Traveling in the Town

Dave sighed. He finally reached Grassveil Town. The memory of disloyal family members was gone and his mouth dropped. Out of all the towns he visited, Grassveil Town seemed to be the most populated town he had ever seen. It was bustling with business. He kept his head down and ended up in an alley. He looked up and realized one very important thing. He was definitely lost.

    If I got lost in an alley this quickly, what will it be like when I get to the Guild...if I get there, Dave thought. He planned on joining a team but he wasn't sure if he'd be accepted. He slapped himself and left the alley, trying to find his way to the Guild.

Darcy stared at the ground as she walked absently through the streets of Grassveil Town.  The Skitty had hoped that the fresh air would clear her head, but she still couldn't help but feel a little distraught.  It had been a bad week, to say the least; not only had her first job as a guild member ended in complete failure, but her only teammate had gone missing as well.

She made her way to a quieter part of town and sat down to take a rest.  As she stretched out her body and yawned, she noticed an uneasy-looking Drilbur in an alleyway across the street.  She perked up as the Drilbur drew closer, exiting the alley.  Maybe he needed help with something?  She hoped so.  She felt desperate for some company at the moment.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully as she trotted towards him.  "Excuse me, but is something wrong?  You look a little confused."

Dave looked up at the Skitty. He felt somewhat better. This was someone who was much more accustomed to the area. He was also shocked by the Skitty's cheerful demeanor. Never had he ever seen such happiness in a Pokemon. Maybe, just maybe, this Skitty could guide him to the Guild and he could finally begin his adventures.

    "Well, nothing is wrong, but, well, I'm lost. I'm new to this town so I don't know much about it."

Now, Dave thought, the most important part.

   "Just out of curiosity, would you happen to know where the Grassveil Guild is? I really want to join an exploration team."

"You're in luck! I happen to be a member of the guild myself," Darcy said, giggling a little. She felt better already. "My name is Darcy. I was about to head back there just now, actually. Why don't you tag along?"

She was surprised that the mole Pokemon wanted to join the guild, since he seemed a little timid, but she was pleased that she wouldn't have to walk home by herself. She didn't want to think about guildwork at the moment but it was better than being all alone.

She turned to lead the way, then paused. It dawned on her that she was in an unfamiliar part of town. She had been so lost in thought during her walk that she had wandered here by accident and didn't quite remember the way back.

"Uh... Hm. The guild is... This way, I think?" she said, walking towards a path that seemed familiar. She wasn't worried. If they got lost, that just meant that they would have more time to chat with each other. She wasn't in a hurry to return to her empty team room. Come to think of it... "So, do you have any plans for what team you'd like to join when you get there? Maybe you have some friends that live in Grassveil?" she asked, hoping for a 'no'.

Dave caught up and went about his introductions. "My name's Dave by the way. Nice to meet you." He was such a klutz. Not only did he forget to give his name, he didn't even know what teams there were in the Grassveil Guild. He simply heard that Grassveil's guild was considered to be one of the more superior ones in the entire region. He observed the nature surrounding the path.

    But he really did hit the jackpot today. He could finally go on exciting missions. From the stories he heard on his way to the town, the missions could get somewhat dangerous, and filled with strong opponents. He was a little frightened by that, but that wouldn't stop him.

    "I'll probably join a team as soon as I get there, but definitely not anyone from Grassveil. I come from an area far off from here, so I wouldn't know anyone around. Truth be told, I really wanted to come to the town so that I could be a guild member."

    And now that one was right in front of him, he had a fair amount of questions.

    "What are missions like? What happens when in the guild? And is it possible for me to make any friends there at all?"

"Well, I've only been a guild member for about a week and a half, but I'll tell you what I know," Darcy said as she walked.  "Most people who work at the guild live there, too.  Every team gets a room for sleeping and preparing for their next outing.  The ones I've met have been really friendly and helpful, so there's no need to worry about that, but you're free to join my team if you can't find one you like!

"As for the missions..." She trailed off, her ears flattening as her mind drifted back to how her first one had ended.  "They're... harder than I expected, I guess," she continued at length.  And more dangerous, too.  She didn't know what might have happened if she had been alone during that mission.

She shook her head, then brightened up again and smiled at Dave.  "But that's how it always goes when you try something new, huh?  We'll both be fine if we just keep at it," she said, as much to Dave as to herself.  

She had never felt this worried about anything before, and she didn't like it.  It wouldn't bother her so much if she wasn't suddenly working all by herself.  If she had someone else around to put her faith in, she was sure that things would be okay.  She hoped that Dave would decide to join her team, even though they had just met.

Dave felt upset. Harder than expected? He wasn't very strong...he felt weak if anything. Did he have the capability to help the guild? Or would he just be a useless creature, dependent on his partners. No, he didn't want that. Dave tried making himself feel better. He had to keep on trying until the results are good. Darcy was right-trying something new is better than doing nothing at all. And besides, Darcy was an optimistic Pokemon, and that attitude is perfect for a Guild Team.

     "I've made my choice already. I'll join your team!" Dave said, waving his arms.

"Oh! Wait, really?" she said incredulously, smiling widely as relief and elation welled up in her chest. She could hardly believe it. She didn't want to rush Dave into making a decision too quickly, but more than that she didn't want to turn him down. Suddenly being given a second chance like this felt like a miracle.

She tried to give Dave a hug but in her excitement it turned out more like a tackle. "I'm holding you to that, ha ha! Welcome aboard!" she said, beaming.

She pried herself off of him. She calmed down a little, though she was still practically bouncing with happiness. "Why my team, though?" she asked with genuine curiosity. "I'm not exactly the most fearsome Pokemon, in case you haven't noticed."

Dave had a bead of sweat. He did not expect that tackle. Dave chuckled nervously and put his paws together.

"Well, for starters, I don't like intimidating Pokemon. What I like to look for when picking a team is friendship, although that might sound really cheesy. And with my experience with stronger Pokemon...not to be prejudicial to them, but the majority I've seen are one hundred percent unfriendly. I would rather have a kind but weak Pokemon in my team, then, say, an overpowered partner who misuses their strength."

"And from what I can tell, you're the friendliest Pokemon I've ever seen in my life," Dave grinned, putting his paws to his hips.

"'Kind but Weak' is my middle name, Dave," Darcy said, grinning and giving a salute with a forepaw while puffing up her chest in an exaggerated display of pride.  "Now come on!  Let's go get you signed up!"  She resumed trotting towards the guild, wagging her tail gleefully as she went.

Dave's words made her feel even happier than she was before.  Most people thought that she was more annoying than friendly.  To be able to put up with her...  Dave was definitely very friendly, too.  Darcy couldn't wait to get to know him better.  Weak or not, she had a feeling that the two of them would make a great team.