Another Day At Unity (6) (Patreon)

The diancie girl glanced down at her jumpsuit, pulling the shirt down with one hand. Like she was trying to cover something, but... what?

"You'd look a whole lot prettier if you didn't dress up like that," Jackie said, without thinking. "The miner look, I mean. Did your family come from a coal mine or something?"

That did it. The girl gripped her daemon more forcefully, then strode past Jackie, holding up her head. "Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

She followed behind, though Astrid now walked directly in the center of the hallway, deliberately blocking any attempt to be beside her. "Sorry, I... didn't mean to say it like that."

"We haven't had very many people to talk to for a while," Cammy added. She used telepathy too, but for her the effort was intentional. They had plenty of time to learn the little things while they traveled alone.

Astrid stopped beside a window, right in the sun. There, her bright pink hair caught the light, and reflected its strange radiance through the room. Not like hair at all, but spun glass, natural and organic, yet crystalline. Exactly the same shade as the pokémon in her arms.

"Maybe that's what I want. Looking pretty is what got us into this mess in the first place." She released the daemon then, now that she was out of Jackie's reach.

As Jackie expected, the creature began to levitate the instant it was out of her grip, bobbing gently up and down in the air as though it were water. Most mythical pokémon seemed pretty good at the flying thing. "Was easier when I was still at Terminus. Stick on a hard hat and smear some dust on your face, and no one looks twice. Doesn't work so well out here."

You're hiding from class, Jackie realized. That was why the other students were gone, they were still learning. For how much longer, though? "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that. Just a little jealous, is all. All the makeup in the world won't make me..." She trailed off awkwardly as she reached the window. "Maybe you could give me a tour? Losers gotta stick together, that's what the headmistress told me. It's our only chance of survival."

Astrid looked her up and down for a few silent seconds. Her daemon drifted closer to Cammy, as curious about her as she was about the sparkling diancie. Couldn't really help it when she caught the light. Nothing made from flesh could shine quite like that. "You're not just trying to be nice so we'll make diamonds, are you?" She didn't wait for an answer, rocking nervously back and forth. "Don't seem that useful, even if we could. We aren't allowed to leave."

"You can make diamonds?" Her eyes widened. "That's... pretty cool! I hope you don't do it by accident. Bet they'd hurt like hell to walk on in the morning." She circled around to her other side, staring at her hair without actually staring. If this girl had a little help arranging it, it would make her whole face glow when it caught the light like that.

"You have no idea." Astrid smiled, then caught herself. "Wait, you didn't answer. Does that mean you just want money? Your family was as poor as mine."

Jackie shrugged. "Maybe they were, dunno. But I don't want any diamonds." Except maybe one. Good thing the headmistress wasn't here, or she might have to listen to a lecture about finding an appropriate match. Adults never understood. "Not that they aren't really pretty," she added, hastily. "Just..." She kicked at the floor, then took Astrid's hand again. "I just want some company. If you're not busy, we could hang out! Maybe you could tell me a little about what Unity is like."

Astrid looked down at her hand, wiggled her fingers, but didn't pry them free. "Okay, Jackie. What do you want to know? There's a lot I haven't figured out yet. Chrys and I have only been here a few months."

"But it feels like years," the gemstone said. "Trapped in the same place, surrounded by the same people. Most of the ones we meet came out of the gutter, just like us. So they're eager for anything they can get their hands on. Or anyone."

Jackie looked down at Astrid's wrist, then let go abruptly. "Sorry. I'm not—"

The girl tilted her head to one side. She adjusted her hair with the other hand, pushing a few strands back. Despite how strange it looked in the light, it moved like normal hair. So the physical differences didn't stop it from being moved. "What do you want to see first?"

"Outside," she said, without hesitation. "Anything outside. I think I saw a little pond, a maze, a garden... anything to have the sun overhead."

"Oh." Astrid sighed. "Won't be able to go out there until after the last class. They want to make sure we attend all our instruction, so... doors are locked. Anything else?"

It was her turn to smile. "That's it, some locked doors? Just point me in the right direction." She pressed up against the glass, squinting outside. "What's worth seeing? Those... statues, maybe?"

"Some of them. They look like someone cared when they made them, but I don't recognize any of their faces. Maybe you would."

"Oh, there's no chance of that. Hold your daemon close for a second. It's way easier that way." She did the same with Cammy, letting the little ball drift up close to her. Technically it was Cammy doing all the work, Jackie was just the one along for the ride.

