Team Friendship Alliance's Sleeping Quarters

Dave settled in as he observed his surroundings within the comfortable room. It was not shabby at all; in fact, it was probably better than his old family hole. His room was squashed constantly as a result of overpopulation, courtesy of his siblings. This was much more open than his hole ever could be. He couldn't wait to learn about what else the guild had to offer. He especially couldn't wait to go on his very first mission. There was just something about them that was so attracting. He could see why there were so many Guild members.

"So Darcy, what else does the Guild have? I'm sure there's a lot-I mean, with a lot of Pokemon and along with the size of this guild itself, what could anyone expect?"

The Skitty paced into the room after Dave, leisurely stepping up the shallow flight of stairs just beyond the door.  "Well, let's see...  Just the basics, really," she said as she stared into space and tried to put a map of the Guild together in her head. "There's the dining hall, of course.  We'll go there in a minute.  There are more rooms on this floor, but they're just like this one.  And the job bulletin boards are in the Guild's foyer.  You probably saw those on our way inside."

Darcy sat down on the bed on the right side of the room and kneaded it thoughtfully as she wracked her mind for any other details.  "Oh, right!" she suddenly exclaimed,  her ears standing on end as she hopped to her feet.  She took a few steps and clambered onto the windowsill set in the wall opposite the door.  She pointed outside at a grassy courtyard, lined with flower gardens and benches and gently lit by golden twilight.

"There's also a little field behind the Guild where people like to practice fighting," she explained, turning to Dave and flashing a smile.  "Our room has a good view.  It's fun to sit here and watch.

"Anyway!" she said as she hopped back to the ground and made her way to the door.  "Leave your bag here, and I'll show you to the dining hall if you're ready.  It's been a long day, and I'm starving..."

Dave remembered boards, each tacked with multiple papers. So that was what those were. If they were open like that, anyone could probably put a mission on a board, which also meant anyone could accept them, but he was sure there were some sort of limit. He had thought the system would be more like a designated job.

Dave continued listening to Darcy. The Drilbur looked at the direction Darcy was pointing at. He saw a huge area of land. That would be quite an interesting battleground. He imagined giant Pokemon battling, causing him to shudder.

As soon as Darcy said the word "starving", Dave widened his eyes. He hadn't eaten ever since his arrival at Grassveil Town. His eyes felt blurry. Leaving his bag in the room, Dave said loudly, "Yep, otherwise I'm going to pass out soon."

"Don't faint on me, Dave. We're not even in a dungeon yet," Darcy said, giggling as she playfully grinned at the mole Pokemon. She wasn't surprised that he was hungry. Darcy had met him right as he arrived in Grassveil Town, and the two of them hadn't eaten anything since then. This might be his first proper meal in days if he didn't eat much while traveling.

She stepped through the door and into a hallway lit with orange sunbeams pouring in from the rooms lining the back wall. She really wanted to ask him about where he was from as she led the way, but bit her tongue. If Dave was as exhausted as he seemed, Darcy wanted to let him eat in peace before she started needling him with questions. She knew she could be overbearing at times, and she didn't want to leave a bad impression on her new friend. They'd have plenty of time to chat when they got back to their room, after all.

And so Darcy led him through the halls of the Guild, turning right after leaving their room, left to climb the stairs to the first floor, and left again to reach the dining hall. It was busy, as it always was in the evenings. She made her way to an empty table in one of the smaller rooms where they could eat to their hearts' content until they were ready to head back to their bedroom.

The Drilbur had followed Darcy into the Mess Hall. Dave sat down and looked at the Apples in front of him. Big, juicy, and taken well care of. All of them were shining. Whoever harvested the food in front of him must really have the dedication. Also, Apples were one of his favorite fruits in the world. He did the best he could to grasp three Apples in one paw as tightly as possible. His claws struck through each of them, allowing juice to flow. He put it all in his mouth, and then there were bulges in his cheeks. He chewed as quickly as possible. That was excellent. On the other hand, he had probably sacrificed his dignity as a Pokemon. He looked around the room and at the other tables. He then apologized to Darcy.

"I'm really, really sorry about, uh, my eating habits. It's just that I needed to eat as soon as possible. It's not like I binge on Apples all the time. I apologize for this. Apparently, this is what happens after you don't eat for a while" Dave sighed.

