Crunchy Leaves

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Kestro looked back and forth as he approached yet another forest. It wasn't Shadowhue, no it was much too bright for that. It wasn't Pecha, this forest looked like it never got the memo about seasons and simply stuck with the colorful Autumn. The Cranidos silently looked over the trees, thinking on his situation.

Kestro was lost. He knew where he must be; Pokemon in Grassveil had spoken about Fallen Leaf Copse before. Rumors aboud about special treasures having been found here. He pondered. He could try to explore the foreign forest. A quick escape was always available for him through using an Escape Orb. Or he could simply turn back now. If what he'd heard was right, Grassveil should be eastward of here.

It was a difficult decision. Kestro hated to admit it, but he knew he was still comparatively weak and inexperienced to most Pokemon he had met. How many times now has he been nearly knocked out or cocky before a companion had to reign him back or rescue him? He'd have to be more cautious, which was difficult for such a proud and head strong Pokemon. So he stood there, watching the leaves fall.

Kestro frowned a bit at being ignored by the fairy type. She was clearly more focused on her successful prank on the Mothim. It seemed the calmness that just himself and the Mothim had was gone for now, if not for the rest of the day. As Russell began to berate Alki, Kestro simply laid there. He had little to add to Russell's words, and while the Mothim might have felt he was too harsh, Kestro disagreed. A dungeon was dangerous, and playing pranks can easily get someone in trouble. So again Kestro's mind shifted to the question of where Alki's sister was. He'd assume she'd stick to Alki like glue, and probably discourage her from doing such a dangerous stunt.

Then a rush of white just within his peripheral vision drew Kestro's attention. An Absol was makong its way across the lake. This time Kestro stood up. He didn't feel like getting spoomed as Russell did, and was glad he caught sight of the larger Pokemon before it turned to approach them directly. Upon arrival, though, the Absol addressed Russell directly, amd Kestro soon began to relax again. If this Pokemon knew Russell, surely it'd be as peaceful as the bug type.

Alki's ears curved downwards gently as the Mothim began to speak to her, and in a rather serious and frustrated tone. The thrill of her success wearing off by now. She could see how flushed and embarrassed she'd made him. Her mouth curved downwards as she looked around at her surroundings. She'd met this Cranidos before. Kestro, was it? She managed a small smile directed towards him that quickly turned back into her default, unhappy facial expression. An Absol approached the group, and said something she didn't quite catch to the Absol. This only made the balloon Pokemon shrink back more, as if attempting to escape his reprimands.

Still, she hadn't completely given up on her excitement, and in a small voice, even attempted to justify it. "I mean, it's not like anyone got hurt... She said softly, visibly regretful. She meant to add more to her justification, but anything else that might have come out died on her lips.

Seating himself down next to his boss, Deimos quietly nodded in agreement with Russel's little outburst. It was indeed true that not all natives were as peaceful in nature as the Mothim and as of such it wasn't illogical that a grumpy native or one with strong territorial instincts could have lashed out in response. Even though civil individuals lived within the Copse, it was undeniable in every sense that the quartet were still within a mystery dungeon.

Upon seeing how the prankster recoiled back however, he gave a soft nod. Pranks and the like can be good to help cheer people up, undoubtedly so. Nevertheless a Dungeon was quite clearly least suited to such activity, due to the potential of aggressive natives retaliating. Even if no one got hurt, making so much noise could lead curious and territorial natives to the group. Just because ones actions didn't hurt someone directly doesn't render the possibility impossible.

"It's indeed true that no one directly got harmed. Russel's heart doesn't seem weak enough for a little prank to affect it too negatively." Deimos spoke up with a small nod, before rising from his seated position, pulling along his sack as he moved forwards. He wanted to get a better look at the prankster. "However, please remember that this is indeed a dungeon. Just because an act doesn't cause direct harm doesn't mean that it can't move events in a direction that could indeed cause harm. For example, i only arrived after your prank. Imagine if i was a territorial native that had been alerted by your prank and proceeded to attack. I'm not saying you can't prank people, but please restrain yourself in dungeons."

