Another morning

First topic message reminder :

North of town, in a small, cozy room at the bottom floor of the Grassveil Guild, a Skitty was curled up in her bed...  Though she wasn't asleep at the moment.  The Skitty had woken up a little early, so she had decided to spend a while studying...  She knew better than anyone that she had a lot to learn if she was going to continue working at the guild.  The day outside was overcast, perhaps promising rain later on, but the coming of morning cast the gardens behind the guild in a soft blue light and just enough leaked through her window to read by.  At the moment she was browsing through a book about first-aid.  Among the books her father had picked out for her, this seemed like one that she should prioritize...

But now the sounds of other Pokémon outside her door had grown louder, and it seemed that the rest of the guild was starting to wake up and go about their morning routines.  Now seemed like a good time to see if her new teammate was ready for the day.  With a smile, the Skitty closed her book and climbed out from the shallow basket full of blankets and pillows that served as her bed, taking a long moment to stretch her body before she trotted towards her bag and scarf hanging on the wall next to the door.  She put them both on, ensuring that her badge was visible on the blue scarf around her neck, then pushed her way out the door and into the hallway.

She came to a stop at the room right next to hers...  The door was still shut.  She briefly wished that her teammate hadn't asked to have her own room.  She didn't want to accidentally awaken her if she was still sleeping, but it didn't seem like there were many options.  "Um...  Excuse me, Yooka, are you there?" she called while softly scratching at the door with her claws.  She wished she could just knock, but her body didn't lend itself well to that...  Hopefully this would be enough to get her friend's attention.

Darcy sighed heavily with relief when Melanie let Alki go.  The Skitty wanted to follow after her to make sure she was alright, but she didn't want to turn her back to Melanie in case the fighting wasn't over...  Though as the Jigglypuff feebly struggled to get free, and began crying in earnest, Darcy's fears faded into concern for Alki's sister...

Melanie conceded the match.  But Darcy didn't feel very good about it.  As Yooka let go and told the two of them to calm down, the Skitty couldn't help but shoot her a pained glance.  'Friendly'...  Melanie and her sister didn't seem very friendly towards one another right now...

As Yooka left to check on the Abra, Darcy carefully paced over to Melanie's side and sat down on her haunches while she listened...  And while the Jigglypuff had done some cruel things today, her words made it clear that deep down, she still had a good heart.  Her concern for Alki was just as real as Darcy's own.  The Skitty quickly found herself forgiving her...

"I...  I get it.  It's okay," she said softly.  "To be honest...  I-I don't like the idea of Alki staying somewhere dangerous like this either.  But the very last thing she wants right now is to go home.  I don't understand why she feels that way, but...  I think it's important to respect what she wants, right..?  She's old enough to think for herself..."

Darcy fell silent and stared at the ground.  She could forgive Melanie, but...  Could Alki...  "...Do you want to go talk to her?  I think it might help.  I'll come with you if you want me to..."

"I don't... t-thank you... but not right now. Alki won't forgive me anytime soon. She hated me before-hand anyways. She'll despise me now." Melanie said, frustrated at having lost. She managed to stop her crying, but was still frustrated at having lost. Why is this Skitty being so nice? "She won't want anything to do with me right now. But I guess you're right... I hated Alki too, before I left home. I was cruel to her, our mom and dad were cruel to us but I had it better than her..." She began, but shook her head. The Skitty didn't need to know her whole life story. That was enough.   "I deserve her hate. I came to the guild to get away from my parents, but it taught me things too. I grew up, I'm not how I used to be. But I still thought of her as a baby today... she's still small, but you're right, she can still think for herself. And she'll learn, I hope, and she'll stay safe. I'm sorry."

