A Land of Opportunity (Open for 1)

A cool, Autumn wind blew through the town of Grassveil. The scents of crisp Fall were in the air, and the surrounding forests were like an explosion of orange, red, and yellow colors. The little village was largely quiet. Only a few Pokemon were actually out and about, and the place had a quiet, sleepy feel to it that was almost relaxing. The padded, dirt streets were largely clear and the buildings stood as flanking structures to the road.

Calculative, reptilian eyes of a rich amber color took the scene in with a measure of contempt and exasperation.

A newcomer had come to town. He didn't stand very impressively compared to the more evolved inhabitants, and was only about 2 feet tall. With a slender body layered with fine scales of a bright lime accentuated with golden stripes, he revealed himself to be a snivy. The fanned leaf on the end of his tail, the stubby arms and legs, and the haughty way he held up his head only clarified this.

He seemed to be taking note of the place as he slowly made his way through town, elliptical eyes scanning the surroundings. For whatever reason, he seemed displeased. His reserved, irritated expressions spoke of this. Despite this, he carried himself with a sense of dignity. Regardless of his small size, the male snivy seemed to have a presence that spoke bigger than what one could normally see. In fact, he radiated it, displaying it with the way he carried himself. The few pokemon who took note of him and who were still on the streets gave him a wide berth as they went about their business.

Every now and then he would stop at a stall or shop, glancing over prices and what was listed for sale. Other times he would survey help wanted posters, or check out points of interest like the local inns and rent homes. Taking note of the homely, humble places and the monthly rent, he would gawk, frown, and then move on. He was obviously agitated from what he saw.

He muttered under his breath, a clear, precise voice layered with intensity. "Miserable peasant town… Where do I even begin with this place?…"

The "miserable peasant town" was a tourist spot today for a young quadruped. Although the small two foot tall Pokemon was hiding rather than sight-seeing. A rather freakishly taller than usual barrel, standing at five feet, in between two shops shook and rolled as something appeared to be trying to get out of it. A voice could be heard from the inside of the barrel which seemed to be cursing the barrel's very existence, in turn the barrel merely shook and threatened to fall over only to go right back to standing straight up. The barrel moved once more, this time the ears, hair, and paws of a creature reaching the top. The creature did not manage to get a grip on the side of the barrel though, instead there was a thud and the sounds of a yelp.

"OUCH! D**m splinters!" the voice spoke louder than its mumbling from earlier. Inside the barrel was a small black fox, it had a strange darker mane that looked more like a scarf than fur. On its head was a strange tuft of hair that ended in a red tint that matched the color of the strange round markings above the Pokemon's eyes and the tips of her paws. The creature had a fluffy tail that appeared to be similar to a fox's along with matching the animal's ears. The Pokemon, was a Zorua. This pokemon was also a Zorua named, Mirage.

She was still trapped inside the annoyingly tall barrel, which she had fallen from the roof into it while attempting to scout out a Jewelry store nearby. She had failed to pay attention to where she was walking, too busy staring with hungry eyes at a pair of golden clip on earrings, and walked right off the roof and into this death-trap. Currently, she was biting at her paw, attempting to get rid of the splinter in her paw. She succeeded, and flinched to see the scarlet liquid leak from it. She licked at it before glaring at the top of the barrel, "I didn't want to get out just yet anyways!"

Jeremy was quietly brooding as he found himself now in what was probably the town's poor excuse for a shopping district. Earlier, he had found himself in the market area, which sold berries and other fruits to eat. Now he was apparently at where the actual shops and dry goods were. The snivy was silent as he walked on, judgmental gaze taking in the advertised wares with barely concealed disdain.

Knockoffs and trinkets. Cheap things that were largely beneath his station. He did not know what to expect when he came here, but this was disconcerting to say the least. A land full of treasures they said. A place where you can get valuable experience they said. Jeremy Blackwood wondered where this land was, because this place couldn't have been it. This backwoods town in the middle of nowhere was not what he had heard about.

