Mischief Makers

First topic message reminder :

Mission details:

[Energy: 21 - 10 (entrance fee) = 11]
[Item equipped: Trap Scarf (negates all trap rolls)]

It had been one or two hours since morning dawned over Grassveil Town, and while there were some puffy clouds drifting through the sky, they didn't stop the city and the vast grassy meadows around it from being bathed in warm sunlight.  The bright, cheery weather mirrored the emotions of a certain Skitty wearing a blue scarf as she trotted along one of the dirt trails leading east away from town, her tail held high and a smile firmly plastered on her face as she traveled with two of her friends.  Just up ahead was the edge of Shadowhue Forest, the ancient woods full of trees that stretched higher than even the tallest of Pokémon...  This was where their day's work had taken them, and the Skitty was glowing with excitement.

"Okay!  Before we go inside, we should take a look at this job one more time..." she said while turning around and settling on her haunches.  Her tail swished back and forth as she fished a slip of paper from her bag and spread it out on the ground.

"It says that Plusle and Minun are living in a tree house somewhere in Shadowhue Forest.  It shouldn't be too far from the entrance if they still spend so much time bothering people in town, so...  We just have to find them, and give them a good talking to.  Everyone understand?" Darcy asked, gazing up at her two friends with a smile...  Her eyes lingered on Alki in particular, the little Igglybuff who had joined her team at the guild just yesterday.  Darcy had chosen this mission particularly because it sounded safe and simple, the kind of thing that would be a perfect introduction to how the guild worked.  And, well...  Missions where she got to meet new Pokemon were always Darcy's favorite anyway, so that just left her more excited than ever!

Seeing the Pinsir smile was a little unsettling at first, with how big and scary-looking he was, but knowing that he was friendly and that he would be able to help banished any concerns from Darcy's mind.  She smiled in return and was about to ask where the two children were but then the Slakoth spoke up...  It seemed things wouldn't be quite so simple.  Maybe these Pokémon needed some help of their own...

But because she was busy talking to these strangers, and because Alki was so light, Darcy didn't notice the Igglybuff tumble off of her back and into the bushes...  She just mistook the silence from her back as sleepiness or shyness...  No doubt would she have been worried for Alki if she had seen what really happened.

"Sure!  We'd be glad to help you out in return.  We're an exploration team, after all!" Darcy said to the Slakoth and Pinsir, wagging her tail back and forth.  Having a chance to help Pokémon like this always put her in a good mood...  It was what she had dreamed of doing back when she'd joined the guild.  "Umm...  Is there anything special you need us to do?  You seemed like you had something on your mind!"

Alki found herself in a bush. How had she gotten into a bush? When she'd fallen off of Darcy. "Ow!" It was prickly. She shushed herself and rushed to get off of the bush. She felt a small cut from a thorn in her arm. Well, that was her own fault for falling into a bush. She bounced off of the bush, and leaned against Darcy. It wasn't that bad, really. Just a small cut. To go with the one from earlier. She again attempted to hide these from Darcy. That wouldn't do.

Although the sight that greeted her was much worse than both of her two cuts combined. Three! Huge! Pokemon! Alki was dumb-struck. What was she supposed to say? Were they dangerous? Alki wanted to use Sing, but she couldn't open her mouth. She simply took a step back to hide behind Darcy, whimpering. She hadn't wanted to do any talking. And now there were these two Pinsir and Slakoth standing in front of Alki and Darcy. She tugged on Darcy's tail, trying to lead the larger Pokemon away, but to no avail.

"Well... we've lost something in these woods. Do you think you could help us find it?"

"More like... someone stole it from us. Although I didn't get a look at them, so I don't know what Pokemon they were..."

Both the Slakoth and Pinsir looked at Darcy, hopeful that she would help them. Neither had noticed the tiny Igglybuff, still trying to pull Darcy away from the two. "D-Don't!" she whispered. They looked mean! And huge! "T-They're scary!"