Melanie stared at the ground. Where did that come from? Why am I telling her this? But the Skitty was someone Alki trusted. Speaking of... where is she? Melanie closed her eyes and sighed. Looking for Alki would just make her more afraid than she already was. Her little sister was a nervous wreck, probably. "I'm sorry. For all of this. I'll keep my word, Alki will stay, but I need to be alone right now." She said, walking over to the Growlithe and began to shake him. He was still sleeping peacefully, as though nothing had happened. She wiped away her tears and instead offered him a small smile. They'd lost today, but maybe it had been for the better. Alki is better off with the Skitty than with me.

Alki backed away from the Audino as it told her that she'd received 'quite the beating'. And she did feel faint, but she didn't want to talk to anyone, least of all someone she barely knew. "Yes. I mean... No! Nononono... I'm fine. Really! I-It wasn't as bad as it looked..." She noticed Yooka walking, no, running towards them, and she decided she'd take her leave from the Audino. "I-I'm f-fine, really! T-Thank you..." She looked up at Yooka. T-They said the Abra teleported away... She said simply, not wanting to talk to anyone for too long.

Alki turned to look at Darcy, hoping Melanie had left. She noticed that Melanie had left to go take care of her teammate. Melanie had hit her... She bounced up to Darcy, still crying, looking at the ground instead of up at her friend. "Ah... erm... D-Darcy? W-We... I-I'm going to be able to stay, right? I-I don't want to go home, I don't w-want to get hit..." If Melanie did it, then so will my parents, won't they? They were always worse than her... Alki leaned on the Skitty's side, still pale. My sister hit me, my sister hit me... "R-Right? I-I don't want to go back... w-we won, right? Didn't we? We had to have won... I'm sorry..." She said. She noticed the Flower bed, filled with flowers and plants, some taller than Alki, and wished for nothing more than to climb inside and disappear. She didn't want to fight anyone ever again. She knew her sister hated her, but enough to hit her like that? She let out another sob, earning a pitiful look from Melanie. But trying to comfort Alki would only scare her more, so Melanie tried to filter it out, leaving Alki with Darcy, crying.

Both the audinos looked at each other then started to giggle as they started to walk off when the igglybuff headed back.

Yooka noticed the audino moving away, where's the abra? the answer came as Yooka was passing the igglybuff. Yooka tripped as she turned towards the igglybuff, what? well- as she sat up as she looked towards where the abra was originally, noting it wasnt there and the audinos didnt appear to be carrying anything. Yooka sighed -I should probably find that spoon... or... not.She thought she tripped over herself, but it was actually whis's spoon. As she was getting up she picked it up and started to head back to the skitty. As she sat down next to the skitty she put the spoon away. Sitting down, Yooka didnt even look at the skitty and ignored what it was doing, for all she knew it could've walked away on her.

I should try to be a little more open towards the skitty, if Im to stay myself. "Hey, darcy. I know I havent been all that 'nice' but I did this as a test. I wanted to see how well you can defend yourself in a tough situation. The incident with alki and her sister I didnt know was that bad. If this wasnt a sparing match or if this was a mission... well... I wouldnt have held back on alki's sister. ... uh, could you help me be a bit more open... towards others. Despite me hating to say all that, It would be a learning experience and I do like to learn." however, I don't think I can do it, I just dont care about that stuff... anyways that was horrible. 'testing you' what am I saying... she closed her eyes and just focused on calming down, Yooka worked herself up from the fight, expecting much harsher opponents, but they probably held back aswell.

((

ooc:

As Darcy listened to Melanie, she could feel her heart sinking lower and lower...  She wished there was something she could say.  Something to let these two sisters get along...  Or at least to help Melanie feel better.  But Darcy couldn't bring herself to speak at all as the Jigglypuff stood up and walked away.  How heartrending the situation was had shocked the little Skitty into silence.  She didn't want to admit it to herself, but...  A rift as deep as this one couldn't be mended with just a few kind words...  

...The Skitty felt tears creeping back into her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.  The only thing she could do right now was be a friend to both of them.  Maybe their relationship was broken beyond repair.  But...  Maybe if they had some time to themselves...  Maybe someday, they would work things out.  She hoped so.  Melanie regretted what she had done, and Alki deserved to finally have a loving sister...

