Afternoon Snack

It was dark and cramped. There were passages she could not fit through, but the main path still presented her with enough room to move comfortably. Victoria's footsteps echoed throughout the caverns, stealth was not an option. She didn't quite care particularly about that, however, as she felt that she was capable enough to defend herself in times of attack. The queen held her head high-or at least as high as she could- as she continued her stroll through the caverns. It started out as a simple walk, but curiosity about the recent events had brought her here.

A powerful pokemon was stated to have resided here at one point. Mewtwo, it was called. Explorers fought the creature-one of which she was vaguely familiar with. Sova. A glaceon that helped her get her heirloom back. The very necklace remained wrapped around her neck despite her drastic shift in size. She had to get it fixed after she evolved, but it still shined as bright as the day she got it.

The tyrantrum remained alert while she traversed. It was entirely possible that the monstrous pokemon was still around. While she considered herself powerful, she knew better than to think she would be able to face off against that kind of creature. The rest of the inhabitants of this cave, however, were simply...a snack.

Victoria Energy: 30

Spoiler:

Darcy walked through the dark and rather spacious corridors of the cave she found herself in. She wished she could've taken another route, but the mission that she had decided to take seemed rather urgent, and as far as she knew, this was the fastest route possible... so she'd have to take this one. Truthfully, she'd had her eyes on this mission for quite a while, but she'd always figured that some other, more capable team might take it. Nobody did. Quite strange, honestly, seeing as it was a request from the guildmaster herself. Did nobody else have any interest whatsoever in helping her out? Or did they all think themselves too busy to do the Meganium a favor...

Whatever the reason, Darcy was here now. And she was certainly willing to help out! She'd asked her sister as well, but the jigglypuff had told her she wasn't interested. And that was that... She wasn't really going to force her to do anything she didn't want to. Besides, it was just a simple delivery! How difficult could it really be?

The Skitty pulled her scarf up as she ventured deeper into the cave. The instructions had been specifically to not open it. Despite that, she'd already felt quite an urge to open it up anyways, and take a look, but... her duties came first! And if she betrayed her leader's trust like that, then... what did that say about her? This was important, clearly. If it wasn't, no such request would've been tied to it... Darcy turned to look at her bag, confirming that it was still secure, before venturing forward.

The skitty walked slowly and with care. She made sure to keep her footfalls soft, and her ears were perked up, waiting for any foreign, potentially dangerous Pokemon to make themselves heard. The usually cheery Skitty was quite silent, taking her job as seriously as possible. A few minutes of this passed before she began to hear footfalls off in the distance.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. It was far away, whatever it was, and the Skitty paused mid-step, turning her head to gaze off in the general direction of the sounds. She didn't search for cover, or attempted to hide. It simply wasn't in her nature. After a few seconds of waiting, a large figure began to make an appearance. From what she could remember of the books she'd read as a child, it seemed to be a Tyrantrum. Were they native to this place? That seemed questionable, but not entirely impossible... It was cramped for someone of that size though. Besides, what if it was some feral who had gotten lost?

The Skitty pulled the scarf around her neck tighter, narrowing her eyes as she looked looked off into the distance at the Tyrantrum. "Hello!" She called out, her voice cheery, but betraying a hint of her caution. If things seemed like they'd get dangerous, she'd run, but if they didn't... where was the harm in being nice?

Darcy Energy: 11

"Hello!" a small and insignificant voice called out to her from up ahead. Her gaze focused on the tiny pink little thing in the distance. It was so cheery, it was sickening. At the very least, it didn't make her immediately want to step on it. That kind of power was something she came to appreciate in her time as a tyrantrum. Her gaze remained as passive and collected as she felt. This must have been a local of the cave...right? At the very least someone from Grassviel.

"Hello..." her low and gravely voice responded in stark contrast to the peppy happy tone of the little cat. The thumps of her footsteps stopped as she kept her eyes on the skitty. She did not approach but she did not turn away. She kept caution about her, just in case. Even small packages could provide surprises.

"Name yourself." her commanding voice requested...at least as much of a request it could sound like. It became natural to her to speak with a tone of authority-or even superiority.

Darcy tilted her head as she smiled, her posture straightening as she nodded to the Pokemon in front of her. She couldn't completely drop her guard - Just because a Pokemon was civilized didn't mean it wasn't a threat, - but at the very least there was someone to talk to, even if it was only for a bit...

"Hi, I'm..." She began in her usual, cheerful voice, but she soon found herself interrupted by the Tyrantrum. Name yourself. The voice was much louder than hers, so she supposed it made some sense that she hadn't caught Darcy's voice.

