Saint-Malo was compared to Morthin Bay: no constant sound of carriage wheels turning about, no shouting or haggling from traders and merchants in an overcrowded town square... Of course, it all seemed quite lowly of a village in comparison, with nothing very redeemable besides its quiet atmosphere.

Mercy was hesitant to enter the prairie at first, unsure if it was any claimed land that she did not realize; back in Morthin Bay, there were fields that went past the hills, but they were all an estate of a wealthy businessman, entirely off limits to the general public, so she wasn't sure if it would've been the same case here. However there were no fences nor anyone to tell her otherwise, so after a few cautious steps into the grass, she started in a relieved walk that turned into a happy skip, intoxicating herself from the smell of all the plants and grass bathing in the sunlight. Over the highest point of the hill, she could see a distant pond shimmering with light, located beside a large oak tree that had a rope hanging from its largest branch, and under that tree was Melisa and the other children, sitting in a circle.

Melisa was the first to turn her head towards Mercy as she descended down the hill towards them, and she called out to her, "Look who came along, guys!" They all rose up and rushed over to her, crowding her before she could react.

"You decided to see us!" said Melisa, guiding Mercy over to an old trunk for her to sit down while the others gathered around her.

"What, uh... What are you all doing?" Mercy asked.

Melisa stood up straight, carrying a long stick as a staff, "We are arranging a coup d'etat against all of France!"

"A what?"

"A rebellion!" She jumped onto the log and raised her makeshift staff up, "For too long children have been oppressed! We're expected to eat the dirt we walk on then die in it- well, I say no more! It's time we abolish the monarchy!"

"Yeah!" everyone else cheered, Mercy silently watching them in bewilderment.

"We must remove the king and all his lords!"

"Yeah!"

"We'll establish a socialist state where everyone is treated equally, no matter what Pokemon they are!"

"... Yeah?" They were divided, though more out of confusion than disagreement, and the Espurr raised her hand and asked, "What is a socialist state?"

"Never mind that, Vue-" Melisa held her hand out towards Mercy, "Abandoned kids like us, with no gold, parents, or power, are worthless on our own, but with the help of the someone like you who has all that, we can stop this tyranny plaguing the world!.. So, will you help us?"

Mercy shook her head, and Melisa sighed, "Well, it was worth trying. We'll find someone else to play with, gang."

"Aww," they all lowered their heads disappointingly.

"Oh, you were pretending?" asked Mercy, "You had me believing you were serious!"

"Pretending?.. More or less." Melisa sat down next to her, "Maybe if we had places to go at night and chores to do... And, well, meals to eat too, I guess, we'd be playing games of imaginary government rebellion more often... But instead, we strive to unify Pokemon as one equal race, where everyone is equal and... And..."

She shrugged and slumped her head into her hand, "And et cetera, et cetera..." The other kids directed their attention to a frog that suddenly emerged from the pond, hurrying to see it before it hopped away, and Melisa frowned as she watched them with a somewhat envious expression.

"What's wrong?" asked Mercy.

"Besides what I just complained about? Does it look like I'm upset about other things?"

"I- I don't know... Sorry for asking."

"No, I'm sorry... I'm just-" She sighed, "I'm not all that much older than the rest of them, but I already miss being that young. They're so silly and... Well, ignorant. But they can't look after themselves, so I set myself up with that responsibility when... I don't know how to put it..."

"When your fondness for them makes you feel obligated?" Mercy filled in for her.

"Exactly!.. Hey, you know your words well! You're, uhm..."

"Verbose?"

"Yes, yes!"

Mercy laughed awkwardly, "You were using some larger words just a moment ago."

"Honestly, I don't know what most of them mean. A Honchkrow came to the village a year ago, and I liked his ideas since it meant all of us would get food and shelter and all that... I've actually no idea what 'socialist state' means."

"Me neither." Mercy took off her hat and held it at her chest, "Where are all your parents?"

"I dunno where mine went, since I was too young to remember... I'm from further south, and I came here after hitching a ride in a caravan, then I just stayed when I found the rest of the gang here." She pointed at the Espurr, "Vue says her parents left her because they didn't have the food or shelter to raise her, but... She seems quite indifferent about everything. Just look at that stare-"

Vue sat on her knees, staring emotionlessly at the frog, who stared back with its head tilted curiously at her.

