A Ruined Meeting

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Grassveil Town, a small Pokemon town where everyone knows everyone bustling with many Pokemon willing to trade well for other Pokemon for a bit of extra pocket change. Flowers bloomed almost everywhere and the smell of freshly cut grass seemed to linger in the air. Many of the shops were located in the center of this town and for good reason, they all compete to sell things to visitors and residents alike. One such resident was the Minccino, Nightingale. The ash gray Pokemon loved to stir up some trouble in the quiet little town. He was known like every other Pokemon, some of them enjoyed his 'pranks' laughing when someone is caught up in one, but everyone knew that he was just a kid and having some harmless fun.

Today was like every other day here in the town; with a little bit of Poke to his name, Nightingale was looking around for some supplies he may or may not need for his next outing to the nearby forest. An adventurer at heart the small boy spent most of his free time exploring a wood nearby that has been explored time and time again by just about every other Pokemon who wanted to come to this town. "Welcome to the Kecleon Shop!" The green Kecleon looked down at the small ash gray Pokemon who held onto his small amount of Poke in a tiny bag slung around his body. "Hello Mister Kecleon. What are you selling today?" Nightingale said with a happy smile on his face. Today was a wonderful day and Nightingale didn't want to waste any time when he could be out exploring the wood. The boy and the shop keep chatted for a bit before the chinchilla shook his head respectfully and started to walk away, not buying anything and just checking on the stock before heading out on his own. Lost in thought the boy watched the ground under him with each step he took, thinking of where to go and what to do, and what kind of things would he see today and what he could possibly bring back to sell to Kecleon!

He lifted his head and blinked, looking around as he remembered he was walking; heading into the residential district of the town instead of the town, nowhere near the exit gates. A quiet groan escaping from his lips as he looked around. He stood in the middle of the walkway, some Pokemon just passing him as he looked like a Deerling who's been startled. His head shifting left and right as his eyes scanned the area; trying his best to remember what way was the closest exit. He was still in town so he wasn't to lost, all he needed to do was walk and he'd get to where he needed to be in time.

"Well...  Let's just race to the edge of the forest, then," Darcy said, giggling a little more as Nightingale explained how this race didn't quite seem fair...  But he continued speaking, and she fell silent as he began answering some of the questions she had been harboring in her mind.  She stepped a little closer and regarded him curiously, momentarily forgetting about everything else...

So that was why he was in Grassveil Town...  He wanted to explore, and see the world for himself.  That was a beautiful goal, she thought...  The world was a vast, beautiful place.  Working at the guild had opened her eyes to that, if only a little.  She couldn't help but wonder what Nightingale's home was like, though, and how his parents felt...  They must be worried about him...  "You should send them a letter sometime. I think they'd like that.  There's a post office here in town," she said.

She stumbled a little as the conversation was turned back towards her, with Nightingale asking about her mother.  But upon seeing how apologetic he seemed, Darcy was quick to speak up, her voice gentle and a little subdued.  "N-no, no, it's alright.  She's doing okay.  And she has my dad and my little siblings to look out for her," she said.  ...But his concern still felt touching.  Her heart felt warm and she wore a tiny smile as she looked down at the ground.  "...Thank you for asking, though.  Um...  It hasn't always been easy.  I don't think I ever could have gotten this far without nice Pokemon like you."

She let him change the subject when he tried, glad to talk about something a little more lighthearted.  "Yeah!  I love singing!  My mom and dad taught me and all of my siblings how to sing.  I, um, still write songs sometimes, when I'm bored...  And of course I like stories too!  Are those your hobbies?  Ohhh, Gale, we should sing together sometime!"

He blinked, hearing Darcy get excited about singing and offering to sing together made his face sanguine in embarrassment. "I love to sing too. My mom didn't really teach me as she rather...supported me? She always told me my singing was good when I know it wasn't. But I got better." A small chortle escaping his lips. It was nice to meet a Pokemon like Darcy, she was somewhat cheerful and definitely made him happy. "I would send her a letter, my mom, I mean. But I uh...forgot where I live..." he admitted, so maybe Post Town was just made up? "I mean, I could most likely find my way back home if I was determined enough to walk back, but I haven't even seen what it's like outside of Grassveil." His words seemed to leave his mouth before he had a chance to think about them. As if every idea was just thrown out there with little to no time for a buffer.

