The quest for items! (Me and Mada)

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It was early morning in the forests, large trees boasting leaves of magnificent colors ruled this area. The sights was full of golden, reds, and browns at the never ending fall season, sunlight struggled to peeked out of the gloomy clouds that dominated the recent world. Then the thick tree tops stopped that little light in it's tracks, leaving the forest floor a dark, shadowed cover. Some pokemon could be seen in the high branches, tucked into the tree's trunk as the sleep through the dark morning, other awake and prowling through the shadows of the trees. This was the perfect time for any explorers of the forests to start their searches, when most pokemon are asleep and the one's who aren't are alone.

This is why a duo of quadruped pokemon where slowly making their way through the colorful forest floor, eyes searching the surrounding area carefully for different reasons. The vixen, a party planner and well know noblewomen, searching the forest for rare ingredients to aid in not just her job, but to help her friend create medicine. She had the eye for quality and knew well what she needed, but the Lady is happy to take anything of use for trade or selling. The Lynx, her recently hired bodyguard and a Mercenary from a hidden organization, was keeping high alert for any threats to his client. Though he looked visibly at more ease than his client, he was ready for battle at the drop of a hat, a small smirk playing on his face.

"I wonder how fast the search will be this time," The vixen muttered, "I surely hope it doesn't take a day to find anything useful, but my luck has never been particularly good." She sighed softly. Zydius took his gaze off the trees to glance at her, "Now now, what's with that attitude? Being all negative isn't going to make finding this any easier y'know? Chin up and look forward to exploring a new area, Beautiful."

The fox sighed, but smiled at the shorter pokemon anyways, "I suppose your right Mr. Alexander." He snorted and looked away, "I know I'm right, gorgeous."

Now the Lady shook her head, before reaching in her bag and pulling out two Oran berries. "Here, it was quite the walk to get here. We need the extra boost." The lynx thanked her with a nod and ate the offered oran berry. The fox quickly, but also gracefully, ate her own.

(OOC: Lady Jasper Energy: 18 - 11 to enter = 7 + 10 from oran berry = 17 left. Zydius Energy: 16 - 11 to enter = 5 + 10 from oran berry = 15 left.)

Alki lay still on the ground, trying to filter out the words of the older Pokemon. She could tell they were talking about her. She needed educating? Maybe she did. But that didn't mean she wanted it! But even so, they'd both been far nicer than she deserved. She could hardly think of ignoring Lady Jasper, after all that she'd done. And besides, she knew that a small part of her wanted a bit of comfort. Even if the rest of her knew she didn't deserve it. Allowing those words wasn't the worst thing in the world. Besides, Pokemon only talked if they wanted to be heard, it'd be rude of Alki to ignore her.

Of course she was being dramatic. Alki didn't usually do that, but she felt so bad! Her dizziness hadn't left completely yet either, although that was beginning to wear off. She closed her eyes and stopped her tears before rolling onto her back and standing up to face the Vulpix. She hoped her face looked... not sad. She felt embarrassed, suddenly, at her outbreak. She directed her eyes a bit downwards, looking at the Vulpix's necklace. She avoided tears or whimpering or any other sign of sadness or fear.

The Vulpix continued, and Alki payed close attention to her whole lecture. After messing up that badly, she owed both Jasper and Zydius at least that. He'd protected her even though she'd gotten them all in trouble in the first place. She was so stupid! Why would she do that? Then again... hadn't Jasper just told her to stop being so self-pitying? She was going to die, unless she fixed her problems, was what the Vulpix was basically saying? She really didn't know how to survive on her own. She was right. The past few moments had shown that all too clearly. She didn't want to die! She began to tap her hand against her round body. Tap, tap, tap. She felt afraid. So afraid. Dead? Her? The tapping grew faster, but she hoped they didn't notice it.

She stopped her tapping when the Vulpix mentioned her 'Guardians'. So... her parents? The Vulpix said that she didn't know why? She said something about 'remedied'. Alki didn't know that word at all. But what she did know was why her parents hadn't taught her. They'd never taught her much of anything. And their reasoning was simple, they didn't care. She wasn't worth it. She found herself feeling incredibly alone all of a sudden, but didn't mention anything. But she knew exactly why. Her tapping began again, slowly. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Zydius then got his turn to speak to Alki. Lecture her. She didn't mind. That was more time than her parents had ever lectured Alki about anything. She'd learned Defense Curl by herself, and she felt so proud of herself for that. It was the only thing she could pride herself on, but even then, her sister had informed her that it wasn't a particularly hard move to learn. It hadn't been many words, but it had hurt when she'd heard them the first time. She'd since come to terms with the fact that she wasn't a very skilled Pokemon.