Darcy sat down across from him and started gnawing on an apple of her own, but Dave quickly distracted her from that. She saw him pick up three apples at a time, and from there she just... stared, fascinated. Dave had said that he was hungry, but... wow. This was something else.

Dave spoke up and she was snapped out of her daze. "No, no, that was cool!" Darcy said as she giggled and put her paws up on the table. "I wish my claws were that sharp! Are you sure your calling isn't to be a street performer?"

...Though Darcy noticed that their table was getting strange looks from the other Pokemon in the room. She sat back down and lowered her voice a little. "...But, well. Maybe you should take things slower next time. Unless you want to be known as 'that guy who really likes apples', ha."

She took another bite from her apple and hopped to the ground. "Anyway," she said, "I'm ready to head back if you are. I don't think I had quite as much of an appetite as you."

Dave looked around and gave a tiny, nervous laugh, as he glanced at the other Pokemon.

"The guy who really likes apples, huh? That makes a lot of sense. I definitely love apples, but these apples-the ones from the guild-they have this freshness and juiciness you don't taste very often. In fact, I'm going to take one right now."

Dave stood up and grasped the final apple from his plate and took it with him. The mole Pokemon took his apple and tossed it up and down lightly in his paw. He left for the Sleeping Quarters, and hid an apple under his bed.

Dave turned to look at Darcy. "So...what do we do now?"

Well, Dave would probably be in heaven, then! The Guild had apples like that available every evening. ...Though maybe it would be better not to tell him that yet. After his earlier display, Darcy was vaguely worried that he would raid the Guild's pantries and end up in trouble with the kitchen staff if he knew.

After a short walk through the Guild, the novice exploration team arrived at their room. The sun had just set, and moonlight was streaming through the window, casting everything in a blueish light. Darcy followed Dave inside and pulled the door shut with her mouth.

"Well... It's too late for us to work on any missions. That will have to wait for tomorrow," she said as she crossed the room and hopped to the windowsill. She settled down and gazed at the moon outside while she thought. "We could go to bed if you're tired. Or we could practice fighting, if you have some energy to burn off. It might be good to show what we're both capable of before we go anywhere dangerous."

She turned back to Dave with a gentle smile, flicking her tail idly against the wall. "Or we could just... Talk. We only met today, after all. Your call."

The Drilbur plopped himself on his bed. Dave made a stopping motion when Darcy mentioned fighting. "Nah, I'm too tired. And after eating this much...no way can I move anymore. I'll burn off the energy tomorrow. And to be honest, you would win either way. At this point, I guess we could talk about stuff."

Dave paused for a moment. What could they talk about? They already discussed the structure of the guild and what they would do in the guild. A lot of topics were gone. There was still one category that was left alone.

"Do you just want to talk about our lives? I mean, now that I think about it, since we are in a team, I think it's pretty good if we do some icebreakers to learn more about each other."

"Yeah!  That's what I was thinking," Darcy said with a nod.  "You're pretty mysterious, you know.  Showing up in Grassveil Town alone one day and trying to join the Guild.  It sounds like you're a real adventurer."

She rolled over onto her side and stared at Dave as if she was expecting a story.  "How about you tell me where you're from and why you decided to work here, and then I'll tell you my own reasons?  Then we can go from there."

Her tail flicked eagerly as she made herself comfortable in the corner of the windowsill.  She had been looking forward to asking Dave about this all day.  Before joining the Guild, she almost never got to speak with Pokemon from outside of Grassveil Town, so this was very exciting for her!

"Sure, why not? Let's see...I was born in this little hole along with my siblings, in this grassland. I wasn't really setting out on becoming an adventurer-or at least that wasn't what my parents were hoping for me to do. They wanted me to study nature, become a true tree hugger. They got me way too interested though, so try not to get angry if I seem to like nature a little too much."

Dave was reluctant on telling the rest of the story. This is the part of his life he hated absolutely. He had relied on his brothers immensely. Not once did he expect for them to turn back on him. But he believed Darcy would understand. There couldn't be any harm.

"After a while, my parents thought I should be aware of the environment more than I already was. So, my parents sent me off to a field trip with my brothers. We had to go wherever we could go for weeks, documenting information. My brothers couldn't handle it and they...ran away." Dave gritted his teeth.

