Diamond Clan meetings were, mercifully, rather short lived.

It suited Emmet perfectly well; while it was important to have an up-to-date report on the status of one’s environment, he’d prefer not to waste time being told something he could read in half the [time]. He had more important things to do.

So when the Diamond Clan Wardens were gathered to receive pressing news from the Galaxy Team, he paid attention, but was also considering how to use this break from the Highlands to conduct a sweep. Under normal circumstances, it would be fine; whatever he happened to miss, Ingo would fill in for him after the fact, in addition to his own insights. For obvious reasons, that wasn’t going to happen today.

That wasn’t to say Emmet was in danger of missing anything important. Adaman had already informed them that the Survey Corps had discovered a [ruin] far to the south-west that they believed had ties to the ruined Temple of Sinnoh, and requested a representative from either clan to confirm the find. At this point, all they were doing was narrowing down who to send, and Emmet didn’t care to tune in for the details of that decision.

Adaman had long since addressed Emmet, specifically, saying “Irida’s already informed me that Sneasler’s Warden was either volunteered or requested. She wasn’t very clear which one it was, but that’s going to leave the Coronet Highlands down one overseer. Respectfully, Emmet, you probably shouldn’t go on this one.”

“I wasn’t intending to.” He’d said flatly, and, as the topic drifted to who would be sent,allowed himself to consider his scattered handful of leads.

If his Pearl Clan counterpart would be absent for the time being, he shouldn’t leave the Highlands. He very purposefully scheduled his own departures so they’d never leave the [region] unattended– as much as the promise of the other Warden’s battle [facility] tempted him. But it wasn’t a difficult thing to resist; he had a brother to locate and duties to attend to in the meantime… and, truthfully, he’d managed to avoid meeting the man for so long, at this point, that he was a little embarrassed to admit he didn’t even know his name.

Adaman and the rest of the Wardens decided to send Sabi, in the end, and that was the last Emmet thought he’d hear on the matter.

—

It seemed Irida had assigned one of her clansmen to tend to Sneasler in the Warden’s absence.

Emmet had heard tell of the Lady of the Cliff’s temper– not from her Warden, but from Electrode’s former minder. The Noble was said to be pricklier than her claws, refusing any caretaker until the misfit she’d picked up and presented to the Pearls. He’d rarely had the chance to interact with her, personally, but he suspected the stories had been exaggerated; while a bit rough around the edges, she seemed perfectly nice to him.

It seemed he’d somewhat misjudged.

The Pearl member had gone out of the way to introduce himself, keen not to step on any toes as he ventured into someone else’s territory, as Takara. He claimed he’d been working toward learning the Lady’s peculiarities so he could work with her in the event her current Warden had to vacate his position– which was a good safety measure to have in place. Maybe he would have to broach the subject with Adaman; it wasn’t as though he’d linger once he found Ingo. If departing from the subway had taught him anything, it would be best to have a replacement trained and ready to fill in immediately.

Regardless, Sneasler did not seem to like Takara.

Where Emmet could go weeks without hearing his counterpart call to him across the Wayward Cave, he could hardly seem to make it an hour without catching Takara out of the corner of his eye, bumbling around in the unfamiliar terrain. Just over half the time, a cursory search would reveal Sneasler perched on a nearby cliff, visibly laughing at the hapless man. He’d heard that she rebuffed any offered treats, even the mushroom cakes she was particularly fond of– the same recipe her usual Warden had left to follow.

It was becoming incredibly clear that this was personal for Sneasler. She would accept her chosen Warden and no other.

Emmet supposed he could sympathize; he’d never had the heart to re-open the Multi Lines.

This would definitely become a problem, though. It wasn’t that Sneasler needed to be cared for– she’d clearly done well for herself over the years without a Warden– but she did need to cooperate with a human in order to keep the Highlands in working order; it was part of a Noble’s duty, to keep their territory safe for Pokemon and human travelers alike. Without a human she would willingly approach, who could read her in return, there were problems that would go unaddressed. Briefly, Emmet humored the idea of taking over for Takara, since Sneasler seemed unopposed to his presence, but dismissed it almost immediately. Not only did he not have time to learn how the Lady of the Cliffs operated, it would certainly cause friction between the clans.

Five days in– Sneasler sulking in a tree in Moonview Arena– Takara approached Emmet again, asking, this time, what he was doing wrong.

‘Fuck if I know!’ wasn’t an appropriate answer, but Emmet felt his response had still been in the spirit of what he’d wanted to say. As some sort of consolation, he allowed the man to linger as he prepared Electrode’s offerings. After looking up into the tree– catching Sneasler’s red-eyed stare aimed firmly at him– he set a portion of rice aside and rummaged around for a handful of mushrooms, too.

Maybe Sneasler was a social eater, like Durant. If Electrode was getting a treat, then surely she’d want one too?

But Sneasler continued to glare down into the arena, long after Electrode finished its food. Eventually, Takara got up and left, citing [idk]. There was a stillness in the arena for a good seven minutes, and slowly, watching the arches for any sign of the man’s return, Sneasler warily descended. She chirped, briefly, to Electrode– who rocked back, looking her up and down, and smirked– and considered Emmet. Absently, she reached to the dish where he’d left the Pokemon food and pressed it between her paws, flattening it before beginning to eat.

