Veiled in Shadows

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My Precious Scarf! Mission Info:

The trees started to grow larger and more frequent the further into the forest the pair of Pokémon went. With that, the canopy above became fuller with less holes, letting in less and less light. In the Pecha Forest, the sunlight was filtered through some leaves, but not enough to really darken up the place. But Shadowhue Forest? It was an entirely different beast altogether. As barely any light managed to get through the thick foliage, the ground was shrouded in shadows with some of the darker spots looking like there was nothing but complete blackness. Who knew what could be lurking in there... But the forest was deathly silent with just some very soft footsteps treading on the patchy grass, barely even audible except to the pair that was causing them.

Varda hopped along, finding it very easy to keep going forward when the ground seemed like it had some kind of road. He didn't have the best sense of direction, oh no, and while the paths and roads in this forest were clearly less traveled, some still existed as Pokémon had walked here before. Occasionally the bird would take a look at the smaller mouse-like Pokémon by his side, smiling happily as if there were no worries in that little head of his. Indeed, the Swablu wasn't afraid of the dark at all. That might have been one reason why he had agreed to help the smaller Pokémon out, as he had been to the forest before and didn't find it very scary at all! He was certain he could help...
"It's a bit dark in here, but I'm sure we will find the scarf if we keep our eyes open!"


Current Energy: 32 (42 -10 from entering. Sky Powder in use, every other Pokémon encounter costs 1 less energy)

Varda held the berry close to the Pichu's mouth, happy that his friend was actually eating it. Perhaps Joey had felt the same way and was devastated when he hadn't eaten the berry the first time he got poisoned and was offered one... But the Swablu had a gift when it came to handling this kind of things without berries. But with a partner, it was always good to keep some in a bag, ready for use if something bad happened!

"Are you feeling better?" The bird chirped as the Pecha berry he was holding slowly disappeared into Joey's belly, actually allowing the little Pokémon to get up and sit. It was pretty clear that the Pichu wasn't feeling the best right now. Hopefully it would change as the berry did its magic and did what it could to cleanse the body of the poison's effects!

But the poison that had actually poisoned Joey in the first place was still there, and Varda had no idea how long the poison would be potent. Forever? That was a horrifying though.
"Poison, I think!" He replied when the other Pokémon wondered what the goop was, but it was probably so obvious an answer wasn't actually needed. But there was another idea the Swablu got, perking up.
"Oh, maybe there's a river nearby! We should try to look for one," he nodded as if agreeing with himself, but another thought surfaced in his mind and caused him to speak up,
"Ah! The pink thing you saw...!"

Joey remained sitting there for a moment, Varda asking if he was feeling better. "Yea... but still crap." he said with a slight sigh. He didn't enjoy the feeling. At-least he didn't feel crippled... "I hope, I don't want to keep this goop..." he said as he attempted to stand up. At first he stumbled but caught himself. "I, I think I will be alright." he said, being unsure of himself.

Then Varda reminded him about the pink thing he saw. "Oh! Its over here!" he said as he perked up slightly. He then started to run over to the spot but just after about 3 steps, he stumbled. "ahehe, I think I will just walk..." he said as he got back up to walk to the scarf. He then picked up the scarf and looked at it. It seemed a little different from the description given about the item they were looking for. "I... don't think this it..." he said as he held the item up towards Varda. "What kind of scarf is this?" he asked.

((No energy since Joey was previously poisoned in last page.))

Varda took a step forward when it looked like the smaller Pokémon couldn't stand up, but in the end he managed to keep his balance and catch his fall. Even though the Pichu didn't really look that good, the bird fully believed that Joey would be alright just like he said, not seeing any reason to doubt those words.
"Yes! I'm sure you will!" He added with a cheerful chirp before there was something else they had to concentrate on.

The pink thing they had seen, that thing that could have been the scarf they were looking for... This really was the time when actually finding it would have been just perfect, after fighting the spider-like Pokémon and all. Joey remembered it too now that he was reminded, and the two started to dash towards it... Just for the Pichu to stumble, slowing both of the Pokémon down to just normal walking. The Swablu cooed as Joey pulled the item out, and it indeed was a scarf!