Completely oblivious to the arrogance that might have tinged the voice, Darcy's grin widened as she retorted back: Naw, you first! She laughed, her best impression of the other Pokemon's voice falling far short of the real deal. She let her words float in the air for a few seconds, her laughs subsiding, before she nodded, her grin shrinking into a simple, pleasant smile. "Naw, I'm just kidding. My name's Darcy. I'm a guild member, It's nice to meet you!" The feline's voice was sincere as she stepped forward, still smiling. "And who are you, might I ask?"

The joke wasn't funny. Not to Victoria. Her expression remained still without even a hint of amusement with the little feline's antics. Still, she received the pink one's name. Darcy, huh? She'd never heard of her. The guild, definitely, but there was few faces she could recognize from the establishment. The skitty requested her own name, their town friendly and outgoing.

"Victoria," She began, "Of the Blacktooth Kingdom." She introduced herself. She neglected to mention that she was, in fact, the leader of it. Introducing herself as a queen often put pokemon off from her-whether it's through intimidation or general dislike towards her. The skitty could know her title if they were knowledgeable, but until then, she was just going to be an ordinary citizen as far as this skitty was concerned.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." She returned the compliments, though only for formality's sake. The tyrantrum shifted her head to focus an eye on the skitty. They certainly didn't seem all that powerful...and guild members usually didn't plan anything nefarious towards unsuspecting pokemon. Still, it was best to be safe, "May I see you badge?" she requested, wanting some sort of verification on whether this skitty spoke the truth.

Darcy felt a bit disappointed at her little impression falling flat of the Tyrantrum. She didn't seem to be all too mean, or at least, not dangerous. Quite stoic though. Which... All things considered, was kinda unfortunate. If Darcy was going to have company in a place like this, someone with a bit more... personality would've been nice. But beggars couldn't be choosers! And some company was better than none, that was for sure. At the very least, the larger Pokemon seemed to have a rather interesting origin... or at least, a hint of an interesting origin.

"A kingdom? I haven't heard of a kingdom, I don't think... Are you from far away?" The Skitty asked, tilting her head as her smile remained, albeit, turning more confused the further she pondered. A kingdom... That was interesting. Grassveil wasn't a kingdom. At least, she didn't think so... She'd never been too interested in that kind of thing.

"A-Ah, sure!" Darcy said. She grabbed the far end of her scarf and pulled it towards her with her mouth. Near the tip was a guild badge. It showed off her ranking, which, at the moment, wasn't quite as high as she would've liked, but at least it wasn't the lowest anymore! Quite some care had been put into keeping both her badge and her scarf neat and presentable, with the badge reflecting what little light wwas present in the cave. It had been recently polished, and her scarf itself had also been recently washed.

"Hwere iwt is..." She said, trying her best to make herself as clear as possible through her scarf. "Dwoese iwt look ok?" She said, doing her best to smile whilst stillexposing her guild badge for the other to see.

The badge was so tiny, it was a pain to look at. While the adorable skitty seemed happy to present their badge, Victoria remained unimpressed. She'd seen higher ranks before. The tyrantrum lowered her head to get a better look at the badge, however nodded as she raised her head once more.

"Yes, it looks lovely." Once again, a formality more than honesty. At the very least, a smile quirked as the Skitty asked about the kingdom-her pride and joy. Obviously this was an invitation to ramble about it. "Not necessarily. Blacktooth sits at the base of Blackmist Mountain, the Blackspear Range," she spoke up, "While it's a fair distance from here, it's not months of travel away...otherwise I would not be here. It can be a little easy to miss while you're there, but that's merely because we have yet to build up our territory. Supplies still need to be gathered, monpower to be obtained, and whatnot."

"It's not much yet, but you should stop by sometime, see what there is to see..." she suggested to the skitty.

Darcy positively beamed as the larger Pokemon complimented her badge. It wasn't much to look at, she imagined, from her perspective, but it was still something she was quite proud of, and to have somebody else recognize it was, thus far, the highlight of her day. "Thanks!" She said brightly, readjusting her scarf to it's previous position. Having said that, she settled down to listen politely to the tyrantrum's explanation. The mere mention of the word kingdom conjured quite the wondrous images in the Skitty's mind; Kings and Queens, huge castles with moats and drawbridges, knights and... well, mostly just fairy tales. So to hear of a real life kingdom...

