Pals and Pancakes

"So... Where is this stall you were talking about, Alki?" The Skitty stumbled through the crowd, nervous to bump into anyone, or brush against anyone... She sighed as she padded along, doing her best to follow her smaller sister. Going through Town Square was always nerve-wracking, with so many people. She always tried to take a detour through it, except this time, the place Alki wanted to go to was in the Town Square. So what option did that leave Darcy? She was just happy that her sister wanted to spend time with her. Maybe this meant she felt better?

"A-Ah, it's... somewhere." She said, her voice barely audible over the din of the various conversations. Darcy looked around, quite lost. She barely ever went here, and she couldn't remember a pancake stand of any kind... was it new? Or had she just never noticed it? "Oh!" She said, before bounding off in some undetermined direction.

"Hey!" Darcy cried out, before running off towards her sister. She wished she didn't run off so much on her own... What if she got lost? Thankfully, she found the jigglypuff some distance away, already at a seat. A Vulpix was seating beside her. "Is this it?"

"Yep!" Alki said, before turning to the Vulpix beside her. "H-Hi, Synd'r! Is M-Mille here?" She seemed quite excited to be here, and after so much, Darcy was simply relieved that the Jigglypuff seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Synd'r?" The Skitty asked, sitting to the left of the Jigglypuff. She'd mentioned a Vulpix a couple of times to her. She supposed this must be her! "So... You're Alki's friend, huh? She's mentioned you a couple times. It's nice to meet you!" The Skitty said, smiling widely as she faced the Vulpix. She seemed quite nice, and Synd'r was a rather pretty (And fitting) name. She seemed to be wearing a few grey-ish feathers on one ear, and a red feather on the other. "I like your feathers, by the way!" She said, politely gesturing with her paw towards the Vulpix's head. They really were pretty! Come to think of it, didn't Alki have one like it as well? Perhaps it had been a gift!

Synd’r padded gently through Grassveil Town Square, vaguely acknowledging the crowds of Pokemon going about their day. It was busy, but that was to be expected around midday in such a bustling location as Grassveil Town with all it’s vendors and shops. Anyone looking on might mistake Synd’r for being at ease within the crowds, but the Vulpix couldn’t exactly say that was true when a crowd was such an easy to hide in for both ally and enemy. That said, she wasn’t up to anything suspicious that an enemy might disturb her for; not this time anyway. In fact her destination was as mundane as anyone else’s in the square.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t fair to call Mille’s pancake stall mundane when to Synd’r it felt like anything but.


Mille was behind her stall, speedily cooking perfect pancakes to order for each customer as they came up to her stall. There was a small queue at that precise moment, her customers aiming to get some food for the midday lunch period. It was always busier around this time of day but Mille wasn’t the type to complain about extra customers. The more pokemon who visited her stall, the more customers were able to try her food! And the more customers she served, the closer she was to her dream of opening a café of her own!

Mille hummed as she plated up the latest order, her cheerful tune halting briefly as she caught sight of a certain regular customer wandering over to her stall. Giving the vulpix a quick wave, she watched as Synd’r returned a small smile and a nod before settling into a seat nearby to wait out the crowd.

Synd’r always seemed to have time to spare. At least in Mille’s experience, the vulpix had never been in a hurry and always moved with a certain grace. Even the lunch time bustle of Grassveil Town Square wasn’t enough to shake that almost refined air she seemed to give off.

Shaking her head with a fond smile, the fennekin turned her attention back to her customers, speaking brightly.

“What would you like?”

As Synd’r waited patiently on the tree stump style seat for the lunch rush to end, her thoughts wandering. A short period of time later, she was eased from her mind by a familiar voice. Synd’r turned to Alki with a small smile and a nod as the Jigglypuff sat down next to her. She hadn’t expected her presence, but it was not unwelcome.

“She was just dealing with the lunch rush,” Synd’r answered Alki concisely, motioning to the stall front with a gentle nod of her head, noting that only two more customers waited in line

As the unfamiliar Skitty repeated her name, Synd’r tilted her head in curiosity. Alki spoke of her to this pokemon? That must mean that she trusted the skitty. Or at least, felt no qualms sharing personal stories with them. Perhaps this was the Darcy that Alki sometimes spoke of?