...Just, not the right scarf. Varda seemed a bit defeated, though he walked closer to take a better look at it. It didn't have the spots it was supposed to have, but this one was pink as well... And familiar, now that his friend asked about it. Perking up, for once the bird realized he could answer.
"Oh, I've found a couple of those!" He chirped in his excitement, able to recognize what he had gotten appraised in the past,
"It's one of those, it's a... Defense Scarf, yes!"


Current Energy: 13 (12 +1 from the new page)

Joey sighed, "So it isn't the item we are looking for..." he said slowly. He then looked out into the darkness. "Well, at least we can keep exploring, I am sure we will find it." he said as he put a smile on his face. "So, do you want this scarf?" he said as he continued holding the scarf... He didn't feel like keeping it at the moment, however if Varda didn't want it. He would probably see if Jak wanted it later.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He still however felt a bit sick. The feeling of the gooy liquid covering his coat like oil, was slowly starting to affect him once more. "Let's go get this goo off, I feel like I might get sick again..." he said as he attempted to shake it off his paws.

((Feel free to have Joey follow you all the way to a river or something, I can't think of a way to introduce it at moment.))

While Varda felt happy about them finding an item and him being able to recognize it right away, he couldn't help but feel a bit defeated just like the Pichu when he was reminded that well, they had another thing they were looking for right here. For their client's sake, they really had to find the scarf – and hopefully, fast! But the two of them weren't giving up just yet, making the bird to bounce right up and nod with a smile. If they kept exploring, they would find it... But before they left, the bird made sure to grab the spiky thorn he had found earlier. It had helped them before, so it could do it again...

Joey was also offering the scarf he found to the Swablu, causing the bird Pokémon in question to tilt his head as he continued to walk.
"You don't like it?" He cooed, not entirely sure why he was being given a gift all of a sudden. The Pichu was the rightful finder of the scarf here!
"I mean... If you don't really really want it, sure! I think it's a nice scarf! But you never know when you could find some use for items like that..."

As the pair continued to walk, a certain sound made Varda stop as he tried to listen, urging Joey to do the same considering how big ears his partner had. If he wasn't mistaken, it was like he could hear... Running water! Could it be? In his excitement, the bird started to waddle after the voice, making sure that the Pichu was still with him. The soft gurgling and splashing of water only seemed to grow louder, the air around them getting that wet, cool feel... And eventually, from the darkness emerged a tiny river snaking its way through the forest. The trees seemed to be a bit more sparse in the area, letting more sunlight in and allowing few more bushes to grow. Some deer-like Pokémon was currently lapping water from the river with its tongue.


(Got 1 Cacnea Spike)

Joey looked at the bird pokemon for a moment. "I like it, its just..." he stated as he continued to look at the item. "I would like you to have it though." he said with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Condition 1: If Varda accepts the gift
Assume Joey hands him the scarf

Otherwise: Joey will bag the item and follow varda to the water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joey continued walking along the path until varda stopped for a moment. Joey listened for a moment, his head still being a bit cloudy from the previous problem with poison. He had a bit of trouble hearing things super clearly... However from what he could tell... There was the sound of water!!

"Water!" he stated as he tried to figure out the direction of the sound. Eventually they found the small little river that cut through the forest. "Finally!" he said as he waddled over to the water. He then began to attempt to wash the grunge off him. Having part of it already try onto him, he still wanted it off himself.

He took note of the deer like pokemon on the other side of the small river. It seemed to be peaceful there as it drank from it. Slowing lapping it up with its tongue. For a brief moment, it did look up towards Joey. It didn't take him as a threat and just continued to drink from the river. He then spotted a blue colored berry on a bush nearby where he was. "Hey, that's an oran berry!" he exclaimed as he ran over and grabbed a berry off the bush. There were other berries however they didn't seem to be edible at the moment. It was possible there was another berry that was edible at the moment on the bush if one looked.

Joey smiled as he bit down into the berry. "I really needed this... That dumb poison harsh!" he said in between bites.

"Maybe there is another ripe one in there that you can have!" he said with a smile.

Varda let out a hmm as he thought, the Pichu did apparently like the scarf, but... It was still being offered to him. With a smile, the bird accepted and folded it neatly before putting it in his bag.
"Alright then, if it's a gift! I'll keep it around for a while so if you ever think you need it, you just have to say and you can have it back!" The Swablu chirped happily. It was quite handy that they both lived in the same Guild, made things like this quite easy...

