Enter, Tenebris

This is the day. The day when Tenebris will apply for work at the Guild, where it was rare to be rejected. Being homeless and desperate his whole life, this is when he would have a job for once. It's an extremely hard job according to some, but Tenebris didn't care. As long as he is paid enough to provide for his family of Sneasel and Weavile, it didn't matter how hard the job is. He left early in the morning, saying a tearful goodbye to his family. He said, "I promise- I'll give all of you a happier life one day." before he left. He had to be careful when travelling at first, then again he slept on ghetto sidewalks in an area where outlaws could strike any time. He cautiously walked through endless streets of run-down buildings with shady characters, but eventually found himself in the main streets of Grassveil that were much safer.

He began walking toward the large building where the Guild would be. He walked through the doors to find himself surrounded by the safest, happiest looking people he had ever seen. There was a much happier sensation here, too, because he knew he might actually stay here for a long time. Maybe even get fed- he had heard meals here were bigger then the amount of food he had eaten in his entire life, which was maybe one apple every meal. He just needed to get a job here- it's his only chance of allowing himself and his family to survive...

Darcy and her father finally arrived at the Grassveil Guild.  The skitty was exhausted from the long trip here, but the sight of her new home was enough to perk her up instantly.  This was where she would be staying for at least a couple of months, until her mother had healed and could start working again.  Maybe longer if she found that she liked it here.  She was burning with excitement, eager to meet all of the Pokemon she would be spending that time with.  She gave her dad an affectionate hug, then said goodbye and eagerly trotted towards the front doors.

"Take care, Darcy!  And do your best!" her dad said, waving a forepaw in farewell.  "I'll be sure to stop by here when I'm in Grassveil next weekend.  And remember that you can come visit home any time you want, okay?"

"Sure thing, dad!" she shouted, waving back.  "Take good care of mom for me, yeah?"

She turned around and entered the guild's foyer.  Several groups of Pokemon were milling around the room, talking to each other or looking over the boards on the left and right walls.  She figured she would introduce herself to one of the groups and ask them where she should go to sign up, but before she could decide which to approach, Darcy felt herself bump into someone.

"Oh, sorry," she said, looking up at him.  She had never seen a pokemon like this before--he was bipedal, with dark fur and sharp claws.  He seemed a little out of place, given his unfamiliar species and the strange way he was looking around the room.  It piqued Darcy's curiosity, so she decided to try starting a conversation. Getting registered could wait, after all.  "Is this your first time at the guild too?" she asked, trotting up to his side.  "You don't look like you're from around here."

Tenebris looked at Darcy, curious. This was probably a new recruit as well. He replied to her question, "Yes, this is my first time. I'm Tenebris, a Sneasel from the more- unfortunate areas of Grassveil. But I won't bore you with the details. Why are you here? Looking for a job as well?"

"Yeah, exactly!  I'm glad to see I'm not the only newbie here," Darcy said, swishing her tail back and forth excitedly.  This was perfect!  Getting used to guild life would be a lot more fun with someone else in the same boat.  Tenebris seemed to know his way around town, too, so that should be helpful.  She had been to town before to help her parents run errands, but they always stuck to the busier streets.  She didn't even know that Grassveil had any less fortunate parts until now.  Maybe she could get Tenebris to show her around some time.

"My name is Darcy, by the way," she continued.  "My family lives a ways outside of Grassveil Town.  It's nice to meet you!"  She then returned her attention to the room around her.  "I guess we should find the guildmaster so we can get signed up, huh?" she said, trotting forward.  "Do you have any plans about joining a team, or maybe starting your own?  Because I sure don't."

Tenebris wondered about her question. Should he start a team or join one? It might be easier to make one, then again many teams were already full nowadays...

He decided he should start one, possibly with Darcy. He said, "I don't have plans, but I think we should start a team, it might be easier than joining an existing one. Any ideas? If so, let's discuss them with the Guildmaster. I'm sure he or she would explain how everything works and help us plan."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Darcy said, her ears perking up a little.  "We're both beginners, so we wouldn't have to worry about holding back any of the more experienced teams.  It would probably be easier to just make our own than to convince someone else to take us in, too."  She paused for a moment, then shot Tenebris a playful glance.  "And more importantly, I spent all of last week coming up with cool team names.  They're all incredibly good, and  it'd be a shame if they went to waste.

"Now let's go find the guildmaster!" she said.  Darcy dashed forward for a moment, then realized that she didn't know where she was going.  She screeched to a halt and sheepishly looked back at Tenebris.  "Do you, um...  Know where the guildmaster would be?  Heh heh..."

Tenebris realized she had a point, they needed to find someone who could lead them to the guildmaster, but he was so unfamiliar with the place that he needed to ask someone. He said, "Yeah, I don't know where he or she is, but I'm sure we can ask someone. In the meantime, what kind of names were you thinking of? Someone like you probably would have some good ideas."

Tenebris liked complimenting people he befriended, because he didn't have very many friends, and the ones he had he wanted to be nice to.

"Oh, sure," Darcy said cheerfully, pacing back to where Tenebris was standing.  "We probably need to decide on a name before we can form a team, anyway.  What do you think of 'Team Super Great Superstars'?  Or 'Team Bad Guy Hunters'?  Or, my personal favorite, 'Mega Turbo Friendship Club?'  All pretty good, wouldn't you say?"

She looked at Tenebris expectantly, a goofy smile on her face.  Her suggestions weren't serious, of course, although that last one was starting to grow on her.  She was just joking around and hoping to get a reaction out of him.  "Anyway, that's all I have.  If you have any ideas of your own, let's hear them.  I'm open to compromise."

Despite all of her joking, she really didn't have any other names in mind.  She hoped that Tenebris had some better ideas, or at least that he would be okay with Mega Turbo Friendship Club.

Tenebris thought about the names and said, "Well, those names sound good, and that last one could even be simplified to 'Friendship Alliance' or something. You have quite the taste in team names, and that's good. I like being around those with creativity." Tenebris thought some more, and then had an idea. "Hey, I know something our team could even do! Help those who need service! You sound like the cheerful type that could brighten up someone's day, and that's something that some Pokémon just need. What do you think? We could name our team the 'Friendship and Service Alliance' if that's an activity you would like. Is that something you would like?" he was getting more eager the more he talked to Darcy. It was the first positive conversation he had in a long time.

"Oh, you really think so?" Darcy said, a little surprised and amused.  She thought those names were all kind of goofy, but Tenebris actually seemed to like them.  Maybe he was just humoring her.  In any case, his own suggestion was much better.  The idea of meeting new people and brightening their lives was part of why working at the guild had appealed to her so strongly, so it seemed like a fitting name.  She was glad that her new teammate valued the same sort of thing she did.  

"Okay, I think that sounds great!" she said.  "The name is a little on the nose, maybe, but it's miles better than any of my ideas."  Her tail gave a little swish of excitement as she turned away from Tenebris.  "Now that that's settled, let's ask around about where the guildmaster is!  I've wanted to meet her for ages."

((Also, I sent you a PM.  Be sure to read it, okay?))