If someone told Jackie to do something with her daemon, she would probably do the opposite out of spite. Astrid proved a little different—instead of arguing, she settled Chrys up against her chest, sheltering the gemstone with both arms. "What are you gonna do?"

Explaining was too slow. Besides, bringing two people made things harder, and she might give up on the effort before really trying. The best way forward was to do it first and think later.

She exhaled in the building, but when she inhaled again, she was outside.

Jackie's new shoes sunk into the loamy ground beside the large statue she'd been staring at from inside—the vivid depiction of the world's single most important mythical to exist. Assuming Arceus had ever existed, of course.

Jackie turned to her new friend, smile widening. But there was a second important task—she lifted the backpack off her shoulders, and uncinched the top for Cammy to drift down inside. There was nothing in there, other than a few pieces of wood, shaped to stop the bag from ever collapsing.

The daemon was instantly exhausted by the effort of moving two people and their daemons, instead of just one. Even if she was the one drained, Jackie felt the sudden weakness by proxy.

She leaned against one of the ancient god's stone legs for support, breathing heavily. "You're... heavier than you look," she muttered. "You were so thin I thought the breeze could blow you over."

Astrid was confused at first—but much less than her sister Katie had been, the time Jackie teleported her. Another mythical had probably done this before, even if she wasn't the one to do it. Maybe the “Eldest” caught her the same way he did to Jackie.

"Made of rock, so..." Astrid released her grip on her daemon. Needless to say, Chrys looked entirely unaffected by the wind. "How'd you learn to teleport like that? That was one of the things they told us never to do! Too easy to break something, or leave part of your body behind."

Jackie shrugged. "No one ever told us not to."

"They did," Cammy said. Her little voice would never make it out of the bag, but she wasn't making sounds to talk. "We just didn't listen. We never listen when they tell us stuff."

"Right." She circled around the statue, catching her breath. She was already recovering. Besides—all these statues might have something interesting to teach her. There were men and women both, arranged in a garden of perfectly-manicured grasses, flowers, and large trees. She felt much better out here than trapped in a building, anyway. "Cammy's right, we aren't very good at listening when people tell us not to do stuff. Like they know better than we do—they've never been cosmog before."

Astrid didn't follow her—instead, she took a few cautious steps onto the garden trail. She only stopped when they were inside, sheltered from view by tall hedges. "That doesn't bother you? Not having anyone to ask about your powers?"

Jackie emerged from behind the statue and followed her. She resisted the urge to grab on, no matter how badly she wanted to. Probably better if she didn't. This girl had her own definition of freedom, though she'd obviously come to seek it in a very different way. She hadn't run away if the Eldest caught her for the first year of school.

"It sucks, sure. Everyone else here has a family or a history they can look to. Maybe they're the worst people, maybe they're the saviors of their region. Not me, though. No one even knows what I am."

Jackie followed Astrid between statues. These people mattered to someone once; many even had inscriptions. She didn't think she would ever be bothered to read what it said, though. The regime would honor its own heroes, she didn't need statues to know that.

Still, part of her was morbidly curious. The chances were zero, but she looked anyway. Maybe there was a creature like Cammy carved here? The great families were so old, they could easily have some ancient records not shared with common people.

No sign. It was all species she knew—mew, celebi, jirachi, and the rest. Even a diancie, with what looked like real diamonds along with the stone.

That was where Astrid stopped, eyeing the woman and her glittering daemon.

"Silvius Emberlight," she said, resting one hand on her carved visage. "I should've gone through the whole garden. Didn't think she would be here. Guess once they give you a statue they don't tear it down."

Jackie would never admit she was sensing the girl's emotions. That made no sense, she wasn't a psychic type. Yet here she was, feeling—something. Respect, even gratitude.

She circled around the statue once. Unlike many others, this one had a rock garden instead of flowers and grass. Lots of smaller pokémon were carved there, surrounding her like a worshipful mob.

"Those are... carbink, right? Little floating rock things. Last time I was in Terminus, half the people I saw had those daemons. Never seen that many of one species since Pastoria."

Astrid nodded weakly. She let go, eyes down. "I was one of them. But when the Heart Diamond started failing..." She shook her head once, then turned away. "You hate the Great Families, don't you? You're not the only one. Lots of us feel like prisoners, and it's their fault."

