Pick a Peck of Pechas

Energy:

It was mid-afternoon on a Monday and Mille was carefully scrubbing and washing all of the tools she used to cook with. She was very thorough when it came to her cooking equipment, never half-assing her cleaning despite not particularly enjoying the chore. She just understood the importance of clean equipment and a clean working area, so as not to harm her customers by accidentally introducing things that they were potentially allergic to, for example.

After all of her utensils were washed, Mille wiped down the store counter and brought down the cover that would close off the open front of her store so that it was clear to people walking past that her stall was no longer open. She also put the 'Not Serving' sign up on the outside, just to be doubly safe.

The young Fennekin had closed up shop earlier than usual today so that she could go exploring with her new acquaintance, Maryam. The two had both decided that they would like to try and acquire some pecha berries from the nearby Pecha Forest, agreeing to meet on this very afternoon to see what they could find. Mille was honestly pretty excited. She hadn't explored the areas surrounding Grassveil yet, so this would be new to her. Perhaps she could find some inspiration for new recipes!

Mille double checked that all of her closing time chores were completed before she grabbed her bag and headed out. She briefly stopped by the stall next door to say hi and let them know that she was leaving early before she was on her way. She and Maryam had agreed to meet near the big fountain so that the Miltank could lead the way towards the forest.

With a joyous skip in her step, Mille made good time towards the fountain and when she arrived she took a seat next to it, listening to the water as it bubbled behind her. The Fennekin closed her eyes for a moment, imagining being next to the bubbling brook nearby to her home village. Her father had taken her there many a time so that he could teach her how to swim, and it brought a small smile to Mille's face to remember it.

(22 - 5 = 17 energy)

Maryam had started to work on closing up shop for the day. She put almost all the unsold jars of milk into the makeshift refrigeration unit, keeping one and putting it in her bag, just in case. She put up a sign that read 'Closed for the Day' on the counter before turning on her heels and heading towards the fountain.

As she got there she looked around for Mille, quickly finding her sitting by the fountain, just as expected. She approached her with a friendly "Hiya Mille!" and a wave, sitting down next to her with a friendly smile. "Ye' excited to go to the forest?"

The young Fennekin's eyes blinked open as she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She grinned as she spotted Maryam heading towards her, waving back to the Mitank and getting to her feet in her excitement.

"Hey, Maryam!" Mille grinned, her tail gently waving from side to side as if to show her enthusiasm, "I'm super duper excited! I hope we find lots of berries, but it looks like it'll be a nice day out even if we don't find much, considering how nice the weather is!" The Fennekin hopped from paw to paw, almost as if she was antsy to explore. She considered them both lucky how nice it actually was out at the moment. It could have rained that afternoon after all and there was nothing they could do about it.

"So! How far is the forest entrance from here?"

"By golly I'm glad! True, even if we don't find much, we'll surely have a great time together either way!" She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, smiling confidentially.

Maryam paused to think for a moment. "Well, I'd reckon It'd take no longer than 15 minutes to get there if we start movin' now! So, come on!" She gestured for Mille to follow her as she started heading south of Grassviel, humming a little tone-deaf tune as she walked.

As they walked, she interrupted her own humming to strike up a conversation. "So,
are ya' new to Grassviel? I don't reckon seein' your face around here before we met!"

Mille nodded eagerly as Maryam suggested that they get going and followed her with a joyful skip in her step as the Miltank lead the way away from the fountain and through Grassveil Town. It seemed that Pecha Forest really was quite close by to the town itself, and it made Mille wonder just what the history of this town was. Had Grassveil been made next to the mystery dungeon? Or had the forest itself become an odd place long after the town was formed?

The Fennekin smiled as Maryam began to hum. It wasn't the most tuneful of sounds, but it wasn't the most unpleasant sound in the world either and Mille found herself nodding along with the off-tune before Maryam stopped humming to ask her question.

"Yea! I've not really been here for too long. I moved here to start up my stall, but I'm saving up because I wanna buy a cafe all of my own!" She grinned, "It's honestly very different to the village I come from... and much bigger."

Maryam had a wide smile as she listened to Mille talk, absolutely adoring the company she provided and the fuzzy childhood memories of her mom bringing her and moving to Grassviel, and helping her build and open up the milk stall in which she still worked to this day. Maryam had to quickly think of something else before she started tearing up in front of Mille.

"Gosh, I wish you all the luck on opening that cafe of yours! If ya' need help with anythin', ya' know who you can rely on!" she gave Mille a wink and a smile as she finished the sentence. "What was yer' old village like? What's it called?" she continued, looking down at Mille, tilting her head slightly as she asked.

