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!

Darcy took a deep breath and then sighed as Alki leaned against her and Yooka confirmed that the other group of Pokemon had left.  It was very, very good that Alki was feeling better, and that she had promised to not be so hard on herself...  It was hard to describe just how much of a relief that was.  But if her team found that bow, how would they return it now..?  It meant a lot to those Pokemon, they had said.  Did the guild have a lost-and-found?  Or would it be better to just scour the forest until they found that group again..?

She didn't have much time to think about it.  Yooka mentioned the rustling bushes, and Darcy's ears perked up, quickly hearing them too.  "H-hello..?" she said as she looked up, her voice a little shaky after pouring her heart out to Alki just a moment earlier...

No sooner had the words left her mouth than whatever was in the bushes started running away.  The undergrowth was dense, but Darcy thought she saw a flash of red and yellow amidst the movement...  Was that Plusle?  Yooka didn't think so, but it was hard to be sure!

"W-wait!  Plusle, is that you?  We need to talk!" Darcy shouted as she sprang to her feet and bounded along a narrow path that ran parallel to the rustling bushes.  She wished that she could have had a moment to calm down before running into those children, but she couldn't complain!  She just hoped they wouldn't keep running...

Alki heard the unsteadiness in Darcy's voice. Despite herself, she was beginning to feel a bit better, if only because Darcy had stopped crying, yet the shakiness reminded herself of how badly she'd hurt Darcy, and how much worse it could have turned out. But Darcy was beginning to feel better, so Alki kept her thoughts about just how badly she'd behaved to herself.

What about Plusle? Alki looked around suddenly, disinterested in the small patch of ground she'd been staring at for so long. Plusle was somewhere close by! Darcy had said so. Where? Alki looked around, desperate to catch a glimpse of the Pokemon they'd been looking for. But she didn't, and Darcy began to run after them.

Alki bounced forward, following after her friend. But the Skitty was much faster than the Igglybuff, and she found herself falling behind pretty quickly. "H-Hey! W-W-Wait!" She called out. After having such a serious and, at least for Alki, emotionally taxing talk, this run came as something that she really did not want. But what could she do? Plusle wouldn't be slowing down any time soon.

"Wait up!" She called again, but she wasn't quite sure who exactly she was talking to. Darcy or Plusle? She'd appreciate it if either of them waited for her. Preferably both. She was getting tired...

Yooka went quite to listen to the faded noise. Darcy unexpectedly broke the silence and the noise started to fade. rather Quickly. Geez, It's quick. Darcy and alki started after it but what Darcy assumed didn't quite add up. It, can't be that tiny rodent. It seemed more of a bigger pokemon. Shadowhue... oh sh--! Yooka shot her tongue to stop the Skitty but was too slow. she was just out of reach, however she managed to get infront of Alki. "Wait, that can't be the Plusle!! It sounds too big and far too fast for that!" She took alki in a binding grip with her tail except she held back on it so she could get loose if she felt like it and ran off after Darcy. What else could she mistaken for it. She probably saw colors or perhaps shape... big n fast... this forest is full of final evo. insect and plant pokemon. red... yellow,.. argh... to much. She bound forward blind, just a couple meters behind Darcy. It's going to be a trap.

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Darcy continued bounding along the forest trail, passing between trees and bushes as quickly as a Skitty like herself could manage...  Air rushed past her face and ruffled her fur as she chased after the movement in the undergrowth up ahead.  She faintly heard Alki calling for her to slow down, and it caused her to stumble for a moment, instinctively wanting to stop and wait...  But she couldn't do that just yet, not when the Pokémon they were here to meet was so close!  Leaving Alki behind made Darcy feel awful, especially after seeing her berate herself so badly just a moment ago, but once she caught up to Plusle she would surely be able to convince them to stop running...

...Despite her best efforts, though, she was somehow losing ground to the rustling bushes up ahead.  How could that be happening?  Were Plusle bigger than she'd remembered?  Or was this one just very, very fast..?

Then she heard Yooka speak up, too.  Well, it would make much more sense if this Pokémon wasn't Plusle.  But then why were they running away?  And what other forest Pokémon looked yellow and red..?

The path got thinner and thinner as Darcy chased, until it became difficult even to move through the plants cloying over her.  But eventually she burst forward into a small clearing and screeched to a halt.  Panting heavily, she glanced around for whoever she had been chasing...  She couldn't spot them at first, though.  The only thing that stuck out to her was that all of the trees and bushes fencing in the clearing were draped with some kind of grey, silky substance.  Like they had been left alone for so long that they had gotten covered in dust.  Or maybe...  Spider webs...

"Well, well...  This makes things a little more interesting..." came a voice from right above Darcy.  She jumped with a start and looked up, and her face paled at what she saw looming amidst the tree branches above her...  A huge, red, arachnid Pokemon...  It was an Ariados.