Synd’r couldn’t help the small smile that graced her features at the compliment that the stranger gave her. She wasn’t exactly one to preen every time someone flattered her, but the feathers she wore were a special case. After all, they were her mementos of her old family, and proof that she belonged with her new one.

“Thank you,” she replied politely, “You must be Darcy? I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well.”

Alki sat between the two older Pokemon, smiling like a dope. She waved her feet back and forth between her, as she stole not-so-subtle glances towards her two friends. She'd been waiting for them to meet forever! She'd spoken so much about them, and now that they had both finally encountered each other, the jigglypuff couldn't wait for them to start talking! She nodded absently at the Vulpix's answer, and muttered a quiet Thank you, , before her own thoughts began to consume her once more.

She really hoped that they would hit it off... They were both such nice mons! Of course, their chosen professions were... well, not very compatible, to say the least. Alki's ears flattened slightly at the thought, doubt beginning to creep in about how good this would end up going. The girl twitched uncomfortably in her seat, but the Vulpix seemed to be in a rather good mood.

I am pleased to make your acquaintance, She said, and Alki's ears perked up once again, and a small, hopeful smile returned to her face. They seemed to be getting on rather amicable terms. The girl stood up and glanced towards the pancake stall. She was kinda hungry, and maybe they'd interact better if she wasn't there...

Besides, she could get food for all three of them!

""H-Hey you two... I-I'm-a be right back! Alki said, her voice sounding far more cheery than it usually did. She eyed the queue uncomfortably, noting that there was still a small line. But there were more people coming! At least, it seemed that way, and if they were, then she'd have to wait more...

"Alright," Darcy responded, smiling warmly at her little sister. "Do you have-" She began to ask, but before she could finish her question, the jigglypuff had teleported in line, much to the annoyance of two other customers in the queue. Not that the jigglypuff noticed.

Darcy sighed, although she kept her smile, her ears flattening as subtle blush marks began to appear on her cheeks. Her tail began to flicker about lazily, and she placed one paw above the other. So Alki had spoken about her to this Synd'r? Not that she minded! She wondered what Alki had said about her...

"Ah, she really needs to be a bit more patient," Darcy said, laughing softly. "Anyways, I'm curious! How did you meet Alki?" The Skitty asked, cocking her head slightly. It was only fair she share a bit about their relationship as well. "She's my sister, you know. I don't know if she's told you. I guess she's adopted, in a sense, but before she met me... well, she said she didn't really have any family. We're teammates, too! At the guild. She's..." Darcy glanced at the jigglypuff in question, smiling warmly at the sight of her. She seemed happy for once too, still smiling, and taking glances every now and then at her two friends. Darcy was happy they'd come here. "She's a really sweet kid." She finally said, feeling embarrassed to have talked so much, all of a sudden like that. She lay down, resting her head on her forelegs. "Sorry to rant, by the way. I'm just... Well... I worry about her, sometimes." The Skitty said, after another pause. Her tail flickered, and she felt a warmth in her cheeks at having talked for so long. But... she hadn't said everything she wanted to say yet! "Thank you for being her friend, by the way." She said, in a quieter voice. "She's been going through a rough time, I think, and... well, the way she speaks about you, I think she's really fond of you, y'know. I appreciate you looking out for her, too...

Synd'r chuckled lighly as Alki sped off as quickly as she had arrived. She watched amused as the skitty's ears flattened briefly at Alki's antics. Was she embarassed by her adopted sister? It seemed like it was a sort of fond embarassment. Cute.

"Patience is indeed a virtue, but one can afford to be lenient in a place as safe as Grassveil Town," she reasoned. Synd'r was the first to be strict with Alki within a dungeon or during a heist, but she had no qualms otherwise. It was - dare she admit it - fun to see Alki, and the young jigglypuff seemed to be in an especially cheerful mood today.

As Darcy continued to speak, Synd'r found herself curious to hear about Alki's relationship with Darcy from Darcy's perspective. She'd heard various things from Alki herself of course, but it was interesting to get the other side of the story, so to speak. Darcy definitely seemed to share the fondness for Alki that Alki held for Darcy, and it made Synd'r a little nostalgic to hear her worrying over the youngster, as she had been worried over by the older members of the Black Quill Thieves.

Patiently, Synd'r waited for Darcy to find her words, not wanting to interrupt when it seemed as if the skitty had more to say. The quiet thanks that followed made Synd'r pause. She knew that she had a soft spot for Alki but to hear that Alki really was fond of her as well...