Shrugging off the feeling of swaying around on a branch, Yooka continued to watch the pokemon below her. Well, the group Darcy has encountered seems fine and the random other pokemon dont seem to be getting closer. No noises around myself. I should probably head down, but if they turn sour, we'll lose the element of surprise.

She watched as the pinsir and slakoth seem to continue talking after the skitty's reply. Seemingly at the same time, the Igglybuff popped from the bush a bit and tugged the skitty's tail. Hmm, I wouldn't be surprised if Alki is saying she's scared right about now... probably due to them being bugs or rather that they happen to be large. Yooka held her chuckles figuring the noise could probably give her presence away, even though she can't even hear the conversation down below. I'm genuinly thinking that this group may actually be fine... purely because of that. Yooka smirked and held back another chuckle.

((

ooc:

Darcy nodded and smiled while the two Pokemon explained their situation...  So someone had run off with one of their belongings.  Maybe she and her team could help with that!  It wouldn't hurt to try, at least, since they were in the forest anyway...  They could look for the thief while looking for Plusle and Minun, and try to convince them to give back whatever they took if their paths ended up crossing.

The thought was making Darcy a little excited! She wanted her guild team to be all about making others happy, after all. That was what really mattered to her.  "Yeah!  We'd be glad to help.  Just tell us what was stolen from you!  Right, Alk--"

Her smile vanished and she squeaked and stumbled backward as she felt a sharp tug on her tail.  She whirled around in a half-panicked attempt to see who had sneaked up on her, and...  Her cheeks burned red when she saw that it was just Alki, begging her not to help these three because of the way they looked.  It hurt when Pokemon tugged at her tail, even small Pokemon like Alki!  And it had happened almost every time another Pokemon had wanted to hurt her...  It was embarrassing to let others see it, but yanking at her tail had become a surefire way to scare her...

"U-uh, I, uh..." Darcy muttered, blushing with embarrassment as she tried to recollect herself.  She wished Alki hadn't done that.  She didn't want to leave these Pokemon with a bad impression of the Grassveil Guild...  She didn't want to disappoint Faye like that...  Her ears flattened as she forced herself to speak up, her breathing still a little fast due to shock...  "A-Alki, why not?  These three seem nice...  It's really mean to not help someone because of how they look..."

Alki immediately regretted her decision. She heard a small squeak, and to her surprise, actually got Darcy to stumble backwards. But not to her pleasure... what was she doing? Darcy was the only Pokemon who'd been this kind to her in... well, in forever. And she was pulling on her tail? Alki felt disgusted at herself. She immediately stopped and took a few steps back, away from Darcy. "I-I-I'm so... s-sorry! I didn't... mean... I-I didn't t-think things through!" She said, panicking. Alki was behaving like the children who'd been mean to her at the pond... was she going to turn out like them? She hadn't meant to hurt Darcy.

Her eyes began to fill up with tears, and she struggled to wipe them away before Darcy saw. She should've just stayed in the bush. She didn't care about the small cuts she'd received. Those didn't matter anymore. She'd done wrong... she'd betrayed Darcy! She hadn't meant to, but these Pokemon just seemed so scary... she'd let her own fear get to her... she shouldn't have done that. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

But... could she do anything to fix it? No... she couldn't. Just... try her best to take back at least a bit of what she'd just done. She wanted to run away... no, she didn't. She wanted to just disappear. But she wouldn't, she couldn't, so she had to try and fix it. At least a tiny bit... she managed to stop her tears, kind of, and looked up at the Pinsir. Looking at it made her want to run away and hide. It was really large and kind of scary. She vaguely heard Darcy in the background, telling her that it was mean to not help someone because of how they looked. Alki didn't want to be mean. That wasn't her intention, she just felt afraid...