Darcy turned around and stumbled backward, deeper into the clearing, trying to speak up but failing.  She'd had a nasty encounter with an Ariados once before, and a spike of adrenaline was rushing through her body...  And as she took a better look at the Ariados, she noticed something else that made her even more worried than before.  The spider Pokemon was wearing a big, dark-red bow around her neck...

"That scarf of yours...  Do you know just how lucky you are to have it?" the Ariados said as she moved a little closer with her long, spidery legs, eyeing Darcy the whole time...

"H-huh?" Darcy managed to stutter, shrinking back even farther.  Her trap scarf..?  She looked at the ground at the mouth of the clearing, and...  Sure enough, her passing had revealed a latticework of thin twigs placed above a wide hole, obscured with grass and fallen leaves...  Her trap scarf must have allowed her to walk right over it somehow.  Darcy took a nervous peek inside, wondering just what she had avoided, and she saw...  A deep pit, thick with layer upon layer of sticky spider silk...  If anyone fell inside, getting out on their own would be no simple matter...

"Anyway, you and your friends...  Give it up.  I'm not giving you this bow.  So get out of here now, or I'll just have to force you."

"W-wait, but..." Darcy mumbled in return, still too startled to articulate much more...  Why had this Ariados stolen Slakoth's bow?  Should they try to take it back..? It meant a lot to him...  Darcy shot a panicked glance towards the entrance of the clearing, wondering what Yooka and Alki would think of all of this once they caught up...

Alki felt herself begin to be carried in a tight grip, which almost immediately after loosened to a firm, but much more comfortable one. It was probably for the best, Yooka was much faster than Alki, as well as much smarter, so there wasn't any possibility that she'd get anyone in trouble if Yooka carried her. Alki felt herself moving quite a bit faster than before, and she couldn't say she disliked the feeling. Why couldn't she bounce this fast?

But... nevermind that. Darcy said she'd seen Plusle? Or maybe not Plusle... Yooka said it wasn't Plusle. Who or what else could it be though? The forest was scary... maybe it was just some other Pokemon. It had to be, but what if it was more dangerous than the big, albeit friendly, Pokemon they'd just met...

"D-Darcy?" She called out, hoping that her voice was heard by the Skitty. She suddenly felt a bit scared... why were they running so fast? Was something going on? Something had to be going on, otherwise Yooka wouldn't be running that fast. "Darcy?" She called again, louder, loosening herself from Yooka's hold, and standing on her own two feet next to the Kecleon.

They must've been pretty close to Darcy, after all, Yooka had been running really fast. She strained her hearing, hoping to catch a small snippet of sound from Darcy. And she did! Sounds of a conversation. Alki was sure she was talking to the "Plusle". But... Plusle didn't sound very friendly.

Alki walked into the clearing, where she saw Darcy talking with a sort of Spider-Like Pokemon. She thought back to when she'd met the other Pokemon, the Slakoth and Pinsir... they'd seemed scary too, she figured that she should be nicer to this Pokemon than to the other two. She didn't want to get in trouble again. She continued to walk forward, wanting to get closer to Darcy, and by extension the other Pokemon, but she suddenly felt herself begin to lose balance. Why was she falling? There wasn't anything near her, she was walking on the ground! What was going on? But she was definitely falling, falling and landing on some sorta sticky... stuff. Why was this hole where it was? How had Darcy not fallen into it?

"H-Hey!" She called out, suddenly feeling panicked and scared and stupid. And stuck. She couldn't really move much. How had she been so blind? Darcy hadn't fallen through... "H-Help?" She said, a bit quieter. How embarrassing... maybe the other Pokemon would help her? Maybe... but who'd put the trap there? Alki suddenly felt much more scared... "I-I'm stuck... w-who put this here? I-I'm sorry Darcy... I s-s-should've payed better attention to w-where I was going..." Being kinder to herself was hard. Even just pretending, she was stupid for falling into that trap... "B-But... e-err... I c-can't really move too well..." She felt one of her feet begin to feel lazy. She'd fallen into a rather uncomfortable position and now her leg felt numb. Blood flow? Probably. She supposed having one foot pressed against the other wasn't very good... it could've been worse. It was still kinda uncomfortable... but she had no one to blame but herself. At least she was looking up, and she could see if anyone would come to help her. That was a plus. "S-Sorry...

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Yooka managed to see the trap as Darcy passed over it and stopped just before it. Thinking of a way to help Darcy out of the situation. Yooka also knew that Darcy had a scarf that prevents traps from activating no matter how much she tried to actually get caught up in it. That is until the trap actually gets activated, which then it wouldn't be called a trap but more of a environment hazard. One which would be obvious to avoid once mentally noted.