The pit of dread in his stomach was very real though. He had very little money when he first came here, and most of it was spent on guides and those willing to give him transport. The idea of being stranded here in the sticks with no way to get back home in time for the judgement…

The male snivy gritted his teeth and shook his head fiercely. No… No time to think about that.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of banging wood and a muffled curse. Blinking once, the male snivy frowned when he turned to look down an alley way. Wedged between the two buildings was a large barrel, and it would shift occasionally along with the sound of dull thuds within it.

Was someone trapped into that barrel? The idea was ridiculous, and yet, that seemed to be the case.

Cautiously walking over, Jeremy regarded the scene with some bemusement on his part, scaly brow raised. "That is quite an accomplishment. Is barrel diving a regular hobby of yours?"

The zorua heard someone speak from outside of the barrel, asking if this had been frequent of her. She huffed in annoyance, "Why, yes thank you. I take much pride in jumping into barrels for my own amusement. The only problem is getting," Mirage took another leap, motivated by the newcomer's arrival. She managed to hang off of the edge of the barrel, and pull her head and fore-legs over and seeing a strange reptilian creature that must have been as big as her staring at the barrel, she continued her sentence, "Out."

She looked down at the snivy from atop the wooden encasement, who was this pokemon? She had not seen him before, then again she never did come around Grassveil that often in fear of the entire guild ganging up to take her to jail. She may have been strong, in her opinion, but she knew that she was not strong enough to take on the entire guild. She knew that she could definitely not be able to stand a fight against a Gengar and a Archen that she had seen around there, the two looked way too powerful for her to even dare to approach. Mirage wondered if this other pokemon was a part of the guild, was it going to try and take her off to jail?

"So, who are you?" she asked bluntly, not even introducing herself first. The Zorua was known to be rather rude, and she acknowledges that she is rather rude. She despised being polite to pokemon who may not even deserve it, pokemon like her. Her tail shifted back and forth and her hind legs dangled on the inside, she had not bothered to jump out completely yet. If the pokemon decided to attack she could easily pull it into the barrel and use her Dark Pulse attack to knock it out in such little room where there is no where to dodge.

Jeremy furrowed his brow some when a distinctly feminine voice laced with sarcasm answered his in return. His small smirk did not waver any though until he heard a scratching noise, followed by some huffs of exertion and the appearance of the trapped individual.

She was some sort of mammal, with dark gray fur that was almost a black color that contrasted sharply with the tufts of red she had on her head, brow, and paws. A thicker, darker collar of fur that could be likened to a mane surrounded her neck and chest. Jeremy had never seen anyone of her kind before, but the elongated muzzle and pointed ears sort of reminded him of a vulpix like the ones he had seen from his homeland. It was obvious that she was not one of them, but the similarities were there.

The snivy noted that she seemed somewhat nervous for a second as the two individuals stared each other down. But just as quick as the uncertainty came, it seemed to be gone, and Jeremy wondered if it was there to begin with. He DID notice himself being sized up however, and the snivy lifted his head, reptilian eyes narrowed with pride and small frown on his face.

At her question, the snake Pokemon gave a huff, setting his leafy arms on his waist. He paused for a moment, thinking about the proper way to address his family line to the klutz who got stuck in a barrel. Really, should he even bother? It was abundantly clear, at least to the snivy that none in this land had the proper etiquette in addressing royalty. In fact, he did not care much for the tone the fox-like Pokemon carried.

Still, the question she posed was one he would answer.

"Very well then. I suppose the commoners must be informed of my presence eventually."

Head held high, and voice thick with poshness, Jeremy continued.

"I am Jeremy, soon to be heir of the Blackwood family. I don't expect any of the peons here to truly understand the meaning of that. Just know that I am of high birth and status that is beyond most of the people he-… Oh who am I kidding, I truly doubt fellow nobles would sully themselves by coming to this place if they even exist in this land."

The snivy gave a somewhat smug shrug, smirk on his face. "I would ask who you were, but honestly, if you don't want to introduce yourself after that rather crude outburst I probably would not be that disappointed."