"I-I-I'm... err... s-sorry about... that. I j-just... I c-c-can be r-really stupid s-sometimes... j-just... um... d-don't mind me... I-I don't matter... I'm a rude, mean, idiot..." She looked at the ground, not sure how to proceed. She didn't want to make this about her. "Umm... j-just tell us w-what you lost. P-Please..." she said, almost pleading with the Pokemon. That hadn't made Alki feel any better. She saw the Pinsir looking confused, but she didn't know what else she could do. Honestly, she felt spent. She wanted to faint. And wake up in the guild the previous morning and realize it had all been a dream. She hit her own foot, hoping she'd wake up. She didn't. And it hurt.

"Well... uh..." The Pinsir started, unsure of where to begin. The Igglybuff's outbreak had been... unexpected. "It was an... ah... hmmm... what was it again?" He asked the Slakoth.

"A small bow. I know we don't look like it..." He glared at Alki, not afraid to show his anger and showing a tinge of bitter sarcasm in his voice. "But we are civilized. We're not ferals." He turned back to look at the Skitty in front of him. "Anyways. I'd appreciate your help quite a bit. This bow means... quite a lot to me. It's colored a dark red, it's fairly large. I doubt there's many of those bows here in the forest, so if you see the thief, or find the bow... we'd really appreciate it." He said, looking at Darcy hopefully. The Pinsir seemed fairly disinterested in the whole conversation, but he wore a small frown on his face.

The Slakoths words hurt Alki even more than her previous actions. She hadn't meant to be rude! She really hadn't... she was a horrible guild-member. Horrible! She should just quit right then... she'd already botched her first job. She took off her bow and placed it slowly, deliberately into her bag. She didn't deserve to wear it... she'd have to let Faye know she was quitting when they got back. "I-I'm sorry... I-I should j-j-just quit, shouldn't I?" She mumbled, looking at Darcy. She hoped the Skitty had heard, Darcy had been awfully kind to her the day before. But then again, things changed. She felt she was beginning to understand why the Pokemon at the Pond hadn't wanted to be around Alki. She ruined everything, didn't she? In the time the Slakoth and Pinsir had been talking, she'd stopped any signs of her crying, and simply maintained a blank expression.

It took Yooka a couple moments to register a rather faint noise that came from the skitty. She was looking around after hearing it thinking something was sneaking up on her. It was when she looked down on the group was when she thought perhaps something just happened and almost jumped down on one of the Pinsir. However, the skitty was looking at the Igglybuff and the two Pinsir were looking at the slakoth. Did Alki just accidently injure Darcy by pulling her tail? well, yea, I know that isn't pleasant. meh, I matter aswell just go down and check it out...

She looked around one last time as she slowly climbed down the nearest tree. She was about halfway down when she could just barely register what was being said, but she still couldn't understand. She looked over her shoulder and noticed the Igglybuff on the verge of tears looking at the skitty, but the skitty seems to be frightened. What did I miss??

"Hey! So, what exactly is happening down here?" She called out as soon as she was close enough to jump down without hurting herself. She uncloaked herself as she did jump down. Landing a fair distance from the two groups. Say yes, I'll ignore the two and see what the three were doing. Say no, and I'll try to get the two out, while distracting the three... From what I saw and what I can now see... The three are fine, its just Alki being scared. but I can't be too sure. Yooka stood fast, looking pretty intense. Staring at the two groups. Then suddenly smirked, "Should I be concerned about something?"

The moment she saw the panic and dismay in Alki's eyes, Darcy shrank backward and covered her mouth with a paw.  Had she been too harsh?  Should she not have said that?  Of course Alki hadn't meant to do anything mean, even if her words and actions hadn't been the kindest...  She was just scared.  And it was hard to blame her...  Pinsir did look frightening, and Alki was so small and sensitive to begin with...

