Songbirds of the Night

The night sky over Grassveil was beautiful, with the stars out and the townsfolk almost all asleep the world was at peace. Out by the edge of the town, two Pokemon came bounding in happily. It seemed as though they had just got back from an adventure. Every Pokemon was either in bed or getting ready to go to bed...all but a lone Minccino. His grey fur seemed to shine in the dark as the moon beat down on him. The cold breeze of the end of winter kicking up and causing him to shiver. It seemed as though he didn't have a place to sleep at night; so he just looked around the town. His quiet voice could be heard by anyone who wanted to listen. At first, the town did not seem to notice when he first arrived but there were rumors that spread that if you were to listen at night when the moon was up and the sound of the village Pokemon were quiet, the faintest singing would be heard. The songs always different; some about how good the day was, others about cleaning. But it seemed to be a rumor that was spreading around recently.

Tonight was like every other night, The Minccino sat in the middle of the town by the empty shops; they were all closed down and the inventory was locked away, the townsfolk were in their beds and somewhat far away from the grey Pokemon in the night. "How are you strange girl with a grey badge on your scarf? I liked you from the first sight, I want to be your friend, let's play!" The song's rhythm was easy to follow, it had an upbeat tone but the lyrics continued; he sang about his day and a friend he met in the town. His singing voice a high tenor that was almost feminine but still beautiful. His tail wagged as he walked through the town and closed shops; he had nothing to do but sing. He was waiting for his body to tell him he was sleepy but that may be a long time from now as he was too excited from the day he just had to even sleep.

His travels brought him to the southern gates, in front of the Pecha Forest. He stopped his singing and looked around; his ashen eyes scanning the town around him as his ears twitched. He may have been hearing something but it sounded like there were Pokemon nearby, it was common since he was in a town but he swore that it felt like he was being watched. His tail slowly stopping is wagging and calming down."Hello?" He called out to no one in particular, hoping something or someone would answer him. If he was wrong and he was alone no one would know he is talking to himself but if he was being followed it would scare them just a bit. So it was a win-win in his book.

Alki found herself at a loss for what to do. Her team had a day off, and Alki didn't exactly mind having a day off, especially after her last mission. But it hadn't occurred to Alki how little she had to do, especially without Darcy. Then again, a bit of time to herself wasn't exactly a problem. She'd taken a nap a while ago, but she woke up much later than she meant to, and now she had the whole night to herself.

The town was quiet at night. Mostly. 'How are you... Grey badge...' A soft, pretty voice seemed to float through the night, generally breaking the silence that Alki had been enjoying. "But this is nice too..." She mumbled to herself, smiling. Whoever was singing, they were good at it, and Alki found herself bouncing slowly towards the source of the music.

Soon, she began to hum along, softly. No one would want to hear her voice, would they? No... it was Alki. Who would? Soon, she found the source, a small Minccino, alone. Alki didn't want to interrupt, she wanted to listen to this for as long as she could. She stopped humming, and simply contented herself with listening, until all too soon, the Minccino stopped. He looked around, and Alki found herself at a loss for what to do. He was a nice singer, sure, but she didn't know anything about him! What was he like? What if he was mean? Then again, he had been singing so nice, just a couple moments ago. Someone like that couldn't be mean!

'Hello?' He called out, suddenly, unexpectedly. Alki gave a small yelp of surprise. Did he know she was there? "S-Sorry... H-Hi. It's just... y-you have a really nice voice." She blurted out. This Pokemon was older than her, and that commanded respect. Alki's gaze drifted to the Pecha Forest. She'd used to live there, or at least near it. Did her parents care about where she was? It hadn't been too long since she'd run away from home... did they care? Her eyes snapped back to the Minccino, and she mumbled another apology, looking down at the ground around him. What was she doing? She was acting so stupid... "I-I'm Alki..." She squeaked, hoping to distract from how nervously she was acting.