Mille grinned widely as Maryam promised her help if she ever needed it. It made her feel happy that she had taken the chance and had come here to pursue her dreams. She could have stayed back home, doing what she knew, but now that she was here she was meeting all of these nice new Pokemon!

"Thankyou!" She replied, wanting to somehow show her gratitude for the Miltank's support, but not knowing how to with anything other than words. And maybe her cooking of course.

"Honestly, we never really had a name for our village," Mille replied, glancing up at Maryam, and then flicking her amber gaze towards the blue sky, "We just sort of... called it home, I guess." She paused as she thought about her home. As much as she was enjoying her time in Grassveil Town, she had to admit that sometimes she did miss the Pokemon from her home village. She'd known them for years after all, and as she watched a single pale cloud make its way across the blue, Mille couldn't help but wonder if her friends and family back home were watching the sky too.

"Not a problem!" Maryam listened to Mille talk, tilting her head a bit. "I've never heard of a village havin' no name." She paused to think, scanning through her memories. "Nope, not a single one."

Maryam glanced forward as she continued walking, noticing Pecha Forest just up ahead. "Oh! Mille! We're almost there!" she said excitedly as she picked up her pace, turning her casual walk into more of a jog.

As she reached the edge of Pecha Forest she took a big, deep breath in. She could smell all the deliciously sweet pecha berries and feel the calm, cool wind blowing through her fur. It was really nice being out of the town and away from all the noise.

Mille chuckled, drawn out of her reverie at the idea of her small little home village being weird by having no name, "Perhaps we are just unique!" she laughed joyfully. To her, honestly, she didn't think it needed a name. She knew where it was and who lived there, and that was what mattered. Although it would definitely be convenient for others if she were able to tell them a name, that way they might have heard of her village before.

The young Fennekin grinned as Maryam sped up, "Woo! It really wasn't that far away at all!" Mille sped up as well, bounding alongside the Miltank and keeping the same pace. She could see where the path they had been following closed off and trees began to dot the landscape. Mille could also see how the wood began to get denser the further in you would get, and she wondered just how big the forest actually was.

Mille slowed down as the sweet scent of pecha berries tickled her nostrils. She poked her nose upwards, closing her eyes as she let herself smell the air without the interference of her other senses. It had been a while since she had been around any pecha berries but she could definitely appreciate their scent.

Opening her eyes once more, Mille padded into the beginning of the forest itself, keeping an eye out for any fresh berries on the vegetation around them. She could definitely smell them, but Mille had yet to see any of the pale pink fruits nearby.
"It definitely smells gorgeous," she commented.

Solilo carried out 5 launched of one Pecha Forest :

, , , ,

Maryam gave off a soft smile and nodded, humming in agreement. She couldn't help but stare off into the forest as memories of her childhood came flooding back to her, playing with her best friends, taking a stroll by the river side- wherever it happened to be that day, and helping her mom gather berries and seeds for dinner that night. She could feel the tears start to form again, so she took another deep breath and put on a big grin.

"Alrighty then," her voice couldn't help but crack a bit, "Those berries ain't gonna get picked with us jus' standin' here! Let's go!" She swiftly marched into the forest, wiping away her tears while she's in front of Mille and slowing down her pace when she's done, hoping the Fennekin didn't notice.

Joltik carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Mille tried to follow the scent of the pecha berries for a few moments, padding onwards through the forest and following closely alongside Maryam. She soon realised that the scent was just ever permeating throughout the trees, and her nose was not keen enough to pick up the smell of actual berries from the general scent throughout the vicinity.

Although distracted, Mille heard the small crack in the Miltank's voice as she spoke, her ears twitching at the noise. The Fennekin immediately turned from where she had been glancing at all the bushes nearby and looked towards Maryam in front of her. Mille wasn't entirely sure what the crack had been, but Maryam soon levelled out her pacing with hers once again, and the Fennekin couldn't see anything particularly wrong.

Moving on from the noise for now, Mille turned her attention to the bushes nearby. It didn't take her long to spot the tell-tale pale pink breaking up the green of the leaves, and the Fennekin made a beeline towards them, splitting off from Maryam's side temporarily as she did so.
"I found some!!" She called out, bounding towards the bush and coming to a skidding halt next to it. Mille paused, briefly sniffing at the berries with her nose and finding nothing off with them. The Fennekin then plucked one of them off of the bush, taking her bag off of her back and gently placing it inside for safekeeping.

Mille had to admit though, the sweet berries smelled delicious. Part of her wished that she'd eaten something more before she had headed out so that she wasn't quite as tempted to just chow down on the berries right here and now. Luckily for the both of them, Mille resisted the temptation to snack and resumed picking berries.

OOC::