Emmet wasn’t sure whether or not that was progress.

—

“She likes you, Warden.” Takara began one day.

Emmet deliberately refrained from rolling his eyes. Here they went again.

Briefly, he glanced over to his Rampardos and jerked his head to the right; it nodded and left with Porygon Z. Clearly, they weren’t going to get any training done for some time, so they might as well spend it on something useful, rather than hovering over some guy two slights away from a breakdown.

These were not, generally, interactions he excelled in. Dealing with children was far, far easier; depressed adults, put at ease by a sympathetic frown rather than a smile, were usually Ingo’s responsibility.

“She tolerates me.” He said shortly. “I’m beginning to believe that’s all a person can hope for.”

Miserably, Takara shook his head, “You haven’t seen her with–”

A portion of the sentence was lost as Yanmega buzzed past him, wings kicking up a minor din. Emmet shot it a look and tapped a palm against that side of his head, ensuring that his hearing still worked; he was used to loud noises, but it had been quite some time.

“–k alike, maybe that’s it.” Takara continued, wrapped up in his woes and ignorant to what had just happened. Belatedly, he cast a look around the plaza and added, “Or the Pokemon. I guess that would make more sense– you’re both really great with them, huh?”

It didn’t take much to be considered ‘good with Pokemon’ in comparison to the people of Hisui. Apparently assembling a full team was a big deal here– that seemed like a verrrry low bar to surpass.

“You should find a partner of your own.” Emmet said, hoping to end the conversation, or at least shift to a more comfortable topic, “Start with a sweeter dispositioned Pokemon. Once you learn from it, you may find Sneasler easier to approach.”

He was tempted to suggest Takara start with a Psyduck, so he might cause someone else a headache for a change, but refrained. While relatively gormless, the Pokemon’s migraines made it difficult to handle for those just starting out. Emmet spent several minutes ignoring Takara’s hemming and hawing about how he didn’t think he could in favor of narrowing down a good, easily accessible starter. Or maybe just a good starter; the Pearls liked wasting time meditating as they crossed an unnecessary distance, didn’t they? It could benefit both of them, then.

“You might consider an Aipom.” He said, ignoring the fact that he was bluntly interrupting whatever the man had been saying.

Takara nibbled on a lip and seemed to consider it, in spite of the rude delivery.

“Maybe,” He said.

He didn’t encroach on the Sacred Plaza or arena the next day and, after Yanmega confirmed that Takara wasn’t laying dead on the mountain somewhere, Emmet breathed a sigh of relief.

—

Days later, Takara resurfaced with a Spheal rolling along behind him.

They didn’t stop to speak with one another.

—

Eventually, Adaman stopped by to ensure that things were moving according to schedule in the Highlands, and that the acting Warden hadn’t caused any problems.

‘Acting Warden’ was a bit of a stretch, but Emmet remained silent on that particular matter.

[…]

“It’s a pity, though. The trip could have given you an opportunity to scout some new places, see if you couldn’t find any leads. The Pearls may not have their heads on straight, but they do have a point about how much space there is to inhabit in Hisui.”

Emmet shrugged, not bothering with a verbal answer. He’d considered it, briefly, but this made more sense– not only had his counterpart been specifically requested, but Emmet had made a point of finding a terminal and regularly returning to it. Under different circumstances he branched out and actively searched, but there was no sense in wandering full time when, at best, it could be likened to chasing a train that had already departed. An established station had just made sense.

“Well, it’s probably for the best. Akari knows where they’re going and she’s seen the Temple, Sabi’s station at Snowpoint should help, and, well,” Adaman passed a hand over his face and laughed to himself, “I can vouch for Ingo being a terror in battle. They should be a pretty well-rounded team.”

Emmet stopped cold.

“I apologize. Repeat that, please.”

The Diamond Leader’s brow furrowed, be it out of confusion or irritation.

“Akari, Sabi and Ingo should make a well-rounded research team.” After a second he added, “Emmet, the face you’re making isn’t reassuring.”

Emmet supposed it probably wasn’t. He didn’t care. Brittle, he asked, “You know Ingo?”

“He’s been a Warden for years, now. Of course I know him.”

Right. That was the entire reason for sending a group– to have Wardens accompanying Akari, able to identify what Galaxy Team had found. But hadn’t the Pearl Clan had sent Sneasler’s–?

Oh, for crying out loud.

He’d never actually met his fellow Highlands Warden, had he? The best he could say was that they’d shouted at each other across Wayward Cave, with some vague [promise] to [meet] at a later point, which Emmet had promptly discarded. It was ludicrous that he hadn’t recognized his brother’s voice, though. Could it be chalked up to the acoustics of the tunnels? The bodies of water? Whatever. It didn’t matter.

—

[Meanwhie in the Sinjoh Ruins]

Akari snickered, then waved the wayward hat at them.

“You missed another ‘fare dodger’.” She said, offering it by its bill, showing off the subject of her amusement.

The Unown that had plastered itself to the top of the dark cap blinked, unruffled by its discovery; Ingo groaned, accepting the hat in one hand and peeled the Pokemon off with the other. He held it by the secondary part of its body for a moment, staring it down before sighing and releasing it to hover under its own power. Immediately after re-seating his hat, he held one side of his coat open, scrutinizing it, before turning the same attention to the other side.