A twilit morning

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Just north of town, within the basement of the spacious Grassveil Guild, the halls were still and quiet.  It was early in the morning, and save perhaps for the gentle sounds of one or two nocturnal Pokemon settling in after a night of wakefulness, the air was silent and serene...  It was the time of day that lent itself to deep, dream-filled sleep, the kind that arrives only at the end of a long night of rest, one last hour or two of peaceful reverie for the guild's members to enjoy before being greeted by the warm, shining sun.  With calmness heavy in the air, it seemed that the each of the Pokemon of Grassveil's guild were thoroughly enjoying their time in bed.  Each of them except, perhaps, for a certain small Pokemon, nestled deep within her basket of blankets and pillows, stirring softly and peeking her eyes open as she slowly woke up.

The Skitty yawned, then stretched out her body, slowly and tremulously.  She shook the blankets off of herself and sat upright as she blinked and took in her bedroom.  It was dark...  She could only scarcely see light behind the curtains to her right, and the outlines of the cozy little room's furnishings...  And of course, Alki, sleeping soundly in the bed just one or two feet away.

It was early in the morning.  Even for Darcy.  But as she recalled why she had woken this early...  A grin broke out across the Skitty's face.  This morning was special.  This was the day that she and her sister had set aside to visit her home...  She would get to see her family again.  It had only been weeks since her last visit, but...  Her family meant the world to her.  They were the ones who had taught her everything she knew, the ones she had spent her whole life with...  Being away from them at all was heartrending.  Had she not met Alki, and her other friends at the guild and in town, she would never have been able to bear it...

The thought of seeing them again made the Skitty's heart flutter.  She hopped onto the chest set against the far wall, then put her paws up on the windowsill, poking her head through the curtains and staring with bright eyes at the gardens outside, graced with dew and dimly lit by pink twilight.  A few lingering stars still twinkled in the sky up above, proof of how early it was, but...  Even so, Darcy couldn't bring herself to climb back into bed.  Not when there was so much to do, such an exciting day ahead of her...

She hopped back down, and took her bag from its hook near the door.  Her home was only three or four hours from town, but there was still some packing to be done.  Her favorite books to read to her little siblings once again, her map to show them, and of course her badge...  She tucked them all away as quietly as she could manage, and before long, she was done, her belongings in order and herself eager to leave...

...But of course...  She couldn't leave without Alki, still in bed and sleeping soundly...

Darcy put her bag down and climbed back into her bed.  She settled down and closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep again until her best friend would be ready to go too.

...But...  Try as she might, the fluttering in her chest just wouldn't go away.  She blinked and glanced over at Alki with wide eyes, her tail restlessly flicking back and forth every now and then as she settled in to wait.

She didn't manage to wait for long, though. Perhaps five or ten minutes passed before the Skitty's excitement got the better of her and she hopped out of her bed once again.  "Good morning, Alki...  Rise and shine, okay..?" she murmured, settling down in front of the little Igglybuff's bed and gently nuzzling her with her nose.  "Do you remember what day it is?  I know it's early, but...  The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get to see everyone, right..?"

She blinked and looked down at the ground, hoping Alki would be okay with such an early awakening.  As excited as she was, Darcy couldn't help but feel a little foolish and rude...  "Umm...  It's okay if you don't want to go yet...  I was just excited, is all.  I've been looking forward to this ever since my last visit..."