Chapter Text
She stopped, checking herself over one last time. This was it, she had to get this perfect, or all would be lost- the humans were docking, it was now or never! Quick as a flash, she cloaked herself in an illusion and slipped into the back of the crowd heading towards Jubilife Village. No one noticed, and the guards obviously didn't think to question her. She'd done it! She'd need to pick a human name soonish, but for now the young Zorua smiled to herself and focused on maintaining her illusion. She was one step closer to finding her mentor again!
They've been separated in a fierce blizzard, out in her icy home. Her mentor had tried to get them both to safety, but in the chaos of the storm they'd been attacked to by an Alpha- all she could see was the glowing red eyes through the snow, as a single panicked strike sent her flying away.
As luck would have it, she was thrown perfectly into one of the many small caves that littered the Icelands. And what should have been certain death- injured and passed out in a blizzard, the only one who knew she was there likely thinking her dead- turned into a mild injury, which she quickly fixed by dragging herself to the nearby lair of an Alpha Blissey she knew of- who was quick to give her healing egg and quicker to send her on her way out of their territory.
But by the time she found her way back to the den she and her mentor shared, there was no sign to be found of them- and the only clue was a broken and discarded Pokéball. So here she was: the Galaxy Team’s Jubilife Village, hoping against hope that should find the human that had captured her mentor.
That her mentor would want to come back, when she found them.
She followed the crowd, slipping through the gate without suspicion. She didn't even need to fake her awe as she saw the various buildings- even half built they were... well, awe inspiring! Is this what humans did when they had free time? This was so much cooler on those plain white fabric things they usually made dens in!
The crowd made their way into the biggest of the buildings, still covered in the support frames humans used for their less stable constructions, and all filed into the front doors. They were directed to the top floor, and all filed into a small office, barely fitting. One by one they went to the desk and-
Oh.
Right.
Most people here were expected.
... she hadn't thought this far ahead.
Okay, new plan- pick a human sounding name, and play as dumb as a Bidoof.
“Name?”
“Zera Roa.” Nailed it.
From the looks the man behind the desk gave her, she had not, in fact, nailed it. “...Right. Wait till the end, will figure out what you're ‘missing papers’ would say.”
... well, whatever he was assuming, it probably wasn't that she was a Pokemon!
She followed the instruction, still confident she could escape if need be- they were only three floors up, she could make the jump through the window if need be- and it was already left ajar! The small prop letting breeze through wasn’t nearly enough for a human, but even for other Zorua she was small. She should probably get used to calling herself Zera- just in case this took longer than she expected.
Speaking of things taking longer than expected… she resisted the urge to toy with her tail, given that no one else could see it- at least, she hoped they couldn’t! She wasn’t nearly confident enough in her ability to lie to pass off something like that this early! But… this was taking so loooong…
Desperate for something to keep her occupied while the visibly overwhelmed man behind the desk worked his way through the list of expected people, she chose to study the second desk in the room- centralised, unlike the one they’d been led to, and the man behind it- the one who had been leading the group, now that she thought about it- was seemingly intensely focused on his work.
Zera knew better. She was a Zorua, a master of illusion. He was scanning the group intently, evaluating each and every person as the greying man sent them to their various positions. He paid special attention to those that joined her, standing to the side. There weren’t many- as the list died down to just a reasonable amount of people to have in this room, only two people joined her: a veritable mountain of a woman who seemed remarkably unconcerned with the fact that they were all clearly suspected of something, and her total opposite, a scrawny young girl who looked like she was about to bolt or pass out- whichever came first. Zera was tempted to try and make conversation, but… well, she’d rather not draw too much attention. Just in case.
Eventually, the last of the people actually meant to be here filed out- the small girl flinched and turned her face away as a young couple passed, Zera idly noted, while the larger one’s casual relaxation became the slightest bit forced as a particularly well-dressed man huffed his way out of the room. Interesting.
“So.” The second man said, rising from his desk and openly acknowledging the three of them as the last of the others left. Given how quickly and silently the greying man slipped away, she had to assume this was the leader. She stood a little straighter- or, well, her illusion did. “You three’s files seem to have been misplaced. Don’t suppose you know anything about that?”
DumbAsABidoofDumbAsABidoofDumbAsABidoof-
“Nope!” the large one cheerfully replied, arms behind her head. “But I was applying for the Security Corps, and I don’t mind what trials you want to put me through to prove I can hold my own!”
