Songbirds of the Night

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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 let out a quiet laugh as she heard a high pitched squeak from Nightingale. He was really nice, and Alki wanted to talk more with him. Why didn't he just come to the guild, with her and Darcy? That way they could be together more, the three of them and could play and sing and talk and they'd be happy... Alki was just about to ask him this, but Nightingale asked her a question first, and Alki couldn't help but feel nervous, the more she thought about it.

"W-Well, um... I-I actually don't k-know if I'm allowed t-to be out, err... t-this late." She looked up at the moon, not to quietly admire it, but to get a rough estimate of the time. She realized it wouldn't be long until morning, although she still had some time to spend with Nightingale. "B-But... I-I mean... I don't know the G-Guildmaster well enough... s-she seemed nice, but... I-I should probably go back soon, h-hopefully n-no one realizes I-I've been gone..." What Nightingale said made sense, what if Darcy got upset at her? Or Yooka, or the guild-master? She was new... what if she got kicked out of the guild? Alki tapped her hands against each other rapidly, impatient to get back to the guild. "I-I don't want to get in trouble... D-Do you think you could... erm, w-walk with me? I-I mean... i-it's just... c-can you?" She asked, meekly, her cheeks beginning to burn red.

She looked back up at the night-sky, a mixture of worry and satisfaction in her mind. She was going to get in trouble. But Nightingale LIKED her. How many Pokemon liked Alki? Very few, but she was happy that she got to add one more to the list. "I-I'm glad you think I'm likable..." She managed to say, finally. Alki took a nervous glance at the Pecha forest, thinking about what Nightingale suggested. She couldn't avoid the forest forever, just because of her parents, could she? That didn't make any sense...

"J-Just s-singing is alright, I-I think." She said, laughing nervously. Novice teams seemed to like going to Pecha forest. But why would Alki want to go there? She'd been to Shadowhue a couple times already, and she didn't want to risk finding her parents and them making her go back there. But she didn't want Nightingale knowing about her parents either.

"W-Why don't you j-join the guild, huh?" Alki asked. She hoped to distract Nightingale from her rather obvious nervousness, but the question was genuine. He seemed like he'd make a great team-mate. "I-I mean, I-I'd be more than happy if you joined D-Darcy's team. I'm sure she'd be happy to..." She mumbled, scuffing her foot against the ground. She didn't mind being dirty, she'd rather gotten used to it, but Nightingale seemed rather worried about being clean. "B-But... c-can we talk while we walk? I-I think I need to get back hom... back to the guild soon. Darcy might be worried..."

Nightingale nodded his head as he started to walk with Alki. "Lead the way, and to answer your question...I just don't like the whole schedule type of thing guilds follow." He started to walk around so Alki could point him in the right direction. "Wake up at a certain time, eat at a certain time, explore but be back by a certain time. It's all so...rediculious." He admitted, his smile shifting uneasily to a rather stone-faced look. "I get it that you need some structure in a guild but that is less like a structure and more like a jailhouse." He stated almost matter of factly, Nightingale seemed pretty passionate about this but his smile seemed to fade back onto his face as he spoke some more. "Not to say it's all bad. I'd love to have a team to be in. Make friends, explore and stuff. But I wouldn't report to a guild. I'd do it because I want to. I'd help Pokemon because I could. I wouldn't do it because it's a job or a stronger Pokemon told me too." He huffed. The Minccino seemed to think he knew a lot about how guilds worked.

"For instance, you might get in trouble for staying out late, ya? Well, why? Because you're not going to be able to get up on time? Why not take a day off. Or will the guild master be angry about that?" He huffed. Shaking his head from side to side as his ears flicked around. "I may seem very angry about this, I don't mean it. I just think the rules set out for most guilds can be improved upon. Besides, if I'm going to be an explorer I want to live off the land and live off what I earned. I don't want a house and food handed to me." A sigh escaping his lips before he looked at Alki. She was so young and so timid, so happy...he was afraid to scare her off and he shouldn't keep going before he got too angry. "Sorry." He muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "If Darcy is mad at you or asks just say you saw me and we sang together. I'm sure she'd be okay with you being out tonight as long as you were safe with another Pokemon."

