The Enemy of My Enemy Is Smelly

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When Goro the croagunk had heard from a traveler that there was water nearby, this was not what he expected.

The outlaw stared at the frozen stream with a dumbfounded look on his face, his hairless brow twitching in irritation. He was cold, tired, hungry, and he was already sick of eating snow. He'd run out of food for this little trip this morning and he was days away from any kind of civilization. His stomach was already rumbling idly and he was quite thirsty. And it seemed that a nice, ice-cold, refreshing drink was just too much to ask for.

He sighed and turned away from the large body of ice, his breath steaming in the cold of the afternoon. He could hear the sound of water rushing underneath the icy river, so it was probably just the top that was frozen over. But how on earth was he supposed to get to it without falling under and drowning? He croaked loudly in frustration, sitting down in the snow and crossing his arms in thought.

Goro was distinguishable by others of his kind by a few different markers. Perhaps most notably was his left hand - it was quite misshapen and he was always gentle with it nowadays, hinting at a significant injury. A red-stained, tattered joy ribbon was tied to his left bicep, and in his other hand was a bindle containing his supplies (or what was left of them).

To any onlooker, he probably looked like a homeless vagabond down on his luck. In actuality, he was a very bored outlaw with nothing better to do with his time than to get himself into trouble like this.

Opal just stopped and stared at the new pair to emerge from the woods. With the look they had, the growlithe concluded that reason wouldn't work here, either, so she wasn't even going to try. Instead, she turned to the croagunk, hoping to make him eat his own words.

"You could've taken them, huh? Why not prove it against these two?" she jabbed. Opal could use his help here, and challenging his ego seemed a likely way to get it. Surely he wouldn't want to look like a coward in front of anyone. If he took enough of a beating, that would also make it easier to get away from or even arrest him.

Goro's hairless brow furrowed, a puzzled look on his face. "What're you-" The croagunk cut himself off as he turned to look in the same direction Opal was facing before paling as much as a purple frog could. Those were... two very big, sharp and spiky looking pokemon. Two that he didn't recognize, but they both looked unnervingly familiar to the pokemon that his companion just made disappear. He swallowed thickly, his right fist tightening almost defensively as he took a step back.

The two pokemon progressed very slowly, the empoleon making wide, sweeping steps while the cloyster just kind of... floated. They looked serious, but not quite confrontational. Like they were coming to address a problem rather than commit murder on two counts. Goro did not trust his luck against either of them, let alone both. The fire-type at his side would likely be a hindrance if anything against two powerful, evolved water types.

"Hey kids," The empoleon said, its voice stern. "Couldn't help but notice you just made a few of our buddies disappear. What exactly happened to them."

The croagunk was unnerved to notice that the last question wasn't framed like question at all, but instead a demand for more information. Specifically one that was laced with suspicion and anger - he got the feeling that if they answered wrongly, or even correctly, and they didn't like the answer... they were in for trouble. Goro himself stayed silent, as he had no idea what item it was that the growlithe had used.

"What, you're not scared, are you?" Opal began to taunt her froggy not-friend, but then the bigger pokemon started moving towards them. She looked at the cloyster, quite puzzled as to how it was moving about with no legs. How were certain water types able to float like that? It made no sense. They didn't have psychic powers as far as she could tell.

Back to the matter at hand, Opal told herself. The strangers were demanding information, and the growlithe decided that being honest was better and not. Perhaps they would leave to look for their friends. "They got teleported away. They'll be somewhere in these woods," she answered, "Don't worry, they'll be fine if they're as tough as you two. Just tell them not to go threatening other pokemon, yeah? I didn't want to have to use that orb on them."

"Oh," exclaimed the empoleon, one of his flippers raising to his chin in thought. The intensity and anger seemed to bleed away, evaporating immediately once he knew the other pokemon were safe. "That's kind of fascinating. That little orb you threw did that? Does it have a name, perchance?"

"Bud. The trainees, remember." The cloyster in comparison seemed much less impressed with the phenomenon it just witnessed. Its tone was dry and stale, giving off the impression that it didn't much care about what was going on, now that it knew the other pokemon were unharmed.