Synd'r glanced over to the line of customers, casting her gaze to Alki just as she reached the front of the queue. It was just a moment, a joyful greeting from Mille as it became Alki's turn to order, but seeing the two interact brought a certain warmth to her. She turned back to Darcy with a small smile, "There's no need to thank me when I appreciate her company just as much."

Quickly averting her gaze from Darcy's own, Synd'r glanced to the sky, feeling a slight heat in her cheeks. She was never normally this candid. Perhaps Alki's cheerful mood was more infectious than she'd thought.

"-returning to your previous question," Synd'r quickly hurried the topic along, not wanting to leave the focus of the conversation on her rather sentimental statement, "I met Alki in Icicle Woods. She snuck up on me and gave me quite the fright," she explained succinctly. Casting her mind back, she remembered how surprised she'd been to be caught off guard. Alki had been an igglybuff back then too.


Having served the two customers ahead in the queue, Mille finally greeted Alki with a broad smile as she reached the front. "Hi Alki! I haven't seen you for a little while! How are you? Oh, and what would you like to order?"

Alki tapped her foot lightly as she waited for the people in front of her to go through their orders. She couldn't fault them for taking their time, of course! She'd probably do the same... She could never decide on what she wanted. Not in a timely manner, anyways. And while all of Mille's food was good, she wasn't really sure what was the good-est, and that's exactly what she wanted! She wanted to order something good for all of them to enjoy, but she wasn't sure what was the best one... And while she was pretty sure there was a menu she could lookat, it's not like it'd do her much good...

Gosh, she wished she were smarter... One of the pokemon seemed to have been attended, they were walking away with a small, satisfied smile... And she couldn't help but wonder how Mille was so good at this. Her food was incredible, and she'd never once failed to make Alki feel happy, or at least better... Was it like an ability...? Her ears twitched as she found herself giving the matter some thought. Both of those things seemed quite far out of her grasp... It was a miracle as many people enjoyed her company as-is...

The next person was attended to... Oh gosh. That it meant it was her turn, wasn't it? Alki walked up to the stand nervously, tapping her hands together as her eyes greeted the Fennekin. She was smiling quite widely, and would've been much more  bubbly had there not been immediate pressure to order something, and to order something good... But she was still more than happy to see somebody who had been so kind to her! She smiled sheepishly as she giggled, closing her eyes as one ear bent down, before popping back up. "Aheh... H-Hullo, M-Mille!" She responded, just as happy to see Mille as she felt he was to see Alki. Of course, it was harder for her to show it, but... She hoped Mille didn't feel as though she was being rude... "I-I've, um... I-It's been a w-while! I-I'm really happy to see y-you, a-and, um..." How was she doing? Well... Was she doing well? She actually kind of felt like she was, for once... "I-I'm pretty o-ok, actually! ...I h-hope you are too..." She said, laughing softly as she finished... She glanced nervously behind her, uddenly feeling a bit worried... She still didn't know what she wanted to order, and there was a few people behind her...

"W-W-Well, y-you see, M-Mille, I..." Can't read...? She didn't want to admit that yet... Although what other excuse was there...? There was a menu, right...? But she couldn't use it... "Um, d-don't know, w-what to order, s-so... I was wondering if you c-could... um, help me? F-Figure it out, I-I mean, m-my sister's here, a-and Synd'r, a-and I wanted to order something really g-good for both of 'em..."

~

"Yeah, Grassveil is definitely a really safe place..." Darcy said absently, ears folding as she thought about what to say. "I'm really happy she found her way here... She told me she grew up in Pecha Forest, and even if people do treat that place like a joke sometimes, it's still a dungeon, and... I don't think she has many pleasant memories from her time there." She bit her lip, beginning to wonder if it was really her place to reveal all of this. She didn't know what Alki had told Synd'r, really, and while she had no reason to be cautious on what to say, Alki was... much more shy about this kind of thing than usual. Had she told her...? Maybe, judging by how close they seemed, but still...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Vulpix's second statement, and the two Pokemon's eyes met as they exchanged small smiles. That was... A very sweet thing to say, actually, and Darcy filed it into the back of her mind for use if her sister was feeling down on herself in the future... She always thought of herself as a burden, but this was proof that Darcy wasn't the only person who didn't see her that way... She watched as Synd'r turned to the cloudy sky, as the Vulpix began to blush, and while she chose not to say anything, she felt a sudden, renewed burst of joy. Why point it out when the Vulpix clearly didn't want to acknowledge it, but... Well, it was obvious that Synd'r cared for her sister. That fact alone was enough to bring Darcy comfort...