Russell nodded in agreement with the Absol's words. He couldn't have put it better himself. The Jigglypuff had scared him, yes, but he hadn't even been the only Pokemon around at the time. It seemed the youngster hadn't even considered the idea that it could end up her versus two strangers if her prank didn't pan out.

The Mothim kept that part of his thoughts to himself though, figuring that the poor Jigglypuff had heard enough lecturing from strangers as he could clearly see regret written across her face.
"Well, as long as you've learned your lesson to keep the pranks in Grassveil Town, then I suppose it's fine." he resolved. The quiet peace had been shattered by the other's actions, but there was no need to make her feel unwelcome now that it was established no one was going to hurt anyone else.

"What brings you to Fallen Leaf Copse?" he asked lightly, figuring that a prank in itself couldn't have been the entire reason.

Kestro himself laid back down, arms tucked underneath him as he began to relax once more. Now that the lecturing was over, the peace from before seemed to start returning. He gave the Absol a light nod in hello and acknowledgement. Russel and he could continue their conversation later, seeing as how they no longer had the luxury of being the only two having one.

Still, he himself couldn't help but wonder about Alki's presence in the copse. Back when he first met her, she tended to stick close to Darcy, her Skitty sister. His mind wandered a bit, were they actually sisters or was it just how they viewed each other? He couldn't remember if it ever came up. Darcy did most of the talking for them, so he didn't quite get Alki's view on the whole matter. Maybe this is just how Alki acted when not around Darcy? Kestro's mind continued to wander on the topic, with the rock type losing focus on the conversation in front of him as well as his surroundings.

Alki sat silently amidst her thoughts as she got lectured by the Absol and by the Mothim. Her mouth curled into a frown as her eyes focused on the blades of grass between them. She just thought it'd be fun! Didn't people like that? Apparently not... The forest around her was bright and colorful, and while she had entered it with a similar mood, it didn't seem as though it would persist long going forward. For a few seconds after the duo had ceased speaking, Alki remained silent, listening to the wind move between the leaves of the trees. It sounded nice.

Everything they said made sense... It was dangerous to do what she'd just done. And she could've been hurt... She probably deserved that, considering how dumb it had been... Alki's ears curved downwards as she fell backwards onto her back. The frown on her face deepened, and her eyes began to shimmer with wetness before a rapid series of blinking washed them away. Still, she gave no indication of having understood their lecture, instead opting to respond to the Mothim's later question in a mildly shaky voice. "I-It's pretty..."

Deimos began to relax after delivering his own little lecture, wanting to get away from arguing and fighting for the time being. He didn't come home to argue or start fights after all, he just wanted to relax in the fancy tree house library, was that too much to ask nowadays?  

With a soft sigh, Deimos seated himself once more, directing a curt nod towards the Pokemon that Russel so seemed to have been talking with prior. As far the Absol knew, whoever it was hadn't signed up so far, leaving him with the assumption it must have been someone out on an adventure of their own. Those were always fun.

With a small nod, Deimos couldn't disagree with the little prankster's verdict, out of all the forest's he knew, Fallen was the one he appreciated the most in regards to both looks and utility. Being able to live so close to the shrine was most certainly convenient. Throw on top of that the reality that the dungeon seemed abnormally stable in regards to the notorious habit of dungeons changing themselves, it was a perfect home. He couldn't think of a better dungeon for the library, purely due to the reality that it never moved, as would be the risk elsewhere.

"It always is. It's like this all year round from what i've seen and it's fairly stable as well, rendering it quite an easy place to live in. All things considered that's probably why boss decided on us living here to begin with. I'm sure if you asked politely He'd be happy to show you around" Deimos spoke with a soft chuckle. Come on boss, let's fix this bridge before it burns down entirely.

Russell smiled lightly at Alki's response, hoping that it would help ease the tension that had seeped into the conversation after the Jigglypuff had been lectured. He too thought that Fallen Leaf Copse was pretty, it was one of the many reasons why he'd chosen this place to set up the library after all.