Alki on the other hand seemed to stunned by the sudden activity to notice the trap. She got out of Yooka's grip and decided to head over to Darcy. Yooka was more focused on the pokemon Darcy was facing and didn't notice Alki tripping the trap till just as the pink of the igglybuff's body went out of view. Yooka sent a shadow to pull her back up but forgot igglybuff's were immune to ghost-types. Yooka knew the igglybuff were more of floaters and not droppers, so Even if it was deep she'd just land perfectly fine. She'll be safe aslong as nothing enters the hole.

Yooka went around it half way and looked in. She noticed the little igglybuff stuck in webs but nothing else, she'll be fine. Yooka looked back towards Darcy the pokemon she was faces just mentioned something about a bow. A random phrase to say, is it one of Darcy's? Yooka looked back down towards Alki once again. Alki seemed to be talking out loud seemingly about watching where she was going. Learning from mistakes is a good thing, helps for when it happens again.

Before Yooka could go help Darcy first, Alki muttered the word sorry. Probably not directed at Yooka, but Yooka couldn't leave her hanging with no thoughts. "You should be fine down there, try to get out if you can. I'll go help Darcy out of her situation first, it seems more important. Don't worry about it, I'll be right back." Yooka sort of lied, for as she said that she was looking around and noticed a cliche. The webs around the bushes should have lost their stick considering color. I'll just turn that into a rope of sorts and throw it down, obviously tied to a tree. Which is just what she did. However, the web didn't really lose their stickiness but more of an old piece of tape being re-used over and over again. eventually that sticky stuff starts to fade, it's similar to that in this case.

With the web-rope lowered Yooka went over what she heard the pokemon Darcy was facing mention about Yooka and Alki. Wouldn't quite call it 'friends' for me. I'm only really acquanted on a higher level then normal... but whatever.

Just as it finished Darcy was turned looking back towards the entrance. She probably saw Yooka throw down the web-rope. Yooka shook her head and spoke up towards the pokemon as she walked up to Darcy. "Well, to me it seemed more like you drew her here into what seems to be a pretty well-placed trap. But, now if she were to leave on her own you probably would of snagged her in the back." Typical Poison-Types... even their ways tend to be toxic, but i'm just saying my mind. Not only are most poison-type's tactics filled with venom but bug types tend to not be alone in the long run.

Yooka whispered her plan to Darcy and spoke out towards the pokemon in a more acceptable tone. "Go back and get Alki out of the hole. Don't worry about this guy or gal. Who are you by the way. You speak finely for someone who seems to live in the dungeon. You do know there's some form of insanity going on to those living in dungeons for extended periods of time, I know this from experience. It wasn't pleasant after about three months." Give or take a month... I don't quite remember what happened, it was like I was in a drunken state...

"A-Alki!" Darcy shouted the instant she saw the Igglybuff stumble and fall into the trap.  Ugh, what had she been thinking, not warning her friends about it..?  She'd just been so intimidated by this Ariados, she supposed...  While she didn't think Alki would be hurt, she still felt bad for letting her friend fall in like that.  The last thing Alki needed was to feel that she was slowing everyone down...

Thankfully, Yooka was already working on a solution, tying a strand of older silk around a tree and tossing the other end into the pit.  But as she approached the clearing, the Kecleon followed with a slew of accusations that made Darcy feel more uneasy about this situation than ever...  Could they be true..?  Had this spider Pokémon wanted something more than just to keep the ribbon..?

Yooka offered to deal with the Ariados, and Darcy swallowed and gratefully nodded her head, too shaken to say much as she bounded over to the pit and peered inside...  Sure enough, Alki was there, lying on her back...  She hadn't sunk too deeply into the webs, thank goodness, probably because she weighed so little.

"U-um, Alki, are your hands free?  Can you grab on to this rope?" Darcy called out, her voice wavering with concern.  If Yooka was right, and this Ariados was planning something nasty, then helping Alki up seemed frighteningly urgent...  "Just hold on to it, and I'll...  I'll pull you out, okay..?"  She gripped the rope in her teeth and stood at the very edge of the pit, leaning over as far as she could manage and hoping she could get the rope close enough for Alki to grab on...

Meanwhile, the Ariados climbed down to the forsest floor, bristling as she shot Yooka a resentful look.  "As if I'd do something like that!  I value my privacy, and I don't take kindly to being chased, but I'd never resort to senselessly hurting others."  She looked away, her eyes still burning with frustration or anger.  "I'd just hoped to use that trap of mine as a chance to scare her off.  I...  Overheard you speaking to that Slakoth earlier, and knew you'd be after me for this ribbon, so I ran, and came here."

