Decisions

First topic message reminder :

not ooc. It's just alot of first post stuff... It helps me think... If you have some similar tactic I wont mind it. It may even give me an idea.:

[starting type: Normal]

Just outside the Guild, not even... Leaning next to the doorway, was a semi-Purple Kecleon. she's had so many tough times that the color just became a norm for her. Especially after a quest involving scaring things. She ended up being the most effect by the end. Yooka's practically always on edge now and still never really cares for things unimportant.

Right now she lost her defense scarf due to her last mission. Having to use it to tie up the target sense it had some form of mortal disease that probably would have killed her if she got bit, scratched, or whatnot. So she's looking through some of her stuff to replace it, she didn't find much though. She even found some TMs she could sell.

She wasn't happy as of the moment. only 3 things could replace it but none looked right. Reaper Cloth sounds fine but its practically a tattered hooded cape. Lunar ribbon is just a ribbon relating to the moon, apparently able to evolve some pokemon. Special band, well... is just a glorified band.
Yooka left her backpack and stuff on the ground and was leaning on the wall next to the entrance. "I figured something like this would happen. I should just go to the market and 'get' a scarf. None of these have any use in dire situations like 'that' time... mmrrr." She moaned looking down at the sprawled items. The special band looks like the only choice here.

Alki nodded slowly. He sounded happy, and confident. Hadn't Alki said something like that to Faye and Darcy? That she wouldn't let them down... sure, her mission in Shadowhue had ended fine. It had ended great. But she'd made mistakes, and frankly, her mistakes had been dumb. Morty wouldn't make those sorts of mistakes. He seemed and sounded confident and smart. Alki wasn't like that.

"Y-Yeah... s-she's really smart, too. T-The Guildmaster... a-and nice..." Alki began to stammer, trying to recover her old voice, trying to erase any trace of bitterness, any trace of resentment or anger or even sadness. She cleared her throat quietly, bouncing towards Morty. She sort of wanted to see the guildmaster again. "W-We a-are going to see Faye, r-right, Darcy?"

Alki looked around at the garden. It had a variety of plants, of all sorts of colors and sizes. Some towered over Alki, others seemed small, and delicate. The garden was pretty. Alki wished she could stay at the garden. But she had to go with Darcy and Morty, didn't she? She didn't want to seem totally weak and useless, especially to the Skorupi. She didn't want to be replaced... "W-Well, anywho, let's go..." She said, forcing a small smile onto her face as she waved at Darcy. If they were going to go see Faye, she didn't want to meet the guildmaster with a frown.

Morty's enthusiasm kept a grin firmly on Darcy's face as she trotted inside after everyone.  He seemed like a fun Pokemon to be around.  And he was so confident and passionate!  Letting him join their team felt like a good decision already.  She couldn't wait for all of his paperwork to be done so that they could just spend some time together.  She wondered why he had come to the guild, and what he liked to do for fun, and so many other things...

...Although getting to see Faye again sounded nice too, now that Alki reminded her of it.  It had been a while.  "Yeah.  She's smart, and nice, and wise, and...  Well, I guess she's probably strong, too?" Darcy said as she cheerfully cantered inside, turning right into a long hallway lined with doors.  At the far end was a heavy wooden door that seemed larger than the others...  The door to the guildmaster's office, their current destination.  "I've never seen her fight or anything like that.  It's actually kind of hard to imagine."

She shot Morty a playful glance over her shoulder.  "So 'strong' is questionable, I guess.  Is that a deal breaker?  Maybe you should ask if she'll spar with you," she teased.  Although there was no doubt in her mind that Faye could win against anyone if she had to.  She probably just preferred not to fight unless there was no other option.  That just made her even more admirable and cool, though!

...And even if she secretly was sort of inept at that kind of thing, just being so big and huge would probably be enough for her to win regardless.  Faye was at least three times Darcy's height, and Morty wasn't much taller than her unless you counted his tail.  It was hard not to feel small around the guildmaster, even though she was so gentle and kind...

ooc:

Morty was already at the end of the hall by the time the other two caught up to him. While he had been waiting for them, he looked around the guild's interior. At this point, almost everyone had left to do work, save for one or two around the bulletin boards. The place felt strange when it was empty, almost like a dream. He had no idea if he'd be feeling this frequently in the future; that would depend on what happened behind the door.

The door to the guildmaster's office overlooked the three Pokemon. Morty said "When you guys are ready, I'm ready. After you! Morty wasn't the slightest bit worried or nervous. Right behind that door would be the start of his new life. He could barely stay still because of his excitement! This was gonna go quick, and it was gonna be a piece of cake!

ooc:

The large wooden desk in the Guildmaster's office was spotless and free of clutter, the bookshelves were full of neat rows of dustless books. A soft hum filled the room as a familiar Meganium raised a small metallic watering can with one of her vines, offering water to the many potted plants that decorated the shelves and tables of her room. The air had a fragrant scent lingering about from the many flowers, looking quite lush and well-cared. Well, there was one small pot with a fluffy golden flower that had seen better days, but it too was recovering nicely.