"It's a bit strange," said Mercy, "But she'll grow out of it, from what I've read."

"You can read?"

"Can't you..?"

Melisa laughed embarrassingly, "None of us can."

"Did none of you go to school?"

"School? The nearest university has to be a few villages over. I've never been inside one in my life. Do you go to school?"

"Well, not now," Mercy answered, realizing that she was missing school at her local church at the moment, "But hopefully I will be again soon."

"Huh, well..." Melisa gestured at the Furfrou, "That's Vince. Kinda quiet, but he's still more talkative than Diana, the Buneary there. He ran away from home, from some village east of here. He met Diana after she apparently lost the migrant caravan she was in, so he followed her in hopes they would find the caravan again, but... Her destination definitely wasn't here, that's for sure."

"Er, where's the Eevee... Connor was his name, right?" asked Mercy.

"Yeah, it is. I don't know where he is... He's a silly one, though. Connor was left here from a ship, supposedly by accident-"

"Ehh, really?" Mercy asked nervously.

"Yeah?.. Why what's wrong?"

"Er, nothing... Go on."

She shrugged, "Well, there's not much else to be said. Just unfortunate kids, we are, whether we left on purpose or not... And I don't know where he is, actually. I think he

The abandonment stories weren't helping Mercy's worries, so she was glad to hear Vince suddenly say in a voice unusually deep for his age as he turned his head towards her, "Wait, she can read? Did I hear that right?"

"She can read?" the others asked as well, and they all hurried away from the frog, scaring it back into the pond, and gathered around Mercy.

"Uh... yes, I can," Mercy answered awkwardly.

"Can you read a book to us?" asked Vue.

"Do you have a book?"

"No..."

"If we were to get you one, would you read it to us?"

Mercy thought about it then said, "But that'd mean you'd steal the book, no?"

Melisa rolled her eyes, "If nobody's using something, is it really stealing?"

"... Yes? Even if it wasn't, you all still stole those apples."

"I mean, they were gonna get eaten by somebody regardless, so..." Melisa shrugged, hopping off the trunk and standing with her friends, "Fine, we stole those apples. We'll admit to it- no, I'll admit to it, because it was my idea to make sure all my friends could be fed for the next week. Are you going to tell someone? Tattle to the guards?"

"Don't be a snitch," said Vue.

Mercy felt their eyes shoot daggers at her for a moment, then she sighed, "No, I won't tell anyone... You're all probably going to get caught at some point anyway." She remembered the guard who stopped her, who surely must find the tracks of these street kids one way or another. In fact, maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to associate with them too much...

"But, uhm..." Diana cleared her throat, nervous to speak, "You'll read to us if we get you a book?"

"I'd really prefer if you didn't steal one."

"Just if we get one, then," said Melisa.

"Well, sure... I guess I could always just..." She considered the idea of just buying a book for them, wherever she'd do that, but she stopped herself, knowing she had to manage her funds well

"Hm?"

"Nothing," Mercy stood up, "I think I should be going-"

"Yeah, we all should be! Come along!" The others ran ahead of Melisa as she grabbed ahold of Mercy's hand.

"Wait, where are we going?" asked Mercy.

"To get a book! The local scholar wouldn't mind lending us one, I'm sure."

"Is that so?"

"M-hm!"

"If you say so, then." Mercy took her hand away from her but continued to follow the group through the prairie and back to the village. They were nice and all, but the unnerving glares the adults gave the kids enticed Mercy to stay several steps back from them and hope she wouldn't be seen as a part of them, but Melisa kept walking back to her pace and then pulling her head when she started falling behind.

"What's grabbing your feet?" Melisa asked.

"Eh?.. Oh, nothing, I'm just, uhm..."

"Well, walk faster, yeesh." She grabbed Mercy's hand and went ahead to the group with her.

They all stopped in front of a more distinguished cottage, with a sign reading Bibliothèque d'élite. Assuming what she can out of the French she knew little of, Mercy asked, "If I'm not mistaken, there is a library here?"

"Of course," said Melisa.

"Then why would you have to steal any book?"

"It's an elite library. They definitely wouldn't just let any kids like us in to take a book."

"Oh..." She was more familiar with the library of Morthin Bay, which was a public one as far as she knew, but now that she thought about it, it may have been just the same as this one and her father had more privileges than she realized.