As they got to the river, Joey wasted no time starting to wash the poison that was coating his fur. The purple goop was diluted by the water, but the cloudy purple mixture heading downriver still looked a bit intimidating. Hopefully no one would drink that part and get poisoned, but perhaps the poison would be completely dispersed soon as more water rushed into the river. As Varda wasn't thirsty himself and didn't need to wash any part, he ended up waddling around and looking at their surroundings.

Behind him, the Swablu heard a sound as Joey had decided to do the same, finding a berry bush. He was happy about that too, cooing in awe, but it seemed like the Pichu wanted to find something for him to eat as well. To that, the bird just giggled.
"Oh, I'm not very hungry! I eat just before we left, after all. But as an Explorer, it's a good idea to find a lot of food so you can bring it with you on another, longer journey!" Varda instructed, for once being the more, well, experienced and older Guild member who could give hints to the younger ones. That certainly made him happy.

"So you should check that bush there and I will check... These ones over here!" He suggested, waddling over to a different bush. No berries he could see on that one, so it probably wasn't a berry bush... But it was still a good idea to check! Some kind of orange bug with mushrooms on its back quickly scurried from under the bush as the Swablu got too close, in a hurry to get away...


(Got 1 Defense Scarf)

Joey smiled as it seemed Varda was alright, hunger wise. He didn't have to worry about eating in front of the bird at the moment. The fluffy bird like pokemon then suggested they look for some more of those berries. Joey nodded in agreement and looked through the bush some more. He did find another berry. Just as Varda had predicted.

Just as Joey went to reach for the berry, he brushed up against a sharp object causing him to yipe slightly as he quickly pulled away. He seemed to have scrapped his arm on one of those odd green spikes. One of them was right next to the berry, and he didn't even realize it.

Joey then picked the spike out of the bush and threw it on the ground next to him. A bit upset at what he accidentally did with it. He then grabbed the berry and put it in his bag for the time being.

Varda wiggled himself into the bush, holding the leaves aside as he peeked inside. Indeed, he saw no berries. There just were some rocks lying underneath the rather bare ground where the strange orange Pokémon had came from, nothing very interesting... Until his eyes managed to pick something different in one of the rocks! Some kind of markings that were very difficult to see with the lack of proper light, but the bird did his best as he scooped it up with his wings and tried to look, exiting the bush to examine it.

He could feel the imprint of some round-ish shape on the smooth surface, otherwise the rock seemed to be rather rough on the other side. It was as if it was a rock that had been neatly cut in half! Holding it out to the sun, the shape on the rock looked like a leaf... Ah. Was this one of those Leaf Stones he had heard about before? It sure would have made sense! Joey still seemed to be busy with his own bush, so Varda didn't announce his finding yet, placing the rock down on the ground as he went over to another bush to see if there was something interesting in there.

It seemed to be just as bare and the rocks he saw didn't seem to be as fancy as the Leaf Stone. But the Pichu's yip caused the Swablu to perk up as he quickly turned around, twisting inside the bush and fighting against the branches.
"Are you alright, Joe-eeeeyyyy!" Varda started to ask, but his voice got rather strange in the end and grew louder. He felt something poking his behind! The bird wiggled around, but he realized that he was stuck between the branches... And he certainly didn't want to become a bush when something was trying to poke him continuously!
"Aaah... I think I'm, ahaha, stuck – and that tickles, stop it..."

Joey shook his head as he heard the Fluffy bird pokemon's voice. He was about to respond, however it seemed when he heard his name get called in an... odd manner, his ears perked up as he turned towards Varda. "Yea, I am fine... are you?" he said as he started to giggle at the scene. "Here, let me help." he said still chuckling at the scene. He walked over and attempted to help the bird out of the bush, seeming as the cotton like feathers it had had gotten caught on the branches quite easily. It would probably take a bit of work to get unstuck.

"Here, hold still." he said as he continued his attempts to get the branches from sticking to the bird, as it seemed it was tickling him.

((Sorry for delay in post, I was waiting for something and I forgot |D then I read through lists and saw this still needed post. |D))

Varda squirmed a bit as he felt something poking him, and it just didn't seem to stop! At least the Pichu seemed to be fine and walked over, attempting to help the bird get free. The branches were pushed aside, though they were rather stiff to such small and light Pokémon. The Swablu could still feel how moving was becoming slightly easier, pulling his wings carefully as he tried to untangle himself from the branches. It seemed to be working – but he felt the poke again, this time harder than before. It was enough to even make Varda chirp out a yelp.