"Y-Y'know, I think she'd be happy to hear that..." Darcy said, blushing as she, too, looked away. She didn't want to look at the Vulpix, just because... Well, she'd looked away first, and she knew that there were some Pokemon who didn't like it when others noticed stuff like blushing, or just... emotion in general. Not to say they weren't nice! Just... more reserved, maybe... A bit more shy? Synd'r was nice... Honestly, she worried a lot every time she'd found her sister had gone out wtih friends, but if this was the kind of friend she was hanging out with, what cause was there to worry!

"A-Ah.... She snuck up on you, huh...? She's like that... She's... really quiet. I mean, the way she talks, but just... in general too. She's definitely snuck up on me quite a few times, and once she..." Stole? That was a harsh word! "Aheh, took some extra cookies from this... Um, jar, I guess, in a cooking cabinet or something at the guild. She wanted me to have extras, you see... She's gonna get into trouble one day!" Darcy finished, laughing heartily as she stood up once more. She didn't really want to do anything, but just sitting down was boring! Without really thinking about it, the Skitty began to absently chase her own tail as she spoke.

"Have you been to this place before...? Alki told me it was really good, but I... Um, well, to be completely honest. I-I've never had pancakes. I... I've mostly had cookies. As far as deserts go. And there's a good noodle shop in Grassveil too! I... don't really know what a pancake is. Darcy stopped her tail chasing and cocked her head in thought. What was a pancake? "They're like softer cookies, right?" Darcy asked genuinely, sitting down once again as she looked at Synd'r.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Mille knew from her classes that Alki could often be quite down, so it was nice to see her cheerful, if a little nervous. "I'm fine myself. Thank you for asking! The lunch rush is always busy, but it's fun to cook for everyone so I don't mind."

Mille hummed lightly at Alki's question, glancing upwards with a paw on her chin, "Well, if it's Synd'r we're talking about, then you can't go wrong with pecha sauce pancakes." Mille grinned as she looked back to Alki, "Or if you want to pick something different to usual, I've been trialling a watmel sauce that's quite sweet. She always orders the sweeter things from my menu, so i'm sure she'll enjoy either one of those!" Truthfully, Mille had actually acquired the watmel berries specifically with Synd'r in mind, so she hoped that the vulpix would be able to try it at some point. Watmel berries didn't have the same pure sweetness that pecha berries did, but cooked into a sauce they had more of a delicate, fresh flavour.

Unlike with Synd'r, Mille had never had the pleasure of serving Darcy at her stall before to learn of her preferences, so she would have to work from scratch as she did her other new customers. "As for your sister, what sort of foods does she like? If she has a specific type of berry she prefers I can always use those in the pancake batter or as a topping for her." Mille found herself mentally flicking through her recipes and topping choices as she reeled off a few options, "Oran and sitrus sauces are good crowd pleasers due to how well rounded their flavours are, but sitrus berries are a little more sweet. There's also cheri berries if she's more of a fan of spicy things, or you could have plain pancakes with honey or cream if she'd prefer not having berries altogether!"


Synd'r had not heard much about Alki's time living in Pecha Forest, but the fact that she held no good memories of her time there did not come as a surprise to her. It was often clear from Alki's actions that there was a hesitancy born of a need to be 'good enough' for others. Synd'r wondered if this was tied to her unpleasant childhood. Nevertheless, it was not her place to pry. And certainly not to Alki's sister rather than asking the jigglypuff herself.

As Darcy recounted the story of Alki stealing cookies from the guild, Synd'r couldn't help the tiny smile that graced her features. She wouldn't say it out loud in present company of course, but she was sure that Alki could become an exceptional thief with her skills and it was interesting to hear that she had already managed smaller feats that proved it. Darcy was wrong though. As far as Synd'r was concerned, she wasn't going to let anyone from the Phantom Thieves get into any trouble. Not if she could help it. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Synd'r assured the skitty, her amused chuckle accompanying Darcy's hearty laughter.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for Darcy, the conversation didn't dwell on Alki's previous feats of thievery for very long, Darcy instead turning the topic to their current location.