Jackie shrugged. "I don't think it's smart to hate people you've never met. Just doesn't seem right to me that they have so much, when the rest of us don't. The “common” pokémon, I mean. My family and yours, struggling to live through each awful day. Maybe they could do without so many palaces and fine stone statues."

"I don't know about all of them," Astrid said. "Maybe they're evil, selfish, and..." She released the stone fingers, then turned away. "Not Silvius. Whatever else happened, she died to keep the rest of us safe. She's not like the others."

"Some of those others are coming out here. Think class might've got out. You wanna go somewhere else? Where does nobody go?"

Astrid glanced towards the school. Sure enough, several groups were now exiting the building. At least one looked to be heading for them. Those white vests were probably the Unity Academy equivalent of police.

"Dunno. The roof? Chrys and I aren't the fastest. Running never got us anywhere."

The roof. Jackie looked up, searching for smooth footing. Most of it was glass, elaborate skylights and domes meant to illuminate the classrooms beneath. None would hide them well. Even worse, if they broke something.... “Can you get us there, Cammy?”

The faintly glowing pokémon emerged from her pack long enough to look. There was a brief implosion of air, and suddenly the wind whipped with furious intensity. Jackie cinched the satchel tight, carefully protecting the one inside. Cammy didn't mind being blown along by the wind. But if Jackie couldn't follow, they would both die in agony. A human and daemon could not be far separated.

The roof was, naturally, as large as the school underneath. A vast network of smaller, connected buildings. Not all were glass, much was sturdy wood or stone. In fact, almost all of it looked safe to walk on. There were even balcony railings on much of it. 

"Only thing missing is a roof access," she said, urging Astrid away from the edge. Her daemon could fly, but most people couldn't. Last thing she needed from her first day was to accidentally murder one of the cutest girls she'd ever met.

"You teleported us again," Astrid said, barely audible over the increased volume of rushing wind. "Ten minutes rest and you're ready to go again?"

"Ten minutes feels like a lot more than usual," Cammy thought. Those words were probably meant for Astrid too, judging by the tone. "It's the extra weight that makes it hard. Would be nice if Jackie helped."

"That was one time," she said. "And we're still not even sure how it happened. I would if I knew how."

Astrid held on to Jackie's wrist until they were well away from the edge. So that guess about her eagerness to be above the ground was probably correct. "You mean Unity, right? The thing this school is named after?" She jostled her hair with her other hand. "This. Becoming like your daemon."

Jackie shrugged. Away from a row of skylights but not close to the school's central dome was a little sturdy platform. Someone had carried a table up here. No chairs, much to her chagrin. But the mysterious stranger had been good enough to leave a basket. Jackie peeked inside, and her eyes widened.

A full lunch of prepared sandwiches and a little bottle of wine. Very, very little, barely enough for a few sips.

She set the basket between them, grinning. "Hungry?"

"She gets like this whenever we talk about it," Cammy moaned. The pokémon clawed her way out of the backpack, then drifted down until she was in front of Jackie. Right where her body blocked the wind, or else she'd have already been sprinting across the roof. "I think she's afraid she'll turn into a cloud of gas and blow away like I do. Like it would be so bad."

Jackie ignored her, removing the pair of wrapped sandwiches. They were both missing a key ingredient, though seemed so fresh otherwise. She sniffed at one just to be sure, and let the fantastic scents wash over her. Crisp, smooth, delicious. She could smell each of the vegetables sliced into it. "Hungry?"

"You can't tell me you left that up here." Astrid circled around the table, taking her daemon protectively into her arms.

"Maybe I did," she argued, stubbornly. Not that she would go so far as to actually lie to someone. Not when she cared about what they thought of her, anyway. "So what?"

"So we don't want to make them upset. Better to just go down to the hall and get our own. Don't forget how old everyone is. Even the ones who look the same as us, they could be a century or even more. Mythicals live a long time."

No single thing could secure Jackie's behavior quite so fast as telling her not to do something. She unwrapped one, then took a single bite.

The flavors were powerful, and many entirely new to her. She chewed thoughtfully, trying to pick them out. "They probably just got it from downstairs. They can get another one."

Astrid wasn't saying anything, though. Her eyes fixed on something behind Jackie, and her grip wrapped tighter around her little daemon.

But there was no one with them—Jackie would feel it. She had become quite proficient with that aspect of her pokémon senses, even if her other powers were lacking. She had to know when someone was coming if she wanted to run away.

"All except the bottle," said another girl. Younger than either of them, barely old enough to be a student here. "I want that back, please."