"But you look nice and all, and..." Melisa shrugged, "Well, you could probably just waltz in and request to take a book yourself."

"Could I?"

"Yeah. Probably. I don't think anyone would be so rude to throw you out by the neck like with us. You have too beautiful of a dress and face to dirty up."

Mercy blushed, but immediately straightened her face, "I suppose I-"

"Come on, just go on in, it'll be fine!" Melisa led her to the door and opened it for her, pressuring Mercy to walk in before she closed it behind her, leaving her alone inside the dimly lit, single floor library, where the same Breloom she saw earlier that day was standing on a stool as he organized books along the shelves.

"... Hey, what-" He almost tripped over his steps after he dropped a book, sighing irritably, "Mademoiselle, you're not allowed in here-" He raised an eyebrow at her, then he descended to the floor and asked, "Wait, you're definitely not from around here."

"No, I'm not... Sorry, I just wanted to see if I could find a book to read."

"Humph... I've never seen you before, but you're reminding me of a Raichu I know." He went to his desk and flipped through a book, skimming through it for a name, then he asked, "Are you from Morthin Bay?"

"Uh-"

"A Pichu like you had to have at least come from the north. Is Monsieur Williams your father?"

Mercy tensed up, raising her tail and ears at the sound of her surname. She didn't see a point of hiding her identity if the scholar already knew of her family, so she said, "Yes, he is."

"Bienvenue! What brings you here to Saint-Malo?"

"I honestly can't say why myself..."

"Hm, well-" He returned to his previous task, concealing his vision to just the books, "Take a gander if you'd like to, but I can't entrust any of these to someone as young as you."

"I see." She wanted to let herself out at that point, but she figured she could spend a coin or two on a book for the other kids, even after giving them a silver each earlier. She asked, "What if I bought one to keep?"

He thought to himself, pushing the stool down to the opposite side of the room, hiding his face in the shelves, then he said, "A lot of these are quite expensive... I wouldn't let a well written book go for less than ten gold."

"Oh, that's..."

A lot, she thought to herself, and she looked at the selection of books, wondering if it'd be worth it if it was for a larger book. Suddenly, the door sounded as if it closed, and she and the Breloom turned their heads, wondering what the sound was for.

"Was that you..?" he asked.

"I don't know what that was-" She stopped herself, realizing that the shelf nearest to the door had a few books pulled out unusually, with one of them slanted into a noticeable gap.

"But, er... I'll give it some thought and maybe come back."

"Alrighty, madame. It's Mercy, I think, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"I trust your father, so if you ever want to come by and read in here, don't be afraid to."

"Well, thank you, sir." She pushed the books back into place while he was still looking away.

"Salut!" he said as she left out the door, and she saw Melisa and the others running up the road the way they came from originally. Convinced they were guilty of yet another petty theft, she ran after them, catching up to them after about a minute and turning all their heads towards her.

"Hey, Mercy!" said Connor, who was accompanying the rest of them as if he never disappeared earlier.

"Guys," she said, "Did you steal a book while I was in there?"

They all stood in silence, unsure of who was going to answer for the group, and Vue first said, "No," but Diana, who was holding her paws to her mouth as her cotton tipped ears almost hid her face, suddenly confessed, "We stole a book!"

Melisa sighed, "Diana, darn it."

"Did you really?" asked Mercy.

Melisa rolled her eyes, pulling a thin, brown book from out of her coat and handing it to Mercy, saying, "He would've never noticed if it was gone anyway."

"That doesn't mean you're allowed to take it anyway!" Mercy marched past them towards the village inn, which was only a few buildings down after running that far.

"What are you doing?" asked Connor.

"Getting my coins before I return this book."

"But why-"

"Because even if all of you like to take what's not yours, well... You still deserve to be read to, I guess. I don't know, but it's still bad that you did this!" She entered the inn and went upstairs to her room, trying to open it before she remembered to unlock it first, but to her surprise, the knob turned and the door opened easily. She stood in wonder for a moment, unsure if she ever locked the door or not, then she walked in to find her purse on the floor and her trunk missing from underneath her bed.

She picked up her purse, expecting a hefty weight of gold and silver to pull her down at the floor, but she jerked it up with too much strength and found it to be completely empty. Immediately, her heart was thrown into a frenzy of panic and confusion, and she looked everywhere she could in the room in the hopes that she just somehow placed the coins elsewhere and forgot about them, but even after pulling up her blanket and pillow on her bed and rummaging around the bed frame, there were only so many places a few hundred coins could be, and she was certain they were lost.