Then Darcy noticed the tears in Alki's eyes.  Along with the mumbling that followed, Darcy almost wanted to cry herself, feeling horrified that she had made Alki so upset by putting her in this situation...  None of what she was saying about herself was true!  She was a good Pokemon, Darcy was sure of it...  She wasn't mean, and she wasn't an idiot, and more than anything, she mattered...  The Skitty took a step forward and opened her mouth, wanting to interrupt, but the Pinsir and Slakoth continued explaining themselves before she had a chance...

Darcy barely registered their words, staring at the ground and struggling to keep her feelings inside while they spoke.  "Y-yeah.  We'll help..." Darcy mumbled as the Slakoth finished.  She glanced back to Alki to see if she still had misgivings about these Pokémon, and instead saw...  Alki putting her ribbon away...

It took Darcy a moment to understand the Igglybuff's words. But as she saw the blank expression Alki was wearing... Darcy's blood drained from her face as she realized that Alki was...  Seriously thinking about quitting, and leaving the guild...  "N-n...  B-but..." she stammered, standing to her feet in shock and dismay.  This wasn't how things were supposed to happen...  Alki...  Was this really too much for her?  Did she really not want to be at the guild anymore..?  They were supposed to be friends, and learn together, and grow together, and help Pokémon together...  Darcy had never even gotten to teach her how to read...

She heard footsteps coming from behind her, followed by the familiar sound of Yooka's voice.  Darcy clung to that voice like a life raft, turning around and shakily trotting towards her other teammate.  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep tears from springing into her eyes as she stared up at Yooka, praying that the Kecleon could say something to fix this...

"H-help...  I-I messed up, and...  Alki..." she said...  She wanted to explain but the words just wouldn't come.  She took a few tremulous breaths, the tears in her eyes growing until they spilled over onto her cheeks...  It...  It was Alki's decision, but...  For this to happen so soon...  Darcy fervently wished that she had picked an easier mission, one that definitely wouldn't have scared her new friend but that couldn't be changed now.  She forced herself to turn around, looking at Alki and speaking in the most stable voice she chould manage.  "A-Alki...  Do you...  Do you really not want to be on my team anymore..?"

Alki observed the happenings with a blank expression. Her first day... and she'd already messed up so badly she wanted to quit. She'd pulled her friends tail. What was she thinking! Alki didn't have one, sure, but it was obvious that something like that would hurt. What in the world had she been thinking? And while Darcy was talking too... she was stupid, and insensitive, and no better than the children she'd met at the pond who'd made fun of Alki and teased her and been mean to her. She wasn't any better. And from the looks of it, she'd made Darcy cry. Because she'd seen how sad Alki was. Because she'd seen her cry? Maybe... Alki had to hide it better. She couldn't let others see her sadness. It'd just make them sad too.

But Alki wasn't a natural. She didn't know how to hide emotions, and while she knew she'd have to fix that, she couldn't do it then. She observed as both the Pinsir and Slakoth backed off, away from Darcy, and Alki, and even Yooka. She'd come down too. What was she going to say? Both of them... she'd turned out a disappointment. Just as she'd expected...

Alki couldn't see her, or even hear her crying. More than anything, she could sense Darcy crying. Darcy had been such a great friend and now she was crying over Alki and her stupid mistakes. Alki had to find some way to take her words back... the Pinsir and Slakoth had left. Maybe they realized that they needed space? Alki hoped so. She really did need space... but she also couldn't let Darcy continue to cry. Alki struggled desperately to think of a way to comfort her friend. Her best friend. Whom she'd made cry. A few tears came to her eyes too, no matter how hard she tried to keep her face blank. She hoped they wouldn't make Darcy cry even more. She asked if Alki really wanted to leave her team. Well... did she? She couldn't exactly say she felt at home. But it meant a lot to Darcy. And she was crying. And Alki didn't want to leave. She didn't want to lose Darcy, leave Darcy.  She'd rather die than do that...