With that, she resumed glaring at Yooka and took a step forward.  "But I refuse to give it to you.  Now get out of here this instant, or like I said, I'll force you.  I have nothing to give you three and I'm in no mood for talking."

"Y-Yeah... Y-Yeah I c-can..." Alki said, looking up at the sky above her. Although there wasn't much sky to see... just trees and shadows and Darcy's face. It was nice to not be alone, sometimes, she supposed. If she were alone, then nobody would be around to help her get out, and she'd be stuck in those webs for... who knows how long? It wasn't something Alki really wanted to dwell on. Although, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a tad useless. Neither Yooka nor Darcy had fallen into the trap. Only Alki. And now they had to take the time to help her out...

Alki grabbed onto the rope, her hands trembling a bit as she did. Would it hurt to get pulled out? She'd be fine, wouldn't she? She'd lost a lot of feeling in her left foot, although that would hopefully come back once it wasn't twisted awkwardly under her. At least it didn't hurt. "Ok... I-I'm ready..." She called out, hoping that it'd work. She didn't want to be stuck in a hole... especially when there was a scary Pokemon that she could only assume had made the web right there. Why had she made a web? "W-We'll be fine, right?" She called out, before she could stop herself. What a baby-ish question! But... she couldn't help but wonder that. She felt a bit scared. Things would be fine, right?

Believing the Ariados was a rogue pokemon Yooka didn't drop her gaurd and the things she said and the questions she asked weren't really ment for roguish situations. Yooka wasn't surprised when she didn't get the answers she was hoping for. She even looked a bit disappointed at that. However, the answers the Ariados did get gave her a bunch more questions. However again, the Ariados stated she's in no mood to talk and Yooka wasn't in the mood to fight. Especially alone with pokemon the Ariados can use as threats.

Yooka shrugged visibly and turned around. "I dont know about this scarf thing, but ok. Let me just grab the two over there and I'll be out of your area." She never let her gaurd down as she still expects some form of back assault. There's just one thing on her mind she couldn't shake...

Yooka doesn't think these two could understand her way of thinking. They seem happy assisting those who ask. Apparently even from strangers. Yooka could only sigh as she looked back at the two and pulling out her badge. "I'm honestly questioning if they can even do guild missions without someone to fend off the bigger threats." Yooka questioned as she watched the skitty struggle in helping the out-of-sight igglybuff out of the hole. She shook her head in disappointment and raised a hand at the two. "That... was a bit much. Mind if you help the igglybuff out...? The web in the trap seems to be too strong for it."

She went over to the pit and noticed Alki was still where she was but the igglybuff had the webish-rope. Then Yooka raised both in the air and somewhat muttered to herself. "Scare her off...? more like keep her here. It's just a little much to say scare, if she'd 'faint' from being scared while 'unable to move...' I'm not pointing fingers but its 'this' tactic of general poison types I find pretty distasteful. A 'jump scare' would have worked better than a webbed up 'pitfall.'" Yooka stopped again, having a realization and yelled out "WAIT...!" and turned around once again to face the Ariados. "Maybe in this instance but I 'could' use this scare tactic on the two from the mission... Hey, miss Ariados! Mind If I borrow your skills in a favor?"

Darcy continued leaning over the pit, her tail twitching as she watched Alki take hold of the rope.  Thank goodness the Igglybuff's arms were free!  Getting her out of this pit would have been so much harder otherwise.  But even though getting Alki out should have been easy from there, the Igglybuff still seemed nervous and afraid...  Her question made Darcy want to give her a hug and tell her that everything would be alright, but she had to settle for giving Alki a determined nod, then pulling backwards, the rope still in her mouth...

Alki was stuck much more firmly than she'd expected, though.  The webs that were binding the Igglybuff stretched a little, but still clung stubbornly to her body...  "U-umm...  Did that hurt, Alki?  Should I try pulling harder..?" Darcy asked, letting go of the rope and peering into the pit once again.  She hoped she hadn't injured Alki at all by accident...

And then Yooka spoke up, voicing her disappointment.  Darcy cringed and flattened her ears while glancing away.  She and Alki were capable of handling guild missions!  Right..?  Sure, letting Alki fall into this hole had been a mistake, but Darcy had learned so much and become so much more capable since joining the guild...  Hadn't she..?  She had finally begun to feel confident about her place at the guild lately, but hearing something like that from one of her own teammates...  It wasn't very encouraging...

Meanwhile, the Ariados continued eyeing Yooka.  The giant, spider-like Pokémon followed along as Yooka walked over to the pit...  And she overheard everything that the Kecleon was muttering under her breath.  By the time they both reached the hole in the ground the Ariados seemed to be worked up into a fury, stomping at the forest floor with each step in a show of barely-restrained anger.