"It's good to hear that your mothers doing alright, it's hard to see parents be hurt or sick." Maybe the grey on his fur wasn't just for looks as he was showing age beyond his years. "Do you have any good stories you're willing to share? I know I have a couple." His favorite thing about life was stories and he was about to hear one straight from a guild member. Sure, they where a grey rank but that didn't matter. He could finally say he heard a story about an explorer strait from the explorer themselves. "Or do you think you could still beat me in that race to the edge of the forest?" He laughed, reminding her that was was not afraid and wouldn't back down from a challenge.

"I'm not going to lose easily you know." his spirits where about as high as the stars, not wanting to wait for Darcy he jumped around happily, wasting energy, sure, but enjoying himself all the same as he bounced to keep pace with her. "your choice~" he announced, letting the Skitty know he wasn't playing around and wanted to race against her, but also wanted to know if she had any stories she was willing to share with him about her adventures. He was an oddball, this Mincinno. But what he lacked in normality he made up for in his happy and caring attitude.

Upon hearing that he didn't remember where his parents live, Darcy gave Nightingale a half-surprised, half-worried smile...  This Minccino was certainly strange...  She found herself taking a liking to him thanks to how unerringly upbeat and kind he seemed, but she also couldn't help but feel a little concerned for him...

Well...  He hadn't been away from home for too long, from the sound of it.  And he seemed like he could take care of himself.  She tried not to worry, letting herself be swept away by his childlike excitement as he hopped around.  "...All of my stories are a little embarrassing, though...  Um, sorry.  Most of the jobs I've been on have just involved me messing up and learning things the hard way..." she said, smiling shyly and swishing her tail from side to side.  "But that's okay!  Being a part of a story yourself would be even better, don't you think?  And that's what we're going to do today!"

She stood tall, glowing with confidence as she regarded Nightingale happily.  Whatever she had been through in the past, it seemed she wasn't much worse for wear, like she had learned from her mistakes and grown as a result.  "I don't know if I'll win or not, but I want to race you, okay?  That way we'll get to the forest sooner!

"Ah, but why don't we make it a little more interesting, though?" she continued while hopping closer.  "How about, if I win, then, um...  You have to come visit me at the guild sometime?  So that we can hang out again?" she asked tilting her head and smiling hopefully.  She still didn't have very many friends in Grassveil Town...  Inwardly, she felt a little scared that he would just vanish after all of this was over, and they would never see each other again.  "And if you win, then, um, I'll do something that you want instead.  Maybe I could tell you a story while we walk through the forest anyway, even though they aren't very good..?  Or maybe something else?  Whatever you want."

The wind blew a cold breeze as the sun peaked through the leafs of the trees. "But that's just life. Making mistakes and learning from them. Trust me, I messed up a lot too. My parents would yell at me so much. My dad went blue in the face from yelling once. It was kind of funny in a weird way." In a weird way the story was comforting, sure, he admitted he was a trouble maker but who wasn't when they were younger? His gaze shifted off down the path in front of them as they kept walking. His tail picking up some leafs with every bounce.

"If I win I want you to tell me a story then, every day I want to hear a new story. It won't have to be big or small. Just a story, even if it's made up." He stated matter of factly; his jumping almost coming to a halt as he looked at the Skitty with a nod. He accepted the terms of the race, knowing full well he could win or lose this. He didn't have any plans on losing but he would make sure that if was going to lose he wouldn't get the raw end of the deal. However, Darcy made her demands pretty lenient. "And if I DO lose. I'll come to see you at the guild. But don't expect me to join, I don't like the idea of following a schedule." His cards were played and his demands on the table, should Darcy choose to accept the race he would take off as fast as his body would let him.

Nightingale seemed to have calmed down as he waited for her answer; he was saving his energy now as he knew he would need it in the upcoming race. His eyes stared down the path ahead of them again. He knew he was going to need to plan out what to jump over like roots that stuck out of the ground or small holes in the ground that he could fall into. "Oh, and no cheating. I don't want us to push each other and stuff like that. This is a race, not a fight." He added, wanting to make sure they were on the same page and wouldn't hurt each other on purpose. "And if one of us quits just call out the others name to stop."