The reptile introduced himself to be royalty and "of high birth" Mirage listened despite the annoyingly smug tone the Snivy gave. The zorua's tail waved back and forth within the barrel, hitting the sides and making a soft 'thump' noise each time she struck it. Mirage did not notice the scarlet liquid that dripped from her paw onto the barrel, having caused the wound to bleed again by moving it so much and pressure on the barrel as well. The drop slid down the barrel, leaving a trail behind it. If she had, she would have had to choose between licking her paw and staying half out of the barrel.

"Huh, well then, I'm Ira. I'll be honest that it is not my complete first name, but I'd rather you call me that," The zorua paid no attention to the Snivy's body language, but instead looked at his amber colored eyes. She wondered if there was a jewel out there with that color. She knew that there were many lovely jewels to be found, but never had she seen a colored stone that matched Jeremy's eyes. The fox like creature remembered about her original intention of coming to Grassviel, and turned her head to try and look at the jewelry shop once more. Sadly, the local kangaskhan had decided to tend to its jewelry needs and blocked her view of the earrings she starved for.

The male snivy frowned somewhat at the rather lackluster response, but the only disgruntlement he showed was in the reserved frown he normally wore. Honestly, he wasn't that surprised that the Blackwood family wasn't well known here. In fact, it was one of the primary reasons Jeremy came here. If the land was full of promise and treasures as originally thought, setting up connections here might be a good move.

Of course, that was assuming there could be sponsors or a method of establishing yourself here in the first place. Where was the glorious, ancient cities of renowned culture? Where was the industry? The energy that the snake Pokemon craved was simply not present here in this humble village.

Jeremy sighed as he pinched his sinuses. However, he abruptly stopped when he realized the zorua was… Staring at him. The male snivy folded his leaf-like arms and gave a stern glare back. It was disconcerting to say the least.Whoever this fox Pokemon claimed to be… Ira was it? Well she seemed to be acting beyond her station. Also, he didn't believe her. He knew she was hiding something. Whether he should care or that it was his business was another matter.

She eventually found her attentions elsewhere, and seemed to be focused on something beyond the male snivy. Without moving his head, Jeremy glanced behind him.

The jewelry stand? It wasn't the craftsmanship of back home, but the snivy supposed it had the more expensive wares in this backwards village. Indeed, Ira seemed so focused on it that she didn't notice her paw bleeding rater fluidly.

Furrowing his scaly brow, Jeremy cleared his throat. "By the way… Ira? Your paw seems to be bleeding." A pause. "Do you actually need help getting out? I don't how you got in there in the first place, seeing as you can barely climb out, much less climb IN. However, I need a guide. Consider it a first of many favors that will in turn earn MY favor." A pause and a smirk. "Unless… You're busy at the moment. Have places to go and all that."

"Your favor? Now do tell, just why would I want or even need YOUR favor?" Mirage scoffed. She blinked when she realized that he had told her that her paw is bleeding. She lifter her paw without thinking to look at it, and fell back into the barrel once more. Her ears flattened as she growled in annoyance and licked her paw once more until it stopped oozing the scarlet blood. The zorua looked back to the barrel's opening, and decided that she was tired of trying to get out like this. A dark aura crackled around her as she prepared her only REAL, in her opinion, attack, Dark Pulse. The dark aura crackled around her like sparks of electricity, shooting out of the barrel every now and then until she finally released a pulse of dark power.

The barrel exploded into wooden shrapnel and debris. The act attracted attention, but only a few stares that could have meant, "What is that freak doing?" to "Well that's one way to trash a barrel..." before the pokemon returned to their daily and peaceful lives. Mirage's ears were flattened against her head as she licked her bleeding paw once more, "People around here aren't usually as nosy as those pests in Shadowhue," she mumbled to herself. She finally remembered that the snivy was there and spoke, "Also I'm not too sure I would be a good guide for you, Shadowhue maybe, but I too am a visitor here myself."

The male snivy frowned at the female's zorua response. "Well fine." Jeremy scoffed as he lifted his head. "If you are going to be like that, then I suppose you will only have to regret the lack of personal riches later. It's your choice." She didn't seem to hear him or care though when the male snivy noticed her head vanishing in the barrel. He was about to ask what she planned on doing, but the dark glow emanating from the top of the barrel followed by a crackling house caused the Grass Snake Pokemon's amber eyes to widen in shock.