Just as Darcy was about to stand and go look for the little Igglybuff, she bounced close, staring at the ground as tears streamed from her eyes...  The poor thing was still so awfully shaken up...  And who could blame her.  "...Yeah.  We won, Alki.  You won't have to go home..." Darcy murmured as she lay down on the ground.  She softly wrapped the fluffy part of her tail around Alki for her to use like a blanket or a pillow...  Anything that might help her feel safe.

As they lay there together, Yooka approached the two of them and sat down next to Darcy's other side.  The Skitty looked up at Yooka curiously, and...  Didn't quite know what to say in response to her words.  ...Yooka wasn't the most sensitive Pokémon ever.  Setting up this fight had made that clear.  Darcy wanted to help, but...  Being open with others wasn't something that could simply be taught...

"I don't know, Yooka..." she said with a sigh.  "I think...  I think it's something that gets easier with practice.  Just...  Please don't do anything big like this without asking first..."

Meanwhile, on the far side of the clearing, Ginger yawned and stretched his body a little as he was shaken awake by Melanie...  He didn't seem in any hurry to get up until he opened his eyes and saw that he was still in the clearing.  "O-Oh, Melanie!  Did I sleep through it all..?  I'm sorry.  Did...  Did we win?" he asked with a confused but hopeful smile as he stood up, looking at the Jigglypuff with his usual puppy-dog eyes...

Melanie sighed as Ginger asked if they'd won. What am I supposed to tell him? I don't want to make him feel bad... "Erm. No, w-we didn't. But... it may be better this way." Any other day, any other fight she would joke or make a sassy remark, but after the events of the day, she didn't feel happy doing something like that. "So... don't blame yourself. There's no need to apologize." She looked around, averting the Skitty's gaze. She didn't want to deal with her anymore, she felt too ashamed. Where's Whis? "Ginger, let's go inside. I don't see Whis out here, so maybe Whis went inside..." She said, leading her teammate and friend to a nearby entrance. She passed by the Skitty, and hesitated, but decided to say something nice to her. But... Alki was there. And she'd just scare her... "I'm sorry, Alki." She said, before turning away. "Your team did well." She said to the Skitty, offering a small, sad smile, before turning away and leaving the garden.

Alki jumped as she felt something wrap around her. As she looked around fearfully, she realized it was just Darcy's tail. She began to relax again. My head still hurts... and it's kind of cold. She held the Skitty's tail tightly, covering herself and closing her eyes. If she fell asleep, she wouldn't have to talk to anyone. But closing her eyes made her head hurt more. I won't be able to fall asleep... "D-Darcy, I wanna go back inside... m-my head hurts and I-I don't want to be here..." She watched her sister warily, scooting away from her as she spoke to Darcy. Thankfully, Melanie left and went back inside.

Darcy began to talk with Yooka, and she asked her not to do anything big. Alki found herself nodding in agreement. "I-I never want to fight anyone ever again..." She said, still holding, practically hugging Darcy's tail now. As she did, the color began to return to her cheeks, and she managed to stop crying, for the most part. Darcy's tail made her feel warm... "Fighting is horrible and scary and bad..." She looked up at her friends, hoping that they wouldn't want to do anything else. So much had happened already, it felt like a week's worth of activity than just... what, a couple of hours? "A-Ah... E-Erm... D-D-Darcy... Y-Yooka, p-please, c-can we go back to the r-room? I-I don't... w-why d-did we have to fight? I don't feel well..." When will this headache go away? I shouldn't have fought Melanie... "Y-Yooka, p-please don't make me fight again..." Is this what the guild is like? I don't know if I'm cut out for this, but... I don't want to leave the guild. If I do that means I leave Yooka and Darcy, and I don't want to leave them behind either. They might be actual friends... I should ask them before I change my mind... "C-Can I s-still... join... uh, your team? I-I d-don't... want to be completely alone..." She said, quieting down as she spoke. Hopefully it's a good idea. I don't know if it is or not yet... "I-If you guys still want me... I-I... ah... um... t-that is, it's just a suggestion. You don't have to say y-yes, it's up to you..." She hugged the Skitty's tail even tighter, afraid that she might reject her, but hopeful that she'd say yes.