"They also took the directions to the hole with them. This wasn't just a few steps from the hole. The trip took weeks, and I ended up in a forest, where I got completely tossed around by a Trevenant. It looked so much like an actual tree...," Dave gulped and continued,"and then I heard of Grassveil Town and its guild after running around a lot. And that's how I got here. That's my story. I guess it's your turn now."

"Wow..." Darcy whispered as she took the story in.  "Your family is probably really worried about you..."  She couldn't even imagine being in Dave's situation, suddenly left to fend for himself like that...  It sounded like her worst nightmare.

She stood up and gave Dave a serious look.  "I'll help you find your way home, okay?" she said.  "Guild members do a lot of traveling.  We'll track it down sooner or later.  I promise.

"But...  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your stay at the Guild," she said in a softer voice as she settled back down.  "It must be tough, being in a strange town all alone, but it seems like you might be here for a while.  If you're ever having problems, or if you ever need someone to talk to, know that you can count on me, okay?"

She scratched behind an ear as she considered what to say about herself.  "Anyway... my own story isn't quite as interesting," she began with a shy laugh as she began pacing back and forth on the windowsill.  "I was born and raised in a little clearing three or four hours away from Grassveil Town.  My mom knows a lot about plants, so she would gather herbs and then make medicine out of them to sell in town.  My dad used to be a teacher, so he spent his time home-schooling me and all of my siblings and keeping us out of trouble.

"A couple of weeks ago, my mom got hurt while she was out doing some foraging. She took a nasty fall and broke a leg, and she's still recovering.  My parents were worried about money while she couldn't work, and I wanted to help out, since I'm at about the age where I should strike off on my own anyway.  Working at the Guild sounded exciting, and I'd heard that they're almost always taking new apprentices, so I came here!"

She stopped pacing and settled back down again.  "I think that's everything.  It's only been about one and a half weeks since then, so I'm new to all of this guild stuff just like you are."

"Well, I guess my parents are worrying about me. As for my siblings, they're a whole separate scenario. Especially my brothers. I don't like to think about them. I can't wait to find my home though. There are some better relatives than those two."

Dave listened to Darcy's tale. It's never nice to learn that your parent got hurt. Dave felt very ashamed of himself.

"That's-well, it's really nice to help out your family. I just sort of feel like I don't really deserve to be here. I kinda feel selfish, and a part of me is telling me I only joined for my personal gain, while you're trying to help your family...But then again, we would've never met."

Dave yawned. "Welp, I'm tired, and it's been quite a long day. Ready to hit the hay?"

Hearing Dave yawn made her yawn too.  "Yeah...  I'm ready," Darcy said as she stretched out her body and then hopped to the floor.

She climbed onto her bed and settled into a comfortable position, resting her head on the fluffy part of her tail while she looked over at Dave.  "I don't think that's selfish of you, by the way," she said through another yawn.  "And if nothing else...  You're really helping me out by staying here.  I don't think I could have kept this up on my own for much longer.  I'm really glad to have someone to work with..."

She could already feel herself starting to drift off.  Today had been tiring, but it had also been much better than she had expected.  Meeting Dave had sure been lucky of her...  She just hoped that he would like her, and that she wouldn't let him down.  She didn't have a very good track record as a Guild member...  And after hearing his story, she felt a little guilty that she hadn't told him about that before letting him join her team.  But she supposed it was too late to worry about that now.  She would just have to try harder.

"Goodnight, Dave..." she mumbled as she nestled deeper into her bed and began to let her sleepiness overtake her.

Dave stopped sitting on his bed and began to lie comfortably on his bed, looking up on the ceiling.

"Thanks. I haven't even truly decided a final path on my life until I came to the Guild. And I don't think I would've managed to stay in the guild independently without you. Darcy, you're a pretty nice friend a Pokemon could have. None of my siblings have ever been as kind to me as you have been all this time."

Dave was struggling to sleep. It had been a long day for both of them. But talking to Darcy had made him realize something. Would he ever get to talk to his family again? Of course, he'd probably visit them somehow. But approaching them would be hard for him. It was a moment when both parties would feel guilty. Plus, it would be hard to even find his home. He winded up in Grassveil Town based on conversation and guesswork. Maybe there was some place, or perhaps an archive that documented the information needed to see his family again. Of course, he would head back to the guild in a matter of a week or less. He just wanted to know the welfare of his family, not stay there.

He was thinking too much. "Good night Darcy," Dave whispered, as he closed his eyes and welcomed darkness.