... No, they were stolen! The door wasn't broken into, the window couldn't even be opened... Someone had to have had the key! She marched downstairs to the Bouffalent, who was sound asleep in his chair, and rang the bell hanging alongside his desk until he woke up in a start.

"Sir?!" she cried, "Did anyone go into my room? It was unlocked!"

He raised an eyebrow as he thought to himself, then he answered, "Your parents, of course."

"... What?"

"Your parents came by and asked for the key to the room you used their coin for."

"My parents aren't here!"

"Sure they were... Two Raichus came in a little while after you left, saying their daughter went ahead and rented them a room while they were out, and they already knew the room number and who you were-"

"Those weren't my parents, you... My trunk and gold and silver are all gone!"

"I'm quite sure I saw them leaving with it, don't worry... Why aren't you with them, madame?"

"I said, they weren't-" Mercy stopped herself, suddenly remembering something that seemed oddly suspicious: Connor wasn't around when she went to the pond to see the other kids, and if he was heartless enough to steal from her once, he was likely to try it again.

With the book still in her hand, she marched out of the inn, where the gang of kids still stood by curiously, and Mercy immediately shoved her face into Connor's, sending his ears back and his tail up in shock.

"Where are the coins?!" Mercy shouted.

"Coins?" Connor looked puzzled.

"Do you mean the ones you gave us?" asked Melisa.

"No, I mean all of the gold and silver you stole from me!" Mercy patted at Connor's clothes, and he backed away towards Melisa to hide behind her.

"What are you talking about?" Melisa asked.

"Every last coin I had is gone, and so is my trunk with all my clothes and everything else!"

"It wasn't me, if that's what you're thinking!" said Connor.

"I don't know how you did it, but I know you were behind it! Just give it back, would you?!"

"I don't have it, I said!" Connor farther behind Melisa, and suddenly they all turned their heads behind them as a series of stomps in march that must've been quite familiar to them came from around the next building, and they scampered away into the nearest alley and disappeared, leaving Mercy in the dust as the Mightyena guard she had met approached her, with the Breloom following her from behind and pointing right at Mercy.

"Hey, that's her right there!" he said, and Mercy looked down at the book in her hands and realized how bad this must've looked for her.

"So, what is this?" said the Mightyena, stopping in front of Mercy and looking down upon her with a sharp glare, "Just because you've a little class and foreignity, you think you can take things for yourself?"

"No, I... It wasn't me, I was trying to-"

"She was the only one besides me in the library when it went missing!" said the Breloom.

The Mightyena grabbed Mercy by the arm, her strength overpowering Mercy's so there was no chance of her escaping her grasp, saying, "What is it with you children in these parts- even when they're from a whole other land, they start trouble left and right!"

After she took the book from her and handed it to the Breloom, she pulled her along and led her up the road, and Mercy begged, "Please, listen to me! I didn't do anything wrong! It was those other kids! They stole the book! I was just trying to bring it back to where it belongs!"

"I would almost believe you if it weren't for the fact that I know none of the kids living in the streets here can even read, let alone most of the folks here!"

"But I... I-" Mercy sighed irritably, unsure of how to argue against that, so she simply begged, "Just let me go, I'm sorry! Where are you taking me?"

"To the dungeon until you're taught a thing or two."

"D-Dungeon..?" Goodness gracious, Mercy thought- why was everything falling apart so quickly? It hadn't even been a full day since she arrived, yet she's already gone from being in her mother's arms to being pulled by one of her own, penniless and no longer reputable because of one misunderstanding... Of all places, why would her mother send her here? Why did she have to be sent away in the first place?

Too flustered to think, Mercy let herself be pulled away in front of all the villagers outside, lowering her head and closing her eyes in the hopes that she could just imagine everything to go back to normal, but no matter how hard she wished or prayed, she inevitably felt her feet hit a step through her thin, blue espadrilles, prompting her to look up and see where they were.

They were at the entrance into the village's manor, where a high arched doorway was open for them to walk inside; the interior was quite large and open, and somewhat grand compared to the rest of the village, even if it was simply made from brick and stone. Mercy only had a brief sight of it before the Mightyena pulled her into a sharp turn left and they descended down a short flight of stairs, at the bottom of which there was yet another Mightyena: a taller though more innocent looking male, dressed in a similar attire.