((

ooc:

Upon hearing darcy saying not to do that again. Yooka spun to look at the skitty with a smirk, "But if we didn't do this then alki wou--" she went silent as she looked at the skitty's face. Yooka null'd, "Fine... but at least look at it this way. You beat a bronze team and alki no longer needs to worry about her parents." Yooka started to smirk again. "for an igglybuff taking hits like that... heheh, er--" Yooka looked at the igglybuff and went silent again. "It was... ... I need to stop talking... and yeah, I agree it's time we head back in. I think the meganium over there is the guildmaster but I'm not sure. I'll go tell the snor-- or not. it already moved."

Yooka sighed and laid down on her back. She took out whis's spoon to look at it closer. It was bent and twisted in 3 areas. Yooka tried to bend it back to normal but found it to be difficult. after giving it a few more attempts she gave up and put it back, as she got up to go inside she said to the two others, "Hey, if either of you see the abra, tell her I have something of hers. If I don't get to her first."

"O-oh...  Okay..." Ginger said.  His ears drooped a little, but he did his best to smile cheerfully anyway.  It wasn't like his teammate to behave like this...  He wasn't sure what Melanie felt about her sister, but whatever was going on, he didn't want to make the Jigglypuff feel any worse.  And so he stuck close to her side and tried to hide his misgivings as Melanie passed by the other team and headed back towards the guild.

Darcy looked up at Melanie apologetically as she approached.  Even if it wasn't her fault, the Skitty couldn't help but feel guilty as Alki hid behind her tail to get away from her sister.  She wanted to say something, but no words came as Melanie and Ginger made their way back inside...

Darcy's ears flattened as Alki spoke up, the Igglybuff cowering behind her tail...  Alki's grip was starting to hurt just a little, but the Skitty was too worried to be bothered about that right now.  She was relieved to see Alki stop crying, but the Igglybuff was still clearly in need of some time to herself...  "Yeah...  You can still stay here with us, Alki," she murmured softly.  "I'll help you get settled into my room, okay?"

Though she kept her voice steady and comforting, Darcy sure hoped she was making the right decision by letting Alki join her team...  There were plenty of peaceful missions on the bulletin boards, but others weren't so peaceful.  Sometimes there were outlaws involved...  She didn't know if they could put off fighting forever.

Well...  For now, she just wanted to take Alki somewhere safe.  She listened to Yooka as she spoke, and while she tried to ignore how satisfied the Kecleon looked about all of this, Darcy did agree that they should head back inside.  "...Yeah.  But I think we should just take the rest of the day off, Yooka.  I don't think Alki would want to talk to the Guildmaster right now, and I don't want to leave her alone...  Do you think you could carry her back to my room?"

"Thanks..." Alki said, still clutching Darcy's tail. It made her feel better, safer than before. Especially now that Melanie had left... "T-Thank you, you two..." Guildmaster? Who's that?   "I-If I need t-to talk to the guildmaster to be part of your team, I-I'd rather do that as soon as possible... w-what if my sister tries to take me away again? I-I don't want that... I don't want to get hit again..."

So the Meganium is the guild-master? She looked at the Meganium that Yooka had pointed out, and nearly changed her mind. The Meganium was huge! Maybe even taller than Alki and Darcy and Yooka combined! At least that's how it seemed to Alki. "I-I don't want to do it alone, though..." Alki lifted Darcy's tail off of her, and before she could have second thoughts, she walked over to the Meganium, hoping that Darcy and Yooka had followed her.