With her room properly cleaned and the plants taken care of, Faye set down the watering can and headed for the door. She often took a walk early in the morning, but her morning duties had taken a bit longer that day, forcing her to postpone her normal rounds. But now she had some time for herself and some relaxation. The Guildmaster opened the door and stepped into the hallway, turning around to close the door behind her…

The last time Alki had entered the guild-masters office, she hadn't been part of a team. She hadn't been part of anything, really. She'd slept in a basket the night before, and the night before that she'd been cold and alone, struggling to make sense of Grassveil.

Alki'd gotten used to not having to worry about that. She had a room now, and she had Pokemon who cared about her, she felt useful. But with a new Pokemon, who was better than her, more confident, and more eager, the Igglybuff couldn't help but worry that maybe she'd have to leave the guild, after all, what if she wasn't useful anymore?

She heard footsteps, jolting her out of her thoughts. Alki focused on the situation at hand with more clarity than before. The door squeaked as it opened, and Alki did her best to swallow her fear and nervousness. She didn't want the Guildmaster to notice how worried she felt, how afraid she was.

"M-Ma'am! I mean... err, F-Faye. I mean..." She thought back to the conversation they'd had when she'd signed up. Well... more that Darcy and Faye had. They'd done most of the talking then. They'd told her that no one was born an explorer; the only thing that mattered was if she was willing to try.

"E-Erm... h-hi, Faye. W-We sorta have a new... w-well, a new... erm, t-teammate? Except... t-they're not on o-our team q-quite yet..." Alki managed to start, to at least let her know of why they were there. She bounced back towards Darcy, eager to let her do the majority of the talking, just like last time.

Darcy gave Morty a nod.  She always felt a little bad about bothering the guildmaster, but it couldn't be helped...  She was just grateful that Faye never seemed to mind.  The Skitty would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy these meetings.  She didn't have many other chances to talk with the Pokemon she admired so much...

She trotted forward and was just about to peek through the door to see if anyone was inside, but the moment she got close, the door swung open on its own.  She squeaked softly and stepped back with surprise as a towering figure stepped into the hall...  But a quick glance upward immediately swept her surprise away with happiness.  It was the guildmaster herself, not simply another visitor.  The Skitty sat down and wagged her tail as Faye closed the door behind her.  It seemed she hadn't noticed the crowd of little Pokemon outside of her door yet.

Alki offered an explanation for their visit, as shaky and quiet as always...  Darcy's tail gently came to rest against the Igglybuff's back as she smiled and gave Faye a nod.  "Yeah.  Umm, I'm sorry if we caught you at a bad time.  If you're going somewhere, Faye, we can come back later, but..."  She glanced over at her new Skorupi friend.  "This is Morty.  Today is the first time he's been at the guild.  We were showing him around, and...  Well, I think you can guess why we came here to see you..."

From behind the wooden door emanated a pleasant smell, like flowers, or maybe freshly prepared food. Whatever the smell was, it was relaxing... it soothed Morty to his core. Soon following the scents, muffled sounds could be heard from the other side. The clank of a metal object being placed, followed by footsteps. That must've been the guildmaster, moving towards the door. Suddenly, it opened gently, with Darcy and Alki quickly moving out of way. The one who must have been the guildmaster stood directly befo-

Oh, Arceus. This Pokemon was several feet taller than Morty. They were huge.

This would be harder than he thought.

His muscles locked up. Instantly, he felt sweat subtlely drip down the side of his head. His eyes were locked straight ahead. He was too scared to dare looking up at their face. Morty's companions referred to this... giant... as "Faye". Based on what Darcy said, the two meeting up was a common occurrence. So maybe this would go quickly? He prayed to any god he could think of that it would.

Morty cleared his throat, regaining movement of his body. He was shivering, and the best he could do was slightly supress it, rather than stop it. He clenched his eyes shut and stammered, "...y-yes. I'm M-M-Morty. H-... hi." Oh man. He was probably making a big fool of himself. He felt like he was gonna puke, he was so terrified. How could Darcy or Alki stomach to be in the presence of such a towering creature?

A voice from below caused Faye to stop in her tracks, her vine still on the door as she looked down. Her slight surprised turned into a gentle smile as she looked at some familiar faces. The small Igglybuff and Skitty… This certainly was not the first time she saw the two. The Skorupi that was with them, however, was a new face. Of course she knew what that tended to mean, even before anyone said anything…

"Oh, hello, you two. Don't worry about it, I'm in no rush," the Meganium hummed and left the door to hang open. Seemed like she wasn't going to be leaving anywhere just yet, so instead she just pushed it back fully open with her vine so she and the others could go back in. Signing up a Pokémon didn't take very long. There was paperwork to be done after that, but… Maybe that could wait after she had her walk.