"Hey, Asandra, you pooch!" he said, "What's with the kid?"

"Shut up, Lester," she said, "Just help me put the rat in some chains or something."

"Rat? That's no rat, that's a-"

"I know what I said and you know what I mean, just do it!"

"Okay, okay, goodness-" Lester took a hold of Mercy's free arm and dragged her along to a cell, where the only bed was the dirt on the ground and light barely filtered through the small square hole on the brick ceiling, where iron bars cast a depressing shadow upon Mercy as they pushed her inside.

"Wait, uh... One problem," said Lester, "We don't have any more chain cuffs to bind prisoners."

"Eh? Why not?"

"We used them all for that prisoner caravan we sent to the next manor, remember?"

"Oh, curses... What do we have then?" She pulled Mercy towards a set of low stocks in the center of the room, "Just stocks?"

"I suppose... Why're you being so harsh on her"

"I'm tired of these no good kids, that's why! I don't care what the Lord here says- I want to punish them so they learn their lesson!" Asandra pushed Mercy towards the stocks so that she tripped back over it, then she pulled her hands forward and kept her limbs in place as she barked at Lester, "Close it!"

"Geez, Asandra, that's-"

"Come on, then!"

Lester shrugged, doing as he was told and locking Mercy's wrists and ankles in place, so that she sat on her bum while her hands and feet were exposed on the opposite side of the stocks.

She sighed in embarrassment, scrunching her eyes closed, and Lester asked, "How did a Pichu get into trouble here in these parts anyway?"

"I don't know... She came from up north, I'm sure... Damn it, I'm sick of these kids stealing and always getting away! We can't just let this one go without letting the others know they'll be caught and punished eventually too."

"So, uh," Lester scratched his head, "What do you intend to do?"

"I think I want to..." Asandra pulled a dagger out from her belt, putting a stop to Mercy's heart as she started to cry, and Lester took the dagger from her and put it to the side.

"Would you stop it? You're scaring her!" said Lester.

"Gosh, you're such a pushover."

"Oh, shut up. If I weren't around, you'd kill every single person you throw into these cells. There are other ways of punishing people without leaving scars or bruises all over them."

"Such as?"

"Well, you can..." Lester thought to himself, then he left the cell for a moment, leaving Asandra to eye down Mercy, who was quietly sobbing to herself. He returned with his hands behind his back, and he slowly raised one towards Asandra, holding out a long, lively goose feather.

"What is this for?" she asked.

"You want to teach her a lesson, so... Tickle her."

"Really? Tickling?"

"Sure, why not?" Lester knelt down by Mercy, who squirmed around to try and escape, but her wrists and ankles were going nowhere, and it hurt to fight against the wood as it scraped against her skin uncomfortably. Her arms and legs were already getting tired, as she was using her strength to sit up and not fall back, otherwise her wrists and ankles would brush against the wood.

"Sir, please," said Mercy, "I didn't do anything wrong."

"I caught you red-handed with the evidence, kid," said Asandra, "There's nothing you can say."

She sighed, but then gasped as she felt one of her shoes slip off her right foot, revealing her long, flat yellow paw, and the cold dungeon air made it shiver almost as soon as they touched. It felt rather good to have her foot breathe after wearing her shoes for so long, but her confusion distracted her from gathering too much pleasure.

Then, without warning, the tips of hundreds of barbs glided along the sole of her paw, and she cried out an eek as the sensation surged along her body; what provoked her most was how sudden it was, so it quickly faded from a screech inducing feeling to one that made her giggle, pulling her tears back into her eyes.

"How is this supposed to punish her?" asked Asandra.

"What, you mean this wouldn't get irritating after a while?" He brushed the other feather at her black nose, leading to her sneezing it out of her face.

She pulled the feather out of his hand and rolled her eyes, sniffling at him, "Fine, I get it," then she got on her knees, undid the drawstrings in Mercy's left shoe before slipping it off her foot, then shoved the feather around her paw aggressively, drawing a chuckle out of her but nothing more.

"You're doing it wrong," said Lester, "Treat it elegantly, like it's fragile."

"Are you telling me to be patient?"

"Come on, it's not hard."