"N-No, D-Darcy... It's just... I... um... I can't help who I am. I am kinda... stu..." Stupid. She was more than kinda stupid. She was. She absolutely was stupid, no doubt about it. But that wouldn't be something Darcy wanted to hear. Alki bounced up to her hesitantly. What was she supposed to say? "Well... I just have p-p-problems. A l-lot of them. And... I r-really like you, Darcy. You've been way too kind to me. I do want to stay on your team, I really do. I d-don't want to drag it down with my stupi... endously small lack of knowledge." She began to cry. She was horrible at covering her slip-ups too.

"A-And...I'm not... the best... at, well, anything... really. But I don't want to make you cry. Or hurt you. I didn't want to... I just don't really... well. I don't know. I'm sorry. I do want to stay on your team..." She did! Really... but she didn't want to mess up. "I-I'll just... s-stay quiet." She gave Darcy a small hug, and after a bit of hesitation, Yooka too. She didn't want Darcy to feel bad. Even if she still did feel a bit sad. But she couldn't show it. She couldn't! She didn't want to make Darcy any sadder than she already was. "P-Please don't cry..."

((

ooc:

The first answer Yooka got is Darcy in a shocked and teary state getting closer to her and Alki crying while deep in thought, in a retracting way. However its seeing Darcy coming towards Yooka in that state that made her think, perhaps she's looking to Yooka for help, With Alki...?

Yooka sighed as Darcy confirmed what she was thinking... Yooka nearly spoke up about exactly what she wanted to think.
~It was way out of her league~
But instead Yooka looked at Alki, then the other group, before saying, "I don't know what happened here, but I can assume what happened. You don't need to wait around. This'll take awhile, probably. I recommend just leaving before I go insane over this..."

Sentimentality, one of Yooka's most infamous worst feats. heh, she doesn't care if the one she's talking to is a strong enemy or a weak ally. She'll stare at it with neutral eyes, but every now and then she'll act like she cares. It's only on extremely rare occasions where she's ever truely truthful. Just looking at Alki and Darcy now just makes her want to sigh and give up. However, she had something driving her into doing this.

What can Yooka do to help the situation? Not much. The first thing to mind is to be agressive, but that'll end with a nearly scared-dead Igglybuff. Second Idea is to be Defensive, but that'll end with broken friendships. Yooka closed her eyes and sat down as Alki started to talk when she got closer to Darcy. Of course Yooka listened to what Alki said, it probably would help her decide ...or... not really. What she heard nearly made her laugh. She held back her chuckling and continued listening, only to find it increasingly harder to hold. When the igglybuff finished Yooka ended up in a tense grip of herself and made a rather angrily long-grunted meep. It helped, but it probably made the two look at her in either a shocked, frightened, or some other emotion she doesn't quite have.

She didn't open her eyes but instead just spoke, "Not stupid. Just speaking up like you just did proved it. Your just too careful and too timid for your own good, well... If you want to look bad on yourself, you can say your a wimp... but then again... you did come into this forest knowing it's dark as night..." Yooka paused as she realized she went both aggressive and defensive... She made a more profound growl than grunt. "Gah, I'm not good with emotions. I can't handle this sentimental stuff. I'll just say, do what I do and turn around, get angry at the situation but 'not' the person, then focus on everything 'but' the person. Once you feel better or willing to do something, just do it." She paused again... The way she explained it made sense to her but probably not to them. she growled to herself once again before throwing her arms up, "I can't explain it."

Darcy sat down and did her best not to sob as she listened to Alki.  She didn't want to make Alki feel guilty for whatever she decided to do...  That wouldn't be right...  But as Alki spoke, the Skitty just couldn't stop more tears from forming in her eyes.  Was...  Was Alki calling herself stupid..?  Was that why she had wanted to leave?  Darcy desperately hoped not, but she could think of no other explanation, to her dismay...  Alki was a good Pokémon...  It was absolutely heartbreaking to see her torment herself like that...

Yooka spoke up next...  And while Darcy didn't quite understand her suggestions, just seeing that she wanted to help was good to see.  She knew firsthand that the Kecleon struggled with this kind of thing...  A thoughtful response like that proved she cared, even if she didn't have the easiest time showing it...