Barely able to get a curse out, Jeremy threw himself from the blast radius of compressed dark energy and wooden shrapnel as the barrel exploded. A few Pokemon in the street gawked at the scene, but strangely enough, it wasn't out of place enough to earn more than a few comments and a few odd looks.

Shaking somewhat and trying to get the adrenaline out of his system, the snivy carefully got back on his stubby legs and turned to 'Ira' with a scowl on his face. "Well you did… You know… Blow up a barrel. I think thats going to attract a little bit of attention don't you think?" A pause as the male snivy composed himself, wiping the dirt off of him with distaste. "You don't say… What exactly brings you here in the first place then? Besides destroying property and endangering the safety of others?"

Jeremy shook his head, hiding his bewildered and uneasy feelings behind a reserved facade.

"Hmm..." the fox thought for a bit, debating on whether to tell the snivy of her plans. She had planned to just admire the earrings for now. Eventually, the time to snatch them would come and she would have her reward for her patience. The other Snivy merely spoke to her, complaining about blowing up the barrel and attracting attention. She was too annoyed to have thought of that, even if someone had begun to chase after them, she could easily get away by throwing up her illusion ability and escape.
After some thought, the zorua decided not to tell the snivy, "That's for you to find out. No fun in just out right saying things, right?" she snickered.

((omfg I am so sorry for the short post, I can't think of ANYTHING to type about..;A:))

OOC: Its fine. xD

The male snivy's normally calm expression was actually marred to 'Ira's' credit as the Grass Snake Pokemon fixed the female zorua with a grimace complete with thinly narrowed eyes. Obviously he was getting tired of this charade and perceived disrespect to himself. Jeremy did not know who this 'Ira' was, but she was painfully shady and somewhat obvious to others that she was planning something.

With a snort, the male snivy simply stated, "I think I have heard enough. Obviously you don't know how to address me, much less anyone else. I would wish you luck to whatever obviously criminal thing you have in mind, but then I would be lying wouldn't I?"

Casting his cunning amber eyes up to the roof, Jeremy smirked before gazing back at 'Ira". "By the way. Next time you are scoping out something, try not to lose your balance on the roof. Or detonate something in the middle of the town. It makes you painfully suspicious, and when something else goes wrong, everyone will turn to you first. Good day." With that last farewell laced with snakiness and contempt, the male snivy prepared himself to be on his way.

He didn't know WHAT exactly, but he had better, more important things to do… Somewhere.

OOC: I think it would be interesting that one day when those earrings go missing, thanks to the little comment Mirage made about Shadowhue, that Jeremy and other explorers try to collect her bounty.

"Do what? Go on being a smug little lizard that brags about a fortune and social status he doesn't even have?" Mirage had put together the pieces by now, she had figured that the snivy must have been suggesting that he was rich by saying "personal fortunes." The zorua had also heard the Snivy speak the word "commoners" which suggested to her that he thought of himself as superior. Mirage had loathed the snivy had spoken to her about her actions with the roof and the barrel. She knew what she was doing, at least she thought she did.

The zorua had to admit, she was having a bit of fun though. The Snivy obviously was not enjoying her company, so she could seek revenge for the retort just by merely following him. She loved to make people tick, though she was often ticked herself. The zorua knew she was rather small to be an actual outlaw, if she had been ganged up against she would surely be beaten. Toying with a single pokemon at a time however, was something she could handle.

Jeremy was getting ready to simply move on and leave the female zorua behind and out of his life. For the first few steps, that was the expectation on what would indeed happen, but as it turned out, expectations were not always met. Not a few seconds later, her taunting voice followed him… And to his chagrin they cut surprisingly deep.

More than likely, the taunt was made out of perceived ignorance than anything else. The female zorua did not see anything for Jeremy to back his claims up. Under normal circumstances, the Grass Snake Pokemon would have either ignored the peon and moved on, or explained in every way just how wrong she was while still assuming a state of professional disinterest in her opinions.

But the way she worded it irked him… He couldn't explain it.

"Brags about a fortune and social status he doesn't even have?"