"Oof! I think there's something in here with me!" The bird suspected, unable to hold quite as still as he had when the pokes became more frequent and painful. But he did his best, not wanting to get tangled up again – though as soon as he felt like he was free enough, the Swablu didn't waste any time spreading his wings and jumping out of the bush with the help of his wings. And right after the bird, one of those orange mushroom bugs jumped out.


((Hah, no worries. I'll only get worried if you forget for months!))

As Joey had helped Varda out of the bush, it seemed the branches were not the only thing caught onto the bird.

"Hey, let go of him." the pichu growled at orange mushroom like bug pokemon. However it seemed to stand its ground near the bush as Varda had jumped out of the bush.

The pokemon simply stamp one of its legs into the ground, sort of as if it was issuing a challenge for something. Joey took this as a warning about coming near it. Joey however didn't know that it was acting like this due to it being territorial.

((They are not fully aggro just yet, any more provocation will cause it to be))

Varda landed on the grass softly and folded his wings before turning over and taking a look at what was behind him. Another one of those Pokémon... And it certainly seemed annoyed in the way it moved and stared at the two. The bird tilted his head, his feathers on top of his head flopping over before he seemed to smile as if he understood. Honestly, he didn't. But he could see that he had been where he shouldn't be and annoyed the Pokémon...

"Perhaps I accidentally barged into his home!" The Swablu giggled happily, seeing that as a possibility. A bush didn't really seem like a home, but who was he to judge if this Pokémon thought it was good?
"Sorry about that," he added his apologies, though he was unsure if the Pokémon was able to understand. It could have been feral and it had yet to speak this far. Varda did back away and motioned at Joey to do the same, as there was something else he wanted to show his friend.
"I found this stone thing," the bird pointed at the Leaf Stone he had left on the grass earlier.

"Umm, yea... Lets not go back in that bush." the pichu responded as he backed away alongside the bird pokemon. The pokemon that had just jumped out of the bush, seemed to remain there as they backed away. It must of took this as a sign of backing down. As it seemed to slowly crawl backwards, back into the bush as it stared at them.

As they got a small distance away from the pokemon, Verda seemed to mention that he found some kind of stone. "Stone thing?" he repeated as he looked towards the stone that was on the ground. The pichu picked up the stone and looked at it. "Hmm... Where have I seen something like this before..." the pichu thought aloud.

After about 5 seconds going by, he seemed to have remembered. "I KNOW!" he practically shouted as he quickly put the stone down and dove into his explorer bag for something. Seemingly excited from Varda's find.

"It's just like my treasure!" he bubbled as he pulled out his stone with a lightning bolt on it. He held onto it for a second and the squeezed it close to himself. His smile slowly faded as he did so.

((If it is not already obvious, recommend asking what is wrong :3))

Their plan of retreating seemed to work, no longer bothered by the Pokémon that had been very close to attacking them before. Well, technically it had tried pushing Varda away and it could easily be called an attack, but honestly? It didn't hurt that much and the bird didn't really mind. It all had been an accident and a misunderstanding really, completely his fault in the end for poking his beak where it didn't belong. Avoiding needless battles seemed to be in the blood of both of the team members here, so it luckily was easy to avoid the situation from escalating.

The Swablu did quickly forget about the bug in the bush as they started to talk about the stone. Joey did see it and even picked it up to take a closer look at it, looking like a normal stone otherwise but... The leaf-like pattern was visible, and Varda too had seen a stone like this before. But before he managed to speak up and help the Pichu remember where he might have seen it, the little Pokémon already spoke up in excitement as he seemed to remember.

Varda tilted his head, curious as to what Joey was digging out from his bag. It ended up being another rock, but this one was a lot fancier in how it looked, less like a normal dull rock and more like some kind of precious gem. It was yellow and apparently, the Pichu's treasure. The Swablu was excited to see it, but he realized he didn't have a treasure of his own yet... Maybe he would, one day?

But for some reason Joey didn't look very happy in the end. What had started as happy excitement quickly died down, the small Pokémon's lips unable to keep their smile. The bird grew concerned as he saw it, his eyes looking at the Pichu carefully.
"It... It didn't break, right...?"