He wasn't expecting an answer, he did that often. With the sudden 'Sorry' came him nearly jumping out of fear and turning around, his eyes were wide and his tail fluffed out in fear. But when he saw it was an Iggilybuff he let out a content sigh and shot them a happy smile, his eyes closed in happiness as he shook his head and spoke again; his voice was almost feminine with how soft and kind his words were. But it was obvious from his mannerisms and the way he acted that he was anything but female. "No need to say sorry. Thank you, Alki. My name is...well, Nightingale." He walked closer and held out his paw for Alki to shake. "I know I'm out here because I can't sleep but what about you? You're pretty young to stay up this late." Be it a compliment or a confused question he brought up a good point. But this ashen Pokemon seemed pretty friendly. His ears twitched again as they stood upright, his head cocked to the side before he looked over the Pokemon again.

"Did you want to sing with me?" The words seemed to flow out of his mouth with ease. His demeanor was calm and easygoing as if he was trying his best to make sure this stranger was comfortable around him. The shudder may just be a vocal problem but if they were nervous than he saw to it that it was his job to make sure this Pokemon felt relaxed as they talked. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I just assume you like to sing a bit because...Igglybuff...sing..." Maybe it was his turn to be a little awkward. It may have been a stereotype as he didn't even know if this Pokemon was like the others and could sing, heck, he wasn't like most Minccino, why would they be any different.

"Erm...sorry about that, that may have been a little rude of me." His paw rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he looked at the ground to avoid eye contact. He shifted awkwardly as he looked up at this stranger. A coy smile over his face as his cheeks flushed a vibrant sanguine. He wasn't the smartest Pokemon when it came down to making friends. He was a little awkward but maybe that is what his small group of friends enjoyed about him. Never the less he mustered up enough courage to speak "I assumed you'd sound good too, because most of the Puff Pokemon sing and sing pretty well."

Alki looked up at the Minccino. His voice sounded kind. Like his singing, it was soft and sweet and not like the rough, mean voices with their cutting words she'd gotten used to. Grassveil town seemed full of good Pokemon. First Yooka, and then Darcy and even the Guild master, and now this Minccino, Nightingale? It seemed like leaving her house had been a good choice.

"Well... I-I'm... out, because I, uh... I couldn't sleep either. And you know, it's prettier at night, don't you think?" She mumbled, looking up towards the night sky. The stars had always been impressive. They'd seemed distant, when she lived with her parents and when she'd 'lived' at the pond. Like distant glimmers of happiness that she only got to see when everyone else was sleeping. But lately, despite the things that had happened in the Shadowhue Forest, despite the fear and embarrassment, being at the guild had made her feel hopeful about her future, with this new cast of Pokemon, than she'd ever felt before. "I wanted to see them, I guess." She said. It wasn't exactly why she'd decided to walk around town at night, but it would do as an excuse. It was sorta true, right? "I-I guess I'm young though..." She mumbled, almost a whisper.

It took a few moments for the words of the Minccino to sink in. He was inviting her to sing! A small part of her expected a twist, a sudden change in voice with the deeply cutting words 'Well, too bad.' to come out of his mouth, but despite this nervous feeling, she found her mouth had a mind of it's own. "Yes!" She blurted out loudly, before forgetting that it was night-time and some Pokemon could possibly be sleeping. Music was amazing! Singing was amazing! And Alki had always felt as though she were at least Ok, at least... compared to everything else she did. A small, fragile smile appeared as she met Nightingales blushing face. Why was he embarrassed.

"I-It's Ok... w-we should sing! But... w-what should we sing?" She mumbled, now her turn to be embarrassed. What sort of dumb question was that. She turned away slightly, trying to hide the look of panic on her face. This wasn't how making friends was supposed to go. At least the darkness gave her a tiny bit of cover. "I-I'd like to sing, either way..."

"What do you mean what should we sing?" His head cocked to the side in confusion as his ears twitched as he thought about what this little Iggilybuff was talking about. "If you want to sing, then sing. It can be about anything. I'm singing about this Pokemon I met earlier today; she invited me to play out in the forest and we had fun. You can sing about your day too." He seemed to avoid the question with another question but did bring up a good point that all songs come from the heart of how a Pokemon feels. "Or if you'd like we can just sing a made up song about the stars and the night." He shrugged his shoulders as he sat on the grass and looked up at the sky.