The Mothim nodded eagerly at Deimos's words, agreeing with his astute judgements and the offer to show the Jigglypuff around. "Fallen Leaf Copse it a truly beautiful place. If you'd like to look around we could definitely accompany you! My name is Russell, by the way. Could I ask your name?"

Russell glanced over to the Cranidos still lay nearby, "Ah! If you would also like to come along, you are welcome," he smiled.

Kestro stared out into the forest as the trio continued their short conversation. Something about the forest being pretty? The Cranidos paid little attention now, especially when a small black shape caught his eye. It floated between the trees, disappearing and reappearing as leaves fell past Kestro's vision. As if sensing the Cranidos, the shape stopped and turned towards Kestro. He didn't recognize the creature, it appearing as a stump with a black shadow coming out of both ends. The small creature waved at Kestro, beckoning him to enter the forest.

Just then, Russel welcomed Kestro onto guiding them through the forest. Kestro blinked, looking towards the Mothim for a moment, then looking back to the forest. The strange Pokemon had disappeared, and Kestro was silent for a moment. "Sure... Yeah that sounds good," he answered, the Cranidos lifting himself off the ground. "Lead the way."

The girl continued to lie on the floor, staring up at the rather pretty leaves and the sky beyond them. Both of the Pokemon who had been lecturing her appeared to be in rather high spirits, and the jigglypuff started to feel like maybe she was acting like nothing less than a big baby. Alki picked up the leaves and threw them all over, trying to convince herself to get up and start acting with a bit of respect towards these two. The Absol had said that they lived here. They probably just wanted to relax, not deal with a big, round, cry-baby.

The Jigglypuff sat up, her eyes focused downwards, flickering between the sight of her feet and the leaves on the ground. Not that she was particularly interested in either object. She simply didn't want to make eye contact with anyone after such an embarrassing first impression. Still looking down, the girl's ears bounced as she nodded, before introducing herself in turn. "I-It's nice to meet you... M-My name's Alki..." She said, before falling silent. Looking around a forest might be nice... She wasn't lying, it was really pretty... but she didn't know if these three Pokemon would want to deal with her for however long this would take... After a good while of consideration, (And no indication Alki had even heard the question) she finally nodded softly again. "I-I think that would be nice..."

With the eager approval of his plan by the Boss, Deimos jumped to his feet without a moments hesitation, being rather happy to show the home he'd grown to love to some new people. Even if Russel didn't feel like showing them the library places like the charging shrine were quite interesting to look at. Having heard there was a great mystery that led to the shrine's power being revealed he couldn't deny that he wanted to experience something like that in his lifetime. "Should we show them the library? It is supposed to be public now after all" Deimos questioned the Mothim with a soft chuckle.

Windrose lacked the numbers and general exposure that the Guild's possessed, an undeniable fact for an independent group that for a time existed as mostly a secret and relied upon rare encounters with Russel for exposure. Taking away some of the load from Russel's shoulders and getting people aware of the library would solve both issues, or so the Second reckoned. The more people that see it, the more it's name could be spread from person to person. One Pokemon at a time, Deimos was Determined to get the name 'Windrose' better known in the world. Especially so considering their lack of aquatic explorers. Russel could view the skies, Deimos could trek across the earth but neither of them could explore the domain below the waves. That had to be fixed!

Russell was glad that the Jigglypuff had agreed. Alki, as they'd inroduced themselves as, seemed to like the idea at the very least. And the Cranidos he'd been conversing with previously had decided to join them as well.

"I think that would be a great idea!" Russell grinned at Deimos's suggestion. The Windrose Library was his pride and joy after all and with them deciding to allow it to be opened to everyone, there was no particular reason for him not to show it off. Perhaps if these two were travellers, they might find some use out of the information on the ground floor. Or even perhaps volunteer to add to it with information from their own travels!