"Fortune and social status he doesn't even have?..."

"Doesn't even have?…."

Out here… Jeremy's connections were useless… And when he finally managed to get back home his father would cast an imperious crimson gaze upon him and turn his head away. Jeremy was not to be accepted as a Blackwood. He would then look back at the one he had left in the world… But his mother's face only showed stoic disappointment… And she too turned her head away away.

The male snivy stopped walking, body visibly starting to tense up. For a while he stood there, back turned to the illusionist and head cocked slightly to the side for a moment. There was silence for a moment as the snivy stood still as a statue, wind gently stirring the Autumn leaves as if waiting in trepidation for what was to come.

Eventually, he slowly turned to face her, small frown on his face and reptilian eyes lidded with a mixture of controlled (barely) annoyance, irritation, and anger.

Jeremy's voice was as clear and precise as ever, but there was a gravely tint to his tone as he sneered out, "Why yes, I am superior to you. Thank you for clarifying that. Or maybe you are just inferior to everybody else." The tone lowered, voice starting to get dangerous and brooding. "Either way you take it, you are getting awfully close to where I teach you your place. Let me be clear, you will accept it right now or later. You will not like it later. Walk away."

Mirage had an idea, and hoped it would work. She activated her illusion ability, focusing on Snivy's appearance strongly until she was certain she matched. Mirage was rarely ever able to bring on an illusion of a pokemon she wanted to be, but somehow she knew she looked exactly like the other snivy. To the outside world, her own image shimmered and changed to the crowd's eyes as she focused her ability more than ever. She would do anything for this plan to work, which it did. She appeared to be another snivy mirroring Jeremy.

"You are getting awfully close to where I teach you your place" she mocked him, "Teach me what? That you have no respect for others" oh arceus the irony to Mirage's comment kills even this author, "Teach me that you're nothing but a pompous slob that steps all over the poor like they're nothing? Teach me, like my parents had taught me how wrong it was to steal? Teach me on how effective that had even worked?" with every "teach me" the zorua disguised as a snivy took a step forward. She was having fun with this, he was becoming angry. She would not be surprised if he had ran home just that moment. The zorua had not gauged the snivy's anger correctly, and had assumed that the snivy was just acting big and tough.

(if they do end up battling, would you rather it be close in Mirage's favor because of her level or a draw?)

OOC: I'm fine with it being in Mirage's favor xD She has the levels and the egg move that puts her at an advantage. Jeremy has Glare, which is a useful starting move, but his skill set so far is pretty standard. He knows some battling, as he has been taught proper dueling methods but it has been spars and technique so far, not an actual brawl. Still, expect Mirage to be caught off guard.

To Mirage's credit, Jeremy's composure actually melted at the sight of the shimmering aura that surrounded her body, amber eyes going wide with shock and confusion before the distortion cleared to reveal… Himself. Well, a caricature of himself. Some of the features were callously exaggerated, with an extended muzzle, pudgier belly, and stubbier legs. This… Second rate copy preceded to swagger up, declaring insulting things in HIS voice!

Any semblance of professionalism or noble pride started to wane in the face of something more primal and boiling. The metaphorical gloves were off as Jeremy glowered at the travesty in front of him, teeth gritting to reveal two sharp fangs and a forked tongue flicking between them. Jeremy's amber eyes were narrowed, and the pupils in them were thin, predatory slivers. The male snivy's clawed hands clenched together and the fanned tail gently waved back and forth as a sense of balance was felt out.

When Mirage's last word was just uttered, Jeremy's throat puffed up slightly, a threatening, reptilian hiss slipping through his lips when he suddenly lunged forward not unlike a snake would with the intent to tackle his body against the interloper.

A few Pokemon turned around when the commotion started, and eyes went wide with a mixture of excitement, fear, and shock. "OIE!" One cried out. "Looks like we got a fight on our hands!"

"Where? I want to see!"

"Mommy, whats going?"

"Get inside sweetie, right now."

"Shouldn't someone call for help?… Or something?"

"Nah, just let them work it out. 'Sides, been a while since we saw any action around here."

A crowd was slowly forming in response to the impromptu brawl.