She poked the back of the Meganium's foot, which was about all she could reach. It was at least five times taller than Alki, probably more... she turned pale, but began to talk. "Ah... e-excuse me... Um... c-can I j-join a t-team?" She asked. The sooner she joined a team, the safer she'd be from Melanie. There had to be rules, right? If she was part of a team, Melanie couldn't take her home... but Melanie had hit her. So who knows what she could do. "Y-You are t-the guild master, r-right? I-I w-wanna j-join a t-team... t-their team!" She said, pointing at the Skitty and Kecleon. "P-Please?" She said, hoping that the Meganium wouldn't ask many questions. She wasn't much in the mood for talking, but she had to. Who knows what her sister might do...

She turned back to look at Yooka and Darcy, hoping they would help her. She didn't know any of the rules! They might, though, they were part of the guild! And they could help her get on their team! But she didn't even know what was required... if she had to give them Poke, she wouldn't be able to! She moaned, but it was too late to leave. "P-Please? I-I d-don't have much Poke, b-but I can... w-work... I-I just... erm. C-Can I?" She stammered. She hoped that nothing was required. She really wanted to be with her friends. Darcy had treated her better that day than Melanie had in Alki's whole life. She looked up at the Meganium, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Back and forth, unsure of what else to say, waiting for either her friends or the Meganium to say something.

The Meganium stirred as it felt something poking it in the foot very softly – barely enough to register as a touch, but it was enough. The shears that the Meganium's vines had been using to cut off some unruly bits of branches from a bush stopped their motion as the Pokémon looked down at the little Igglybuff by its feet. And then, looking at the Skitty and the Kecleon… Well, the expression of the Meganium suggested that it didn't seem to recognize the pair. No, in fact, if one looked at the Meganium really closely… There were some differences, some things that were a bit off. The stem-like protrusions coming from the top of the Meganium's nose seemed to be longer, its frame overall a bit larger and… Heftier, in a way.

"Oh," the Meganium finally spoke, its voice definitely much deeper and much more masculine. While he had seemed rather confused at first, it seemed like he was understanding what was going on now, a careful smile appearing on his lips.
"See, I think you got the wrong Meganium here," he spoke softly at the rather timid Pokémon, his tone apologetic but perhaps a bit… Amused, as well. This most likely didn't happen to him too often, but… Well, it did happen sometimes, when he was visiting Grassveil.
"Reckon it would be best to go looking for the Guildmaster in the Guild…"



((Head on over here to fill the form, Mada!))

Yooka was already walking off, but looked back as the skitty asked a question. "what was that?" As Yooka asked that she noticed the igglybuff was bounding for the Meganium. I should just head back in, If they want to mess with the-- as the igglybuff grabbed the meganiums attention, the meganium looked over at her and the skitty, seemingly confused. Uh, so, it's not the guildmaster? Well, I guess that make's sense... She usually never leaves her room... but then, who is that..? or is that the guildmaster just not used to being noti-- Yooka shook her head. Ah, who really cares. "Hey darcy I don't want to get involved with the guildmaster right now, I'd rather just sleep this day off. Thanks for... uh, well... I don't know. I guess you didn't actually agree to what I did. so... uh, nevermind." gah, I seriously need to work on this 'being more aware of how others would feel' thing... She turned around flustered and quickly walked off into the guild without looking back.

((

ooc:

Darcy was surprised that Alki wanted to meet the Guildmaster so soon, but once she mentioned her sister again, it began to make sense.  Alki didn't need to be afraid of Melanie anymore, but after being so thoroughly antagonized by her, Darcy didn't think it would be easy to convince her of that.  If it would make her feel safe, then perhaps registering her as a guildmember right away was the best thing to do.

The Skitty exhaled as Alki let go of her tail.  It was a little sore from being hugged so tightly, and the fur was all ruffled and disorderly now...  She wished that she could have groomed it before visiting the Guildmaster, but like Yooka said, there was a Meganium at the edge of the clearing and Alki was already bouncing towards it.

