Another Day At Unity (5) (Patreon)

Jackie was lost again—perhaps more lost than usual.

Whenever things got too difficult, dangerous, or confusing, she and Cammy could always get to safety. Not even the fastest pokémon in the world could keep up with them.

Except they hadn't been able to keep running forever. Across regions, continents, and oceans, they fled, until they met something that could follow them.

Her story wasn't even that unique, really. One day she settled as something she shouldn't, and the next she was in danger. She could either stay with the ones she loved and put their lives at risk, or... she could leave, and keep them safe.

"You'll find everything you need waiting in your quarters," said the one guiding her. She was pretty, and her voice nice to listen to. At least she didn't glower at her like the cat who caught her the first time. "Unity is aware of your... situation. There are quite a few students just like you, who didn't come from any noble house. You will all get the same treatment as the young lords and ladies born to it."

Jackie suppressed a laugh. Her little daemon floated behind her, sheltering from the embarrassment of it all. She'd never seen a daemon act so ashamed. But then, she'd never even heard of a daemon like her, either.

The headmistress spun, watching her. "Speak your mind, please. Even if I could see into your thoughts, that would be very rude."

She gestured around the great hall. This “Unity” was far fancier than anywhere she'd ever lived, a creation of stone and fine wood and art depicting nature and all the Great Families. Huge glass windows somehow filled with warmth, despite the frigid cold just outside the grounds.

Mythical pokémon could do strange things, including rewrite the weather to whatever suited them. "Maybe the other kids came from... somewhere like us. Nowhere important." She didn't grab her daemon so much as move aside, then make a forceful gesture in the air. The current sucked it along, drawing it forward as thoroughly as touch.

"There's no Cosmog family though, is there? I never heard of 'em. Not one of the stewards of the world that Arceus left. Who cares what happens to us?"

Chantelle smiled sadly, resting one hand on her shoulder. "I will not lie to you, Jackie. You were a... conundrum, when you first appeared. But since the first child without family settled, we always knew there might be more. Other mythicals, not known to the ancients. Your kind have no place in the ancient stories, they hold no lands and protect no commoners from the wrath of legendary monsters."

Jackie looked up, tilting her head to the side. Not long ago, she wouldn't even be brave enough to speak with a mythical pokémon in front of her. But she was past being impressed. No one cared enough to go after her family for her. Why should they—Jackie had no property to win, her favors weren't anything.

She and Cammy shouldn't even exist. Yet here they were in this reality, much to the annoyance of everyone else. Great, fantastic.

"But there's a certain advantage to this academy. You and the others like you—now you're together in one place. Maybe you can find a sympathetic family here, one with lands they ill use to give you to tend. Maybe you can find a good match while you're at it, and leave to found something new."

She almost had Jackie's attention—right there until the end. A good match, raising a family... that might be an issue.

But maybe the headmistress took her silence for agreement, because she went on. "The one who founded this place didn't have a family either, at first. But she got herself adopted, made the right contacts, and changed the world. Could be you next."

"Maybe she could give me some advice," Jackie muttered, sticking her hands into her pockets. But not about a match. I think I'd rather jump off a bridge.

Her escort said little for the next few minutes, leading her up a set of stairs, then to a door. She unlocked it, then handed Jackie the key. "Girls' common room. No suitors through here, no exceptions." Inside was a large space, with comfortable furniture and large windows filled with warm afternoon sun.

The place was obviously designed for comfort and relaxation, with various tables and sofas far enough apart for social groups to congregate without mixing too much.

The space was mostly deserted now, though. A few furtive servants darted out a side door, which shut to blend seamlessly with the wall almost as quickly as it opened. All girls too, so at least there was that. Jackie wouldn't have to deal with any men here.

"So who uses this place? All the other girls in this... Institute?"

The headmistress shook her head once. "No. Members of the Great Families typically insisted on their own private quarters. This space is largely for the... children of no family, such as yourself."

"Oh, so it's only other losers here. Gotta keep themselves away from the riff-raff, I guess."

The headmistress made an unhappy sound, not quite any specific word. "They will not be here long, Jaqueline. You are currently outnumbered by native offspring of the great families. But their number has been dwindling with each generation. In time, there will be far more of you by comparison. I wouldn't be surprised if they start insisting to live here, just to be where the friendship and community is."

The meloetta took a few steps further, gesturing at a stairwell. "Your room is in there. Door... sixteen." She tossed another key through the air, and Jackie caught it. "You'll find your schedule up there, along with everything you should need. If anything's missing, we can get it ordered."

Jackie turned the key over in her hand, then added it to the ring with the first. "Cosmog and I don't need much. Lived on the run for..." She counted off on one hand, then shrugged. "Dunno. Stopped counting after a while. When can I see my family again?"

That made her tense. The headmistress folded her arms. "You won't be allowed to leave until graduation. We don't know yet how long that will take. Four years? Maybe more. You have the time."

"They don't."