"I come here fairly often," Synd'r replied with a small flick of her tail, "I consider it one of the finer stalls here in the square. Mille is quite skilled in her craft. Pancakes are different from cookies to my knowledge. I believe pancakes are... fluffier?" She paused, hoping to find a better way to describe them. When nothing came to mind, she shook her head, "I'm sure Mille would do a much better job of describing them than I could. I can vouch for their taste though."

Alki tilted her head as she looked at Mille, listening to her words intently. She certainly did seem very busy, but she didn't seem any less happy than she did in class, or just when they met each other by chance... How did she manage it...? A sudden urge to just ask her directly started to come over her, but she thought better of it. There were people waiting, and how did someone even answer that...? Besides, she was still pretty preoccupied with what to order for her friends... Pecha...? Oran? Sitrus? What was a Watmel?

Alki paused silently, a hand to her mouth as she considered her options. If Synd'r always got Pecha sauce, then it wouldn't be too special if she was the one to order it... Watmel might be nice! Something new... And if it was sweet, then it'd be fine for Synd'r! And... Well, she was somewhat curious as to what a Watmel tasted like...

"I-I'll have five! Five of those, uhhh... W-Watmel Pancakes!" Alki said, smiling as she fished in her bag for the money required. How much was it...? Well, she didn't actually know, and she still had Darcy's order to think about...

"A-A-And, uh... D-Darcy likes..." Well, what didn't she like? That'd be a shorter list... But the more she thought of it, Alki couldn't even figure out a single item on that list. "E-Everything...?" Alki paused, and began to blush softly as she locked eyes with Mille. "S-Sorry, t-that's not m-much help... Um... S-She r-really likes cookies, a-and t-those are r-really s-sweet. Um... Are Sitrus b-berries the s-sweetest? C-Can I have five of those t-too?"

~

Darcy smiled as she nodded along, content with the Vulpix's simple answer. For all her worrying, she was certain that Alki would be fine. More than fine, really! Alki was a much better person than she gave herself credit for... Much smarter, too! And she was coming out of her shell for sure. Slowly, but compared to how she'd been as an Igglybuff, the girl was more... confident? Of course, it was awkward to say that, given how she still didn't have a very high opinion of herself, but... her sister had been making progress! And she was certain that it wasn't going to stop any time soon, either...

"Yeah! She'll be fine... I worry too much... Is that bad? Is worrying too much bad? Sometimes I wonder..." She said absently, flicking her tail as she eyed it. It was hard to say... She worried constantly... She didn't want Alki to be sad, or depressed, or... discontent with herself. But what could she do? She wasn't really sure...

"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, a sudden question entering her mind. "Mille! How do you know her...? Just from coming to this stall? Me and Alki met her in a cave once, I think... she was gathering ingredients of some sort...? And now she's Alki's teacher! Can you believe it...?" She said, smiling as she laughed softly. "She's a really nice pokemon!"

Mille grinned widely as Alki selected the watmel pancakes for Synd'r. She really hoped they were the right flavour profile! As for Darcy, if she really did like everything then the slightly sweet but well rounded flavour of sitrus berries sounded like they might go down well. Mille nodded lightly in agreement, "Those sound like good choices! I'll get started on them!"

As Mille continued to speak with Alki, she got began working on the two orders she had already decided. Bringing out the required sitrus and watmel berries, Mille began chopping them swiftly and neatly, using psychic to handle the knife rather than her paws. Her paws did not remain idle though, as she utilised her natural limbs to separate some pancake batter into two batches. "How about yourself?" she asked, glancing briefly to Alki and not missing a beat in her chopping, "Are there any berries or flavours you're particularly interested in?"


Synd'r found herself considering Darcy's question. Was it bad to be too worried for someone? She supposed it could be, if a particular pokemon was inclined to be too overbearing because of their worry. But that said, she believed a healthy dose of caution was necessary in her own line of work. "I don't believe worrying is an inherantly bad thing. It's how you deal with those worries that is good or bad," she ended up replying, satisfied with her own conclusion.