"A story every day..." Darcy said, bringing a paw up to her mouth and wagging her tail as she considered it...  "Well...  They might not be good, like I said.  But okay.  That sounds fair," she said while smiling a little.  At least it would mean that they'd get to see each other again.  She still wanted to win, though!  She hadn't expected Nightingale to want to join the guild, but she still wanted to show Gale where she lived, and introduce him to all of her friends who lived there!  Plus...  Well, she still wasn't quite sure that her stories wouldn't be embarrassing...

She hopped over to his side, keeping her body close to the ground as if preparing to pounce while she examined the path alongside him...  "And those rules sound good!  No cheating.  And it's okay if one of us ever wants to stop."

She found herself humming softly as she took a good look at the path between them and the forest.  They had been walking outside of town for a few minutes now, but Shadowhue was still rather far away...  This race would be longer than a short sprint.  She didn't expect it to be too bad though.  They would have to climb over a broad, gently sloped hill covered in grass, but once that hurdle was cleared, they would be on the town's east-facing dirt road that led to the forest proper.  So crossing the hill would be the hard part...

And the hill wasn't completely bare, either.  It looked like there was a small park or garden at the top, placed squarely ahead of them both.  It was a pretty, carefully maintained ring of bushes and trees and flowers with some simple wooden benches resting inside.  The greenery wasn't very thick, but it wasn't thin, either...  Darcy could easily see herself getting tangled up in branches if she wasn't careful.  And she didn't want to trample any flowers by accident.  She briefly wished that she was smaller, like Nightingale was...  But in any case, it seemed that each of them would have to choose whether to circle around the park or to try pushing straight through!

"Okay.  On the count of three, let's start, alright?" she said, looking back to Nightingale and giving him a cheerful smile.  Then she carefully dug her paws into the ground, breathing deeply as she prepared for what was to come...  "One...  Two...  And three!" she shouted before lunging forward and dashing through the grass with as much force as her tiny legs could manage!

His ears folded backward at the count. 'One' his legs seemed to tense up and he stopped walking. 'two' his body pushed low to the ground as he watched Skitty take off 'Three!' she yelled and Nightingale took off as fast as he could. He didn't take into account the one thing that he should have thought of first. He didn't think of how big the forest was and because of that, he took off in a full sprint. He was on all fours and his ears being backward and tail outright he was sprinting as fast as his tiny legs would carry him. If he kept up this speed he would obviously pass Darcy. But he wouldn't make it to the forest's edge because of his stamina or in this case his lack thereof.

The wind whipped past his face, he managed to at least catch up to Darcy for a bit. "Good luck!" his breathing was already getting to him however, he didn't have much energy but what he did have he would use to get to the forest. In through his nose, out through his mouth. He was trying to lower his heart rate with his breathing but it was very hard as he pushed his body as hard as it could.

He saw an uprooted branch in his path and huddled over it; he was happy that he could spend time with his friend. It was obvious he wouldn't slow down until he was out of energy and Darcy would be able to easily tell this. If she wanted to slow down and let him take the lead and tucker himself off while she held onto her energy she could. But Nightingale didn't care about what some other Pokemon was doing; he enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his face and only one thing was on his mind. He wanted to win, he wanted to win so bad he forgot about planning ahead like he always had. He threw caution to the wind and winged it, not knowing how deep the forest went or how much energy he would have to put out before getting to the end.

The smell of the spring flowers was delightful this time of year. With the trees growing their leafs back, the flowers almost in full bloom, and the nice mix of hot and cold. It was no wonder why spring was Nightingale's second favorite season. The sun overhead was high in the sky, it was noonish and it seemed the two of them would have some time to explore the other forest to find the cave before it got dark. That is if the forest wasn't too far away; his daydream of getting to the Shadowhue forest before Darcy was quickly interrupted by a hole in the ground. He fell and rolled a good foot before he stood up and growled. He was easily distracted but he wouldn't fall again. He promised himself this as he started to run again, hoping no one saw that.

Darcy smiled as she dashed through the grass, wind blowing through her fur and her scarf fluttering behind her. She was determined to win, or at least to give Nightingale a good race! And she felt wonderful today, between the perfect weather and how lucky she felt to have made a new friend. She really felt as though she could give Nightingale her best today...

But to her shock, it took no time at all for him to come sprinting right past her, wishing her good luck before dashing even farther ahead. "G-Gaaaale!" she shouted with a laugh as she ran, the gap between them only growing larger... Maybe she had underestimated just how fast he was? It seemed that her nickname for him was an apt one. It felt like he could move as fast as the wind when he tried...