"Ah, hold still please." He walked over to Alki and rubbed her body with his tail, cleaning her off with relative ease. Minccino and Cinccino would rub tails to greet one another and groom one another because they could, Nightingale seemed no different, cleaning off his friends when they had some downtime and they were covered in dirt. His tail soft and fluffy. Even though he cleaned himself there were no signs of dirt being stuck inside of the tail.

With a nod after a good ten seconds passing, he pulled his tail away and looked at the little Pokemon. "Ah. Much better. Now you don't look like you were playing in the dirt." The Chinchilla Pokemon said with a chuckle. His mind couldn't shake the one thing Alki said. "I'd be more than happy if you join Darcy's team. I'm sure she'd be happy too." His face seemed to contort as he let out a sigh. "Uh...look...if you guys ever need a friend, or you're going out somewhere. You can always call me if I'm not busy I'll help you guys. I'm not joining the guild, but I'll help you with your explorations and if you'd really like me to I can visit from time to time. Sound good?" He questioned, coming to somewhat of a compromise as he stopped his walking to look at her with a tilt of the head and a small but still genuine smile.

Alki nodded, as she began to bounce in the general direction of the guild. She looked up at the moon again, it was going to set soon and then morning would come and then she'd have to leave Nightingale, but... if she bounced slower, they'd be able to talk more, maybe?

She listened, nodding as he explained why he didn't want to join the guild. It made a certain amount of sense, she supposed. But it gave her safety from her parents, and now, being a teammate with Darcy gave her safety from her sister. Although... Alki didn't feel like that was entirely right . The guild-master wouldn't get mad at her... she was nice! Maybe she'd get scolded a bit... told not to do it again, maybe. But it didn't seem all that bad, especially compared to how Nightingale was putting it. But she said nothing, she didn't want to risk him getting upset at her. Better to not say anything.  

"I-If she asks, I-I'll tell her that, I mean... s-she doesn't have to know. I don't want to risk getting in trouble." Alki mumbled, acknowledging Nightingale's statement. She'd gotten in trouble with her parents, at home, and they'd yelled at her sometimes... she didn't want to risk anything, anything at all. As she thought and reminisced, she became aware of something brushing against her body. "Huh?" She squeaked, confused, until she realized what was going on. He was cleaning her! As his tail pulled away, a small giggle escaped her mouth as she looked down at her soft, now clean body. "Y-You didn't have to do that, b-but... t-thank you."

She continued to bounce, and the guild came into sight. She'd have to leave soon... she turned to look at Nightingale. "Y-You mean that?! Of course!" She cried out, loud, but happy. She'd made another friend! He'd visit? And he'd come with them on explorations too! She bounced over and gave him a hug, holding it for a long time, before reluctantly letting go. "H-Hey, I think... I think I need to go now. But... I really appreciate today, y'know? Erm... T-Tonight, I guess. Anyways. It's just... nice to make a friend. I don't have many. But... I'd love to talk again sometime."

She looked up at the moon, it was beginning to set and dawn would come soon. She needed to get back to her room before Darcy found out. "But... I've gotta get back to my room soon." She scuffed her foot against the ground, looking up at the sky as the sun began to rise. "Good morning. I'll see ya later!" She mumbled as she turned away to bounce back towards the guild. After a moments hesitation, she bounced back towards Nightingale. "That is, u-unless you want to stay for the d-day?" She kicked her foot against the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. They'd spent an awful lot of time together, and it was almost morning... he didn't seem too fond of the guild, but even so, perhaps he'd be willing to stay a bit longer? Alki didn't want to say good-bye quite yet, but she didn't want to ask him to stay with her either. That was babyish... "Y-You don't have to, if you don't want to..." She mumbled, looking up at him hopefully.

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The hug caught Nightingale off guard. But it wasn't unwelcome, quite the opposite. At first, it was a little awkward but he did ease into the hug and eventually let her go. But her question still remained and he didn't really have an answer for her. "I dunno, Akli...would the guild, or Darcy, or Yooka...would be fond of sharing a room with me, mostly because I'm kind of a stranger. I mean, they do KNOW me...but wouldn't it be weird to sneak back in and they wake up and see me?" He stopped talking and thought about it more, though. It would be funny to see them confused as to why I'm there...heh. A devilish grin grew on his face before he shook his head and looked at Alki with a questioning look. "Do you REALLY want me to come back with you? I don't mind just make sure I get, like, maybe two to three hours of sleep? I'm cranky if I don't have my nap." He said with his cheeks flushed red, embarrassed that he admitted he needed sleep or he wasn't as happy as he normally is.

