The Search for the Pecha Berries is On!

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After what felt like several agonizing hours of wandering the borders of Grassveil due to Sinai's false directions, he and Theo the Axew finally found Pecha Forest by what seemed like pure luck. Panting and wheezing with exhaustion, the Trapinch collapsed at the forest's entrance with his round face flat against the hard ground. "T-.. This is the place.. Told you I'd find it..." Short limbs shaking with protest at him getting back up as he glared about for signs of a Pecha Berry tree, he noticed most of them were totally bare. The sturdy arm-like branches atop the long slender trunks bore not a single fruit, with only a few leaves here and there. The last time he was here, there was snow still on the ground and a nip in the air; Obviously the Pecha Berries were a bit deeper in the dungeon.

He slightly gulped, noticing that the huge expanse of sky around them had begun to fall into the deep violet-red of twilight. "C'mon, kid.. Time's a wastin' and it's almost dark out now.. I wish we could rest, but then we'll be stuck out here all night.." Sinai's massive jaws were clamped shut worriedly, eyes darting from left to right. "N-.. Not that an invincible Pokemon like me is afraid of the dark or anything!.. Err.. Just-.. Just the sooner the better!"

(16 - 5 = 11 Remaining Energy)

"Well, you probably should have been paying attention!" Theo pointed out, folding up the paper. He then began walking in the general direction of where the scribble had veered off to. They ended up walking through undergrowth of a forest that was clearly not supposed to ever been walked. Finally, they emerged from the forest, but Theo had many scrapes and scratches all over him from walking into bushes and branches.

"Hey, it was really cold and I almost fell over dead!" Sinai exaggerated his excuse with a snort, as he hesitantly followed the Axew into the questionable forest thicket. There was the occassional rustle of feral Pokemon moving about as they forced their way through the thorns and thistles of the overgrown brush, and when Sinai had followed Theo out of the mess, he frowned. The Trapinch was only lightly scratched and slightly bruised on his side since his insectoid hide kept him well-protected from such things, however Theo looked in far worse shape. Even the Axew's blue bandana had a several burrs stuck in the cobalt-colored cloth. "Psh, weak.." Sinai quickly shut his jaws at the thoughtless insult; It just came out like usual, but this time, he regretted it. He hoped Theo didn't hear it, and tried again, "Uh, are you okay? Some of those cuts look kinda deep..."

Guest carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Theo did, in fact, hear Sinai's first comment. It stung him, but he just did what he always did, and smiled. When the Trapinch changed his comment to being concerned, Theo felt pretty grateful. "I'm fine," He replied. "The most important thing is that we continue onward!" The Axew took the lead with a spring in his step. As he walked, he tried to pick out all the burrs, especially the ones that were scratching him even more. Eventually he got them all out, and then he looked up. "Um, Sinai?" He began, stopping so his companion could catch up. "Is that Grassveil there?" He asked, pointing to what looked like the shadow of buildings.

"A'ight, just once we get there, we should put some bandages on 'em.. Just so they don't get all infected." Sinai suggested with yawn with a nod, stretching his little legs. He continued, this time behind the the bouncy little dragon until Theo stopped and asked him the question."Huh?" The Trapinch quickly hurried up beside him and looked over the small hill where they stood, starting to jump up and down exciteably with relief. His normally expressionless eyes had a slight sparkle to them as he overlooked the nearby town of darkened shops. "Yes, yes! That's Grassveil right there! We actually made it! Phew!" Sinai started to yell, which looked sort of silly since the entire town was seemingly dark and empty tonight. "Hey, everyone! Sorry to keep you all waiting: Sinai the hero is finally back! Call off the search parties!"

Theo smiled as he watched the relieved and overjoyed Trapinch. "I guess even you get excited every once and a while!" Theo joked. His legs felt weak from fatigue, but he trudged on. Grassveil was just up ahead, and then they could sleep, eat, and rest. They took the pace a bit slower now that their destination was in sight, and Theo was happy about that. After a couple more minutes of walking that felt like hours, they reached the entrance of the town. "Hmm... It's pretty late. We might want to turn these in tomorrow." The Axew suggested.