She slowed herself and let the feather bend on its own against her paw, allowed it to feel its way along her sole from her heel to the tip of her toes, the final flick of the feather tingling the most; at first, it didn't beckon the sensitivity which lingered under her foot, but then, the erect tip of the feather struck the perfect nerve and Mercy sputtered in a tight laugh, breathing out of her nose, and soon after she couldn't hold it in- she erupted into a cackle that was deep even for her young voice, sending her feet and hands into a frenzy as she desperately trying to pull herself out of the restraint, but not only was it all in vain but it shook her up even further to resist, for it threw her paws against the feathers in every direction to kindle her.

"Stop... Stop!" Mercy tried to beg between her laughter, but her words took too much air to speak, which she was definitely out of as she curled herself up and tightened her stomach, scrunching her eyes shut desperately. Her head rocked left and right in effort to ignore the sensation, sending her hat into the dirt as her pigtails flew around chaotically.

"Wow," said Asandra, "Look at her. She can't stand it."

"Right? And if you do this, it'll drive anyone crazy-" Lester held onto Mercy's right paw, forcing it to stand stiff, then he gently slid the feather side to side between her toes; she laughed spastically, curling her toes in as much as her poor little paws could. There wasn't the slightest bit of pleasure anymore- tears were building up in her eyes like a spring finally unearthed, and even though she had a smile on her face, her heart was crying to break free.

"St- haha, stop, stop!"

"Are you enjoying this?" asked Asandra, and Mercy shook her head a few dozen times, hoping it would stop them and perhaps save her life before she hyperventilated from laughing too hard. Her face was red enough as it is, but when Lester began to tickle her feet with the tips of his bare fingers, she started to snort, and a burning blush covered her face as she turned it away in embarrassment.

"She's blushing- did you hear that?" asked Lester, and Asandra copied his methods and used her fingers too. Mercy just couldn't keep laughing anymore: her throat was turning dry and cold from her harsh breathing, and she was starting to cough out her laughs, so badly that the guards finally pulled their hands and feathers away from her twitching feet and let her breathe on her own at last.

She let out a long gasp, letting herself fall back as far as she can on her rear; as long as she could sit back and rest, she didn't care if her hands and feet were pulled against the stock. She was too tired to care about any pain like that anyway, especially with such a sore belly from tensing her torso up so much from laughing.

"That's enough," said Lester, "She'll feel that for the next few days, especially in the gut."

"You looked like you enjoyed that too much, you know," Asandra said to him.

"No?.. Well, I mean... I- I'll be going back to my post. What are you going to do with her?"

"Eh... I'll figure it out later."

They left Mercy alone in the cell, locking the gate leading into it as if she had any chance of escaping the stocks to begin with. She laid her head back into the dirt, staring up at the light coming from the small opening above her, where a few heads came into view one by one, silhouettes against the sun. Even if their faces weren't visible, Mercy knew from the tall ears and wide, fluffy head that it was Diana and Vue looking back at her, among the others behind them. She was too exhausted to bother with any spite towards them, and she instead let herself fall asleep with her cheek squished against the dirt beneath her.

The moment she awoke, Mercy tried to stretch her legs and arms out instinctively, but her wrists and ankles were just as stuck in place as they were before, and she widened her eyes until she was fully awake. Of course she wasn't back home in Morthin Bay- she was still restrained in the stocks, but she wasn't in the dungeon anymore. Instead, she was outside in the light of the setting sun, in the thick of the village in front of several townsfolk stopping to see her, and to her left was Asandra, towering over her with a countenance burning with anger.

"Folks," Asandra said to the crowd, "This child here is a dirty thief! Not only did she steal a valuable book from our local scholar, but she denied it and tried to frame one of the many urchins here... Take a good look, and tell your kids what'll happen to them if they steal! There is no tolerance for even the pettiest of theft!"

Mercy closed her eyes and sighed depressingly, scrunching her feet around as she imagined the feeling of the feathers brushing along her sole, and she rested her chin on the stocks in wonder of how things could go wrong for her so quickly. Most of the villagers stopped to shake their heads in disappointment, some walking with their children and pointing at her as if her punishment was an example of justice, and eventually the sun lowered beneath the horizon, leaving her in the darkness to contemplate her entire day to herself. To make things worse, an unsettling crack of thunder came overhead, and minutes later drops of rain began to spill onto Mercy, drenching her clothes all over... At least it washed her hair out from the dust and dirt caught in it.