The leader snorted. “Glad to hear it… Zisu was it? I’ll forwards you to Captain Cylenne. Seeing as your recommendation was lost, she’ll evaluate you herself.”
“Wait- the Cylenne?” Zisu blurted, beaming wide enough to split her face, “When do I start?!”
“Beni.” The leader called, and-
The greying man had never left.
That shouldn’t be possible- she was a master of illusion, no human should be able to fool her!
She was still reeling as he lead the eager Zisu down the stairs- presumably to where this apparently famous ‘Captain Cylenne’ was. She counted to ten. She couldn’t afford to lose her cool like that- live and learn, the greying man was not to be underestimated. She couldn’t risk her illusion like that again. She scanned the room for a reflective surface to check herself in, but she came up empty… so she turned to the leader. She’d just have to be careful about reading him- odds were he wouldn’t even think to hide his reaction, if he did notice something.
“So. What about you two?” He- his name was probably something she was expected to know, huh?- asked, turning once again to them. “Which Corps were the two of you intending to apply for?”
Dammit. If she just said ‘security’ he’d ask why she hadn’t spoken up before- and from the name that sounded like… not the best idea. It sounded like it involved fighting and- well. Her illusions were thorough enough to loosely interact with some objects- she could probably pick up anything they’d expect a girl her size to pick up- but she definitely couldn’t take a punch to it…
She. Definitely should’ve taken longer to survey the settlement. Her impatience could cost her dearly…
“I-I was hoping I could join the Agricultural Corps Commander Kamado Sir!" The small girl stammered out, awkwardly saluting, "I-I have no idea what could've possibly happened to my pap-"
""Don't fret about it- these things get lost all the time." 'Commander Kamado' gently but firmly cut her off. "Why- Captain Pesselle doesn't even need to send them overseas, and yet her reports still have a magical tendency to disappear between her doing them and them finding their way to me... wait outside for Beni to get back, he'll explain the mixup to Colza for you."
The girl looked so relieved she could burst- letting out some barely coherant thanks before all-but-bolting to the hallway he'd indicated.
...and then there were two. Zera double checked the window- sure enough, it was still propped open wide enough for a very small Zorua.
"And you, Miss Roa?" Commander Kamado asked, the gentleness he'd adopted with the scrawny child disappearing like ice before flame.
"...You knew what they would say before they did, didn't you?" Zera asked instead of answering. The first lesson she'd been taught- no matter how much stronger your opponent was, when you had secured your escape, it was time to go on the offensive.
"I had an inkling." Commander Kamado replied, nodding gently. "Zisu held herself like a warrior. Kaylee may very well be truly the result of a misplaced form. You... are harder to read."
"...I don't know which Corps I was to be assigned to. I didn't pay much attention." Zera lied. "It didn't seem important when I thought it was written down."
"So, you can read? Can you write?" the Commander asked, clearly poking somewhere.
"...Yes." Zera admitted. She had snuck out countless times to learn, slipping among the Pearl Clan children for their lessons. She couldn't say why... something about not knowing something she could easily go learn- and get practice for more applicable skills to boot!- had just rubbed her so thoroughly the wrong way she had discarded all of her mentors warnings about the cruelty of man.
"Hm..." The Commander seemed lost in thought, making his way back to his desk and gesturing for her to follow. "...There has been an increasing amount of paperwork issues lately. The Galaxy Team has so many moving parts that the cracks keep widening... how about you help me fix that, while your papers 'show up'?"
Zera very nearly lost her grip on her illusion for the second time in as many hours. "...isn't that the greying man's job?"
"Beni?" Kamado asked, chuckling lightly at her confirmation- oh. She probably shouldn't have used that descriptor, knowing his name... "No, he's just... an old friend willing to go beyond his duties for the sake of our dream. He's actually the chef here- I'm sure you noticed the Wallflower on the way in?"
She idly confirmed, turning the offer over in her mind. He was... she wasn't naïve enough to call him overly trusting. He had some sort of failsafe for certain- this probably didn't guarantee a faster climb through the ranks anymore than any other job here did... but it did put her right next to the leader of it all. And- paperwork. Surely they'd have made some paperwork when they captured her mentor? Humans loved paperwork, it kept things neat when they insisted on living in such absurdly big packs.
"Okay. I accept your offer."