Darcy took a deep breath and redoubled her efforts. She wasn't sure just how long Nightingale could keep up that speed for, but she didn't want to be left too far behind, either way! That didn't sound fun. And if he was able to keep running at that speed for a long time, then pacing herself wouldn't do much to help her win!

She hopped over the branch, doing everything she could to match his speed... But she was almost sprinting now, and the gap between the two of them didn't seem to be getting any smaller. She smiled sheepishly and panted as she ran... It seemed like she'd be owing him a story after all of this...

Until she saw him fall into a hole and tumble for a foot or so. She barely managed to hop over it as she passed him by, but she was more concerned for him than happy about taking the lead. She slowed down a little and looked over her shoulder... But Nightingale quickly got back up again and seemed eager to resume their race. She giggled again, looking forward and hoping to press her advantage a little!

The park that she had seen earlier was rapidly approaching up ahead. She decided to try heading straight through instead of going around, lining herself up with a gap between a pair of bushes... It looked like it was just wide enough for her to fit through. And indeed it was! She tore right past it, completely unscathed as she raced through the center of the park...

...But she didn't have as much luck while trying to leave. There was another gap between bushes on the far end of the park, but it was smaller, and Darcy was moving so quickly that she had no time to change course. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to slow down, hoping that her weight would be enough to carry her through... But once her head was poking through the bushes and her tail was still in the park, she was lurched uncomfortably to a stop by the scarf around her neck. She squirmed a little and tried to get free, but a few branches had snagged their way into her scarf, and just pulling against them didn't do any good. "D-dang it..." she said, a little embarrassed as she tried to crane her head around and pull the branches out of the scarf, but she was struggling to even reach them. She blushed and wished that she had hands like Nightingale did... Or at least that he wouldn't see her like this...

The wind on his face seemed to give him the extra energy he needed to run after Darcy. His tiny legs only carrying him so far. She was ahead and Nightingale wanted to win. He wasn't going to cheat by any means. He watched her jump through into the park, her tail a dead giveaway of where she was. So being the Pokémon he is, he followed by jumping after her. Landing on the other side and trying to stop his running to get his bearings on where he was and where Darcy went. But what he saw shocked him. Darcy was stuck. Maybe it was karma or just fate but he ran up to her, he was going to call out to her but he got quiet and an idea popped into his head. You should prank her. his inner thoughts seemed to get the better of him as he opened his mouth to speak. Looking around and picking up a few lose pebbles, it's nothing that could hurt a Pokémon but could cause a distraction.

Darcy? his soft and feminine voice breaking the silence. "Do you need some help?" he seemed to be putting on an act, but he sounded serious. "How about this? You wait here. I'll win the race. And then come back. Okay?" and like that he went quiet. His devilish grin plastered on his face. With two pebbles he threw them off in another direction near some bushes, hoping the noise would convince her that he had run off and leave her all on her own.

For the next half a minuet he wouldn't respond to her. Waiting a good thirty seconds and holding his breath. He didn't want to give away that he was here; the one problem he had was he would take a prank too far. After thirty seconds or so had passed he let out his breath and spoke again. "Gotcha! I'm not that mean...are you okay though?" his voice held actual genuine concern for her well being.

Darcy struggled a little more, twisting and turning as she tried to get free without tearing her scarf...  But she wasn't making any progress at all.  It was tough to even move, with how tightly packed these two bushes were...  But she couldn't just give up.  She blushed and her ears folded downward just at the thought of her new friend seeing her like this...

...And as if on cue, she heard his footsteps against the ground as he drew closer.  Darcy desperately tried to squirm free one last time, but once he asked her if she needed help, she just slumped to the ground, giving up.  "O-oh.  Nightingale..." she mumbled, sighing...  At least he didn't sound derisive or anything...  In fact, he sounded even more gentle than usual.  And at least he couldn't see how deeply she was blushing.  Maybe this wouldn't be too bad...  "Um...  Yeah...  I was going too fast, and...

"H-hey, what??" she shouted, bolting back to her feet once he said that he was going to abandon her!  And he was really doing it!  She could hear him scampering away, leaving her here all alone while he left to claim his reward...  She felt stunned, suddenly being betrayed like that after he had approached her so gently just a moment ago!  "N-no!  Come back!  Please..?" she called.  She tried to tug herself free one final time, but her efforts were met by a sickening little rip sound from her scarf...  As embarrassing as it was, she groaned and forced herself to flop back down on the ground, deciding to wait for Nightingale...  It seemed like there was no way she could get out on her own without tearing her scarf to pieces...