But receiving a tiny hug from the teary-eyed Igglybuff and being told not to cry...  It just made Darcy's heart overflow with emotion.  She didn't want to upset Alki even more, but she couldn't stop the tears in her eyes from growing faster and faster until she was crying in earnest.  "I...  I don't care if you think you're stupid or not!  You matter, and I like you, and I want you to be happy!" she shouted between sobs as she stood to her feet and jumped at Alki with a desperate half-hug, half-tackle...  "Please, please, please don't be mean to yourself, okay?  I-I...  You don't deserve that..."

She hugged Alki tightly, crying harder than ever.  "It's good to have talents...  And you should make the most of what you have, and push yourself to improve, so that you can make the world a better place...  But even Pokemon who aren't good at anything matter, and deserve to have friends and be happy...  Their thoughts and feelings are just as real and valuable and beautiful as anyone else's...  There's no one that I love just because of what they can or can't do..."

Darcy squeezed her eyes shut.  "I-I want you to try really hard and do your best.  And I think you're too hard on yourself, and that you can do a lot more than you think...  But no matter what happens, I'll be here for you, okay?  I just want you to be the very best Alki you can be, alright..?  That's all that matters to me...  So...  Please, please be nicer to yourself...  I want to have you on my team, but more than that, I want you to be happy..."

Alki heard Yooka's speech. But she couldn't understand it, and Alki hated herself for it. Even if they wanted to help her she was too dumb to receive that help. Even if they gave her advice she couldn't understand that advice. What was wrong with her? Her parents, her brother and her sister, and all of those kids at the pond had been right. They all had been right. Alki didn't change her expression. Darcy was crying because of her. Alki didn't want to see Darcy cry, so why should Alki cry herself? Why should she cry at all? What did that accomplish?

Darcy was really nice. The whole speech almost made her hopeful for herself. She was talking, no, almost shouting through her tears and Alki felt almost relieved that she was worth crying over at all. But it wasn't enough. Nothing was enough! Her whole life she'd been put down and yelled at and teased and mocked and now she couldn't believe anything Darcy had to say. Well, most things. Some things, she could believe. She didn't doubt that Darcy liked her. She didn't doubt that, at least. And it was nice that someone liked her. Even if she didn't deserve it.

But the rest? Why did she matter? She didn't. And everyone deserved the truth. If what Alki said was the truth... and she knew that it was, then she had to let herself know. What point was there in raising up her hopes for herself? If she told herself she was a good Pokemon or skilled or nice or any of those things, she'd start to believe it. And when she inevitably screwed up, she'd come crashing down to earth and it would hurt more than if she'd never have raised her hopes at all.

Alki thought about what Darcy had said. She was silent for a bit after the speech. Darcy wanted Alki to try. Try to do her best and be the best... her... she could be. She already felt like the best Alki she could be. It didn't seem like much. She didn't blame Darcy for thinking there was more to her. But she didn't want to correct her. No one was that kind. No one wanted to be friends with Alki if they didn't think they could benefit from it. After all, wasn't that the whole reason her mom and dad kept her around at all? It was a good thing Darcy had shut her eyes. Otherwise she would see just how uncomfortable the whole thing was making her and how hard she was trying not to cry. She shouldn't have messed up in the first place.

"I-I'm sorry..." She said, and then thought about what to say next. What could she say? Darcy was wrong. It pained Alki to think that, but it was the truth. She was wrong. Alki didn't want to be the one to tell her that. She wanted to make Darcy happy. Darcy and Yooka had been the only two to care for her, she didn't want Darcy to cry anymore. She didn't want to put Yooka in a situation she was clearly uncomfortable in. She didn't matter beyond those two. But again, that wasn't what Darcy wanted to hear. She had to act as if she was feeling better.

