#Re: wammawink and horse bonding. So did Ingo and Khan.

[kelpiemomma]

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The Alpha Alakazam glanced at Khan, who had been oddly subdued since begrudgingly giving up where their next destination was, and then Ingo heard “you might be surprised by what you need,” and suddenly he was in the middle of a blood bath.

And Ingo was no stranger to battles- he and Emmet made a living off them, after all, and he'd participated in a handful of raids against scientists who thought they knew best for the world. He had seen the aftermath of people who had been attacked by wild pokemon, and what remained of those who decided their best course of action in life was to jump into a set of train tracks. It was never any less horrifying, and Ingo occasionally had nightmares about what he'd seen, but where he was now…

It simply was a nightmare.

Fires burned in varying degrees all around him. Some consumed trees, and some consumed bodies. He tried to find something to put them out with there was nothing nearby. Not even snow. At the sound of laughter he turned his head to see a group of humans in pale tunics walking away, a few of them carrying bloodied sticks. Anger flushed through his veins and he went to chase after them but was pulled backwards instead. He tried again, and again, but their strange words vanished into the forest and faded into darkness. Ingo was left surrounded by corpses of pokemon, confused and horrified.

There was nothing he could do, and he didn't know why he was here.

The sun faded in the sky and the fires began to die, slowly turning to embers. The bodies they'd consumed were nothing but charred husks, and the primitive buildings he'd first thought to simply be fallen trees collapsed on themselves with no support left. It has taken Ingo longer than he cared to admit that this hadn't just been a group of pokemon- it had been their home, where they'd had their own rooms. There were enough bodies here to be an entire family, the kind biologists loved to see where he came from. They were so few and far between, requiring a curious amount of intelligence, teamwork, and tolerance. He knew people, personally, who would have loved to observe this family.

And here he was, observing their bodies instead.

A terrified yelp grabbed his attention; another den had just collapsed. Apparently this inhabitant had been alive. Ingo dashed over and tried to remove branches- his hands went right through, but he didn't stop trying. After releasing his own anguished scream - why was he here when he was so useless?! - the branches moved. An ashen, burnt paw emerged first. The sticks wiggled again, collapsing around the body further, until the remaining pokemon finally managed to pull itself free. And it was only then, staring at the young Zorua, that Ingo finally realized what he must have walked into.

He turned to look, to take in what he had taken for granted before.

The bodies weren't just pokemon. They were Zoroarks, Zoruas. Pokemon that had, from his understanding, been long loathed in Hisui. Seen as ill omens, as dangers to their societies. This clan must have settled somewhere, thinking it a safe area to raise their family, only for it to be discovered by humans. Humans who were fearful of what they saw as dangerous. Attack before you are attacked. Ingo could, to an extent, understand why- pokemon in Hisui were so much more aggressive, defensive, than those he had grown up with and known. Some people had pokemon partners but they were not like what he was used to. And with this clan settling in, with new generations being reared, he could only imagine the thought process the humans who had found it must have had.

Get them, before they get us.

He turned back to the Zorua, who had emerged from the collapsed den and now stood silently.

Staring.

Ingo wanted to know what his expression was, but just as he began to lean over to look the pokemon began moving. He approached the closest corpse first- this one hadn't been burned, at least, but there was a puddle of blood haloing it. The Zorua didn't seem to notice his paws getting wet as he drew closer, lifting a paw to nudge the body. The corpse. As Ingo expected, there was no response. The Zorua tried again, finally turning away when the corpse remained still.

Ingo followed as it staggered around the ashes of the clearing, prodding at every body it found regardless of their state. Some were so very obviously dead… but the Zorua still tried.

Trauma, Ingo knew, did funny things to a mind. To one as young as this…

It was no wonder why Khan was the way he was.

The young pokemon finally stopped, his breaths coming faster and faster. Ingo knelt down when his back legs collapsed, arms reaching out as if he could help. As before, he simply phased through. The Zorua turned his head, finally revealing the scar that Ingo would come to know well, now a fresh wound that still bled. His paws were cut up and burnt, there were scratches and lesions all along his back. He was a mess. Ingo could hear frantic, near-silent whines coming from the Zorua. It was hard to say if the volume was from fear that he would be heard, or if the smoke had gotten to his lungs.

Tears began slipping from the Zorua 's eyes. His panting became one long, hiccuping whine. His head remained turned, staring behind him, and Ingo was struck by what he'd yelled at Khan in anger so long ago, and yet so recently.

“You have no idea what it's like to have a family you can't return to!”

Khan, of all of their companions, absolutely did. This… this was why his reaction had been so strong, why Nana and Mnesomyne both had stepped in to stop Khan from assaulting - perhaps even killing - Ingo.

This is why she sent me here.

Ingo looked down at the Zorua again. Khan seemed to be frozen in place, but the wind around them was moving leaves and leftover smoke. It was only Khan who was frozen, unable to look away from his slaughtered family.

“I'm sorry,” Ingo said quietly, placing his hands around Khan's body as if he could actually hold him, “I'm so sorry.”