"Mnnngghh..." she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and blushing even harder as she imagined what his face was going to look like once he came back to help her...  He'd sounded awfully amused just a moment ago...  He'd probably find it even funnier to see that she was still here after he'd gone all the way to Shadowhue and back...  "Why do things like this always happen..?  This is almost as bad as the time I called the guildmaster 'mom' by accident..." she mumbled...

With nothing else to do, she continued thinking out loud, her tail slowly swishing back and forth in the park behind her.  "I...  I swear I'm not as pathetic as I look sometimes...  R-right?  B-but I guess I'd be lying if I said that I don't get in trouble like this...  A lot...  I-I just wish Gale didn't have to see it so soon..."

She rested her head on her paws and sighed again while she settled down to wait...  At least the weather was good.  She could probably fall asleep like this, if she wanted to...  She did her best to not think about Gale for now, letting her mind drift to other things...  Until suddenly, she thought she heard his voice coming from behind her.  "H-huhhh?  Gale??" she shouted with shock as she jolted upright again.  She tried to twist her head around and see, but she didn't quite have enough mobility...  But what was even worse was that she realized she had been thinking out loud this whole time.  "I-I imagined that voice, right?  Please say I imagined that..." she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and putting her paws over her head and blushing harder than ever...

His face was dark red from embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head with his left paw, he was standing on all fours at this point as he seemed to continue speaking. "You're pretty tough on yourself, huh." His feminine voice soft and caring, his breathing somewhat laboured from the lack of air and running he had to do. Walking around the bush he pushed some of the brush away to get closer to Darcy. "Here let me help." He seemed to be less happy now, more upset. Mostly because he didn't mean for her to get depressed and down on herself and it was mostly his fault. His eyes looked over his friend. His grey eyes met her closed eyes and he flashed a smile but it wasn't one of happiness, it was filled with remorse. He got on all fours but started to help her out of the brush.

The joke may have been taken a little too far and the air around them was filled with an awkward tension. But he was somewhat happy to know how Darcy truly felt, even if she was a little hard on herself he knew she was a kind Pokemon at heart. Now if only he knew if she would forgive him. Normally he would laugh it off with the Pokemon who fell for his joke and maybe bring up some embarrassing things they said. However, Darcy was different. The way she acted made Nightingale feel bad for pulling a prank on her. "Hey, uh...Sorry?" He questioned his own apology. Was it right for him to apologise? He didn't mean to have her scarf rip a bit or scare her to the point of her disliking herself. "You shouldn't be so harsh, I know everyone is their own biggest critic but if you need someone to talk to you can talk to me, man." His happy go lucky nature shifted almost to a parent like an attitude in a matter of seconds.

His paws worked on the shrubbery around Darcy. He worked gently, making sure her scarf wouldn't rip and she wouldn't take a swing at him. "You didn't imagine anything, Darcy. I'm still here." He breathed out his nose sharply, he was trying to laugh but couldn't bring himself to do it. "Let's just forget about the race and say we both won. Okay?" He cocked his head to the side as he managed to pull the branches away from Darcy, fully expecting a stern yelling at or at most a slap to the face.

She cringed hard as she heard his voice again.  No, she hadn't imagined it...  He had been there this whole time, hadn't he.  Listening to everything she had said...  She looked away as he got close, though she could still feel his warm breath against her fur.  His voice was soft and caring, but somehow, that just made her feel even worse about all of this...  She felt bad for eliciting so much worry out of this Pokemon that she liked, even though his gentle demeanor was one of the things she liked about him...

"I-I'm okay.  Really.  Please don't feel bad," she said, her face a deep red as she continued to avoid meeting his gaze.  She flattened her ears, staying silent and leaving the area quiet except for the sound of Nightingale pulling away branches and kneading at her scarf.  "...It's just...  Um...  This is how things always go, I guess..." she said after a while.  "Whenever I meet anyone that I like, I, um...  I end up embarrassing myself...  Almost everyone is really nice about it, but still, I...  I wish that I could...  Um...  Seem cool to someone, for once."