Sinai grinned back widely at the Axew, almost a tad bit embarrassed at his outburst, but looked over the town once more and took in a big breath as they travelled down the hill to reach it. They had leisurely made it to the neat entrance guide-signs of Grassveil, the cheery town very much shrouded in the darkness and lonely-looking. It wasn't as unnerving as Pecha Forest was, but it was definitely a weird sight. Probably even weirder for the Axew who had barely clapped eyes on it like this before, well, Sinai assumed that was the case anyway. The Trapinch turned to Theo with agreement and gestured with his massive head towards the currently empty town. "Uh-huh, probably a good idea... I'm beat and need to regain my strength and prowess for tomorrow." Being in good shape for his 'future heroic ventures' was all-important, and he could barely keep his eyes open when he thought about sleep. "We'll meet up tomorrow for that reward, ai'ght Theo? See you tomorrow-.. And hey, don't even think about ditching me and collecting it all for yourself!"

"Of course not! See you tomorrow!" Theo said, waving as he walked away.
~The Next Morning~
Theo blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he walked along a path in Grassveil. The town was much more lively in the morning than it was at night, he observed. "Where is Sinai...?" Theo muttered to himself, carrying Pecha berries in his arms.

Grassveil was absolutely bustling now, a whole variety of different Pokemon of all species and types checking out the various knick-knacks, trinkets, shops, and talking amongst themselves. The Trapinch had dug a little hole beside the shelter of Izumi's Swap Shop since he didn't have a bed at the Guild or some place to sleep, but he found the little crater rather homey and comfortable anyway. Sinai let out a loud, zigzagging yawn and peered out from the burrow when he heard Theo's familiar voice. "Eh..? Morning, already?" He readily snatched the Pecha Berries he had put beside him back up in his open mouth and scuttled towards the Axew. "So! You did come back!"

As Theo saw the Trapinch scuttling towards him, he couldn't help but smile in relief. The little dragon was honestly worried that Sinai might have turned in the Pecha Berries without him, and he was glad that he didn't. "Of course!" Theo said happily. "Honestly, I was worried you might have turned them in yourself!" He admitted.

"Nah, no no... Only turning in these few berries? Pitiful." The amateur trap-maker shook his head, with both eyes shut contentedly and a tsk-tsk. "Your half's important too, so we have to turn it in together! No way around it!" Sinai hauled them delicately in his jaws and dropped them lightly on the soil. "Err.. It'll probably be best if the client doesn't know these were in my mouth.. A-heh.." He nudged the Pecha Berries with his head to Theo carefully, making sure not to bruise or slice the flesh of the delicious poison-curing fruit.

"Heh, yeah." Theo laughed, and hoisted the other half of the Pecha Berries in his arms. "Let's go!" The Axew said, while trying to balance the precarious pile of berries. "Um... Now where was he..." Theo looked around, worry entering his eyes. "I, uh... May have forgotten where he was..." He said, laughing nervously as he looked back at Sinai.

The Trapinch's lower jaw, or rather the bottom half of most of his face, dropped with shock. "You.. Forgot where he was?" Shock, within a brief second, quickly turned to irritation as he grinded his jaws back together. Through gritted teeth, he tried to not totally bombard the innocent little Axew with angry insults. Even though the Trapinch himself failed to remember the way to Pecha Forest too; It'd be hypocritical to yell at Theo for forgetting where the client was. "Do.. You at least remember what Pokemon he is?"

Theo flinched as the Trapinch's shock turned into irritation. The little Axew hoped that Sinai wouldn't attack him right then and there. "U-um, I'm pretty sure he was a Makuhita..." Theo said slowly. I hope... He added silently to himself. "So, uh, let's go find him!" Theo began walking ahead, hoping his companion wouldn't see the fear on his face.

"A Makuhita, huh?.." Sinai tilted his head, as if trying to recover some sort of memory regarding ever meeting a Makuhita in Grassveil. Nope. Nothing. Oblivious to Theo's flustered behavior, he snapped back into focus to see him "sprinting" ahead into town. "A-..A'ight, right behind you!" Sinai quickly ran after the waddling Axew that had his arms full of berries, panting at the sudden burst of speed. He tried to speak up as he neared his friend, "Muh.. Maybe he's at the Guild or somethin'?"

Theo sprinted off, waddling along the streets of Grassveil. He looked from left to right, desperately trying to find the Makuhita he saw. However, he didn't see anything. When Sinai caught up and suggested that he could be at a guild, Theo brightened. "Yeah, could be! Should we go look?"