Darcy stood to her feet and was about to chase after the little Igglubuff, but Yooka called her name before she had a chance.  She turned around and listened carefully, and couldn't help but feel a little confused by Yooka's words.  "Oh, um...  Okay.  See you later, Yooka," Darcy said as the Kecleon headed back inside...  Maybe she felt bad about causing such a scene after all, and wanted some time to herself..?

Well, there wasn't much time to dwell on it.  Alki was already at the Meganium's feet and speaking to it in that shaky voice of hers.  Darcy bounded towards them and sat down just behind the Igglybuff, excited to see Faye again, as always...  She wanted to wag her tail but restrained herself because it looked so messy.  As the Meganium turned around, though, something didn't look quite right.  The Skitty tilted her head slightly as she puzzled over what was different...

Then the Meganium spoke up and Darcy had to stifle a laugh.  No, this definitely wasn't Faye!  They looked awfully similar, but their voices were nothing alike.  While she was worried for Alki, Darcy couldn't help but smile as she took a few steps forward and bowed her head.  "Sooorry!  Faye is the only Meganium either of us know, is all.  We'll go check inside."

She turned to Alki, hoping that she wouldn't be too disappointed.  "Um...  If this isn't her, then she's probably in her office.  It isn't too far from here, but we'll have to go inside again...  Is that okay?"

ooc:

Alki nodded, blushing as the Meganium told her that he wasn't, in fact, the guild-master. "S-Sorry, sir... I, uh... I got too ex-excited." Of course the Guildmaster would be in the Guild... I'm dumb. "W-W-We'll go... I-I'm so sorry..." She looked up at the Meganium who wasn't the guild-master. Darcy had said Faye? So the Guild-Master's name was Faye... right?

Alki began to bounce slowly, back towards Darcy. She noticed that Yooka was gone. "W-Where'd Yooka go?" She asked, looking up at her friend, still red. Well, she did set up the fight... maybe it's better she's not here? "Y-Yeah, l-let's go inside, I-I wanna d-do this a-as soon as possible." She remembered that she'd seen Melanie and Darcy talking earlier. "W-What were you and M-Melanie talking about earlier?" She asked, beginning to walk back into the guild, but stopping at the door, waiting for Darcy to go in first.

"E-Erm, t-thank you, Darcy. F-For doing this, I-I'm not good with other Pokemon, but you and Yooka are the only friends I've had..." She said, and her eyes grew wider. That was so sappy! And melodramatic... why did I say that? "S-Sorry... ah... I-I don't know what I should say to the G-Guildmaster... y-you said t-that h-her name was Faye? I-I d-don't know any Fayes. I-It sounds like a n-nice name, b-but I-I don't know what I should t-tell Faye... c-could you h-help me? W-With that..." She said, staring at the door nervously. The Meganium was huge! What if the guild-master was even taller? "I-I... w-why is everyone so tall..." She mumbled to herself, a bit too loudly, as she lowered her gaze.

Alki looked embarrassed, as Darcy had expected...  She gave the Igglybuff a gentle smile as she stood to her feet and followed her towards the door.  "Yooka's already inside.  She said she wanted to go back to sleep.  I think she's sorry about setting all of this up..."

Alki's question about her sister was harder to answer.  Darcy cast her gaze downard as she walked, wondering how much she should say...  "And, um...  Melanie and I were talking about you, Alki.  ...She feels really bad about hurting you.  She didn't want to talk to you herself, but she promised to let you stay at the guild, and I don't think she'll ever bother you again.  So please don't be afraid of her, okay..?"

She arrived at the door, but she paused...  It seemed that Alki still had a few things to say, so the Skitty looked down at her friend curiously.  And if anything so far had inspired sympathy in Darcy's heart, it was hearing that she was one of Alki's first friends.  "O-oh..." Darcy murmured softly as she regarded the Igglybuff...  If the poor thing had such a troublesome family, too...  Had she truly never had anyone that she was close to..?

