Getting an assignment

Niracamda had made her way to the small pond. It was still pretty early. There didn't seem to be anyone around yet. The Houndour looked up at the sky. The dark clouds in the sky didn't bode well. She hoped it was not going to rain today. She would not be surprised if nobody came to the pond today. The Houndour actually wanted to go find some shelter in case it would rain but she was going to meet up with Deimos and the founder of the Windrose Scouts. She could not leave yet.

Niracamda sighed and made her way towards a nearby tree. The shiny Houndour glanced around her one more time before sitting down under it. She was rather tired. Nira glanced at the wounds on her front paw. It no longer hurt but that Houndoom really had been rough on her. She was trying to figure out what she would say to Deimos about it. It was rather obvious that the wounds were actually bite marks. The small Houndour hoped that neither of them would notice.

Deimos had set out from his home within the Organization a while back, fully equipped and ready for travelling. As normal he had his improvised bag being pulled along behind him, the purple Reaper Cloth he picks up so long ago being out to good use. Deimos knew that he had a meeting to attend today and that hopefully Russell would be present as well. His destination, the ever familiar Small Pond.

The Absol had been walking for a good while now before Nira had headed to the pond, knowing he had a decent distance to travel. Once the familiar body of water came within his sight, he stretched and glanced around. He didn't pick out too many presences for the moment, so he went on ahead to the waters edge in order to put himself in plain view.

Russell hadn't been heading to the pre-agreed meeting place from the Windrose Library as Deimos had been, instead he was heading from Shadowhue Forest after accompanying another young budding explorer -and historian for that matter- on her assigned challenge for entry to the Windrose Scouts. The Mothim was in a rather good mood after leaving the Ralts to work on her report of the experience. It was always interesting to see someone begin to grow into their skills as an explorer after all.

Russell fluttered into the area that the inhabitants of Grassveil Town lovingly called the Small Pond and landed gracefully next to the water so that he could dip his white fore-feet into the cool pond. With a small smile, he then turned his attention to that around him, quickly spotting Deimos's white fur and waving to the familiar Absol.

The shiny Houndour didn't have to wait for long. She could spot a familiar white figure walking towards the pond. The weather was still the same as before. Rain wasn't that bad as long as it wasn't going to thunder. Thunderstorms always made her nervous for some reason. Niracamda wasn't paying much attention to the Mothim that flew over the small pond. She had never met the leader before and didn't know the leader was a mothim.

Niracamda stood up and slowly walked over towards the Absol that was now sitting at the edge of the water. The small Houndour was still worried about how Deimos or the leader of the Windrose Scouts would react to her wound. She decided not to worry about it to much. Once she was close enough, she decided to speak up. "Good afternoon, Deimos." The blue Houndour smiled at the Pokemon that was her bodyguard but who she also considered to be her friend.

Deimos took a moment to relax due to the relative peace and quiet. It was a nice feeling, peace and quiet dominating over the will of battle. His mind however was still alert, scanning around as a precaution. He sensed the movements of Russell and Nira, thus he got up and looked towards the approaching Houndour. The first thing he noticed was the bite marks... What did he miss?

He nodded to Nira, motioning for her to take a seat... Russell seemed to be incognito. "Hello Nira... Sorry if i was late" Deimos spoke, his tone somewhat softer than what it would normally be. He did view Nira as a friend of sorts, one to be treated fairly and with clear respect. He didn't ask about the injury immediately, instead leaving that for later, after the meeting.

Deimos looked over to Russell and motioned for him to move over as well... This was the one. "Looks like everyone's here" He spoke up, hinting towards Russell that the Houndour was the one he had informed of the organization prior.

Flapping his orange scaled wings and testing the air, the Mothim gently fluttered over to where the Absol and Houndour were sat. He nodded to Deimos and then cheerfully looked to Nira, his keen eyes immediately noticing her unusual blue-ish fur colouring. He also caught sight of how she seemed to be favouring her other front paw, but ignored the injury for now. It was not his business, and the fact that she survived an encounter with someone obviously hostile would work in her favour either way, as it would prove she could take care of herself.

"Hi there," Russell smiled, hovering in front of the shiny Houndour, "You must be Nira! Pleased to meet you!"
The Mothim politely held out one of his white front appendages for the Houndour to shake, Russell making sure he offered the one that would allow her to respond with her non-injured paw.

Niracamda looked over to the Mothim once Deimos said everyone was there. She hadn't been paying attention to the bug before so it had confused her a bit. At first glance, the Mothim seemed rather cheerful and friendly, which was good. She wouldn't be feeling well if the Mothim started picking on her for her color, or her unusual small body. She had been rather nervous about meeting the leader of the Windrose Scouts, but it seemed she didn't have to be.

Nira made a friendly smile towards the Mothim. "You are correct. I'ts a pleasure to meet you too." The small Houndour said as she shook the appendage the Mothim held out to her. "Um...I don't think I have heard your name mister... er..." Niracamda's voice trailed off a bit. She was not sure how to adres the Mothim before her.

Deimos waited patiently, giving the reigns over to Russell for the meeting. He seemed to move back a little, now serving as a sort of guardian for their little meeting. He was a fighter, Nira's Bodyguard in some scenarios and literally Russell's transport at one point. He was better emphasised for it, viewing it as a suitable task for early on.