No matter where he was in the world the stars in the sky were the same all over and he knew the night sky he looked at his parents were looking at too. He was filled with a sort of melancholy when he thought about the stars like that. The ash grey chincilla was shot back to reality when he remembered something. "You could also just sing for me. I mean, you heard me. You don't have to if you don't want too. But you seem so excited about this that I might as well hear you out." His teeth were as white as the stars in the sky and his eyes closed in a happy smile, eyes cocked to the side and ears flicking gently as the cold night wind blew gently.

His gaze shifted from the sky to the Igglybuff that hid from him. "Why're you hiding? We're friends here. Just a couple of Pokemon who can't sleep and like to sing." He was very relaxed around Alki as she was younger so he didn't have to try as hard to make friends with them as they were either really shy or just really respectful. His tail swished through the grass as he seemed pretty happy that he met someone like him who enjoyed the night more than the morning. Maybe he did have a place in Grassveil after all.

Alki looked up, slowly, shyly at the Minccino in front of her. "I-I guess you're right... sorry." He was quiet, lying down as he looked up at the sky. Alki looked up herself; the stars seemed to rain down a soft, gentle sort of light, not like the sun that beat down with it's overwhelming light and heat each day. Alki spent a few seconds drawing pictures in the sky, drawing lines between stars to form images, of Darcy and Yooka and Nightingale, all the good Pokemon that she'd met in her life. She thought of just how much better her life had gotten since she'd left the pond, and giggled softly. She couldn't do this during the day, that was for sure.

"I-I might try s-singing, then. I-If you're ok with me doing that?" She said, looking up at Nightingale suddenly, as though asking permission. "W-Well... err, y-you already said I could, d-didn't you..." She said, the old feeling of shame and embarrassment returning to her. She'd never escape that, would she?

And singing... the Pokemon at the pond had made fun of her for singing. She was glad to stop, if it meant that they stopped tormenting her. Of course, it didn't... but she hadn't sang for anyone else since. What if she really was bad, like they told her she was? She probably was...

But Nightingale seemed willing to listen to her... but what could she sing? Her day was boring, and she didn't want to open up about her parents or siblings to him, to anyone, much less in song. She looked up at the sky, words forming in her mind, and those words coming together to form lines of music. How should it go?

Alki took a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly as a small, quiet voice began to make its way into the night air. A tenor, just like Nightingale's voice, but smaller, quieter, and quite a bit more nervous. The fragile, beautiful singing came out of Alki, as she hoped that it was enough to impress Nightingale.

"The stars are so far away... but now I have a place to stay..." The song began, slowly and somber, just like every other time Alki had sang to anyone. But for once, a small smidge of optimism appeared in her song, and she continued, slightly more sure of herself. "With the friends I've found, maybe I won't need the stars after today..."

Alki let herself finish, as her voice rung out, and disappeared. Alki cracked open an eye, as she realized that the cutting words, the jeers and sour laughs were not there, and saw Nightingale, still there. "S-S-So w-what did y-you think?" She managed to stammer, suddenly nervous to hear the Mincinno's opinion. It'd been good, right? She hoped...

His grey eyes looked at Alki, his head shook side to side and he smiled but soon began to laugh quietly. "I don't see what you're so embarrassed about. You're a wonderful singer." Wasn't he laughing at her? After he spoke it was obvious but he nodded his head as if he was agreeing with himself, he enjoyed her singing. And he was laughing more at the fact she is so afraid to do it. "Thank you, Alki. Really, You have a great voice and you should sing more often. " His paw pat the ground next to him and he nodded his head, asking without speaking for Alki to sit down. "I know songs can have a meaning, from what I can tell you enjoy the friends you have. I'm kind of jealous. I don't have many friends but I cherish each one I have. And I can assume you do too."