Darcy seemed to get quite excited at the mention of Mille. Had the skitty not realised the stall was owned by the same fennekin she had met? That was interesting. Synd'r had not had the pleasure of encountering Mille outside of Grassveil Town yet, but she couldn't imagine her going anywhere without her trusty pan and knife. Or perhaps Synd'r was entirely wrong. Since she mostly saw Mille here in the town square, running her stall and cooking to her hearts content, Synd'r supposed it was only natural for her to picture her similarly when out and about. Synd'r flicked her tails, glancing upwards. Logically it would make just as much sense for Mille to gather ingredients unencumbered, now that she thought about it. She kind of wanted to know which interpretation was correct. Putting that thought aside, she returned her attention to the conversation at hand.

"Mille is indeed quite friendly," Synd'r agreed with a small smile at Darcy's complement. She'd been drawn to Mille's stall originally because of the smell of good food, but it was Mille's own cheerful demeanor that kept her coming back. The fennekin had been pleasant to talk to where other stall-keepers were sometimes more to the point, just wanting to make their sale. Which she couldn't fault them for, but Mille always managed to go the extra mile in comparison.

Synd'r had never seen Mille down in the dumps when working at her stall, and she'd always wondered if that was because Mille just enjoyed cooking that much, or if she was just a really positive pokemon. She supposed it could be a mixture of both. Either way it was infectious, and Synd'r found that she wanted to experience it more often. In fact, that was the precise reason why she had been waiting here for the lunch crowd to subside; so that Mille might have more than a brief moment to stop and chat. Perhaps it was a little selfish of her to want to take up some of the limited free time that Mille had.

"...and she's quite dedicated as well," Synd'r continued, "I don't know how she finds the time to both run her stall and teach classes. It's quite remarkable."

Alki's eyes were drawn to the knife, that seemed to move all of it's own accord. Was it haunted...? Alki's ears twitched as she tilted her head in curiousity, momentarily forgetting to say anything. It was going fast... and chopping up berries, too! If it were haunted, it'd probably be spookier... It just seemed so... strange. A knife just floating in the air... Why...?

"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, laughing softly in surprise. How had it taken her so long to realize? It was a move. Psychic, probably. Was Mille a psychic type? "T-That's really cool, that you can do that Mille! Are... you a psychic type? I thought you were fire!" She said, laughing a bit louder. Well... She supposed typing didn't really matter, did it? After all, the move she was most proud of was her hidden power, which was dark, but... As far as she was aware, she wasn't a dark type. Unless Darcy was misinformed...? She'd told her that she was a fairy and normal type...

"A-Ah! Sorry, I g-got sidetracked, u-um... t-the knife, I-I mean, um..." She said, jumping up in surprise at how lost she was getting. What had Mille asked? Food for... who? She'd already ordered for her friends, so what was...

Oh. For her. Alki. She still needed food... "Um... m-me...?" What did she like? She hadn't given that matter any thought at all... She was fine with whatever Darcy liked... She was small, so she didn't have to eat that much food... "Um..." She said, tapping her mouth softly, unsure of what to say. Her ears bent forward as she considered, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed at how long just ordering was taking her... Would Mille be annoyed...

Just say something...

"Ch-Cheri...?" Alki said, more a question than a statement. But no... That was ok. She'd never had anything spicy... What did that taste like...? "Um, y-yeah, t-three C-Cheri pancakes f-for me, I think, a-and... Um... T-T-That'll be fine... H-How much m-money d-do you need now, M-Mille...? S-Sorry to take so long..." She mumbled, blushing softly as the smile stayed on her face. It wasn't enough to seriously ruin her mood, but it was a tad embarrassing...

As she turned to her bag, she caught sight of Darcy and Synd'r chatting quite amiably with her sister. Were... Were they friends now? Was that how that worked? Alki giggled, ears perking back up as she closed her eyes for a second, shaking with excitement. It was fine to embarrass herself a bit if it meant that those two would get to know each other! She hadn't been sure, but it seemed to be going well!

Oh! There was a bag of money... How much did she put into each one...? Alki fished out one bag, and placed it on the countertop before her, her smile even wider than before. "O-Ok! T-There's five hundred P-Poke, M-Mille!" She said brightly, pushing it forward towards the Fennekin. That should be enough, right? If she needed more, she had more money...

~

Darcy tilted her head, allowing the Vulpix to speak her mind. That was true... Worrying wasn't a bad thing, but sometimes, she wondered if she was worrying too much... or not enough? She'd been so preoccupied with Darcy, but she had no clue how her siblings were doing back home, or her parents, aside from the letters they wrote... But they were also the type of people to lie about the situation if things were getting worse, for her sake...

