New in town

Kipo was getting antsy. His back felt raw from leaning against the splintered, red-painted wood of the cart for so long, his behind itchy from sitting on the bale of hay that substituted a seat, and his beak twitched from lack of a snack. Every now and again, the cart would jounce violently as it rolled over a strange stone or branch, and as mid-morning approached, the overcast skies made the Delibird anxious that bad weather might ruin the day and his long-anticipated arrival at Grassveil town, where he'd heard rumors of a mighty guild of adventurers and heroes willing to brave the deepest caves and the highest mountain peaks in the service of other Pokemon and in the search of untold wonders. At last, he hoped, he would find a team that could find his home mountain.

But the real source of Kipo's nervousness was the fact that he and his taxi driver, the grumpy Tauros pulling the cart, hadn't spoken in over thirty minutes. Granted, the conversation had been sparse and largely one-sided the majority of the trip, but Kipo was increasingly worried that something was ailing his travelling companion. Was he hungry? The Delibird would have offered him some of the apples and gummis he had packed, but they were already all eaten. Was he tired? Maybe he should propose a rest. Wasn't that a funny looking tree they just passed, perhaps he should crack a joke about its similarity to a fat Smeargle. A decisive snort from the Tauros convinced the bird against it.

Kipo was so absorbed in figuring out his driver's troubles he didn't notice that they had rolled into the town until the Tauros stopped. "Here, now gerroff," it said irritably. The day had not yet gotten underway, and while the town's stalls were already set up, there were few customers out and about. Kipo was disappointed as he scrambled off the, having hoped to see a little more hustle and bustle in the big city.

"Well, sure is pretty isn't it. A little quiet, sure, but can't say it's the quietest place I've ever been, I remember one time my dad and I went to a --"

"That'll be 5000 Poke"

"Wha- 5000! But how's that, I thought Tauros Taxi's the most affordable service about here" said Kipo, indicating the peeling painted logo on the side of the cart.

"Overnight travel charge"

Frowning slightly, Kipo dug into his pouch, producing the 5000 the Tauros asked for. This was all the money he'd thought to bring with him, how was he going to be able to commission a team now? The Delibird handed the money over, which the Tauros seemed all to relieved to take and be on his way. Shouldering his pouch, Kipo set off into the town, determined to look on the bright side.

As she normally did when she didn't have anything to do, Alkere was wandering around town. She enjoyed the atmosphere of the town, the hushed chatter, the ambient noise. Most of all, she loved it when she got into another kind of misadventure. Sure, it was pretty unlikely for adventure to just fall into her lap as she wandered the town... but it was even more unlikely she'd find something to do sitting around at home. So, she walked the town streets, even though they were unusually quiet...

... seriously, what was going on with everyone today? Rumors had suddenly started flying and they all locked themselves in their homes. Afraid of loosing their minds, apparently. Some part of the little Bagon still thought it was rubbish, but with how the townsfolk reacted, she was honestly a little unnerved. For now, she shook it off. This would hopefully pass through... even if it didn't, well, she couldn't run around like a chicken with her head cut off screaming the world was ending. That never accomplished anything.

Alkere walked onwards until she heard the faint sound of voices being raised. She didn't catch the entire arguement, but she heard enough to catch how expensive the taxi services were. For a moment she wondered if the Delibird was going to try and barter, but he gave in rather quickly. She approached the stranger, a hint of disdain in her tone. "Geez... You alright? I can't stand people like that Tauros. Practically outlaws, I'd say." She paused. The poor guy had pretty much been scammed, from what she could tell. She didn't care one bit if the Tauros heard her.

(Hope you didn't mind me incorporating a bit of the recent event. I can edit my post if this gets in the way of something you had planned.)

For a moment, Kipo was surprised. The town seemed so lifeless he hadn't anticipated anyone would take notice of another wanderer tumbling into town. He sized up the new Pokemon, just gathering that she was a young Bagon before lifting his wing high and clapping her solidly on the back, bursting out laughing. "Outlaws! That's a good one!" Kipo whooped good-naturedly. It was a little bit before he composed himself enough to continue "It's no big deal, really, I mean at least he took me for a ride before... taking me for a ride." Another bout of giggles. "Still, I really don't mind. It's not his fault I'm sure, gotta make a living somehow." Kipo hadn't noticed that in his laughing, he'd let his pouch slip off his shoulder, spilling its contents; he was a little disheartened when he realized there was nothing in there but lint and dust bunnies. Sighing, he picked it up again, smiled, and offered a warm flipper to the Bagon. "I'm Kipo, by the way, nice to meet you Ms... er"

(not at all, it sound like fun! I was kind of trying to go for it a little too with the overcast skies, but right now he's more or less oblivious to anything being amiss)

Had this guy not realised how ludicrous 5000 poke was for a taxi ride? ... Oh well. He didn't seem all that down about it. Maybe that was for the best. As much as she'd like to say otherwise, that Tauros wasn't technically a criminal, so she couldn't touch him. She grabbed the Delibird's flipper in something akin in a handshake. "Alkere. Nice meeting you, too, Kipo." She greeted with a swift nod. "It's been quiet 'round here lately. I'm a little surprised someone new's moving in. You'd think the world's ending with how dramatic the townsfolk are being..." She scoffed faintly. Sure, what was going on was scary, assuming it was all real. But hiding alone in their homes wasn't fixing anything! Why was that so hard for them to understand? Cowards.

"Hmm?" asked Kipo, blinking curiously. "Isn't this the town with the hotshot adventure Guild? I figured there'd be new adventurers out the ol' dittledoo around here..." His voice trailed off as he picked up a hint of resentment in his companion's tone. He wondered is something had happened around here he hadn't heard about and was about to ask when his stomach grumbled. Grabbing at it, he chuckled nervously "He he he... sorry but you wouldn't happen to know a restaurant we could talk at, would you?"

"Normally, you'd be right. Things have just been... funny lately. You picked an odd time to come to town. But it'll sort itself out soon, I'm sure. There are a lot of talented 'mon, myself included, on the case." She paused. A restaurant, huh? That might be a good idea. It beat talking out here on the streets, anyways. "Yeah, sure, I know a place. I can pay for the food, if you'd like. Not sure how much money you have left after that Tauros' taxi ride." She chuckled faintly. Okay, so not many people would join someone they just met to a restaurant. But with how reclusive everyone was being, someone had to welcome the newcomer to town. Normally Grassveil was a pretty friendly place, Alkere thought. She'd moved here when she was only a little kid. She didn't want this Delibird getting the wrong impression, especially with how (in her eyes, anyways) that Tauros had more or less robbed him earlier.