The stars in the sky twinkled happily as the moon shined down on the two of them as the grass looked less green and more a nice tint of blue. The town at this point was asleep and only the two of them were awake. His voice was quiet, not a whisper, but enough so no one but Alki could hear him. "Do you want to be friends?" He asked, his eyes shifting from the Igglybuff to the night sky. He leaned backward and wrapped his tail over his body like a blanket. He wanted to hide under his tail in embarrassment but he wouldn't let it phase him. Alki was nice, she seemed to be pretty cool and understood him, or at least, they had some of the same interests. And Nightingale would love to have someone like that as a friend, someone he could be able to meet every once in a while and talk with, to sit down and tell stories and sing with. Someone he could call a friend.

Alki smiled as Nightingale laughed. It didn't seem like a mean laugh, not really. Alki had gotten pretty good at telling the difference between a good-natured laugh, and a mean one. Before long, words of praise came towards her. She'd never heard that about her voice. She began to blush with pride, Nightingale liked it! She sat down next to him, a small smile on her face.

"I-If you really think so... maybe I will." Alki said, looking up at the taller, older Pokemon. She felt safer, the same sort of relaxed feeling she had around Darcy. "I-I do love my friends... I don't have many though. I know a Skitty, she's named Darcy, and she's the kindest Pokemon I've ever met... y-you know, I'm on her team, in the guild. I'm not the best guild-member... but she keeps me around. She's like a S-Sister..." Alki said, talking a bit about Darcy. Alki was glad that she'd met the Skitty. She didn't know where she'd be without her.

Nightingale asked if Alki wanted to be friends with him, and now it was Alki's turn to laugh. Wouldn't she ever? Nightingale seemed like another Pokemon, like Darcy, kind. She felt comfortable around him. Why wouldn't she want to be his friend? "Of course." She said, smiling as she looked up at the bigger Pokemon, and then at the stars. "Of course, I'd love to be your friend, Nightingale."

He seemed happy as she agreed to be is friends but something clicked in his mind. He started to think, quickly putting a name to a face as he sat up, speaking in surprise. "Wait, Darcy? The Skitty? I met her the other day! She was so cool. She told me about this secret in the forest and we went out to explore it." Turning his head he looked at the Igglybuff, his toothy grin plastered over his face. "Small world out here, I guess." He lied back down and sighed. Looking at the stars in the sky, the occasional nocturnal Pokemon could be seen flying overhead. His head rocked side to side as he quietly hummed, the hum was quiet but something about it was familiar. It's slow but after a few notes it started to pick up the pace and become happier instead of sounding more depressed.

"So, you're with Darcy in the guild? So you're a grey rank, right? Do you have any stories about places you've explored?" A small smile growing on his face as he closed his eyes and relaxed as the cold wind blew, his tail keeping him a little warm. He was happy enough to have a friend now but when his new friend knows another pokemon he met earlier in the week? He was pretty excited about that. "I only ask because I asked Darcy if she had any stories and she told me her team never explored to much. But she did tell me personal stories about her life. You don't have to go that far, but how's guild life? Why did you join?"

OOC Stuff:

"Yeah, Darcy is really cool. S-She let me join her team, and, well..." Alki thought back to everything Darcy had done for her. The Skitty had given her so much in the short time she'd known her. "She's kept me safe." Alki finished, recalling the encounter with her sister.

She leaned on the taller Pokemon, closing her eyes contentedly. After the whole fiasco with Shadowhue, Plusle and Minun, and the Exeggutor, it was nice to just have a bit of quiet.

"I guess I'm a grey rank, yeah..." Alki said, unsure of what that meant. Grey rank? She'd have to ask Darcy, she knew more about Guild stuff than Alki. When Nightingale asked for stories, Alki tried to think of something worthwhile, something fun to tell. She wanted to impress him! But... her last mission hadn't gone so smoothly.

"Stories? Well... we went to Shadowhue forest a couple days ago... You know where that is? Well, we went there, and we met a Plusle and Minun, and they were really friendly but an Exeggutor came and they got in trouble because they pranked a Torkoal too much and... umm..." She said, getting more and more nervous the longer she talked. "I-It sounded more interesting in my head..." She finished, her voice quiet and rushed as she hoped to move on to the next topic as soon as possible.  