For a moment, she thought that Asandra, or any guard for that matter, was going to come back for her at all, and she was expected to stay where she was and die in the cold; her tears mixed with the rain, even as she lowered her head to keep her face dry, but it was all in vain as the cold ate away at any hope she had left.

She whimpered, "Mama... If you're going to come back, come back now... Please..."

A few steps came from behind on the platform she sat upon, then she saw a pair of yellow fur hands holding a crude axe emerge from over her shoulder, and they wedged it in between the stocks as their face came into view.

"Melisa?" said Mercy.

Melisa nodded, and she pushed down on the axe until the top piece of wood loosened and slightly came up, just enough for Mercy to slip herself out and fall flat on her back, relieved to feel her whole body go limp against the floor, even as rain splashed against her face one drop after another.

"Are you alright?" Melisa asked.

"My feet feel... Bleh!" Mercy struggled to stand up, feeling a constant tingle in her feet, and Melisa helped her up and down the platform.

"I'm sorry you had to take the wrap for that... I hope you know we didn't intend for that at all."

"All my things... All my gold and silver, that was everything I had," Mercy sighed.

"None of us took it, Mercy. Honest!"

"Then who did?"

"I don't know... You don't have the slightest idea yourself?"

Really, it was impulsive to immediately accuse any of them of stealing her things, Mercy thought to herself... But who else would it have it...

"Oh, goodness..." Mercy shook her head to herself, remembering the two strangers who watched her rent her lodging in the first place. Apparently Pichus or anyone of her kind were that uncommon to find in these parts, so much that a couple of Dittos could assume the identities of her parents and take as they wish- that, or that Bouffalent was just plain dumb.

"What is it?" asked Melisa.

"Nothing... I just know you're telling the truth. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I... No, we didn't mean to make things hard for you. Come on, let's get out of the rain."

Melisa led Mercy down the road, avoiding any attention from the few villagers still making their way home, though the rush they were in to get somewhere dry made that easy. Down near the far end of the road was a small housebarn that looked almost abandoned, with only a dwindling candlelight inside its ajared doors giving any sign of inhabitants.

And, sure enough, that light was from an oil lamp that Vue, Connor, Diana and Vince were sitting around in a circle, somewhat drenched from the unexpected storm that took the village.

"Mercy?" said Connor, appearing worried to see her.

"Don't worry... I know it wasn't you," said Mercy.

He sighed in relief, "Gosh, I'd take a silver or two off you, but not every last gold that you have!"

Mercy felt her head, instinctively reaching for her hat, but her hair was still bare, and she said, "Oh, that's gone... Bleh!" She tried to wring out her dress, but it was no use.

"Don't wear that," said Melisa, "You'll catch a cold. Here, I should have..." She looked around in the old piles of hay, pulling out random bits of clothes that certainly weren't originally theirs, until she found a plain, violet dress that was patched here and there for repair, though the color had faded and was not as vibrant as it looked to have been in the past.

"This should fit you perfectly," Melisa said as she gave it to Mercy, and she took it and went to change behind one of the horse stalls in private, coming out in her new dress.

"Thank you," said Mercy, sitting with the rest of them as she wrung out her hair, "I probably shouldn't have been so quick to judge all of you."

"It's fine," said Vince, "Stealing is stealing to most folks, as it should be."

"But to us, it's just taking what we need, not what we want," Connor added.

"And you needed a book?" Mercy asked with a chuckle.

None of them replied for a moment, but then Vue said, "We get bored, too."

"Ah..." Mercy felt her necklace, worrying for a moment it was gone as well, but the lapis heart was still there. She was still tired from the stress the whole day brought upon her; that long rest she had while locked up in the stocks was the last thing she'd considered a good sleep. If she were still at home, she'd be in bed at this time, and her mother would tell her stories that her mother had told her when she was a child, and her mother the same, and so on...

Mercy's eyes lit up, and she said, "We don't need a book, though. I know plenty of stories from memory."

"You do?" All the other kids moved closer together and towards her, forming a tighter circle around the candlelight, "Tell us one!"

Mercy thought to herself and started, "Well... Once, there was a young Pichu-"

"Like you?" asked Diana.

"Exactly!.. Just like me..."