Alki was happy that there were finally some rules and instructions she could follow. She didn't know anything for herself. Whatever she found by herself, was hers. She couldn't give it to anyone else. That was easy enough to follow. She bounced slowly to her box and pulled it towards the group. Ok. That was easy enough. "S-Sorry." She mumbled quietly, but Zydius had already moved on to rule number two.

She'd... healed the Wurmple? She hadn't meant to... she'd been scared and she'd only wanted to help. But. She'd healed the Wurmple? She'd closed her eyes and she had been a bit dizzy. She suddenly felt like crying again. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the wet tears from coming out again. She'd cried enough, and Jasper had already told her to stop being dramatic. Ferals would kill her? She thought about the Wurmple. The thorn had hurt quite a bit, but she thought it had only been trying to chase her away. Had it really been trying to kill her? Even after she'd healed it? Accidentally, sure, but it didn't know that.

And even civilized Pokemon too? Alki didn't know one of the words he used. Dick? What was that? No, that wasn't important, was it? She understood him in general just fine, even if she didn't understand that word in particular. From how he said it, he just meant mean. The message came across pretty clear.


What was Alki supposed to say in response though? She'd messed up pretty badly, worse than she'd thought. She looked up at both of the older, taller Pokemon. "I-I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to heal the Wurmple. I wanted to help y-you two. I... must have messed up. I told you i'm not a very good Pokemon..." She said, quietly, once both of the older Pokemon stopped talking. She did want to be taught. She didn't want to die, and she didn't want to disappoint other Pokemon like she had just then.

"I mean... I'd love to be taught. M-My parents didn't teach me, cause they didn't c..." Should she really say that? She didn't want to make them pity her yet again. That'd be bad. She'd just been told to stop being dramatic and there she was, trying to draw attention to herself. "... Know. They didn't know either." She said, looking around the clearing. That wasn't very convincing. But it was something, at least. "I-I'll stay with you two, for a bit. I suppose. I'm sorry. I-I've just, n-never been in a place l-like this before. It's just... confusing. Why would the ferals be so mad at me? I'm scared..." She said, beginning her tapping again. Something the Shinx had said was bothering her. But she wouldn't mention it. She'd just obey them, they knew better, and she'd just get herself killed, wouldn't she? She didn't want to die. She looked around the clearing again, but didn't leave either the Vulpix's or the Shinx's side. Better safe than sorry. She didn't want to die...

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

(OOC: Jasper Energy: 13 -1 Blast seed = 12 + 1 New page = 13. Zydius Energy: 6 + 1 new page = 7)

Jasper nodded at the child's words, waiting patiently for her to finish. It was no surprise that both of the older pokemon caught her little slip, she isn't too good at covering up those yet from what they could see. However neither decided to mention, they've only just met her and they rather not force her deepest darkest secrets so fast. Jasper didn't think that would go over well and she knows that the child will need time to come to terms with whatever she was burdened with. No matter how obvious, the Lady would let her come to them with her problems when she was ready. They general lack of knowledge and the way she put herself down, it doesn't take an expert to put it all together to her guardians. A Shame, she thought again, mentally shaking her head. She knew full well that children suffering under their guardians wasn't a uncommon thing, her own family life was far from the ideal image. What with her Father nonexistent, her brother's rarely seen, and her mother strict, commanding nature. She loved her mother nonetheless, and she knew that despite her cold nature, she also loved her in return.

Alki's decision to stay with her caused the Vulpix to nodded, plans and theories already steaming inside her mind on how to best teach the child. The fact that she has never been in a dungeon like this is no surprising for town raised/sheltered children. The vixen herself was exposed to the realities of this world early, watching her mother kill smaller pokemon to feed her in her youngest days. She was taught why this happens, that some pokemon need meat as they grow and how to respect the lives of her prey. She never could lift a paw against other pokemon, even to hunt for survival. This is why she never met her mother's expectations, she demanded perfection, and Jasper is imperfect. The vixen wasn't a fighter, she wasn't powerful nor could she take a life with her own paws. She will never be the powerful, regal Ninetails that her mother raised her to be, raised her brothers to be.