Maybe she should go home sometime, see how things were going for herself...? Since her oldest sibling moved to Rainfront, she was the oldest now...

The typically carefree Skitty seemed to have a troubled look come over her as the Vulpix gave her a small piece of wisdom. How you dealt with the worries was what mattered... Was she dealing with her worries alright...?

Darcy cleared her throat, unsure of how to respond, but hoping to drown out her worries with some more conversation. As the topic shifted to Mille, she smiled widely. The Fennekin was very friendly... She'd been nothing but kind to her younger sister, and although Darcy hadn't interacted with her as much as she might like, she'd also been nothing but kind to Darcy as well. Not every Pokemon was like that. And Mille was like that all the time!

And she was very dedicated. A hard worker, a skilled cook, and a good teacher... Mille seemed to have it all! And truth be told, Darcy was none of those things... She couldn't help but admire Mille a bit... "Y-Yeah, she's really incredible... Alki's in her class, and she already knows how to do addition! As far as I know, I think she's trying to learn subtraction now, but... either way. Alki's never been to school before, and she really enjoys Mille's class. I'm just grateful we met her! She's... pretty amazing." Darcy said, smiling at the thought. She was proud of her sister for being such a quick study. She'd see that in herself, right? Addition had been pretty simple for her, and she was making pretty decent progress with subtraction as well... And that was all thanks to Mille! She had no idea how to teach Alki anything, if only because... Well, she wasn't a very good teacher. She had no clue where to start! Darcy wondered, absently, if perhaps they'd start to learn how to read soon as well... Alki had always had trouble with that when Darcy tried to teach her, maybe Mille would have better luck...

"She teachers a Performing Arts class at Peak Academy too, did you know that? I... considered signing up, honestly, b-but... heh, I... wouldn't be much good. I have four front feet, if you know what I mean..." When she'd been younger, she'd been quite an excitable, happy child, and her parents always told her of how often she'd start dancing, as little children do when she was happy. Which was... often. She also distinctly remembered that it often led to quite a bit of toppled furniture and broken decorations...

Darcy began to blush at the memories... Although she did sort of miss those days when that kind of thing were the biggest worries on her mind. "How about you, though...? Would you be interested in any of the classes at Peak? I heard they also have a battling class, as well! I'd rather try to solve things peacefully than with violence, honestly... I don't like battling too much..." She said absently, standing up once more to chase her tail. Alki was taking a while to decide, but she decided that she shouldn't be too worried... Alki always overthought things, for better or for worse. She was with Mille, anyways! And as she came into view behind her tail, she caught sight of the smile on her face...

Everything would be fine! She was quite enjoying this, so far...

Mille grinned as Alki spoke up, fascinated by the floating life. The fennekin had gotten used to it after utilising it for so long, that it didn't occur to her that others might find it weird or interesting. She tappedthe floating knife gently with one paw. "I'm not psychic type no - although I think technically I could evolve into a psychic type if I wanted to. Nah, this is just the move Psychic. I looked into getting a TM to teach it to myself so that I could do things more precisely, since although im good with my paws they're not always flexible enough to be precise."

She smiled lightly and continued her work as Alki thought about what she wanted to order. When the order came, she nodded, halting to quickly bring out the cheri berries needed for this latest order.

Alki handed her to coins, and she took some of it, leaving a little more change than she would normally have for that order. "It's fine, aslong as you get something you're interested in! But yours is on the house just this once," she grinned.

Soon enough after pouring the batter and flipping them to make each set of fluffy pancakes, Mille had three orders ready. Handing two of them down to Alki, Mille spoke up, "Are you alright to carry all of these? You can come back for the third, that's no problem.." she hesitated. She'd have liked to have carried the third one over to the table herself, but with other customers in the line she couldn't keep them waiting.

---

Hearing Darcy's praise for Mille only increased Synd'r's already present positive opinions of the fennekin. It was nice that she got along with Alki as well. Synd'r was quite curious what Mille was like as a teacher. If it wasn't such an odd thing to do, she might have tagged along to one of Alki's classes just to see, but she had no reason to attend the school for the lessons themselves, so refrained.

"I've never really performed myself," Synd'r replied, thinking back as she tried to remember if any of the wilder thieving operations had anything that could be counted towards it. She supposed working your way into somewhere you weren't supposed to be with only your confidence counted as acting, but she wasn't about to tell Darcy that. "Well, not in the traditional sense at least. I suppose its not something i've been particularly interested in, though the pokemon that do seem to enjoy themselves."