His grey eyes inspected the small Pokemon before him. "It's your choice, really. The way I see it, if I can sneak into the guild then they know they need to get better security, or at the very least have a night watch Pokemon to monitor who is out and about. And if I don't go we can both sleep in and I can go in the morning. But again, it's up to you. I'd like to see the look on Yooka's face." He admitted with a devilish grin. He started to mimic the Keleon or at least how he saw her. How did you manage to get in here? Impossible. No one can just sneak into the guild. His voice didn't have to change to much as he already sounded kind of feminine, but he couldn't keep his grin any longer and laughed, looking at Alki and shaking his head. "Sorry, sorry. Yooka's just funny. They're so smart, I bet there totally a bookworm, aren't they? Ah. I'll ask them when I see them."

His gaze shifted, he looked up at the moon and seemed to calm down a bit. "You know...every night I got here no one really went to see who was singing at night. They just accepted it. I'm glad you decided to come out tonight...thank you, Alki." His smile was still as wide as ever, yet he gazed longingly at the moon, his eyes looking a little wet. He blinked and looked back down at the pokemon, clearing his throat. "In all seriousness...it's your choice. If you want me to come with you and sneak in, I will."

"D-Darcy's nice, and... she'd love to see you! You're a friend of hers, right? I'm sure she'd appreciate it." She said quietly. She wanted to talk with him more, she wanted to tell Darcy about her night, Darcy wouldn't tell the guild master! Alki laughed softly at Nightingale's comment about sleep. He was right, although Alki didn't get cranky so much as... slower? "I know what you mean, we'll be able to sleep eventually, I'm sure." She said, softly.

When Nightingale said it was her choice, Alki's face lit up. He'd come then! He was willing to come and they'd be able to talk and play games and tell stories! She laughed at Nightingale's mimicry of Yooka. "That's exactly how she'd sound!" She exclaimed, laughing, but just as quickly stopped. "S-She's my teammate though, I probably shouldn't laugh." She mumbled, instinctively looking around, as though Yooka might appear at any second. She shook her head, a small smile still on her face. "Still though, that was pretty accurate." Alki thought about it, did Yooka like books? Alki didn't know... maybe she liked pictures? All of the books Darcy had read to her had really pretty pictures...

Alki watched as Nightingale suddenly became serious, and turned to look up at the moon. He was serious... and thanking her! Alki looked up at his kind eyes, but noticed... tears? Was he crying? Before Alki could make sure, Nightingale blinked and smiled down at her. He was still happy. Tears of happiness? Alki knew those. She thought back to the moments after the Exeggutors left, those moments with Darcy and Minun and Plusle all complimenting her and her... words with Darcy. She felt loved. She grinned at Nightingale, shaking her head. "You sing really pretty. I mean... I just wanted to say hi. I should be thanking you! But... it was no problem, really. Don't mention it. I'm happy I could make you happy." She said, giving him a small hug, before taking his paw and tugging it.

"Now let's get into the guild! It'll be fun! We'll play games and read and talk and tell stories and we can find out if Yooka's a bookworm or not! Come on!" She said. She began to lead him towards the guild, unable to wait any longer. She'd done nothing special, and she was happy to make him happy.

"But... I'd like to thank you too. I appreciate what you did for me today too." She said, giggling. Now hurry up! I wanna see what Darcy says about all this!" She said, laughing. She continued  to tug on his paw as she bounced towards the guild, a smile still etched onto her face.

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"Oi, oi, oi! I'm coming, no need to pull me along." The Minccino chuckled as he walked towards the guild. It would be the first time he was ever in the guild before. Sure, he was returning a guild member home and was invited in but it still felt like, to him, that he was sneaking in during the night. It made this whole experience a little but more magical. The cool air blowing both the Pokemon and sending a shiver down Nightingale spine. He made a new friend tonight and he was happy; he would be able to hang out with his new friend and might keep his promise with his old friend. His tail swished side to side in excitement as he got closer and closer to the guild.