Just as the spider Pokémon opened her mouth to say something, Yooka turned around and shouted.  The sudden noise made Darcy jump with shock.  Had she done something else wrong..?  She was so badly startled that she didn't realize she'd jumped nearer to the pit until it was too late.  "A-ah!" she squeaked as the ground beneath her hind legs crumbled down into the hole below her.  She scrambled for purchase with her forepaws, but despite her best efforts, she began sliding down into the pit...

In a split second, the Ariados darted forward and snagged one of Darcy's forepaws using her poison-laden fangs, then roughly hauled her up and back onto solid ground.  Next she stomped down the sides of the pit's walls and violently tore away the webs keeping Alki stuck before grabbing her with one leg and returning to the surface.  The moment she was back on level ground, she hurled Alki at Yooka like a softball before opening her mouth and hissing.  "Not in your wildest dreams.  Sorry, but a poison type like myself would just never deign to help anyone, would I?  Clearly I'm just some depraved liar who's bent on hurting people and nothing else.  Now get out."

Alki felt a tugging sensation on her body. Darcy was pulling the rope, trying to free Alki. But... Alki couldn't say it was working very well. On the contrary, it hurt a bit. The web that Alki had fallen into really didn't want to let go of her. How had she even fallen into the hole? She was so dumb! Darcy hadn't fallen in. Neither had Yooka. Alki was the only one who was stuck in the hole.

And she couldn't help but feel that maybe, maybe she wasn't cut out for guild-work? After all... she'd messed up talking with the Pinsir, and the Slakoth. She'd messed up so badly she'd made Darcy cry. She'd almost cried, seeing her best, and so far only, friend cry like that. And to top all of that off, said friend was busying herself trying to free Alki.

Not a good debut mission.

Alki whimpered a bit as Darcy pulled particularly hard on the rope. She felt her body stretch, and she heard the webs stretch as well. She wasn't going to get freed any time soon. At least, not in this way. She opened her mouth to tell this to Darcy, but the Skitty asked if she was ok. Alki gave a soft, almost unnoticeable nod. She was more pre-occupied listening to Yooka.

That wasn't true! Was it? She was... getting used to the guild. She wasn't a failure! She could handle stuff! Darcy and her could do it! Yet... a small part of Alki agreed with Yooka. She hadn't done anything right at all, had she? From the moment they'd stepped into the forest, Alki had done nothing but mess up and ruin things. She suddenly felt like crying. "I-I wish I hadn't woken up at all..." She muttered to herself. She truly did wish it.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the cry from the Skitty. Was... she falling in too! Alki watched, fearful of what might happen. Would it hurt? An Igglybuff's body was made for bouncing. That was how she moved around, and part of bouncing was falling. But a Skitty's body wasn't made for that... but given how stuck Alki still was, what could she do to help?

The Ariados could help though. Alki hadn't expected the spider to help out, and as she helped Darcy, Alki felt thankful towards this Pokemon, but that thankfulness soon turned to fear. Why was she coming down the walls like that? Alki suddenly found herself in a flurry of torn webs, she was too afraid to even cry out. She'd be fine. She'd be fine! Darcy had nodded, that meant she agreed, Darcy thought Alki would be fine... she closed her eyes, and let out a whimper. She felt herself being picked up, and opened her eyes. She was airborne, flying through the air, towards Yooka. Had the Ariados... thrown her? She was flying towards Yooka... she hoped that the Kecleon would catch her.

ooc:

([OOC] This post is 'made' to be interrupted. pick a point, and PM or post 'at' the point you chosen. I'll cut the part and see what happens. Yooka deserves to be yelled at, but I'm unsure if your character would cut her off or actualy listen. (even 'the picking up' and 'catching and holding' parts could get interrupted if needed.) )

*bitten my lip considering there isn't much else I 'could' put to give mada an action... (for this set of events...) a change of who goes next seems like its needed. sry bout that >-> *

Just a thought towards Alki:

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Knowing full well how angry the pokemon was just made Yooka feel less towards it. Emotions can be minipulated so easily if you know the typical pattern. It's no different than physical illusions... like those of a Zoroark. Typical dark types tend to be evil but more of impish, yet a zoroark has to behave differently to project their illusion better. Yooka saw that first hand and learned alot from the fight that occured directly after. Yooka knew it was an illusion purely because she didn't 'know' her mother. If she did then she probably would have fell for the trap like her father did.

Seeing the Ariados lash out to help the skitty made her feel happier but the instant she saw 'how' it helped out. Well, she went back to being unhappy. The ariados used poison fang on the skitty as she was pulled out. If only it had used string shot or whipped the tree-tied web like she noted most spiders could do. She could have harmlessly caught the Skitty instead.