"That sounds amazing!" She said, grinning widely as she thought about what happenings might go on in this Blacktooth Kingdom. From the sounds of it, it must be a rather new establishment, but... well, it's not like kingdoms could just sprout out of the ground fully formed! If only... "You seem to know a lot about the Kingdom... Are you... A knight or something?" Darcy asked, tilting her head as she began to imagine what relation the Pokemon before her might have with this kingdom, and what purpose she might have to be so far away from it. Blackspear range certainly wasn't months of travel away, but it wasn't the kind of journey you could make in a few hours either...

IIIIIIT'S EGO-TIME!

The tyrantrum smirked down at the little skitty. For a moment, the glint in her eyes had an almost sinister vibe to them. It was as if she planned to suddenly eat the little feline then and there just for asking. However, Victoria wasn't that kind of tyrantrum. How amusing it was that the little skitty thought of herself as a knight. A prestigious honor, but not quite...well, her. The tyrantrum's feathery caller fluffed out as she would respond, "Yes, I do know a lot about Blacktooth."

"Not because I am a knight, but because I have crafted it from the ground up. Every stone and brick laid there is thanks to me, for I am the Queen, little Darcy." It seemed as if she rehearsed this with the way she spoke...likely because she actually did. Ever since she was a tyrunt, she dreamed of being able to say this to someone...though she had to admit. She expected a much bigger and more...interesting audience than some skitty she met in a cave. At the very least it wasn't like this was the last time she would repeat those words.

She looked down upon the skitty, as if waiting for her awe and perhaps even a bow if the skitty was respectful. She wouldn't be angered if the feline didn't, but it would certainly pander to her ego.

Victoria Energy: 50-20 Entry Fee: 30

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Serene Cave :

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Darcy sat in awe, all her childish imaginations seeming to come true before her. This was a queen… A ruler of a kingdom in a land far away (or at least a few day’s worth of travel) from Grassveil. She wondered what it looked like. Had the castle been built yet? How many towers did it have? What was the king like… Did it have a king? What was the Queen doing so far from home? The Skitty’s tail had been flicking back and forth, her grin growing wider and wider before she finally burst. “That’s so fricking cool!” She exclaimed loudly, bouncing up and down as she looked up at the Tyrantrum, far too excited to remember any formalities. Not that she would’ve known in the first place… It’s not like she’d ever met any kings or queens before, and the fairy tales she’d read as a kid had never been particularly good handbooks for etiquette…

“How long have you been queen? What’s it like? Do you rule a lot of people? Do you have a crown? What’re you doin’ all the way out here, huh?” She asked, shooting off the questions as fast as she could manage. She had a queen in front of her, and this might be the only opportunity for her curiosity to be sated as to what an actual queen was like...

Unfortunately for Darcy, Victoria was a terrible example for a queen. Technically she wore the title of queen for a few months now. Her kingdom was embarrassingly small, no crown was yet to be forged, and it definitely was weird for a queen to stray from her land like this-especially without escort. Her kingdom could hardly even be called a kingdom, but still, she took pride in what she had so far.

"A while," She settled with instead of giving an accurate amount, "It is still small and we have not yet fashioned any royal crowns, so far the symbol of my status has been the amulet that hangs from my neck. Once we've developed more, there will likely be crowns."

"As for why I'm here, I had business in Grassveil. Then, after that, I decided to come by here to investigate this place. A powerful pokemon resided here that was recently discovered, I was curious to see what else lied in these caverns...and whether that pokemon may still be here." It was honestly a long long shot to even think that the one she sought would consider joining her on her quest...but what's the worst that could happen for asking? It says no? It laughs at her?

She certainly didn't seem to think it was a dumb idea, especially since the odds of finding the creature again were so so low. The tyrantrum knew that she would likely walk away empty handed, but at the very least with some items to walk away with for her journey.

"My kingdom is perfectly capable of defending itself without my constant presence at the moment, especially since we are not seen as a threat by any of locals around us." She was quick to explain. It would have been courtesy and fair to question the skitty's motives for being in such a dank environment, but...well, she just didn't care.

Darcy nodded along, still smiling quite widely, unable to believe her luck. A queen. Standing here! Next to her! The small feline bounced in place, simply enjoying the moment as she thought in her head how she'd tell Alki about this experience once she was back home, at the guild. Darcy paid special attention when Victoria mentioned the presence of a powerful pokemon in the dungeon that they were both currently occupying. "Ah, well, that certainly ain't me!" Darcy said as the Tyrantrum stated her interest in finding said Pokemon.