He moved away, carefully scanning the area in order to try and ensure their privacy. He already had noticed her injury prior, shielding both her and Russell from the possibility of  harm was his duty now. "I'll check that we have no eavesdropping occurring" He stated, just to avoid any confusion that could have been caused.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, how rude of me!" the Mothim apologised as they finished shaking paws, the Mothim dipping his head apologetically to the Houndour briefly before looking to her again, "My name is Russell."

As Deimos spoke, the cheerful Mothim turned his attention to the Absol momentarily. Russell nodded gratefully to him and watched as he moved away from their small meeting. The bug pokemon was grateful to have a pokemon such as Deimos as an ally. He was intelligent, always thinking ahead and was definitely hard working when it came to being a part of the Windrose Scouts.

Russell then looked back to Nira, "So, how much do you know about the Windrose Scouts so far? If you let me know how much Deimos has spoken with you about, I can fill in some of the blanks before I assign you an entry challenge. That is, if you still wish to join our organisation!" he smiled, clearly excited about the idea of his little organisation getting another member, but of course politely making sure that this was still what the Houndour wanted to do.

Niracamda smiled towards the Mothim before her. Mistakes happened. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Russel." She said towards the Mothim. Nira glanced towards Deimos. " You seem to be taking this very serious." Nira didn't think that was a bad thing. It showed how serious he was about this.

The blue Houndour turned her attention back towards Russel. She actually did not know much about the Windrose Scouts but she would appreciate a more in dept explanation. "I only know that you are trying to create a map of the world and that you investigate rumours."

Deimos kept patiently looking around the area, biding his time and scanning around for any potential eavesdroppers. He did of course understand the occasional value of the act but he didn't respect it. This was a personal meeting for the two and he understood well enough the kind of damage that could be caused if their objective in the end was abused. Outlaws with a complete guide of the world would be a horrendous thing to deal with after all.

Soon enough Deimos had started walking around the pond, patrolling the area to widen his search area. Maybe he was just being overly cautious and paranoid but he believed it was better to be safe than sorry. Despite all of the sensible reasons for his defensive movement here, there was one he held close to his chest above all else. He was Niracamda's guardian, if he lacked vigilance and she came to harm on his watch, he would have already failed her. He didn't want her to somehow get hurt here.

The Mothim nodded a the Houndour's words, "Those are our core goals yes! We achieve them by exploring places and dungeons, and our members write reports on what they find there. We collect all these reports together in one place, the location of which is secret to all but the members of the Windrose Scouts. In order to join though, I have to assign you a challenge and then you'll have to complete that challenge and write a report on it. Once your report is complete you can come and find me again and I can show you where the library is!" he smiled, extending much enthusiasm and trust towards the Houndour as she had been vouched for by Deimos, who was already a member of the scouts.

"So... if you really are interested in that sort of thing, I can definitely assign you a challenge right now. What we do involves a lot of exploring of both known and unknown places and so these challenges are my way of ensuring that any prospective members are able to take care of themselves in these environments, whilst also judging their report writing abilities. After all, the information we gain from our explorations is just as important as the exploring itself," the Mothim continued.

Niracamda listened to the explanation of the Mothim before her. They really seemed to have interesting, large goals. It was admirable. Niracamda felt honored to have the chance to be part of this group. She was going to try her best to not let them down. There was a bit of a problem though.

"I would love to join the Windrose Scouts. I am not afraid to explore unknown areas and I love learning new things. What kind of challenge do you have for me?" Niracamda was unsure wether or not she should tell Russel her morals. She refused to inflict any harm on other Pokemon and thus dungeons were in fact very dangerous to her.

Deimos kept moving around the pond, movements slow and deliberate. He scanned around constantly, doing his best to ensure that no being was listening in on the two's conversation. He knew well enough he had to remain vigilant, to help support both his technical superior and the one under his protection.

Eventually, he paused on the opposing side of the pond, taking a moment to sit down and think. He knew like this he couldn't overhear her challenge, something that may have been a good idea to do. He knew she refused to fight, a trait that more likely than not would result in trouble, one way or another.

Forming a Spectral Claw for a moment, he lowered his head. His mind was awash with questions, undeniably so. What would be the right path here? To support her on her challenge or to let her handle it personally. To shield, or to observe.

Russell's expression conveyed an emotion of absolute delight as Niracamda decided that she very much would like to join the Windrose Scouts, even after the Mothim's lengthy explanation and the conditions she would need to meet to join.

Excited, the young Mothim hovered from side to side in thought for a moment as he contemplated what sort of challenge to give to the Houndour.

"Hmmm..." he mused before nodding to himself and turning his attention back to Nira, "How about... your challenge is to find 2 Blast Seeds, and investigate how to use them in creative ways?" he suggested, liking the idea of that challenge himself. He wondered just what things the Houndour would come up with.

"You would need to write a report on your findings once you've completed the challenge," he continued, making sure that everything was clear and that he wouldn't confuse the prospective new member, "And then Deimos could either let me know where you are so I can come find you, or you can come and find me. I'm usually around Fallen leaf Copse."