Red Hues of Sunset

Bright like fire and dark like embers. Yellow like the sun at it's highest point of the day, and orange like the last dregs of light before the night.

Russell couldn't help but stand and stare in awe of the brightly coloured leaves of Fallen Leaf Copse, every time he came here. There was something so beautiful and moving about the harmony of so many hues that was so stunning. Just when you thought you'd spotted all the possible hues of red and yellow, you'd find another within the leafy branches.

The young Burmy hung from one of the forest's trees, his coiled antenna curling around the wood of the branch to prevent him from falling off. From here, he held his notepad in two of his stubby legs, using the psychic type hidden power he possessed to hold the pen, scribbling down all of the metaphors and descriptive comparisons he could think of to describe the leaves.

Like all Burmy, Russ had taken on a cloak based on the environment he was in, his leafy plant cloak being made up of reds, yellows and oranges rather than greens as that was what was readily available in the autumn paradise.

Giles wondered into the Corpse that day seeing he was still learning the lay of the land. So far he has been to Shadowhue, and later to Black Mist Mountain. Each time he has made a new friend. First with Milt the aspiring guild member, then came Nate the experienced member of the guild. Well, he had a bit of an adventure with Nate involving two other pokemon, but that is despite the point.

Giles was in awe of all of the leaves around him. He never had seen anything like this. Seeing how the only other forest he has been in was Shadowhue, he got a bit of a surprise. He never knew that forests could have so much diversity. Growing up on a small island, he never got really exposed to the world. The island had rather tropical climate, so the falling of leaves was something that was alien to him.

He found the leaves to make a rather unique noise when you step in them. Intrigued by this, he began playing in them. He was too busy with the leaves he did not notice that there was another pokemon there. He only realized when he hit his head on the other pokemon. Put off by his actions, Giles said, “Golly there, I didn’t see you there, my apologies!”

14 energy (-11 from entry)

The autumn cloaked Burmy was so absorbed in trying to come up with a specific descriptor for his current sentence that he neglected to notice the Shuckle below him until said Shuckle had begun playing with the leaves on the forest floor below and had accidentally whacked his head on Russ's tail.

Surprised by the sudden jolt, Russ couldn't do much to stop his journal from being knocked from his stubby little legs and failed to catch it before it fell to far out of his reach, eventually landing among the leaves that littered the ground. The pen he was holding also dropped from his psychic grasp as he lost his concentration, bouncing off of the Shuckle's head before hitting the ground.

Once the initial shock of the encounter was over, Russell waved his legs quite frantically, knocking a few leaves from his autumn cloak.
"No no! Don't worry about it," he replied with a small chuckle.
"I'm sorry for dropping my stuff on you. So I guess we're kinda even," he added a little sheepishly.

When Giles hit the other pokemon, needless to say he was not expecting it, and neither was the other pokemon. Fortunately for him, the other pokemon did not fall on him. The other pokemon just dropped their stuff on his head.  After all of that he was a bit dazed, but quickly got back to his senses.

He looked at the other pokemon he saw that it was a Burmy. “Well that makes sense why I couldn’t see him,” Giles thought. The Burmy went and spoke to Giles; he seemed to be a kind fellow. Did not make any fuss about getting hit. Giles began to pick up the Burmy’s belongings when he was speaking.

“Nope, nope. You have nothing to be sorry for. Completely my fault.” Giles started to hand over the pen and paper. “Well, let’s try and make this lest awkward, the name is Giles, what be yours friend?” Giles felt really bad about disrupting whatever the Burmy was in the middle of but he seemed to be a pretty forgiving guy.

"Ah.. if you say so," the Burmy replied with a small smile. If any pokemon were to accidentally bump into him, at least it was one that appeared to be rather kindhearted, rather than someone who would just instantly place the blame on the opposite party.

Nevertheless, Russell un-curled his antenna from the branch he had chosen to hang from, neatly dropping down to land in a pile of leaves on the forest floor. Shoving the leaves out of his face, the Burmy smiled back to the Shuckle as the stranger introduced himself.
"I'm Russell, though most just call me Russ. Nice to meet you Giles," he grinned, taking his journal and pen back and opening the book briefly to mark the page he'd been writing in before he'd dropped it.

Giles finished up trying to shake off the fact that he just knocked another pokemon out from a tree as Russ talked, just nodding along to what he was saying. “Yup yup, likewise there Mister Russ.”

Afterwards, he looked up toward the tree that Russ was just in and looked inquisitively at it. He was mainly just trying to figure out what the other pokemon was doing up there for he did not look at what Russ’s papers. That would just be rude. Giles pondered for a bit about what he might have been doing up there, and then realized that it would just be easier to ask. “So what were you doin’ up there anyways? Were you writin’ or drawin’ something?”