She finally stated that her kingdom would get along fine without her for the time being. Because... the locals didn't see them as threats? Must have been a pretty small kingdom then, Darcy figured, but... that didn't seem like something that she should say out loud. She had enough social tact to realize that, at least. Instead, she took the initiative to explain her own reasons behind being there, even if they hadn't been asked of her. She certainly noticed that it hadn't been asked, but Darcy didn't quite care. It was nice to talk to someone friendly in a place like this!

"That makes sense! I'm sure your kingdom will be fine, especially if it's not too far away... As for me, well... I gotta deliver a letter." She said, turning around to show off the bag that hung by her side. "From the guild master. I ain't quite sure who it's for, or what it says, but... I gotta get to Rainfront as fast as possible, right? And this is the quickest way. Through this cave." Her smile fell, as she was reminded of the seriousness of her situation. She was on a mission, and... she was just goofing off... That hadn't been very mature of her. "So, uh... Wanna travel together? Safety in numbers, and all that, and it seems we've both got plans to be here for a while anyways!" She said, a small smile returning as she looked up at Victoria.

Praise, praise, blah blah, deliver letter-Ooooh from the guild master? Color her interested.

How wonderful would it be for the skitty to return to Faye singing words of praise for the Queen of Blacktooth who so kind-heartedly defended the little skitty from the threats of the dangerous dungeon? Very much. Even if it didn't improve the impression of the guildmaster, it was sure to help at least in the slightest in any potential future negotiations.

"Why, I'd be honored to lend my assistance with such an important mission," she informed the skitty, "These caves can be dangerous on your own..." She figured that she would leave out the mental note that the skitty looked rather puny and pathetic in strength to her. Especially with such a go-lucky attitude. Darcy didn't exactly come off as a hardened explorer, so Victoria's mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that the small kitten was...less than competent. Why would the guild even entrust an important message with such a weak little envoy?

"Simply lead the way...and do feel free to hop on for a ride. Your weight is practically nothing to me." It wasn't exactly meant to be insulting, but Victoria didn't concern herself with that. She wanted to get moving and get this done quickly. She almost wanted to invite danger to show its ugly face simply so she could smack it in front of the skitty-really cement it into little Darcy's mind that she helped out.

Darcy's smile didn't falter, although she couldn't help but notice a certain... intonation, she supposed, of the words that came out of the Tyrantrum's mouth. Not anything she could put a paw on, exactly, but something simply seemed off... Was she being disingenuous? Or sarcastic? Darcy couldn't quite tell... But she didn't intend to make a big deal out of it either. Why start drama in a cave with a Pokemon that was so much larger than her...? It didn't make sense! And it wasn't something she wanted to be dealing with anyways.

"Yeah... I mean, going into a place like this alone would be dangerous no matter who you are, huh?" Darcy said, nodding along. Places like this were certainly dangerous on one's own... She found her mind drifting back to her partner. As pleasant as it was meeting a new Pokemon (A queen, no less!), she still found herself wishing her little sister were here alongside her as well. Truth be told, she knew Alki had some areas she could improve in as a guilds-mon, but... she felt safer with the Jigglypuff too. Her smile faded as she dwelled on this line of thought, and her ears began to flatten ever so slightly in a rather clear shift of emotion. She chose not to verbalize any of it, and instead perked up once more as Victoria began to speak yet again.

"Oh! That's nice of ya. Thanks!" She said cheerily, such a polite offer getting her out of her brief somber mood. The Skitty bounced forward and began to climb onto the Tyrantrum's tail, and then higher onto her back. Once she had found a suitable perch where she could comfortably sit without risking a nasty fall, the Skitty lay her head down atop her forelegs and began to reflect quietly on her current situation. It wasn't so much the letter that was worrying her; She was optimistic enough for that to not really be a worry. It was more so that she was alone... And, consequently, so was her teammate... She hoped she'd be alright...

The skitty's body language did little to hide that something seemed to be bothering her. While the average kind-hearted pokemon would ask about the sudden shift from cheeriness into...whatever that was, Victoria opted not to act on it. Whatever seemed to be bothering the little feline was not any of her business. What was her business, however, was continuing along the path now that the normal type hoped aboard. She could feel the feline skitter on her scales, but beyond the slight pressure, it was like she wasn't even there. It would be easy to just forget about her if she wanted to.

"It's no problem," she responded to the skitty as her footsteps echoed through the halls once again. Her attention focused farther down the cave as she continued. Before she could even begin to stir up some more small talk, occasional screeching sounded from down the hall. Every now and then the voice would echo and reverberate all around them. While it certainly sounded rather intimidating, she certainly didn't seem all that worried about it as she just continued forward at her steady pace.