Jostling slightly, the tall penguin pokemon seemed to remember why it appeared so upset a second ago. "Right, yes. Okay, those kids were kind of affiliated with us, but on the other hand, you didn't quite hurt them. I'd say that was a kind lesson." The water/steel type smiled, placing one flipper in the other as it made its decision. Goro felt a bit of tension ooze out of him at this, and he let himself hope that the situation wasn't to go someplace very, very bad. "Next time I imagine they'll be a great deal more cautious about how they extract their toll... so in a way, you did give them something! You can move on, and don't worry about being bothered. You'll be good for the rest of the forest, at least. Unless you run into them again, in which case I'd advise you to be gentle." At this, the sharp avian gave something of a stern but not unkind stare, hoping to impress upon them how bad of an idea it would be to defy it.

Exhaling silently, Goro was quick to move when the emoleon uttered a soft 'shoo', gesturing the two travelers along with a flipper. That might have been the most mild-mannered gangster he'd ever met. Still, he gripped his bindle tightly, wary of any more interruptions coming out of the forest, despite the bandit's reassurance.

"Uh... Thanks."

Opal was equally quick to move on. She hadn't been sure of how this encounter would go, and was relieved that there hadn't been another fight. Just how many outlaws were there in this frozen land?!

It was with no small amount of nervousness that Opal followed the croagunk further into the trees. Like him, she was on edge and extra alert. Just because someone had given them the go-ahead didn't mean there wouldn't be anyone else to harass them. It was for this reason that Opal felt reluctant to approach a spring that had come into view when she saw there were pokemon in it. Two of them, both the same species. Their bodies looked sleek and powerful, and they had horns on their heads. They were coloured white, perfect to blend in with the snow around them.

Time to leave. Time to get the hell out, this was a bad idea now.

The walrein fight earlier had given him a big head. Even he had suspected toward the end that perhaps that pokemon wasn't much of a fighter; those two evolved gangsters, on the other hand, were likely a different story. If they decided to stay mad about their underlings getting vanished to someplace in the forest, then they could have destroyed both him and the growlithe. He wouldn't have gone down without trying to fight, but he also wasn't dumb enough to think that he would have won. Goro wanted to get out of these woods before he found himself ganged up on by pokemon he had no business fighting.

Case in point, that pair of dewgong lazily enjoying a swim in a forest spring. The croagunk eyed the picturesque scene warily, hoping that they wouldn't see him and the dog. And of course, as soon as he let himself believe they had a chance of making it through quietly, they were noticed.

"Oh, my~!" The leftmost one surfaced, the top half of its body leaning on the bank of the spring while it called out to them. Its voice was rich and deep, and it had a pleasant smile on its face. "Don't you two look shaken up? Are you cold, dearies?" Goro blinked, stupefied for a moment before he nodded dumbly. "It's just about tea-time if you want to join us. Come on over, the water's great!"

Goro very much did not like the idea of going over for a swim in ice-cold water. Even if it wasn't going to help him freeze to death, either dewgong could decide they didn't like the look of him and elect to drown the poison type in their spring. But then the second dewgong surfaced as well, carrying with it a teapot and two flippers full of cups. The prospect of a steamy cup of tea was kind of tempting, though...

Equal parts shocked and hesitant, Goro simply looked at the growlithe next to him and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say 'why not, at this point?'

For once, Opal shared an opinion with her unwanted companion, although neither of them had actually voiced their thoughts. She wanted to leave just as much as he did. Just go back to the stream, walk along in the direction they'd come from and hope the walrein from earlier had moved on. The two of them could leave this place, she could finally rid of him, she could go back to the nice warm Guild and report what she'd seen, leave a more experienced member to worry about the gangsters.

It came as quite a surprise to Opal when the pair of dewgong, upon noticing her and the frog, presented themselves as the opposite of what she had been fearing. Could they be trusted? Well, that second one would have a bit of difficulty attacking while carrying all those cups...

Opal exchanged a similar look with Goro. She was just as hesitant as he, but she took a few tender steps toward their aquatic hosts.

"Come on, dearies," the first dewgong cooed reassuringly, "Don't be afraid~"

Hell, why not?

They'd quarreled with each other, fought against a walrein, been almost shaken down by some rookie gangsters and then very subtly, expertly threatened by some much scarier ones. What was a tea party about to change? Goro shrugged his shoulders, hoisting his bindle further up as his shoulders as he joined the two dewgong at the spring. Worst case scenario, they just ended up running away from the spring, as he didn't imagine the aquatic pokemon could very well chase them outside of it... although, the cloyster from before had managed to float. It was hard telling.