It's no wonder why they are so cold to each other, isn't it? She thought with a wistful expression, sitting on her haunches and curling her tails around herself.

"Ferals," she began, "Are pokemon who live in dungeons, they live off of instinct and rarely speak the common tongue. They stay in these dungeons their whole lives, protecting their territories and chasing off intruders. Some move about a dungeon, looking for prey to eat or just attack. Ferals can be unpredictable, I've heard of some who can think above their instincts to strategize and control areas. Those are the most dangerous ferals to encounter. They can attack us for various reasons, for invading their territory, to possibly eat us, or simply to satisfy their bloodthirst for battle."

She looks off into the trees, "Truly, I struggle to understand how the feral mind works, having been raised by a non-feral mother. I know that their is a chance to encounter ferals who just might have a chance to be civilized, however rare that is. And that for all the ferals in dungeons, you can find non-ferals who also live in them. I myself was raised in a dungeon, a vary dangerous dungeon called Furnace Peak. The pokemon there are powerful, violent, and often times merciless. Feral and non-feral alike, pokemon there live in harsh climates and have been toughened by this. It wasn't a safe place for a weak vulpix like me, my mother protected me from any pokemon there, but as soon as I was able to take care of myself, I traveled to Grassveil to live here instead.

I couldn't dream about making it back to my old home, the journey to Grassveil took months, and I am no where near strong enough to make it up their alive. My mother, very rarely, might come to Grassveil, but that is a very unlikely occurrence."

"Truly, pokemon raised in towns are privileged beyond what they may believe. I doubt many of them could survive living in most of the dungeons in this world." She looked back at Alki, "On that note, do you know why pokemon come to these dungeons Alki? Why they come to such dangerous places?"

[Energy: 1 + 1 -1 = 1]

Alki listened to everything the Vulpix had to say. Honestly, it was a relief. She got a bit of time to calm down, take a few deep breaths and wipe the expression of fear off of her face. She didn't want to bother either of the two with her feelings. If she was to learn, then she couldn't be distracted by her fear or sadness or disappointment or frustration, could she? And besides. It was better to hide those things in the first place anyways. She'd been made fun of before. It wasn't her fault she couldn't swim... she made a small frown, but wiped it away as fast as it had appeared.

So the Vulpix had lived in a dungeon as well? Huh. That was pretty neat, actually! Well... maybe not. If the Pokemon really were that scary... Alki had been so afraid of a little bug that was the same size as her! They were both really tiny. Sure, the barb hurt, but still, a Wurmple wasn't exactly the definition of powerful! Living there must've been scary. Although now that Alki thought about it. She hadn't lived in a town either. Did that mean she lived in a dungeon? It had a lot of Pecha berries. Although she'd never really gotten to taste many...

"Well..." She began, once the Vulpix was finished. "N-No... I don't. I mean... I also used to live in one. I think... It had a lot of Pecha Berries! The dungeon..."  Why was she talking about that? That was so stupid! Nobody cared! "Err... n-nevermind. That doesn't really matter."

"N-No... I don't know why they come here..." She thought about it for a while. Well... when she'd first come into the woods they were in, she'd felt pretty happy. The forest was pretty. And she could be alone, for the most part. Obviously, not completely alone. But she could be, and it must've been a lot better than a town like Grassveil, from what she'd heard. "M-Maybe they just want to be alone?" She said, proud that she'd figured it out. She felt calm again. That must be it... "I mean... it's still a pretty place." She looked up at the trees. The greens, yellows, fiery reds. If it weren't so dangerous, she would've loved to live there.

"But I guess it'd probably be better if you told me..." She was probably wrong, actually. When was she right? Not often... she looked back down, away from the pretty leaves. Yeah, she was wrong. She wasn't smart. How would she know? "Sorry..." She'd gotten out of hand, she was supposed to be learning, not making up her own crazy theories. She should just listen. She closed her mouth tightly, she didn't want to talk much anymore, at least, not until Lady Jasper was finished explaining. She was really nice...