The Ariados continued on by going into the pit and dislodged the web that held the igglybuff instead of cutting the web touching the igglybuff. The Ariados then practically bundled alki and threw the pokemon towards Yooka rather violently for what it was.

Thankfully Igglybuffs were known for being extremely light, despite the loose webbing adding a miniscule more weight. Yooka caught the igglybuff without being budged.

If it wasn't for the aspect that it 'actually' helped... Yooka would have been right on that pokemon giving it a lesson about 'better ways to handle situations'. Yooka, instead, went back to holding Alki with her tail and managed to slip by Darcy. She swooping her up by the back of the neck using both her hands somewhat like whatever cats do... She only seen it happen and didn't consider what it actually represented. Yooka ended up cradling the moderate sized Skitty in her arms. Rather bulky to carry, but Yooka didn't mind.

Infact as soon as she cradled the skitty she noticed the poison didn't occur but the bite mark was definitely visible... possibly even hindering. It probably hurt on the inner portion of the front paws. Yooka decided a few things needed to be said as she ran. She first called out, "Never called you a liar, just that most poison-types dont end up helping situations and end up having toxic behaviour ..." She stopped running and continued walking when the Ariados was out of site. She muttered out "like just now but whatever... thanks for helping getting the igglybuff out of the pit..."

She looked at Darcy's front paws once again. "That's going to take awhile... You don't happen to know 'recover' by any chance Darcy? Hey Alki... mind if you use heal pulse on this for a bit...?" Yooka didn't look at the igglybuff but she did sigh rather loosely.

Yooka sat down and put the Skitty down aswell. "You two can start hating me now. I'm just not cut for being in a team... that I. haven't really... gotten to know. abilities... skills... how you view things... Right now I look like a bad pokemon saying that your not ready for the guild. heh, if anything, I'm the one not ready... However, when it comes to the danger, I do mean it on that part but only that. You 'both' are better than I when it comes to having fun in difficult places..."

ooc, been cut here, may use this later:

Darcy gasped with pain the moment the Ariados' fangs sank into her skin.  Her head spun with vertigo and dread as she was hauled back up out of the pit, and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and curl up into a ball as she fought back tears and tried to ignore just how badly she hurt...  Being bitten would have been bad enough, but having her whole body pulled by a bite wound like that had torn deeply into her skin and consumed her entire front-left leg in blazing pain...

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Ariados climb into the pit.  Her heart tensed up with fear, and instinctively, she wanted to get up and protect Alki...  Or at the very least, to turn around and say something, anything that might convince this giant spider to leave her friend alone...  She tried to stand up, but pain instantly stabbed through her entire body and she dropped back to the ground with a gasp, shedding a few tears and curling up into a ball again.  ...Yooka was right...  She still wasn't ready for guild missions...  She couldn't fight...  She couldn't even stomach a little bit of pain.  Not even...  Not even to protect Alki...

Thinking about the little Igglybuff made Darcy curl up tighter and start crying in earnest.  If...  If anything happened to Alki...  The Skitty would ever be able to forgive herself...  It would all be her fault, dragging Alki out here, and then failing to protect her when she needed it...  She was a bad person...  She should never have made this happen...

Some talking took place, but Darcy was too much of a wreck to understand it.  She just held still, trying and failing to control her sobs as whatever terrible plan this Ariados had began to unfold behind her.  There was the sound of something flying through the air...  And what came next sent a shock through her whole body and filled her head with a renewed sense of vertigo.  Someone...  Someone was carrying her, and running.  It must have been Yooka.  Were they getting away?  Were they going to be safe..?

The shock began to fade...  But as Darcy realized how she was being held, it was replaced with a flood of embarrassment.  Yooka had picked her up by the scruff of her neck.  Skitty could only do that to babies and young children before they got too big and heavy...  It brought back memories of being scolded by her parents back when she was just a few years old, and to make matters worse, now she was being cradled, like some kind of baby...  She blushed and fought back tears, avoiding eye contact with Yooka.  She hoped that Alki hadn't seen that.  Although...  Perhaps it was something she deserved to see...  If the Skitty couldn't protect her, then...  Alki deserved to know...

At long last, Yooka slowed down, and came to a stop.  She took a seat and placed Darcy down in front of her...  The Skitty just stared at the ground, wishing that she wasn't there.  That none of this had happened...

Yooka started talking.  Darcy cringed and looked away, expecting Yooka to tell her the truth that everyone else had been too nice to say...  That she still wasn't ready for guild missions yet...  But those words didn't come, and what Yooka said instead got Darcy to blink and look up again.  "W-why w-would I hate you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.  "Y-you saved us back there...  I-I couldn't...  T-that Pokemon was trying to do something, a-and I couldn't even stand up, b-but you took us both and saved us...  R-right..?"