"And, well... I'm actually a kinda lousy guild-member. Lousy and new. So, well... I've only done one job, and I did it kinda poorly." She paused, thinking about what to say next. She didn't want to sound so depressing. "Honestly, I j-joined the guild because I wanted to be with Darcy... I don't know if that sort of work is for me. I mean, helping others is all well and good, but I'm not a good helper... I can barely read, you know? I don't feel like I fit in..." She said, telling the truth as she looked up at Nightingale, waiting to see what reaction he'd have. "T-Then again, I don't know what else I could do, or who else would want me."

OOC:

Nightingale laughed and shook his head. "Life is all about masking mistakes, you have to learn from them. You may be the worst today. But in a years time you may be the best, or maybe you may just have seniority over the newer recruits." He seemed to be very wise for his age. His paw gently rubbing Alki's head. "You're a good kid, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You're just like Darcy. Heh. Want me to tell you a story about how I met her?"

He turned to look at Alki as if to not only tell her a story after she told him her story, but also because his story had a point to it, that Alki acts like Darcy when she feels down on herself. "Trust me, kiddo. You're going to go places. And when you reach the top remember the little Pokemon, like me." His tail swayed left to right as he complimented her; he was a little down on himself too but he was being more honest as he wasn't in the guild and didn't see himself joining it.

OOC::

Alki leaned against the Mincinno's side, suddenly feeling isolated and alone. Nobody else would want her, would they? Nobody else would care for her but Darcy and Yooka and maybe now Nightingale. What would she ever do? What would she ever accomplish? She didn't belong in the guild, and she didn't belong anywhere...

Alki looked down at her feet. She didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Nightingale. She remained silent as Nightingale talked, even as he rubbed her head. Only when he mentioned she was like Darcy, did she look up at him. He looked down at her, and when he said to remember "the small Pokemon", Alki couldn't help but laugh, her sadness momentarily forgotten. Sitting there in the dark, with this Pokemon she'd only just met had been the most pleasant experience she'd had since the moment Darcy had let her onto her team.

"Y-You're bigger than me though..." She giggled, but her eyes wide with a combination of curiousity, happiness, and confusion. "T-Thank you for the kindness... it's... nice to hear that for once. But..." She paused, hesitating, wracking her brain to come up with an answer to how, exactly, she was like Darcy. How? But coming up with nothing, she looked up at Nightingale, managing a small, eager smile. "H-How am I like Darcy, t-then?"

OOC:

"Ohoho! Do I have a story to tell you." His smile was large and his pearly white teeth seemed to gleam like the stars above. His gaze focused down at her as he continued to speak. "Okay, so picture this. Darcy and I are heading to the Shadowhue forest. And she said to me. 'Hey Gale, we should race!'" He spoke so clearly and with a happy tone of voice, the way he described the story and the energy he put forth to tell it was almost contagious. "So I agreed, and we would race to Shadowhue's Edge. Anyway. She took off running and I caught up and sprinted away, and we were running, and running!" His front paws seemed to move with the story as if they were trying to paint a picture. "So I fell to the ground and she passed me and I tried to catch up to her...and what do I see as I get to a clearing in the woods, it was a garden...and Darcy was stuck in some bushes."

He was smiling as he spoke. His voice getting lower, almost a whisper now. "I was about to call out to her when I thought 'hey, I should pull a prank on her.' so I picked up a few pebbles and walked towards her. I pretend to run away and threw the rocks in a direction so she would think I left her alone..." He looked down at Alki and nodded to her. "This is where you remind me of her...she started to get sad, I mean, it was expected, but she started to talk about how bad she is at everything and how she messes up a lot. You and her see yourselves like you're a trouble to others." His words would sting if he didn't seem to be so sincere about it. "But! That couldn't be farther from the truth. Darcy is so cool, and I was glad to spend the day with her. And as for you? You're the first Pokemon who actually sang for me and told me stories since I got here. It's pretty lonely...and I know life can make Pokemon think they're worthless but you're so young. You have a life ahead of you."