The scorpion-like Pokémon that was introduced as Morty seemed to be quite nervous, perhaps even more so than Alki. Faye lowered her head slightly to be a bit closer to the ground and gave the Skorupi a little nod with a smile.
"It is good to meet you, Morty. I'm Faye. This will take just a moment, so could you all please head into my room? Do ask me questions if you have any on your mind – though I'm sure Darcy and Alki already have helped you a bit."

Alki was taken aback by the stuttering that came out of the Skorupi's mouth. Was he scared? Of Faye? He'd been so excited and bold and brave and fearless only a few seconds ago! He was even shivering, and at the sight and sound of these things, Alki couldn't help but smile as she reveled in their familiarity. He was acting like her ! Sure, he didn't act like this all the time, not like Alki, but the nervousness she saw in Morty reminded her of herself, and the familiarity was comforting. Even a bit satisfying!

Although, it wouldn't do to be smiling so widely, so obviously. She looked down at the ground, forcing the smile off her face. She would've hated it if someone had done that to her. Sure, it was comforting to Alki, but a glance at the Skorupi told her he was anything but comfortable. The shame began to burn at her, and she felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

"E-Erm, well... D-Darcy did m-most of the helping, actually. I-I just... um..." Alki looked at the shivering Skorupi. Sure he was big compared to Alki, and he looked a tad intimidating, but seeing how scared he was, Alki couldn't help but feel empathetic. She'd been in that exact position not long ago, after all. "S-Sorry, M-Morty...  She offered, looking at Faye nervously. That had been rude, even though that hadn't quite been her intention. "S-Sorry..." She repeated quietly, hoping Darcy or Faye would say something before things got any worse for her.

Oh, dear...  Darcy's smile quickly took on an air of sheepishness as she watched Morty introduce himself.  He was like a completely different Pokemon now, shaking and stuttering and squeezing his eyes shut...  Did he get socially anxious sometimes, like Alki?  Or maybe he was still afraid that the guild wouldn't let him join.  If this meant a lot to him, then it would make sense for him to be nervous now that the Pokemon in charge of the guild was right here in front of them...

Well...  There was no need to be afraid of Faye, of course, but a lot of Pokemon were worried about their first meeting with her anyway.  Alki had faced the exact same situation once.  Darcy glanced down at the Igglybuff with a smile, wondering if perhaps she would like to offer him some encouragement...

And the Skitty was taken aback by what she saw.  Alki looked happy while she watched Morty, like she was pleased to see him struggle, or at least that she was much more amused by his sudden shyness than she ought to be.  What was that all about?  Darcy shrank backward, struck by surprise, and maybe even a little disappointed in her friend.  What if Morty thought his new teammates were making fun of him?  She couldn't imagine a nastier thing to do to someone who was feeling so vulnerable.  "A-Alki..." she said while flattening her ears, confused and upset.  The Igglybuff stopped smiling and quietly apologized after a moment, but it didn't make Darcy feel any better about how her new teammate was doing...

Leaving Alki's side, Darcy trotted over to the cowering Skorupi and gently brushed her cheek against his, taking care not to be poked by one of his stingers. "Hey, try not to worry, alright..?" she murmured to him.  "This never takes very long.  Just stick close to me, and we'll be done in no time, okay?"

Faye must have been used to new Pokemon being nervous around her (albeit for completely different reasons), as she reacted quite naturally to the situation. Unfortunately that did not help Morty to feel any better. Ugh... he was probably making a big idiot of himself. He sure felt like one for having such a stupid phobia. Would he ever get over this fear of his? Hopefully.

The situation only became more uncomfortable because Alki was... smiling...? Why? Was it because she was laughing at him? Or was it because she was happy to see Faye? Morty very much did not want it to be that first option. Alki didn't seem like the person to laugh at other people. In fact, she seemed pretty introverted. Her smile dropped and she quietly apologized, so maybe... he stopped thinking about it altogether.

"This never takes very long. Just stick close to me..." Oh, how he hoped that was true. Faye urged the trio to enter her room, holding the door open for the two. Slightly opening his eyes, Morty took his first steps into the guildmaster's office, not looking back at the other three. He really didn't want anybody to see him like this... so vulnerable... if there was one thing that Morty did not ever want to look like, it was vulnerable.

Faye tilted her head as she looked at the trio of Pokémon. Oh dear, was there another issue they were dealing with, one they weren't telling her about?
"…Sometimes all your teammate needs is for you to be there for them," she suggested and allowed the Pokémon to get inside her quarters before she entered as well and closed the door behind her. She stepped around the smaller Pokémon carefully and headed towards the back wall where she kept her books.