The headmistress nodded. "I know. As painful as this is, I hope you might come to understand." She advanced, resting one hand on Jackie's shoulder again. "You ran. In a strange way, that might be your greatest blessing. Others here stayed with their family, and the outcome was... grim. Many hurt or killed the ones closest to them, entirely by mistake. Count yourself lucky you were spared that fate."

"Maybe some of the other mythicals could do that. But Cammy and I are only good at one thing." She demonstrated there in the hall, vanishing from beside the headmistress, and reappearing a few feet back. Not far enough that she could be mistaken for trying to escape, however much she wanted to try.

But that would only end with punishment. The “Eldest” had made that clear enough. Once was ignorance, but defiance was a very different crime. The punishment would be far more severe.

"We run away, that's it. I'm not even sure we belong here." She waved at the other doors, where she guessed other girls had gone. "We're not powerful like them. We just want to be left alone."

The headmistress shrugged. "You underestimate yourself, Jaqueline. I know power when I see it. What you are right now might just be... a spark. But given enough time, a spark will become a flame. You'll see." She left, slipping back out the way she'd come, and leaving Jackie to her own devices.

She waited for a few minutes, long enough to know that the headmistress wasn't coming back. Some distant sense in the back of her mind let her read where the other pokémon was standing, following her progress away down the stairs. In time she had retreated far enough, and she finally felt safe enough to explore.

She released her daemon from the shelter of her arms, letting her drift freely. Her, despite any lack of biology. Cammy had been female before settling—she was still a girl now, no matter what strange shape she took.

"Do you think they keep us inside all the time?" Cammy asked. "I wanna go outside, see what's out there. Especially when it gets dark."

"The cat said we couldn't leave the school," Jackie said, stalking around the room. She tested some of the chairs near the window, before finally daring the stairwell up. "The grounds are still part of the school. If we pop out there, we aren't breaking any rules."

Cammy circled around her, leaving a faint trail of wispy dust as she moved. She needed to gather more from outside at night, or she'd fade away. Jackie would never let that happen to her daemon again.

She was so distracted considering possible avenues of escape that she didn't see the other girl turn the corner ahead of her. She smacked painfully into her, tumbling away in the hall.

The stranger squealed, then fell backward, clutching vainly at the wall as she went. She had far less of Jackie's reflexes—but maybe she hadn't spent so many years on the run. She splayed on her back, clutching protectively at the little daemon in her arms. Even far from the window, there was something lustrous about it.

Where the stranger was clumsy and awkward, Jackie was quick. She landed in a crouch, drawing as much attention to her and away from the floating cosmog that drifted up towards the ceiling.

The native-born kids would probably scream, demand punishment—but this wasn't a native. No lady of the great houses would wear a pair of torn miner's overalls and a long white shirt, or have her hair in those childish pigtails.

Instead, the two just looked at each other, both frozen near the ground. That gave her a little more time to realize exactly what she was looking at—the reason this girl fell the way she did was to protect her daemon, which she cradled in her arms in the same way Jackie had done with Cammy so many times.

Instead of a wispy cloud with little glowing eyes and a hard shell at the center, this daemon was a crystal—several of them, emerging from dull gray rock. It was among the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. She has a girl daemon too.

That gave her a little more confidence. She stood, then held out her hand to the stranger. "Sorry. Think I'm... a little lost in this place right now. Didn't see you there."

The girl took her outstretched hand. Her fingers were pleasantly cool to the touch, like a lump of something Jackie had found in a distant cave. "It's... okay. Chrys is fine, so..." She took the offered hand, then stood.

The stranger was as thin as many of the strays Jackie met, and hunched her shoulders when she stood, keeping away from Jackie.

"You break easier than me," squeaked a little voice. Feminine, like Jackie expected from her appearance. It didn't come directly from the rock so much as project in Jackie's direction. Mental communication, like the one who captured her. But it wasn't directed at her. The daemon didn't know how to do it very well. "Diamonds are the strongest thing there is."

The girl didn't seem to realize Jackie could hear. "Hope you can find your way," she muttered, trying to shuffle past her.

Shy and embarrassed or not, Jackie wasn't letting her leave that quickly. Another girl like her, maybe even worse off! She got out of the way, then slipped into step beside the girl, as though they'd both been planning that the whole time. "I'm Jackie," she said. "And Cammy's my daemon."

"Astrid," the diancie said. "And that's Chrysolite." She held the creature in her arms a little tighter as she said it, though all those sharp gemstones poked painfully into her body. Maybe that was why she wore such an absurd outfit—at least the minerals couldn't tear up her skin that way.

Then the stranger noticed Cammy. That was finally enough to make her stop in place and stare, almost as shocked as Jackie had felt when she first arrived. "What is he?"

"She," Jackie corrected, putting a little emphasis on the word. "Cosmog, she's called. There's very little information about her anywhere in the world. Natural ones are so rare, they might not even exist. It's just the two of us, unique. And... alone."