FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ace was in his vest ready to walk for hours looking for a pokémon haven that may or may not exist with a stuck-up braixen. If he hadn't spent time with Ayame this morning, he'd be dead inside.

"I don't know where to start," Mille said. "But if it's real, we could catch a lead."

Ace pondered as they strolled across the lobby and toward the elevator. They couldn't rush into this blindly. "Maybe we could find a pokémon and stealthily follow it to said hideout." He shrugged.

"What? That's dumb." Mille entered the elevator with Ace and noticed Inigo watching them from across the lobby. She'd have to talk to him later as she didn't know what he thought. If it were revealed that Mille had told Ace anything discussed in the meeting, she would lose her current rank. "But I won't rule it out..."

At least Mille acknowledged his idea. Ace knew she wanted his aid with this. She chased after the only thing she had left to hold onto, which was her rank. It was sad, and she was too far gone for Ace to affect her with words. The best he could do was keep alive what he had left of himself and use Mille as a constant example of what not to become.

Once they were out in the alley, Mille looked down, deciding whether to go north or south. "Hm..." This would be harder than she imagined. If they went south, it would take them to the harbor.

Ace waited until she came up with something, keeping silent so she couldn't call another opinion of his stupid. Besides, he didn't have a clue either. Castelia is massive.

"This way, I guess." Mille assumed pokémon wouldn't be out in the open or deep into the city, so she ruled out those options and exited the alley, heading north toward back routes instead of venturing straight into Castelia. Wild pokémon tended to be more active the later it got during the night, so they'd be out for a while to potentially spot a few that'd help them solve the investigation quicker.

Ace followed, and as they passed a few buildings, he noticed a couple of frameless entrances where doors used to be with stairs leading up to roofs. They'd been knocked off their hinges. It was how pokémon got atop roofs with ease. Ace wasn't going to say anything at first, but it was too good to keep to himself. Plus, he couldn't have Mille bring it up later and boost her ego. "They knock doors off to gain permanent access to roofs. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. They could be more common near a hideout."

Mille glanced at him, somewhat envious he was coming up with potential leads already. "Right... Try to keep track of them."

--

After over an hour of walking without rest, they neared the northern outskirts of Castelia, where beyond small businesses and communities lay Route 4, home to miles of dry sand, mountains, and abandoned buildings. Sandstorms frequent the area as well.

Ace looked up at a dark night sky littered with patches of stars. It was late, and they still had to walk back to headquarters. Other than one clue Ace had found, they had no solid leads or evidence. "We should get back soon..." There was no official curfew, but Ace didn't want to be questioned for staying out past midnight near Castelia's exit.

Mille glared at him for a moment. She wanted to snap at him. It wasn't his decision. He'd said enough tonight, and Mille didn't enjoy feeling like she wasn't in total control-- but he wasn't wrong. "I know, just a while longer." She looked at lamp posts spotlighting the pavement and hedges ahead near homes. The outskirts had more residential areas, so they were generally calmer spots with less activity. There were barely any people out.

"I'm noticing more doorless frames the closer we get to the outskirts. Could mean something..."

"That the haven could be around here or just outside of Castelia, which would be the safest option." She still didn't know how to feel about Ace finding most of the clues and possibly the haven. It ate at her. "I guess we should venture deeper into the outskirts tomorrow. Let's head back."

Ace followed as they backtracked, glancing at his surroundings a bit as he couldn't help but feel someone was watching him. They were leaving though. Hopefully, whatever the feeling was would fade. "Sucks, we can't leave the grounds until after sunset..." They'd have more time to investigate if they could. It was twice as difficult when they were only given a few hours.

"It's fine. We'll just have to walk quicker and stay out as long as we have to."

Ace glanced at her. He wanted to ask why. It wasn't worth that much, but he again had to remind himself of how far downhill Mille's mind had spiraled. He'd already done too much to aid in finding the haven. He felt ashamed. Tomorrow, Ace would keep his mouth shut.