"We can always pass by the shrine on the way and show that at the same time," he continued before pausing and turning to the Cranidos once again. "Oh, also. Could I ask your name as well?" he asked, realising that he didn't know it. It seemed a little weird to be agreeing to tour the area together when they didn't all know each other by name after all.

ooc//:

Kestro tilted his head slightly as the Absol mentioned a library, and then the Mothim mentioning a shrine. A string of curiosity flew through Kestro's mind as he stretched his legs. Were these two part of some religion? Or maybe like the explorers at the guild? He didn't have much time to think on it as Russel asked for his name. The Cranidos blinked as he realized he never introduced himself.

"Oh, my name's Kestro. Sorry about not introducing myself," he apologized, dipping his head quickly to the mothim. He silently berated himself for what he thought as him being rude. Looking back on it, the Cranidos realized he never so much as attempted to introduce himself to Russel. He'd just rudely asked what the bug type was doing then started up a conversation.

He turned to face the Absol, "Ah, and nice to meet you as well, um..." He paused, trying to remember if the Absol already said his name or not. Kestro worried that while he wasn't paying attention the Absol introduced himself. "Sorry, but I think I may have missed your name... I got a bit distracted during the conversation..." the rock type admitted. It tore at his pride, but admitting his rudeness felt like the better option to lying.

Energy: 16

Dracorexion carried out 3 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

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A library? Alki nodded along again, all the while internally bemoaning her own stupidity. What was she going to do in a library? She couldn't even read! She should probably just leave, but both the Absol, and Russell seemed so thrilled with the idea, that she couldn't seem to will herself to excuse herself from this arrangement. She was a bit curious... But libraries mostly had books, right? If she couldn't read, she'd just be wasting her time, and theirs but... It's not like there was anything else for her to do out here? And she didn't want to upset them...

"A library sounds good..." Alki said, sitting up once more as she looked in turn to each of the three pokemon. All of them seemed so much larger than her, and felt so much smarter than her... The Absol and the Mothim owned a library! Didn't you practically have to be a genius for something like that? She bit her lip as the three spoke, but soon after the Cranidos asked for the absol's name, Alki resolved to ask her own question now.

"Are t-there b-books w-with p-pictures...? I like pictures... " She asked quietly, unsure of who exactly to address the question to, instead preferring to address it to all three. It was true! She enjoyed picture books... Even if they had words beside them, words she couldn't read, they often felt like she could understand enough of the story through pictures to still enjoy them. And they didn't know she couldn't read if she asked it like that, either!

Maybe one day, she'd draw good pictures like that too...? Alki closed her eyes, waiting for the trio to move on, so she could follow them. Picture books or no, she'd already resolved to accompany them...

Deimos grinned towards Russel, pleased with how both parties had agreed to come and see their home. Though he couldn't take as much pride in the library as the Boss could, it was still his home regardless. Being able to relax and show people around would be nice regardless. "First floor of the library's the only public floor at the moment as a heads up. The Library is our groups home. Wouldn't want to accidentally walk in on someone sleeping" Deimos spoke as he stretched somewhat. Time for a nice walk.

"Books with pictures? I'm fairly certain we have a few and even if we don't, Russel's an avid drawer. I'm certain he of all people would some prior work still in storage" He answered after picking up on the Jigglypuff's question, though quiet. Nerves perhaps? Even if Russel was quite easy to approach and talk to the Absol didn't have such a good track record. Scaring people just by existing was a bad habit from the past that needed to be completely stamped out. He couldn't afford to scare people off and be a loner anymore. Russel had entrusted him with a role of importance, One that the Absol was determined to fill to the best of his abilities.

"As for the shrine... Oh... Right, names. Sorry. The name's Deimos. I work for Russel. If he needs any extra muscle for an investigation or for someone to help manage the library, that's my job. Nice to meet you, Kestro." Deimos replies as he turned to face Kestro, bowing his head respectfully. It was true that the Absol had completely forgotten to introduce himself. The whole situation with the Jigglypuff did wind up distracting him from it. Hopefully no harm done.