"That's the spirit, it's too cold out for you folks who aren't ice-type to be messing around outside, anyways. A nice warm cup will fix you right up!" The first dewgong seemed especially invigorated by their decision to join them, circling in the water a few times with a warm smile on her face "Daldo, won't you fetch the tea, sweetie?" The second dewgong, a much more mellow looking fellow, only shrugged as well as a dewgong could before diving back under. He resurfaced a few moments later with a sealed sack in his mouth, laying it down next to the teapot and cups.

"Come on now, you two, a bit closer and we'll get you warmed up in a jiffy," She gestured for them to come forward further, brusquely and kind, and against his better judgment the croagunk did so. He didn't think he'd ever been so aggressively mothered before. "This old boy is Daldo, and I'm Talis." She then nodded at them, expectantly, clearly intending for them to introduce themselves while her friend set about fixing some tea. In the background, he saw the other dewgong empty out some teabags from his sack - apparently, it was waterproof - and starting the process.

"Uh... I'm Goro," he muttered, glancing askance at the fire-type next to him, realizing only after he spoke that he just gave his name to both the dewgongs and the growlithe.

Opal took immediate note of Goro's name, looking at him with her head tilted to one side as she committed the information to memory. Such information was immensely useful, and she was surprised the croagunk had given it so freely. He seemed to have realised his mistake at least.

"I'm Opal," the growlithe answered the dewgongs, having no such qualms about others knowing who she was. She finally properly approached their hosts, eagerly waiting for the tea that had been offered.

"Do you, uh, want me to heat something up? I mean, I'm a fire type..." Opal asked hesitantly, trying to make polite conversation but still not entirely comfortable with the situation.

"That'd be great, actually." The other dewgong, Daldo, spoke up from the back. "Lemme set us up and I'll let you know when I need a flame." He went on to the teapot on a smooth looking rock, about the size of a coffee table. Four cups were placed around it, two of them closer to the stream so the dewgong didn't have to fully surface to help themselves.

"So what brings you two around these parts? It's rare to see travelers in this little stretch," Talis said, circling a few times in the spring as she talked.

Goro shrugged, trotting over to the rock and plopping down onto the ground in front of it. He planted his bindle into a mound of snow next to him, easily within arm's reach but freeing up his good hand so he could use it. "Just explorin', really. Got some time off work so I'm goin' to new places." It was surprising to him that he felt as relaxed as he did at the moment, but something about the dewgong's disposition made her seem safe. He didn't want to stay long, though. A little tea break was nice but it was still cold as hell in this place.

"Oh, how nice. That's the time to travel, you know, when you're young and you can get away with it." the dewgong gushed, buying into his story easily. He hadn't been lying, but he wasn't exactly forthcoming about traveling specifically to beat up new pokemon. Or that his 'work' comprised mostly of being a henchman to another, bigger outlaw. "How about you, dear? Are you two traveling together?" Talis turned to the growlithe while Goro's eyes boggled at the implication. As if.

Opal nodded and stood nearby so she could heat something up when it was needed. She looked at the teapot and cups. How pretty they were, she thought. It wasn't a sight the growlithe expected to see all the way out here. Perhaps these dewgongs were civilised after all. She was certainly starting to relax around them at long last.

"Hm?" Talis' question to her and the croagunk brought Opal's attention away from the tea set. She was surprised to see the frog just sit down. It was freezing cold, and he'd just exposed more of his surface area to the snow! Well, they had been on their feet for a fair while, so maybe he wasn't being totally stupid. If his sitting down didn't earn him a strange look from the fire type, the answer he came up with for the question certainly did. Of course it would, because she knew the truth. She wasn't about to ruin the atmosphere by calling him out, though. He wasn't even lying, technically.

Soon it was Opal being addressed. She was appalled at the idea of her voluntarily choosing to travel with Goro, and it showed on her face. "Heck no! He's just some annoying frog I ran into here who won't leave me alone! He's good in a fight, at least..."

"Goodness! That's... at least you're not... alone?" Talis drew back at Opal's response, clearly not sure what to make of the two of them now. Her response almost sounded like a question toward the end, confusion visible on her face. "Safety in numbers and all that, yes, that's... nice." She looked between Goro and the growlithe, as if she was just now noticing the somewhat tense atmosphere between them. He shrugged at the look she gave him, gesturing to the fire-type as if it was obvious why he was following her around.