Synd'r's mind wandered to Vesper. The little Roselia was always adding a flourish to her movements and seemed to love performing. If she remembered correctly, Vesper had in fact joined the Performing Arts classes.

Turning her mind back to the conversation, she considered the idea of the battling class. Again, it was not something she would be particularly eager to sign up for, even if it mighe have its benefits.
"Battling is a good skill to have, but I agree in that avoiding it where it's not necessary is a better approach than fighting everyone you come across," she replied with a small nod. Fighting also drew unwanted attention in her line of work; it was risky business to battle when you could instead distract or sleep a potential unwated presence.

Darcy nodded as Synd'r spoke, listening to the Vulpix's words intently. It was understandable that she'd never performed before. It wasn't something many pokemon took to naturally. Darcy would be a horrible performer, if she ever tried. She always felt so self-conscious about her movements when she battled, her words when she spoke, or when she read stories to Alki... And the good actors she'd seen in plays around town, well, they didn't seem self-conscious at all! Their movements were smooth and silky, and words so convincing that she felt as though the stories were real...

"Oh? Yeah, I've seen plays here and there around town, and all the Pokemon who act in it are amazing. Acting at all is cool, traditional, or otherwise! I could never do it. I'd be a horrible actor, I'm no good at pretending..."

As the subject moved to battling, Darcy's mouth twisted into a small frown, nodding. "It's a good skill to have, I just don't think it's necessary. I wish that people could just talk things out... Even with outlaws! Y'know, I think... If we could just talk it out with outlaws and criminals, I'm sure that eventually they'd see reason, and stop..."

The Skitty let out a small sigh, intending to continue, before a big, round ball of pinknes appeared abruptly before her.

"Eep!" The Skitty cried out, hopping to her feet, but just as quickly, the girl yelled something out, her words too fast to be intelligible, before teleporting away once more. When she came back, she seemed to be stuttering, like always, but she seemed to be in higher spirits than most other days. After everything, Darcy was just... happy to see her like this.

"Thanks, Alki!" She said simply, before turning her attention to the pancakes. This was going to be a good morning!

~

Alki's eyes widened in renewed admiration. So she knew that move despite not being a psychic type? That was incredible! And she seemed to handle it so well! Alki knew Flamethrower, and while she wouldn't say she was truly bad at it, at least, not anymore, she still struggled to produce flames quite at the caliber she would've liked. It didn't near the intensity that Synd'r's flames could reach, anyways. Of course, she supposed it was natural. Vulpix was a fire type, after all!

"That's really cool, Mille... You're really smart..." The jigglypuff said softly. It took all of her willpower, and then some, to resist the temptation to add a small Unlike me, to the end of her statement. After all, what good would it do anyone? She didn't want to ruin her professor's good mood! The girl pretended not to notice the leftover money on the counter, instead watching a cloud overhead float past. It wasn't until Mille returned, asking if she could manage the three plates, that Alki turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

"Alright! I won't be long!" The jigglypuff said, taking one plate in each hand, holding on to it tightly, before teleporting back to the two older Pokemon, who seemed to be chatting amicably.

"Hi Darcy, Synd'r! Here you are!" Alki cried out, placing one plate in front of both feline and vulpine. The Skitty let out a startled cry, but before she could say anything more, the balloon Pokemon had teleported away, and was now walking back with her own plate.

"Thanks, Mille!" The jigglypuff cried out brightly, before taking a seat between the two Pokemon who accompanied her. "Alright, guys! I got you a W-Watmel pancake, t-that Mille said she was t-trialling for you, Synd'r, and... U-Um, Yours is... U-Uh, S-Sweet, Darcy..." Alki said, hesitation creeping into her voice. Had she ended up going with Sitrus, or Oran, for Darcy...? She could hardly remember... She felt quite flustered all of a sudden...

"Um, I h-hope you guys like it, a-and, uh... Um..." Alki fell silent, looking down at her own plate, before looking up at the Vulpix, and then the Skitty. "D-Do y-you guys like each other?" It'd be nice if they were friends too! After all, hadn't that been her biggest worry, and why she'd left them alone for a bit? With any luck, they'd hit it off! Hopefully...