She blushed even harder, curling her tail up against her body.  "I-I don't want everyone to just see me as 'that one weird girl' forever.  But that's hard to do when I...  Mess up a lot of things, and cry a lot..."  She paused again.  Her eyes seemed to be growing moist, as if welling up with tears...  But she wiped her face with the back of a paw and took a deep breath.  "S-sorry.  We just met.  I shouldn't be unloading all of this onto you...  L-let's just say we both won.  I like that idea."

...And once the branches were clear, she stood up, meeting Nightingale's eyes once again.  She simply stared at him for a long moment, a tiny smile on her face.  "...Umm...  I still don't think that calling the guildmaster 'mom' was entirely my fault, though," she said while managing to laugh just a little.  "You'd understand if you knew her.  She would probably bake everyone cookies and read them bedtime stories if she had the time.  I hope you get to meet her if you ever visit."

"Dude..." he muttered before shaking his head with a sigh before he continued. "You're already cool, you don't need to prove it, especially to me. " He walked with her, his paw gently petting her head as he nodded. "Come on, Darcy. Daylight's burning and we're going to get to Shadowhue even if I have to carry you there." He teased as he nudged her side, walking ahead of her and looking back. "Now lets get a move on, and I expect you to get me back. Okay?" He was trying to make light of the situation, letting Darcy know she had every right to prank him now.

Without waiting he started to walk off ahead of her again. He would turn back to see if she was following as he didn't want to leave her alone. But he was adamant on getting to Shadowhue before it got dark. His tail swishing from side to side in happiness as she seemed to be okay with the prank. Nightingale was scared he would lose another friend to a prank. Most pokemon just get upset that he pranks them and stop talking to him.

OOC:

"Thanks for saying that..." Darcy said as she closed her eyes and sighed, letting him pet her head.  ...She wasn't entirely convinced that he didn't think she was weird or dumb, after all of those things that she had done and said, but at least he didn't seem to dislike her...

He prodded at her side after a moment, seeming to be in a good mood again, and eager to get a move on...  And she couldn't help but smile a at all of his joking.  "Yeah.  Alright, let's go," she said as she stood up and giggled a little, following behind him.

Their race hadn't taken them quite to the edge of Shadowhue Forest, but they had covered plenty of distance all the same.  With the park behind them, they both hopped down onto a little dirt road which led directly into the mouth of the forest they were here to explore.  The entrance was strikingly ominous and beautiful, bordered by enormous, towering trees that cast the road up ahead in complete shade...  The path inside seemed to become a vast tunnel, surrounded on all sides by thick woods.

"So...  Before we go in..." Darcy said, bounding forward so that she and gale were walking side by side, both completely dwarfed by the woods looming in the distance.  "My friends said that the ruins are behind a waterfall.  I remember hearing a river in this forest the last time I was here, so if we find it, and follow it upstream, I think it will take us to the right place."

She gave him a shy glance out of the corner of her eye, staring at him worriedly for a while before speaking up...  "Um...  You trust me, right..? I know that I goof things up sometimes, but I do work at the guild.  I've read a lot of books about exploring and I really wanted to use this as a chance to practice.  Umm, so once we find the ruins, will you let me take the lead..?"

ooc:

OOC:

As Darcy seemed to smile and feel better so too did the ashen chinchilla. His ears slowly perking up as she bounced closer to him so they walked side by side. The sun overhead was starting to set a little as it was maybe one or two in the afternoon. It was going down, sure, but they still have plenty of daylight left to explore the forest and make it back before dark. His eyes were fixated on the path in front of them. The forest ahead was large and more threatening than ever. Almost no light could break through the treetop. Nightingale stood at the edge of the forest and blinked, his eyes fixated on the path ahead as he seemed to start shivering. His tail was fluffed up and he seemed to change his attitude completely. "S-So...uh. You first." He said, gesturing towards the wood infront of them.

ooc:

"Yeah!  Sure thing," Darcy said, laughing softly as she stepped ahead of Nightingale.  She still felt embarrassed from her little breakdown earlier, a trace of red remaining on her cheeks, but at least she wasn't too afraid to explore this forest!  Not during the day, when she had a friend nearby, at least...  Resolving to help Nightingale feel safe and confident, she boldly trotted forward, humming to herself again as she stared at the familiar tree-lined path that comprised the forest's western entrance...  She felt the temperature dropped as they delved into the woods, and she shivered...  But it was because of excitement more than because of the cold.  Somewhere in this mysterious forest, there was a secret waiting to be uncovered...  And they were here to find it!