Judging from the snow and ice all around them, it kind of was. His expression was entirely shameless and even a little bit amused. To hell with what she had to say, she was useful in this environment, and he wasn't built for the cold. Plus it kept him from getting too bored. Picking in the growlithe was becoming increasingly interesting now that she was biting back.

Talis surged forward out of the spring a tad so that her top half was resting out of the water, following the rest of them who were slowly congregating around the tea. "It can get pretty dangerous for your type around here, now that I think about it. As many water-types as there are ice-types, really," Her tone was almost soothing, like she was trying to paint the picture in front of her in a better light. Goro wasn't quite sure if he was offended or not by the implication. He settled for frowning and crossing his arms where he was sat, waiting for his tea impatiently. "I'm sure he'll come in handy if he hasn't already."

"Opal, was it? Can you breathe a little fire right under here?" The second dewgong had elevated the teapot above a small pile of tinder. He gestured to the spot he wanted the flame, a mild smile on his face. "Should take right off. That'll be enough to bring us to a boil."

"He kind of has," Opal grumbled, not too pleased about it but unable to deny the frog's usefulness, "That's why I'm putting up with him."

When she was asked to light a flame, the growlithe was only too happy to oblige. It got her out of talking about the croagunk, and it meant they would have their tea sooner. Opal breathed a small puff of flame at the pile of tinder, not even a proper Ember, and the teapot was heating up in no time. She smiled at the dewgong. "I'm glad I could help. It'll make the tea a bit nicer, don't you think?"

"Yeah, thanks," Daldo, replied earnestly. "Cold tea's the worst, if you ask me. Can't go wrong with a hot cup. Tastes great, warms you up, and it's invigorating, to boot." Now with a small flame burning underneath his pot, the dewgong seemed a bit chipper, like his day had just been made. In contrast, Goro's frown deepened, and he lowered his head to stare at the fire underneath the teapot. "A real stroke of luck y'all stopped by, really. Can't stand cold tea."

I can tell, thought Goro. He wasn't much of a conversationalist in the first place, especially when the conversation consisted of more than two people. If he wasn't so cold, wasn't waiting on a cup of freaking tea, he'd have already made tracks out of this place. Onto the next area, the next challenge, the next lesson. But he was learning the hard way that not every place in the world was made for him. He shivered absently, trying to focus on the fire beneath the teapot.

The other dewgong, Talis, had shuffled closer to the stone table at the sound of a high whine from the pot. It took longer than a moment for Goro to realize that it was boiling. Shortly and precisely, the dewgong poured out four steaming hot cups and nudged them all to their designated drinkers with her horn. He waited to see how the two water-types handled theirs first before trying his; they both sipped delicately from their cups, making little pleased sounds after.

He mimicked them, gingerly raising the cup to sample it. The first thing he noticed was that it was hot. For a split-second, he almost thought he burned his tongue, but a moment later it lessened, the warmth spreading throughout his body as he drank. It was a very nice feeling, and he croaked pleasantly at the sensation before going silent for a few moments.

"So what's the fastest way out of this place?" Goro realized a few instants too late that his question might have been rude. Hastily, he tried to elaborate. "Tea's nice and all, but it's cold out here. Think I've seen just about everything there is to see, too."

Tanis tiltled her head to the side for a moment, as if she was imagining the path out. "Mmm... well, about twenty minutes that way," she nodded in a particular direction behind Goro that he was sure to commit to memory, "and you'll come out on the south side of the forest. Keep going in that direction for a long time, and you'll end up someplace north of Rainfront, I reckon."

The croagunk nodded slowly, sure of his next destination, before taking another sip of tea. It was pretty good.

"I can see why you'd want hot tea in a place like this," Opal agreed. The whining of the teapot startled her for a moment, but it didn't take long for her to realise that the tea inside was boiling. She waited eagerly as Talis poured the tea into four cups and gave one to each of them. The growlithe had never had tea before, and it would be great to warm up a little!

Opal looked at the others holding their tea, then back to her own cup. She couldn't grasp it in the same way they could, so she would have to lap it up with her tongue. The pup stuck her tongue in to test, taken aback by the hot water at first, but quickly began drinking. Being a fire type, heat didn't bother her as much as most other pokemon. On the flipside, it made cold places like this more difficult to traverse.

The directions from Talis were heard by Opal, and she gave a nod of approval. She had come from the south. The news about rainfront was a nice discovery, though. The growlithe had started her journey from a different place and was pleased to learn of a shorter route.