"I'm afraid I don't have any hot water here with me for tea… But perhaps we could enjoy a cup some other time. Please do sit down, if you'd like," the Guildmaster motioned a vine towards the small chairs in front of her desk. The Meganium stopped behind it, grabbing a large tome from the shelves and gently placed it on the surface of the desk.

"All we have to do here is for me to write your name in the book and give you some supplies to start off with, and we're done. Did you happen to have any questions about the Guild, Morty?"

The Igglybuff wilted as she heard the Skitty stammer her name. It didn't sound normal, the way the two syllables came out, almost disappointed? Disgusted? Was that it? Alki opened her mouth to She didn't know what to say, should she explain? But Faye was there, and Darcy was going off towards Morty now, and away from Alki. She murmured something, whispering and Alki couldn't quite hear.

She messed up. That was it. That was all there was too it, Alki had been stupid and she'd messed up, and if it had ever been in doubt before, now it was true. Darcy was talking about Alki, probably. What were they saying about her? Alki began to tap her foot against the wooden floor. She couldn't run anywhere, but she certainly wanted to, just like she wanted to cry but she couldn't cry there in front of Faye and Darcy and Morty and take away all the attention that she so clearly didn't deserve, nor did she want to make things any worse for herself. She rubbed her eyes as Darcy and Morty entered the room along with Faye, before she trailed silently behind the group.

What was she supposed to say? The Guild-masters room, while pleasant and inviting and welcoming last time was now suffocating and scary. She needed to apologize better or do something before it was too late, she had to! But... her mind was drawing a blank, there wasn't anything she could say, and her chance to say anything evaporated as Faye began to talk to Morty, asking him if he had any questions, and he was sure to have some. For instance, why was someone as mean as Alki allowed to be a part of the guild?

Alki could hear and feel her heart pounding. Sure, they were talking right now and maybe they were mad at her right now but it gave her time, time to think of something suitable to say, and something to earn back some measure of trust and respect or something... what if they kicked her off? What sort of teammate smiled at something like that? Alki's eyes widened in panic at the thought of leaving the team, and her mind raced to think of something suitable to say. As Darcy and Faye and Morty talked, Alki sat down on the floor, behind the both of them, hoping desperately she'd think of something good before they were done.

It took a while, but Morty cracked his eyes open and slowly took his first few steps into the guildmaster's room.  He didn't make eye contact with anyone, but Darcy gave him a smile anyway as she matched his pace, staying right beside him.  She was glad that he still had the courage to come inside.  For a moment there, she had been worried that he might panic and decide to run away...

"It's okay if we can't stay and have tea.  Ummm...  It might be a good thing, actually.  We're going to be busy today, and Morty still hasn't seen all of the guild yet," Darcy said as she pushed one of the little chairs closer to another so that she and Morty could sit side by side.  "We'll make sure he gets settled in.  I'd love to come have tea with you some other time, though?  If everyone else wants to come too?"

She hopped up onto one of the chairs and wagged her tail as she watched Morty, feeling a little hopeful.  It was clear that he didn't want to stay here for any longer than he had to...  For his sake, that was why she had told Faye that they were in a hurry.  But after being a guildmember for a while, perhaps he wouldn't feel so nervous around the guildmaster, and then he could get to know her better.  ...Darcy hoped so, at least.  How could he continue to work at the guild if he lived in fear of the Pokemon in charge..?

The others filled the room alongside him. Morty was offered a chair, which he quickly settled himself upon. But hey, even if this whole experience was terrifying, at this height, he was a bit closer in size to Faye. It almost made him feel a little better. Almost. And, speaking of Faye, she was notably concerned about his current state, as was Darcy, for she declined her offering of tea. She might have been able to tell he didn't want to be here(which probably wasn't easy to miss), and was looking out for him. That was convenient, and nice.

Similar to himself, from the looks of it, Alki was having a mini-panic attack of her own. Though he had no idea what she was worrying about, he figured that when this awful meetup was over, maybe he'd confront her about it? Unless she was scared of him... a lot of Pokemon in the past had been afraid of Morty in his past. Maybe it was the menacing appearance? Or the fact that he could never stop picking fights with others, and hurting them? Nothing new there. Or maybe, he was reading too far between the lines, and it was an unrelated issue? With Alki's overall anxiety, it was quite hard to tell...

Faye asked Morty if he had any other questions, which snapped him back to reality. He hesitated before responding, half because he was surprised, and half because he was nervous. "...No... I don't.". He reflexively gulped from anxiety. Truthfully, he really didn't have any questions, but chances are he would have said no anyway to make it all end faster.