...Well...  If Darcy was Alki's first friend...  She would do everything she could to be a good one.  Alki deserved it.  And maybe, now that the Igglybuff was here at the guild, the home she had left behind could be replaced with a real one.  Somewhere that she was happy to live...  Darcy gave Alki a warm smile at the thought as she lay down next to her.  "Yeah.  I'll help you, so don't worry.  The Guildmaster is really nice.  I think you'll like her."

She paused as she swished her tail up to her side like a sort of stepping stone.  "Want to climb up onto my back again?  I'm not that tall either, but maybe it would help..."

They were talking about me? She promised Darcy, huh... I'm happy she didn't talk to me. She hit me! But maybe I'll be a bit safer now, but I can't trust her anymore... "I-I d-don't know, Darcy. That'll be hard... she hit me! How c-can't I be afraid of her? She paused, looking up at her newfound friend. N-Nevermind... I don't wanna talk about that..." She said quietly. How could she believe that? Melanie was probably just saying that. She'd lied before, and she'd broken promises.

Alki attempted a smile, but it was feeble and shaky and disappeared as quick as it came. Darcy was so nice! She hadn't said a single bad thing or done anything bad to Alki since she'd met her. Then again, it was only a day, but it still came as a surprise to Alki that she could be that nice. "T-Thanks... I-I... I mean, s-she's in charge o-of this place... w-what if she doesn't like me?" Now that was a scary though... Alki closed her eyes, and counted to ten, taking deep breaths. She didn't want to be flustered and worried on top of everything when she met the Meganium. Her head already hurt enough.  "I-I'd a-appreciate it... t-that is... no, that's right... Um... I'd appreciate it a l-lot, t-thanks Darcy..." She said quietly.

The Skitty offered Alki another ride. Alki didn't mind, but on the other hand, what if she was being too much of a bother? "U-Um... s-sure... b-but, isn't it embarrassing?" She said, pausing. "Err... n-nevermind... I-I should've just said yes..." Was Alki being rude? She didn't know, she carefully stepped onto Darcy's back, hoping Darcy wouldn't take offense. She was being awfully nice, but who knew? If it was Alki, she would certainly be at least a bit embarrassed... but then, she got embarrassed easily. But that was a bit rude to ask Darcy something like that, wasn't it? "S-Sorry..." She said, sitting down on Darcy's back. "L-Let's go m-meet the G-Guildmaster, I s-suppose... t-that is, if y-you're ready?" She said, closing her eyes as she begun to take deep breaths, preparing herself for the meeting. What would it be like? Hopefully it would go well.

Darcy's ears flattened just a little as Alki said that she was still afraid of her sister.  It didn't come as a surprise, but it was still painful to hear...  It was a horrible situation, both for Alki and Melanie.  Darcy was honestly somewhat relieved that Alki didn't want to talk about it at the moment...

The Igglybuff still seemed nervous about meeting the Guildmaster, but that wasn't a surprise either.  It didn't worry Darcy too much, though.  If anyone could make Alki feel at home, it would be Faye!  "Embarrassing..?" Darcy said with a curious smile as Alki climbed onto her back.  "Um...  I guess I've never thought about it.  I don't think it's embarrassing, though.  I let Pokémon ride on my back all the time."  Once Alki was securely in place, Darcy stood to her feet.  "I'm ready if you are!  Let's go," she said cheerfully as she shouldered the door open and stepped back inside.

The halls weren't as busy now as they had been earlier in the morning.  Most of the guild's members were either upstairs or already out doing their work for the day, so Darcy had no trouble getting around.  She turned right, away from her sleeping quarters, and after a short walk she came to a stop in front of a massive wooden door...  The door to the Guildmaster's room.

Excited to see her again and to introduce her to Alki, Darcy shouldered the heavy door open and carefully poked her head inside, wearing a shy smile.  "Umm...  Faye?  Are you there?  It's me again..."