She looked away again and blinked tears out of her eyes.  "Y-you were right...  I-I can't fight or protect anyone or anything...  A-Alki, I think...  I think maybe...  I should help you join a different team for now...  Y-you can heal Pokemon, so any of them would be glad to have you, and I-I...  I-I can't...  I can't keep you safe like they can..."

ooc:

Alki couldn't really feel, or think about much else than her encounter with the pit. And the Ariados. She'd been so angry... Angry at Yooka? Darcy? Alki? All she knew was that she'd gone into a fit of rage, and she'd been tearing all the webbing around Alki violently, legs thrashing everywhere and some of them had been awfully close to hitting Alki, instead of the web around her.

And now they were in motion again. She didn't enjoy getting carried by the Kecleon. Especially not when Yooka carried her with her tail. But she didn't say anything, and she didn't move. What was the point? She'd only cause more problems, and she'd make both of her teammates feel worried about her. Darcy, at least. Yooka had said that maybe she couldn't do guild missions. Was she right? Yes. Yes, she was, but that didn't mean that such a statement didn't still hurt.

Alki closed her eyes and forced down a flurry of angry words. A couple were to be directed to Yooka, some at the forest, or the guild. But most of them were to herself. But she'd made a promise, and even if she'd already messed up, she still had another half of the promise to keep. She tried to force a smile onto her face, tried to erase the combination of fear and anger and sadness from her expression, but failed.

When told to use heal pulse, Alki simply nodded and obliged. Her only saving grace, really. She was dumb in every other aspect. She was the Pokemon who fell in holes and pulled tails and couldn't read or write. She couldn't fight. All she could do was use heal pulse. She felt herself begin to cry, and her pulse wavered, but she looked down, and tried to continue her weak heal pulse. Some help she was being...

She simply listened to the two's conversation, right up until Darcy mentioned finding a new team for Alki.

"No!" She cried loudly, severing her heal pulse suddenly. She paused for a second, realizing just how abrupt and loud she'd been. "I mean... I-I'm not an especially... Great..." She began, unsure of what to say. So many truths she could state about herself to show Darcy just how bad that idea was, but Darcy didn't like to hear those truths about Alki, did she? "T-That is... social... Pokemon. Y-You helped me out my first day in town, with... Melanie, and... Yeah. Y-You did protect me. P-Please don't make me find a new team..." she said. Alki didn't know what she was trying to accomplish. Was she trying to make Darcy feel better, or secure her own future? Maybe both? All she knew was her only friend was crying, and that same friend wanted to push her into a new team.

Alki looked around at the group. They were all a mess... Yooka less so, but still. Two out of three were crying, and at least in Alki's case, much more upset than she seemed. Thankfully, Alki heard something to distract her from this. A laugh.

It didn't seem hostile, or menacing. A child's laugh. Maybe Alki's age? It sounded like a laugh she'd hear at the pond, from the other baby Pokemon. The kind of happy laugh she'd always wished she'd had. "Who do you think that is?" She asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice. Why couldn't Alki be that happy?

HOLY S**T!! ooc:

Darcy had cut into Yooka's little talk. She wanted to say a few more things but she also expected something like this to happen, so she listened instead. The two were too... child-like around each other. They need to learn how to, get serious, when it comes to missions. However, Yooka doesn't think she can handle such a task. It's just too much on her mind, especially sense she doesn't really want to get close to anyone.

The skitty spoke about how Yooka saved them... She wanted to laugh, but her disappointment towards herself kept her from it. She didn't save anyone. perhaps from further harm from the Ariados but thats because she practically nudged it to doing so. Freeing Alki was the Ariados's doing not Yooka's and the injury to Darcy may have been from the Ariados but it was because it was angry at Yooka's words. However, Yooka didn't know how much time would have passed trying to get Alki out of the webbed pitfall. So Yooka's actions sped up the process but at what cost?

Alki was in the middle of healing Darcy's front paw when Yooka looked at it for a third time. It was healing slowly, but it was doing work just fine. better slow than nothing. Then Darcy started talking down about herself. No... no... don't start that stuff. Alki, don't take it to-- too late. Alki stopped healing Darcy and started feeling bad about herself yet again. These two... can do alot of stuff. If only they were in a lighter mood.

Yooka groaned to herself. Why did she have to stick around to this. She kept questioning herself that everytime either of the two broke down infront of her. Only one answer came. She needed to learn sympathy better but these two just make her feel like that feeling could be just a massive weakness. Why doesnt she just tell them their flaws and strengths. Granted she doesn't know their actual strengths. The two just need someone to teach them how to work under stress. Yooka does it all the time, but she doesn't want to do something that taxing on them... The two would crack before they realize what needs to be done.