The Burmy blinked at the direct question, before replying with a small smile.
"Oh. I guess, writing. Though there are drawings in my journal too," he answered the curious Shuckle's query, "Being high up in the trees tends to give me a nicer view over a larger distance."

There was also a certain thrill to being able to hang freely from a tree branch and know that you didn't risk your survival as an individual by doing so, due to the precise nature of your species, but that was a thought that Russell kept to himself.

"Do you often come to this forest?" he asked in reply, wanting to learn more about this new face.

The shuckle nodded along as the burmy responded to his question. After his response, Giles imagined what it would be like up in the trees. His species is grounded and with the little mobility that shuckles have, he imagined that he would have trouble ascending into the skies. The only other time recently that he went to a place of significant altitude was Black Mist Mountain. But the Mist made it quite hard to take in the beauty that the height could provide.
 

Giles was caught off guard when the burmy asked a question back. “No, it’s actually my first time. I’ve managed to get very far away from my homeland. I figured to make the best of the situation and venture the world, seeing all of its beauty.”

The Burmy smiled at the Shuckle's words, "I can certainly relate to that. I myself am trying to create a map of the world, but I can't wait to see all of the wonders that might be in store for me!" he grins, his excitement showing. Russell really couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life than spending it exploring the mysteries of the world.

Quelling his over excitement, the Burmy looked back to Giles, "Do you have any specific goals in mind, or do you just go where your feet take you?" He asked. If the Shuckle truly didn't have anything in mind, perhaps it would be beneficial to ask if he was interested in joining him in his quest to map the world.

Giles was filled with wonder when Russel mentioned his map. Was even such a map even possible, if so he would love to see if possible. Trying not to look like his jaw dropped at the mention of the map, he tried his best to nonchalantly answer Russel’s question.
 

“Go wherever the wind blows is the best way to word it. Maybe relocate my home? But the world is too big of a place to not explore. I’ve seen a lot already and I know that in the grand scheme of things I haven’t seen anything!” Giles hope that he sufficiently answered the question and hoped to hear more of this map.

The Burmy's smile only few wider at the Shuckle's words. He was practically bursting at the idea of being able to share the knowledge his organisation gained with someone who would appreciate it as much as he did. Yes, he was definitely going to ask Giles to join!

"I have a suggestion for you," Russell began, pausing as he worked out just how to word what he wanted to say, "I actually formed an organisation to help me in my dream to map the world and discover what it has to offer. I can't go everywhere, places underwater for example, and so I asked other Pokemon to join me."
Though still as cheerful as ever, the Burmy paused again momentarily, "We call ourselves the Windrose Scouts, and we investigate all manner of rumours and place. If you're interested in joining I think you'd be a perfect fit for our exploration organisation," he smiled.

Upon mentioning the Windrose Scouts, Giles jaw actually dropped this time. There was no way that he was going to contain that excitement. An entire organization dedicated to what he already loved to do just sounded unreal. “Golly there Russ, sound like an amazing idea. I too cannot go underwater, or fly for that matter but exploration is my love. How do I join?” As he was talking he made no notion of hiding his joy for the opportunity.

Russell practically wiggled with joy as Giles expressed his interest in becoming a part of the Windrose Scouts.
"Joining isn't always a simple matter, as I set a challenge to anyone who expresses interest in joining, in order to evaluate their skills in the field and to judge whether or not they are honest about their intentions for joining. I have no doubt that you will pass any challenge with flying colours though!" He grinned happily.

"Since I can tell you're interested I'll just go ahead and assign you a suitable challenge~" Russell continued, pausing for a moment to consider what he would challenge the Shuckle with. After a few seconds of deliberation, he seemed to think of something he liked.

"Alright how about this. There are special leaves that can be found here in Fallen Leaf Copse. I challenge you to find at least one of them, and bring it back to show me as proof," the Burmy grinned at Giles, "I live around here, so I shouldn't be too hard to find again once you're done, and once your challenge is complete I can share with you the rest of the information our members have gathered so far!"

Giles was listening intently as Russel explained to him the process of joining Windrose. Not that he fully understood what Russel was talking about though. It was only his first time here in Fallen Leaf Copse, and he had gotten all that far into it either. He had no idea what made these leaves so special, but he was determined to find it. As he opened his mouth, he decided not to ask about the leaves because he thought that would ruin some of the challenge. He just simply said, “Special leaves, got it. Only one of them? I think I can do that easily… I think”

"Yup! Only one of them," the Burmy confirmed with a nod. He was almost bouncing off of the trees with how enthusiastic he seemed to be behaving at the idea of bringing someone else into the organisation that he was proud to call his own.

Russell grinned widely, "I think you'll do great and I can't wait to see the report you'll write!"