"I-I mean... I can try." She said. She didn't think that it would amount to much. She'd never amounted to much. "I-I'll try... b-but please d-don't expect much from me... I-I'll do my best." What else could she say? "I really appreciate... appreciate it." She said, stifling a sob. "I-I don't r-r-really want to be c-completely alone. I want to be on a t-team..." She was grateful that Darcy had come into her life. At least something nice had happened to her. The Skitty was the brightest spot in her whole life thus far.

"I-I'm happy you think I matter... I-I'll try... I won't m-mess up again t-t-today..." She said, giving Darcy another hug. She didn't feel good at all, but she managed a smile. She tried to make it convincing. "T-Thank you for that, Darcy... I-It made me feel better." She said. It wasn't entirely untrue... it made her feel a bit better that someone worried about her that much. She hated to see Darcy cry. But at the same time, she was happy that she'd found out she was worth those tears. Did that make her a bad Pokemon? She hoped not. "T-Thank you. Both of you." She said, smiling again. It felt hollow.

Watching the two pass hugs made Yooka cringe. Why does sympathy have to exist, it's just one of the factors that defines a good or bad person from an outside perspective. Does that make her a bad pokemon? Yooka closed her eyes and turned away from the two pokemon and started muttering to herself Hah... if that's true then Darcy is a fine Skitty. mrrrr...

She decided to look for the group of three but before she got a few feet away she heard Alki's wavering voice say 'thank you'. Yooka practically facepalmed to herself. She didn't do anything. She couldn't do anything. She shouldn't be dealing with this stuff for she would probably end up ruining it more than it already is.

Yooka sighed and stood where she stopped. Perhaps she should at least hear this out. If it goes south, she could always just start the search again and finish the mission alone while they do what it is they do. Yooka couldn't help but growl to her own thoughts. This was darcy's mission. All she needed to do was protect the two from the bigger threats of the forest while they handled the mission and only if they couldn't do it was when she'd pop in and finish it. Would this count as them not being able to do it? no, it's just... no, it probably is. Yooka growled again and gripped her frills, undecided if she should just go or wait. Gah, what to do...!?

As Alki began speaking, Darcy kept her eyes squeezed shut, still crying desperately and hugging the Igglybuff close...  It took all of the willpower in her body to pull away and sit on her haunches so that Alki would have space to talk.  She gazed at her new teammate pleadingly, hoping and praying that she would understand...  Understand that she didn't need to hate herself...

The teary-eyed Skitty listened, doing her best not to interrupt the quiet little Igglybuff with her sobs...  And she found it easier and easier as Alki spoke.  Her words were reassuring, to say the very least...  "Alki..." Darcy murmured as the Igglybuff stepped forward and gave her a hug.  She still couldn't stop the flow of tears from her eyes, but...  She wore a tiny smile as she hugged Alki in return.  She would try...  That was all Darcy wanted to hear...  

"...Thank you, Alki.  That really means a lot..." Darcy said, letting go after a long moment.  Her cheeks were tear-stained but she wasn't crying anymore, and she wore a genuine smile that made it clear she was feeling better.  How could she not smile when even Alki was doing the same?  The Igglybuff's face still looked a little shaky, but that was okay...  Darcy was just glad that she wasn't crying or insulting herself anymore.  Anything was better than that...

Darcy caught sight of Yooka out of the corner of her eye.  ...The Kecleon looked awfully uncomfortable.  Like she would be tearing her hair out if she had any.  For her sake, Darcy looked back to the forest and resolved to get back to work...  "...I guess those three left...  I hope we didn't scare them off, ha..." she said while standing up.  So much for leaving a good impression of the guild.  But if the whole ordeal helped Alki become more comfortable with herself, even a little bit...  Well, that made it all worth it.  Faye would understand.  For now they just needed to worry about their job...

"Um...  Well...  Whenever you two are up to it, I think we should keep looking for Plusle and Minun.  We've already come pretty far.  I'm sure they're around here somewhere...  Or maybe we'll find that bow first instead."