What caused Alki to stop healing Darcy was just a case of losing something dear. Alki seemed to be attached to Darcy since the time Yooka brought her to the guild an faced her off against her sister. Alki always seemed to be linked with Darcy. Whenever Darcy was injured, Alki started being sad. Whenever Darcy was happy, Alki would be... well that too. Yooka figured Alki's past was bad from her first encounter at the marketplace in Grassveil, but this proved it was just 'bad'... What did her past consist of? Yooka never considered looking into it for Alki's sake because Alki never asked.

It sounded similar to her own but only to a 'how the parents treated' kind of point. Yooka's mother vanished early on so she never had to feel two parents being bad to her... if her mother was even bad. Her father though, just ignored her and left herself to do everything around their home when her mother vanished... Yooka stopped thinking about that line of thought and came back to what was happening now.

Darcy said to Alki that she should probably join a different team. It was bad on Alki but to Yooka it seemed like Darcy was going to quit. Darcy mentioned a few things back at the guildmasters room when She was signing Yooka up to her team. Yooka doesn't remember what exactly was said but it seemed like it was... Darcy was helping some family members with her earnings. Thats a good deed that shouldn't really be undone just because of one flaw. So what if she cant protect someone. Get someone else to do it, be the leader and command...

or thats what Yooka wanted to say, but Yooka knew Darcy was too nice to her teamates to actually give orders around during a mission. Yooka also knew she wasn't a fighter... to Darcy Yooka is her fighter and Alki is her support. However, Yooka herself is more of a strategist than a fighter... Darcy is still unknown to Yooka and Alki seems too afraid to really keep up the ever so useful pulse o heals however, her hidden ability seems to do WONDERS for Darcy but jack squat for Yooka. The more Yooka looks at Alki the more she realized perhaps Darcy and Alki are behaving this way because of her own actions.

Yooka growled to herself as she fell on her back, or backpack. She knew that her lax nature could make her careless in most situations like earlier. however, she's very careful when it came to thinking. She's calm during a massive threat and can think when under stress. However, can she relay this info to others... no, she's too apathetic, she doesn't really care to share. perhaps if it's dire to herself, but she wouldn't really pull it out just for show, perhaps if she just asked to lead the group... nah, this was Darcy's mission but yet she still could've stopped Alki from walking on the trap or just let Darcy do the talking and get Alki out of the trap rather quickly.

If these two really needed to get better they could just do that evolution thing... Yooka knew they both could evolve. However, Yooka can't evolve to get more power... She needs a different way to earn so called power, the aspect of learning. learn new skills. learn new strategies. learn... from your own and other pokemon's failures. it's all she could do. She doesn't hate others because they could evolve... no, she hated the aspect of evolution, why can't she get stronger that way. It wasnt fair. Her family TM was one way to increase power. Fighting in a fight, get stronger with every blow. but for now... she cannot do that. Not until she gets it back. She's been trying to locate the fiends who took it. However, She kept getting sidetracked with new stuff. She matter aswell learn this sidetracking stuff as she goes.

every event, every encounter. she memorizes those that she deems worthy and keeps tab on things considered something. She doesn't care about anything but she cares about take care of herself. If others get in her way she'll go around it than stay put. She went around these two so many times, but she always came back to remind herself of hard times... Darcy's a good pokemon but she needs more power if she wants to really protect. Alki is also a fine pokemon she just needs to accept herself and friends for who they are perhaps then she would gain a higher power. If the two seem to catch up to Yooka she wouldn't be so careless around them.

Yooka was about to speak up towards the two about this stuff when she heard a laugh from the bush. The laugh sounded like it was mocking her. Did whoever just chuckled hear everything and think it was funny? Yooka didn't really care who it was. She nodded towards Alki's question but before the two could check it out Yooka sent her shadow right after the sound. The shadow dispersed behind the noise and formed a wall. It can't run but walls can be broken. Her shadow is very quick and she's been honing the skill in different ways for awhile... she knows it can take a hit and deal a hit. However, It's currently feeling like it's only at 1/10th of what it could be... even then if the pokemon that made the noise happened to be a normal-type, they could escape just fine.

Yooka wasn't happy, she decided to go serious from here on. "This ones not escaping as easily." Her tone was stone like. uncaring. Not as relaxed. "Trapped whatever made the noise... Time to see what it is. Yooka didn't even think she had shown these two her Shadow sneak in full force... and when she used it, she didnt recall ever telling them what she could do with it. She also, didn't consider how scary the move looked coming from a non-ghost or dark type. They probably didin't even know she did anything. Especially in this dungeon, which is practically covered by darkness and shadow. Yooka could matter aswell be controlling the Darkness itself but she knows it doesn't work that way... she's tried. Only her shadow moved towards the target obscured by the darkness of the forest.