He took his paw off her head and gently pat her on the back. "So try to smile more, that's what I do. And hey, maybe you'll brighten up someone's day." His grey eyes looked deep into Alki's. "Okay?" He questioned as he looked at her with a questioning stare and a cheerful smile plastered to his face.

Alki was quiet and respectful as Nightingale told his story. She was curious to hear it, and Alki couldn't help but think about how much better Nightingale was at telling stories than Alki was. She stood up on her feet, looking up at Nightingale with a curious expression on her face. Where was this story going?

When Nightingale said that Alki's sadness reminded him of Darcy, her expression shifted from curiousity to confusion, almost shock. Darcy felt that way too? She awkwardly bounced in place, as she waited patiently for Nightingale finished, and when he did, a flood of questions came out of her mouth.

"I-I mean, I-I've seen her be sad b-before, but... i-it was my fault. S-She was sad l-like that when I-I wasn't around?" Alki wondered out loud. Darcy certainly wasn't a a trouble to Alki. "I-I didn't know she felt that way..." Alki suddenly found herself wanting to go back and give Darcy a tight hug. Darcy didn't deserve to feel that way...

When the conversation shifted back to Alki, she sat down and rubbed her arm against her side. "I-I guess t-that's true, but... I-I'm sure you'd have found someone else to sing, e-eventually. I-I'm nothing... n-nothing special." Alki mumbled, blushing as Nightingale praised her. She couldn't say it didn't feel nice, and a small, melancholy smile even managed to make it's way to her face. But in the end, she knew it wasn't true.

She looked up instinctively as she felt Nightingale remove his paw from her head. She met Nightingale's steady, kind eyes with her own fearful and nervous ones. As he asked her whether she could manage that, try to smile more, she thought back to the promise she'd made to Darcy in Shadowhue Forest, her promise to be kinder to herself. Alki nodded slowly, afraid she'd be unable to keep not one but two promises now. But didn't want to let anyone down either. "I-I'll try. But... n-nothing. Nevermind. T-Thank you, b-by the way. For the nice words. I don't... other Pokemon don't usually like me much. You and Darcy seem to be the exceptions, though..." She finished, sincerely. Nightingale seemed to be as nice as Darcy, and Alki felt happy she'd decided to go for a night-time walk.

"But..?" He gave Alki a quizzical look as she spoke, but as she thanked him he shrugged and pat her back again. "Everyone should be nice to one another. If we aren't nice to each other then we would get nowhere." His logic made some sense, in a weird way. If every pony just went out of their way to hurt one another then there would only be chaos in this world of theirs. Sure, pokemon are nice to one another but how come it was always the ones who aren't that seem to be the majority? His question was quickly shoved out of his mind as he stood up and stretched a bit. "No need to thank me, by the way. I'm just being myself." he admitted as he let ou a squeak from stretching, his face flushing red from the noise he made. He looked at Alki and smiled. "Are you sure you should be out this late, though. I don't want you staying up too late you know, or getting in trouble for sneaking out."

Nightingale seemed more like a big brother than a stranger. He seemed to care for his friends like a family member and only saw the best in them. Cheering them up and telling them stories, building up their hope so that they would be able to do bigger and better things when they grew up. "I mean, I enjoy your company, don't get me wrong. But I don't want you getting in trouble because you're hanging out with a stranger at night." He stated as he rolled his front paw, standing on his hind legs. His body seemed to talk just about as much as he did, his eyes, paws, ears, and tail all seemed to move as he spoke; adding more to the way he speaks and just emphasising his words. Something about how Alki said 'Pokemon don't like her much' made his stomach tie itself in a knot. How could someone not like this tiny Pokemon? She was so nice and genuine.

"And, if there is one thing you remember from tonight then remember this. I like you, Alki. You're pretty cool. We should meet up again some time later. Maybe we could explore the pecha forest, or how about just hang out and sing? Up to you." He stated as he nodded his head towards her, his tail cleaning off the dirt from his back and bottom. He didn't care about being clean or dirty it was just a habit at this point to clean.