Alki remained silent as the Skitty talked. She felt bad. She wanted to explode with so many things she wanted to say and how much they conflicted with each other. Darcy was feeling better. But Alki had lied to her! She'd lied to make Darcy feel better. She was a liar. She was already treating her friend badly, again! But Darcy was smiling so happily! So geniunely... Alki felt like she was wearing a mask. But she didn't want to take it off.

"O-Of course!" She said quickly. Darcy believed her. The fact that she had to lie to Darcy to make her feel happy made Alki feel even worse than before. But she still wore a smile and she tried to make her eyes look as happy as she could. She wanted to cry. But she didn't show it. She simply smiled wider.

"I-I'll be k-kinder to myself..." Another lie. But Darcy was giving her a way out, and she took it. Perhaps too quickly. But what else could she say? She didn't want to talk about herself anymore. She didn't want to think about how badly she'd let Darcy down because, in the end, nothing would change. No matter how hard she tried, the constant in her life was: Alki always failed. And she didn't doubt she'd fail to keep her promise. She always failed.

"I-I-I'm... err... r-ready. S-sorry about... no. I mean... uh... t-thank... y-you? I d-didn't mean to cause t-that b-but... t-thanks..." She said, getting quieter and quieter the more she spoke. She simply leaned on Darcy, trying hard to not let her smile fall. If Darcy saw that Alki was happy, she'd be happy too! She just didn't want Darcy to feel sad...

"I mean... l-let's just g-g-get back to l-looking..."

((

ooc, getting the feeling of a curse:

Yooka barely gave a half-laugh half-cough towards Darcy's reply. She didn't feel like saying it for it just didn't seem like it was needed. However when Darcy said that the three other pokemon probably ran off Yooka stayed silent. Once Darcy said they should get back on track. Yooka decided to turn around to agree but she noticed Alki was feeling out of it. Is that a common thing she does? No, it couldn't be, but she 'is' panicking so... maybe? Yooka shook her head to the thought. Ridiculous.

Back to what Darcy said. A bow? what bow? Did the other group ask for a bow? now That Yooka looked at Alki , she was missing a her blue bow. Did they take it? no, both of them would probably be telling her everything before they left. Yooka knew it wasn't because of that reason that they were panicky. Actually, they were feeling better. and anyway, looking for the bow isn't something she would do at the moment. Finding those two kids is her second priority. after watching over these two anyway.

What Alki said made Yooka confused. Did Alki actually mean to say that? Alki practically spoke like a wobbling record. Studdering, pausing, and even skipping words. What was she trying to say? All Yooka understood was 'I'm ready. Sorry about... thank you? I didn't mean to cause that but... thanks...' Cause what? Pulling Darcy's tail? It's not common over-all but it's pretty common in kids with no tail to not know its 'very' uncomfortable for a tail to be messed with. It's practically an extension of the spine, there are alot of nerves in tails, but should she explain that to Alki? Not really, she probably wouldn't understand anyway... just saying 'dont pull tails' with that kind of reaction should be a big enough hint.

Yooka growled to herself before turning away again to look out into the dark forest. Anyways... A treehouse, huh? It wouldn't be smart to build one in the dark parts of the forest. Unless that someone can see in the dark. No plusle or minun can do that. so, it would have to be in a lit up part. Yooka looked up. and to her unsurprising self. Found no sign of a treehouse. Why did she look up? She was just up there. Well, it isn't obviously isn't there, whoop-dee-do. At this moment Yooka got a feeling that she's forgeting something but couldn't quite remember. She ignored the feeling.

She heard faint sounds of brush being moved coming from her side. She focused her attention in that direction. She took that moment to reply to Darcy. "Yea, the three are gone, I don't see them anywhere. However, I do hear something over there... and I don't think it's them..."

((

ooc, tails, in-case you don't actually know: