Welcome to Grassveil Town [CATALYST] (Open)

Radar just kept flying. He kept flying until he reached town all the way from Shadowhue Forest, no way in hell he was sticking around for fire raining down from the sky. Fire does not rain down from the sky. Fire should never rain down from the sky. Water can rain from the sky, it’s called ‘rain’. Fire? Hell no! If that all even actually happened. See, Radar has a tiny bit of a tendency to see things that aren’t really there...he suffers from hallucinations, has all his life. As long as he could remember, he's been suffering from hallucinations. Radar grew up with a mental illness called ‘schizophrenia’, something he shared with his brother. Thanks to Radar's schizophrenia; he occasionally hears voices in his head, he has hallucinations of the sky turning orange, he hears other Pokémon say things they aren’t actually saying, and sometimes he gets quite paranoid...mainly about Yigo finding out who Radar really was.

A thief, Outlaw, and liar.

Of course, he had some other issues that had to do with his schizophrenia, like how occasionally he might be unmotivated to accomplish a certain task, or how he might have some trouble showing emotion all that well. He's still capable of showing emotion, just a little less than everymon else. These issues, however, were just tiny, minor little things, so he just brushed any concerns or worries about it in his mind aside. They weren’t important, so why bother wasting energy on it.

Right, he owed Yigo an explanation as to why he got all weird back in Shadowhue Forest and shouted at the Absol.

Meh, Radar decided not to focus on it, he had plenty of time on his wings...he'd get back to thinking about what to tell Yigo later.

The bird's sporadic motivation isn't an issue...so he thinks.

Since Yigo wasn't currently with Radar right now, he decided he could sell the orbs that he'd, uh...acquired recently. He'd flown to Yigo's burrow after arriving at the town's gates, you just had to take a right from there. It was a short flight away, not too far from town, and there was a slight cool breeze fluttering through the air. It was refreshing, a little bit of resistance was never a bad thing mid-flight. It wasn't pushing him back, but it was still there, pushing against and through his feathers. The grass always seemed greener in this little pocket of the world known as Grassveil Town...probably how it got it's name. Then again, Radar wouldn't be the most reliable source of information on sights, seeing as he usually sees things that aren't entirely...there. But, it was nice for Radar to see how vibrant the grass looked. He wasn't flying fast, it was more...casual flying. No speed he was going for, he wasn't in a rush...and he rarely did fly instead of walk. Normally, he would just walk to wherever he was going, but currently? Well, Radar didn't know why, he was just...flying. Maybe it's some kind of avian instinct, maybe he just...decided to fly without thinking of all the times he's crashed.

Anyways, he arrived at Yigo's burrow, landing on the dirt and walking through the entrance way that was really just a hole in the side of a hill a little ways away from town. Still, Radar liked it there. You'd never think of a bird living underground now, would you? But that's where Radar lived; right there with Yigo. It was actually a lot cozier and less dirty than one might think. Than again, most of you, I'm sure, would choose not to live in a burrow under the ground. If Radar was known for one thing, it was his eccentricities. A bird that lives underground, can you imagine? Radar grabbed his bag that was still by the entrance, lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up and filled with all the trinkets and 'shinies' Radar might collect. Radar—admittedly—has an issue with anything shiny. If he sees something shiny, the Murkrow's already completely enamored with it. No matter what it is, if it's shiny, he's helpless to resist it's allure. This has compelled him to take the shiny things that he sees, such as the quartz necklace he—surprisingly—didn't have around his neck. Usually, he always wore it, but when he's stealing—which he knew he was going to do in the morning—it could act as a way to describe him, or remember him since he always wore it.

He headed into the bed chamber—where he left it in the morning—and collected his necklace from the side of the bed; a pile of hay with a sheet on it. It was a lot more comfortable than the floor, that's for sure. Just holding it up to his face with his wings, he was already mesmerized by the way the white quartz seemed to sparkle and shine, his red eyes locked on the crystal attached to the necklace. It was completely and utterly useless in every way, but it was really pretty to look at, which was always pleasant to the child's eyes. He slipped the black string over his head—around the hat shaped feathers on top of his head, slightly squishing and shifting them around...it was really quite a mess of feathers—and on his shoulders, around his neck. It was a little big for him—the crystal almost reached to his stomach—but it was shiny and he liked it, so size didn't matter. He could still wear it, so it was fine! Wearing such a pretty jewel...he felt a little important, like this crystal costed 1,000,000₽, and he could just buy it so easily. Sometimes, for a second, he could believe—only for a second—that he was rich, that everymon would look at him and think he was so great and amazing because he was. That, just for a second...he was something more than just a dirty, poor, miserable, lowly thief. That he was something—somemon—special.

But after that second passed...he realized that he was only those things; a dirty, poor, miserable, lowly thief. Also, he was raised by an infamous outlaw from Grima Outpost, the most horrible place in the world. Radar hated the tents and decayed buildings and the Pokémon there most of all. Sometimes, it was a little hard to believe that he'd really left. He'd spent five years there, he didn't even really remember where he hatched...the Outpost was his home. And it was awful. Living with Yigo...this has been the best few months of his life. When he was with Yigo, just playing with him...he forgot about the Outpost...and he started to feel light, happy. It felt like nothing else mattered anymore, that his life was actually great! Better than it was, at least. Currently, Radar had little to no Poké, didn't know where his parents were and has just been aimlessly wandering around the world for a year, and he'd also left his best and probably only friend to deal with an issue in a spooky, scary forest all alone. It was fine, Radar thought to himself. I'd just be something to worry about, and Yigo has that Absol with him to keep him safe. He's hella fine, Radar.

With his bag's strap still slumped over his shoulder, Radar walked out of the burrow and headed back on the trail to Grassveil Town. Of course, now he just walked instead of flew, preferring it to the way most birds moved around. He was just fine with walking, thank you very much. He was actually somewhat of a...'Klutzy Flier.' That was a title Radar had given himself because most times he flew he ended up crashing in this blaze of failure. One time, he even got a concussion, so that wasn't too fun. Yep, concussion. Flew head first into a tree. A solid tree. A tree that felt more like a rock, to be honest...head first. Yeah, Radar's brain was a little out-of-commission for a while, he took his time recovering from that blow. His head flew straight into that tree...luckily, a Cranidos had helped him out and brought him back to the burrow. Radar thought his name was Kestor, but, being completely honest here, he didn't remember much of that day. It was like there was a giant sponge and it just completely scrubbed away all the memories of that day. Radar only really knew what he was told.

Anyways, upon arriving, Radar simply walked through town, processing his most recent trip to Shadowhue Forest, and what was most likely his last. Walking down the streets of Grassveil Town, Radar just took in the sights of stone buildings with slanted, dark brown wood roofs, the bright green grass growing everywhere but the pathways made of dirt on the ground. The buildings had windows in them, glass-filled windows, and they were near doors, or in the center of the side walls...sometimes, if there was a second floor, there would be a window up there.

Buildings were quite a common sight there, not to mention the Pokémon moving to and fro from those buildings. There were all kinds of Pokémon there; big Pokémon, small Pokémon, thin, wide, they had it all. They had floating chandeliers, balls that rolled around on their own and could talk, four-legged Pokémon, two-legged Pokémon. If you could name it...it was there in Grassveil Town. It was the place to go for any Pokémon around the world, the most popular town out there.

There was one spot, however, that always captured the young bird's attention and peaked his interest. One building—one structure—that always fascinated him. The Grassveil Stage—as Radar called it—was a stage made of wood situated in an open space with no other buildings. It had a large wooden box behind it—one that plenty of Pokémon could probably fit in—and it was painted to look like certain backgrounds sometimes on the side that faced the stage. Radar’s always felt weirdly drawn to that stage, he'd just imagine himself up there, performing—just what he'd be performing, he didn’t quite know—in front of hundreds of adoring fans, screaming his name in applause, cheering him on with their encouragement. He easily saw himself standing upon the wooden stage, smiling out at a crowd that accepted and loved all his quirks and eccentricities.

Radar’d be up there someday, don’t you worry...someday he'll have his time in the spotlight.

Just not now.

For now, we have a young bird walking through the streets, happy, able to have sold the stolen loot for 500₽. That was quite a bit of Poké, Radar could buy a whole bunch of berries for him and Yigo to share. He knew this place that sold berries for really cheap prices, and that was his destination. At this place, if he spent all his Poké, he could get fifty berries! This Pokémon was always selling berries for a cheaper price than most others; instead of the usual 150₽ ten berries usually cost everywhere else, Radar could buy them from this stall for 95₽! That doesn't make much of a difference for most Pokémon, since having, like, 2,000₽ is just sooooooo common. But for Radar...it was amazing. For Radar, somemon who doesn't have a lot of Poké, it's a life saver for him. This little berry store hasn't been around for long, just a little recently after Radar first came here from what he understood, but it was the only place he went to for food nowadays.

Walking through the marketplace, he saw plenty of Pokémon shopping. Plenty of Pokémon shopping, talking, doing whatever they may need to do...the Grassveil Market was always busy. Hey, wasn't it known for it's market and trade? Meh, Radar didn't know off the top of his head, it didn't interest him. He just started searching for the stall in the marketplace, eyes shifting left and right, wings shifting around one another as he looked. The stone paths of Grassveil Town were smooth and cool, cooler probably now since the snow had fallen on it. It sent tingles up Radar's spine if he focused on the coldness, it felt relaxing...calming...to feel the coldness run up the Murkrow's back and combat the warmth still in his system. It felt...liberating to the young bird to feel cold, maybe even numb. Just being numb to everything, it felt peaceful. It was also kinda refreshing for him, the cold made everything shiver and chill, waking him up...granted, he didn't sleep, but it still made him feel alert. Radar liked the cold. Radar could smell food; berries, bread, drinks...drinks weren't food, but there were still drinks that he could smell. Probably made from berries, berries always had a distinct smell to them. The air was also always fresh in town, which some Pokémon might take for granted...not Radar, though! Not a kid who grew up in a toxic wonderland! The fresh air was always welcome to him.

Then he found what he was looking for; The Berry Shop. It was just a wooden stall set up in the Grassveil Market, painted white with red rims. It had a sign above it with yellow letters that read; The Berry Shop. It also was kind of like a box, having supplies in the back as a form of storage. It wasn't planted in place, though, no. The owner of The Berry Shop always set it up in different places, and she told him it took a lot of effort to set up. It was set up near the center of the marketplace...not entirely in the center, just a little bit off to the side to avoid all the other shops that might attract more customers. The shop was always quiet, only ever having a few customers...right now, there was an Eevee ordering some berries, and that was about it.

Wait...

It was that Eevee again! Li, from Pecha Forest! She was standing at the stall Radar would usually go to when he wanted to get out of foraging early or wanted to be a little lazy, and it was one of the few stalls or stores he ever really shopped at…or went to...at all. It was run by this Pidgeot named Petra, an older kid who sold berries for lower prices. They weren’t super lower than normal prices, but you’d save about ₽45 for a berry, which meant that quite a few Pokémon went there for a cheaper deal. She told Radar she tried to get more customers by having cheaper sales, so she got more sales and more Poké. Radar liked Petra, she was nice to him, his favourite shopkeeper in Grassveil Town. It was nice to talk with another bird in town, and she always commented on how mature he was and responsible he was.

Radar’s new Eevee friend seemed a bit angry, though, talking with the other bird. “A Pokémon can’t sell something here?!” She shouted, her ears were flat against her head as her tail was slowly swishing back and forth. As Radar decided to move closer in order to figure out what was happening—he’d probably be going there either way in order to make up for the Shadowhue issue—he heard the fox-like Pokémon lowly growling. She had a dark grey bag—similar to Radar’s, actually, in style—that looked very used slung over her shoulder, barely a few inches away from touching the ground, with the letters ‘L.S.M.’ on the front of the bag in a bright teal colour. They stood out. “What kind of service do you run if you won’t buy what others want to sell!?” She exclaimed. “I thought that was always a requirement or something that stores or shops or anything selling anything always did!”

“I run the kind of service that needs Poké, kid.” The Pidgeot shop owner responded, placing her wing over the side of the stall and leaning on it. “I don’t have the Poké, so I can’t buy things off of you, okay…?” She placed a bag on the stall counter with a sigh. It was a brown bag that wasn’t too big, and it was probably filled with berries. Petra used those bags as a way for her customer to hold any large orders of berries. Radar always brought the same bag back, though, for more orders, because he understood that she didn’t have an endless supply of them. “So, do you want your berries or not?” She asked.

Li looked at her bag. “How much were they again?” She asked, looking back at the Pidgeot before Radar started to walk over, curiosity getting the better of him.

“95₽.” Petra answered. Looking really upset, Li searched her bag for a moment. That moment seemed to go on and on. “Do you have enough Poké?” Petra asked, leaning a bit closer. She doesn’t have enough, Radar thought, watching the Eevee’s ears fall, paws digging into the ground. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hella doesn’t have enough. Radar knew how it felt to not have enough Poké to buy something. Hell, that was him most times. Radar couldn’t explain it, but…watching that Eevee, and making the assumption that she didn’t have enough Poké to buy something…he wanted to help. Especially since it was to help who he deemed a friend. Even though she was mean, really bossy, didn’t seem to like Radar…why did he see her as a friend?

Li then opened her eyes, turned around, and stomped off, not bothering to pay for or take the berries she had wanted. That was when Radar acted really without thinking as he pulled out 100₽. “I’ll pay for it!” He shouted to Petra, stepping in between the Pidgeot and Eevee. “She’s my friend.”

That comment made the Eevee stop in place as Radar looked back at her. Her tail was still slowly swishing back and forth like usual as she just stared ahead at something. Petra, on the other wing, had a smile across her beak as she placed her wings on the table. “Hi there, Radar.” She greeted him as Radar turned his head back to look at the other bird. The first thing that he noticed was a streak of blue feathers flowing from her head amongst the red and yellow feathers, almost making up what looked to be hair. The blue was new, something that he hadn’t seen before on her. It looked really nice. He stared a little bit, eyes focusing on the blue. It looked really pretty, and it stood out. It was this nice, dark blue, like Radar had seen before on certain buildings. Navy blue. “A friend paid for me to get this done as a gift.” Petra explained, reaching back and bringing her blue feathers closer for Radar to see.

“I like it.” He complimented her, smiling. He had already seen a multi-colored Pikachu on the streets…but, uh, apparently he was also magic because he always ran down the same alley, which was a dead end, and just seemed to disappear. Radar would know, he’d investigated that alleyway after having not seen the Electric Mouse leave, seeing that it was only a dead end. Where did he always go? Then Petra now had blue feathers. “How did you change the colour?” Radar asked.

“Dandy’s Dyes. You pay them Poké and they dye you different colours.” Petra answered before glancing at the Eevee who was now next to Radar, paws up on the booth of the shop. “So…you two are friends?”

Nothing. Nothing from Li. She was just quiet, watching the older bird in silence. Radar nodded his head, however, as if to say yes enough for the both of them. “Yep!” Radar rather chirpily said, placing the 100₽ on the stall. “I’m making more friends!”

“That’s nice, Radar.” Petra commented, taking the Poké and letting Li have the berries. The young—yet still older than Radar—Pidgeot then smiled. “I’m still waiting to meet this Yigo Pokémon sometime.” Right, Radar had told Petra so much about Yigo and that he was really nice and great…Petra really should meet Yigo…who was currently…somewhere…fighting something. Yeah, Radar wasn’t the best friend out there, he was, um…a bit more aware of that right now. “Think you’ll bring him by next time you come here?”

“Sure!” Radar agreed, watching as the Eevee next to him took the berries, shoved them in her bag, and silently walked away without even a goodbye or thank you. Radar, starting to panic as he wanted to keep up but didn’t want to just leave, placed both wings on the stall and leaned on it. “Thank you for the berries. I’ll be back later to buy more. I’ll bring Yigo.” He started rattling off the important things he was going to say before turning around and flying to get a quick burst of speed. “And have a good day!” He called back to Petra, turning his head to look back.

Now back to his current issue.

“Li!” Radar called out. “Wait!” He stopped flying and landed on the ground next to the still walking Eevee, the one that looked quite upset for one reason. Radar kept walking, trying his best to keep up. “Where are you going?”

“Why do you care?” She asked, ears flat, not even looking at Radar. “Just leave me alone, kid.”

“You’re a kid, too.” Radar responded. Li stopped, turning around to look at him. It was true, she looked like she was Radar’s age…maybe eleven or twelve? She also looked furious. “I mean…” Radar began, stopping, rubbing his wings back and forth. “You look like a kid…”

“WHAT do you WANT?!” Li screamed at him, growling. “WHAT?!”

“I, um…” Radar began, looking down at the ground. Did I do something wrong? “I wanted to say hi…” He explained. “Ask where you were going because I was curious…”

A few deep breaths came from Li, closing her eyes. She was really upset, wasn’t she? “Just…leave. Me. Alone.” She slowly stated, opening her eyes as she stared straight at Radar. “We’re not ‘friends,’ Feathers.” And with that, she just walked away.

Radar continued to follow her, however. “Well, what’s stopping us from being friends?”

“You.” Li stated, once again not looking at Radar, staring straight ahead of her. Her tail was still swishing back and forth. “I don’t make friends with Pokémon who only talk to me because they want something.”

“I just want to be friends.” Radar stated. “That’s it.”

“And why do you want to be…’friends’ with me, huh?”

“I don’t know…?”

“You don’t?”

“I guess, uh…maybe because I liked the ‘Peace and Quiet’ from earlier?"

“Oh, so we can go strolling through forests together for a little while, lower my defences and lull me into a false sense of security before you kill me?”

What? K-Kill? “Why would I kill you?” Radar asked, stopping for a moment. “That's bizarro.” He added as he watched Li—confused—as she just kept walking, tail swishing back and forth rather calmly. Radar continued walking again after a quick little flight to catch up with the Eevee, now more confused and curious than wanting to do something with her.

Li gave something of a dismissive hm to Radar, looking back at the bird. “Kill me, take ah’nor kidnap me, hurt me, it doesn’t make a difference...” She stated, her brown eyes looking back at Radar as her ears remained flat. “You won’t even get a chance, feathers.”

One thing that caught Radar's attention was the way she slurred her words partway through her sentence. ‘Ah’nor?’ Did she mean ‘and or?’ To most Pokémon, that wouldn’t matter...but to Radar...see, he'd slurred his words. And it wasn't just...occasionally. When he was younger, most of everything he ever said was slurred. He’d gotten a bit better at saying his words clearly, and it took extra effort and work to keep himself talking normally, but he'd worked on it because he felt self-conscious about it. He was probably the only Pokémon in the world with ‘Chronic Slurring Disorder.’ “Well...” Radar began. “I’m not going to kill you...or take you, or kidnap you, or hurt you.”

“I’m just supposed to take your word for that?” Li asked, looking back ahead.

“I...yes?”

“Not a chance, feathers.”

“What can I do to make you believe I won’t do any of those things?”

“Nothing.”

One might ask why? Why what? Well, there were plenty of things to ask why about. Why did Li think Radar was trying to kill her? Why was she so mean? Why did the sun rise today? The why someone might ask above all other why's is; why was Radar still trying to be friends with this Pokémon?

Good question.

Radar didn’t quite know why himself.

It felt weird, though...for Radar. He felt...like they were friends. Even though it didn’t look like it, or sound like it...they were friends. Radar just knew that. Why? That he didn't know. This Eevee just felt...familiar to him. Almost like déjà vu. This conversation...it felt like it’s happened before. But it hasn’t. Radar didn’t quite understand it, or know how to explain it other than the fact that he felt connected. Connected to that Eevee...in a way. He felt connected to her.

She was still incredibly rude and mean, that was something Radar could realize.

Li—once again—looked at Radar, her angry glare still apparent in her chocolate brown eyes. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I’m going to be leaving this ‘conversation’ as I have things I need to do.” She curtly stated, stopping.

“What things?” Radar innocently asked, trying to get back onto more friendlier or neutral social grounds.

“Fuck off.” Li told Radar, turning around and leaving without another word.

Radar didn’t follow her, though. It was probably best to just leave her be. No matter how much it felt like it, they weren't friends. Radar reminded himself of that on his way back to Petra, prepared to buy a ton of berries in order to make up for his poor foraging effort.

...Li hadn’t even thanked him for paying for the berries she'd wanted. She just took them and that was that.

Wow.

Valen had decided to visit Grassveil Town again. After his exploration in Shadowhue Forest and the...interesting situation he had gotten himself into there (in some ways like the situation that had occurred in Pecha Forest even before that), it was nice to take a break, honestly. Plus, Grassveil was famous for its markets. Besides daily life things such as food, perhaps Valen could find items to buy there that would be useful for future explorations. Maybe he could even get the treasure chest he had found in Shadowhue opened somewhere - he didn't think he could do it on his own.

Valen flew around, looking at the various stalls. There were some that were somewhat interesting, but nothing made him want to immediately go and buy something. He wanted to make very sure that he was getting good-quality items at a low enough price that he would not regret buying them.

And then, among the stalls, he saw something very interesting. There was an Eevee walking away, seemingly angry at something - or someone. Valen could recognize Eevee - he had heard quite a bit about their incredible diversity of possible evolutions. He thought that it was a pity that they couldn't evolve into a Flying-type - sure, there were rumours about a Flying-type Eeveelution, but he had never heard any that he judged to be credible, and certainly neither he nor anyone he knew had seen such an evolution.

But there was also another Pokemon - a Murkrow! Valen had seen one in Shadowhue Forest, but that one had flown away. And wait, thought Valen, is it... it seems to be the same Murkrow! Right here! What should I do? Say hello? Will that be a problem? The Murkrow flew away back then from the fight, and there's that Eevee walking away angrily now... is this the right time to introduce myself?

Ultimately, however, Valen couldn't resist. This was a Flying-type Pokemon he had seen before (although briefly), in Grassveil now. He hadn't entirely been expecting that, and hoped it would be nice to meet another bird Pokemon here.

"Hi!" Valen said, trying to sound as nice and polite as possible.

"Achoo!"

A little farther down the road, a Seedot was recoiling from a sneeze, shivering as he eyed the ground with an unimpressed look. Well, as unimpressed as he could look with his limited features, anyway. What was up with his luck today? The snow in the town had melted. Leander had come to the conclusion that the temperatures in town would be alright for him. That this week was the start of a warmer season where it was fine for him to come here. Yet... here he was, sniffling and shaking like a leaf. Oh well. At the very least he had found the book he had been looking for for, so he had not caught this cold for nothing.

The book in question was a small encyclopedia that detailed various moves, their power, extra effects and much more. Since his own moveset was quite lackluster, he had started to consider improving it. So far, it had proved very difficult for him to become stronger, so maybe, just maybe some new moves could help him become better at battling instead? Even if he could not pack that much of a punch when using them? He just wanted to be able to defend himself and others somehow. The book was meant to help him decide just what moves would be best for that. He had already visited the town's library and borrowed it, so it lay in his backpack. All set for the journey to his house. Leander himself, though? Well...

A light oncoming headache told him that this cold would be breaking out for real pretty soon. Sooner than the couple of days it would take for him to scuttle home to Rainfront. Not wanting to spend his journey home sneezing miserably and regretting ever owning this body, he had decided to stay in Grassveil until he felt better. He just had to find somewhere to stay, and-

Step, step, step... Something brown had just passed him by. The acorn turned, and all thoughts coursing through his mind went poof. There was an Eevee. A cute little Eevee walking down the street. With a big, puffy tail and those lovely long ears. It took the acorn a few moments to realize that he was staring. Moving his eyes off the little critter, he returned to thinking. Except he could not remember what he had been thinking about before she had walked by. Curses... Well, no matter. If it was that easy for him to forget, it couldn't have been that important, right? He sighed, and began walking. Maybe he could recall it if he just waited.

The direction in which he walked was the same as the one the Eevee went. No particular reason for that, though. No, none at all. That just happened to be the way he wanted to go. Same thing with his occasional glances at the fox. Just happened to look that way, nothing more.

Radar headed back to the marketplace, still with 400₽ in his bag as he wanted to do what he had wanted to do previously; buy some berries. That was—until—another bird Pokémon had landed near him, greeting the Murkrow. “Hi!” That was all she said, sounding friendly enough, face fracturing into several little pieces before reforming. That's high-key bizarro, Radar thought, staring for a moment. How did she…? Radar took a deep breath after staring curiously for a bit, unfolding his left wing and using it to wave at this other black and white feathered bird with a sharp, pointy beak. She had blue eyes and a streak of red feathers on top of her head. This was a Pikipek, even though Radar didn’t really know that.

“Hi.” Radar greeted back, managing a smile. His voice was a bit unenthusiastic as he was still a little thrown by Li, but...he at least didn’t sound upset. He was just being friendly, too, nothing wrong with that.

Li kept walking, not paying the Seedot any attention as she kept heading away from her current issue: Radar. She was visibly fuming, ears completely flattened against her head, which was currently low, close to the ground. A low growling could be heard coming from her as her white teeth showed, gritting together. Her tail was raised high, never seeming to stop it’s slow, steady back-and-forth motion. “I know, alright…?” She mumbled under her breath, still stomping away. Somehow, her ears managed to flatten even more. Would that be possible?

She started glancing around, once in each direction—left and right—like she was looking for something…somemon, maybe? Her ears had perked up, her glare resting in the directions her head turned for a few seconds. Once to her left, then to her right. Her brown eyes rested in Leander’s general direction for a moment, not looking angry. Rather, they looked tired. Tired of doing or hearing something. She moved her gaze ahead of her, growling again, ears flattening for a second time as she stopped in place. “I KNOW!” She furiously screamed in a fit of rage. “SHUT UP for once, HUH!?” She started to look around, eyeing her surroundings.

Quite a few Pokémon stopped to stare at her, eyeing her strange, angry outburst that occurred for…no reason. At all. The young Eevee’s eyes looked like there was a raging fire inside of them as she glared at all the other Pokémon, Lea included. She looked as if she could tear an entire building down with just her gaze, she looked absolutely furious. “Thought not.” She told…no one in particular. She then kept—silently—walking forward, sighing, looking a bit calmer. She still looked pissed, but…a little better after screaming. She paid another glance at the Seedot quickly before looking back ahead.

Her tail had never stopped swishing, the giant puff of fluff just swaying back and forth…

Back and forth…

It never stopped…

The Murkrow had replied "Hi." back to Valen. Valen thought, Well, he doesn't seem offended or anything by my greeting, so that's good, at least.

But then, something much less pleasant happened. The Eevee started growling angry words, and looking around, glaring at other Pokemon. And then, even worse, she started shouting angrily and telling - wait, who? - to shut up. What's going on? Valen worried. Why is she so angry, and why did she just randomly start shouting like that? Like several of the other nearby Pokemon, Valen was staring at the Eevee. Should I ask her? Even someone else?

However, the Eevee was so angry that Valen really was worried about what bad things could happen if he brought up the issue. At least she's walking away, and she doesn't seem like she's going to do something violent now, Valen thought. I heard before - at times it can be safer to ignore someone who's angry. So Valen turned his attention back to Radar.

"So, um... Do you know any good shops around here, by any chance?" Valen said. He knew well that it probably sounded... incongruous, given what had just happened. But maybe, just maybe it would help him avoid getting deeper into yet another tense and dangerous situation.

From observing her, Leander could say one thing for certain: this Eevee was livid. The Seedot's eyes brimmed with curiosity as he watched her prowl along the street like the smallest, angriest beast gone shopping he'd ever seen. Just what could have made her so mad? He failed to hear her first words aimed at ears seemingly non-existent, but he did catch her looking around for... something. Just what was not clear. As her face came into view, Leander could have sworn she looked weary. There was just something about her eyes. Even with only a moment to read her face and a headache creeping up on him, he felt sure of what he had seen.

Which had him thrown for a loop once she began yelling. Although he had adored this Eevee's cuteness a minute ago, Leander now felt conflicted. Her cuteness came with a side dish of scary, huh? He hadn't run into that before. It was almost like she would fly at anyone any moment now, yet there was not a single source of annoyance within sight. Even though she scared him, the acorn moved closer. This kid reminded him of a different one he had met in the same town before: Radar, a Murkrow who had mistaken him for a voice in his head. Perhaps that was what this Eevee was yowling at? Voices in her head?

It still felt wrong to just stroll up to her and say hi, and he'd be lying if he said he was not intimidated after the whole screaming thing. That last glare had certainly not made her more approachable, either. Yet he stuck around, following the Evolution pokémon at a distance as she walked off after quieting down. His reason was not her cuteness anymore, though (as if there was much of that appeal left, anyway). No, he was concerned. Something was off about this kid, and he wanted to keep an eye on her in case she got herself into trouble.

“So, um... Do you know any good shops around here, by any chance?” Radar was asked by this new Pokémon.

“I know a place.” Radar answered, starting to rub his wings together. He sounded really tired, didn’t he? Radar took a deep breath, closing his eyes. You’re not your brother, Radar, the young Murkrow thought to himself. Act like you’re alive. He opened his eyes, putting on a smile, looking this other bird straight in her eyes. “I actually know lot's of places, really.” He began, voice perking up with a considerable bit of internal effort on Radar's part. “I’m here a lot, so I hella know my way around.”

Li kept walking, the odd occasional glance in a direction being cast. She tried to keep her head straight, however. She was looking for something, wasn't she? But what? She kept mumbling to herself, it practically being nothing more than inaudible and quiet from a distance. One thing that Li had started to do that may or may not be noticeable was a slight drag in the young Eevee's paws. They traced over the ground, toes always close to or near the road below, drifting across it. She seemed to look at her paws instead of looking ahead, and her bushy tail switched from drifting back and forth...to tapping the ground rather quickly.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It didn’t quite make an audible noise, and was actually rather soft and gentle thumping. It tapped the ground like a Pokémon's foot would if they were stuck in a long line in a shop, impatient, wanting to be anywhere else. Just tap, tap, tap her tail went; really subtly, actually, her tail didn’t shoot up, it actually stayed relatively close to the ground. Then came the quiet humming as some of the Pokémon who’d stared at her continued to do so. The quiet humming of a song of some kind, the Eevee's voice sounding a bit shaky as she kept dragging her paws she seemed to like to watch.

Hmmm.... This Murkrow's reply wasn't very specific, and his body language is... somewhat unusual. Does he not actually want to talk to me? Is he just nervous? Or does he really know about so many good shops that he doesn't know which one to talk about? Valen wondered.

Then, Valen remembered something. Oh wait! I never even told him my name, and I don't know his! I should have remembered to do that after saying hi.

"Thanks! Sorry for not introducing myself before. I'm Valen. I come from Aileron Village, but I'm here at Grassveil because I heard there were some dungeons that would be nice for new explorers to go to. I've already been to Pecha and Shadowhue, and I'm hoping to train enough that I can join the Aileron Guild someday and be a good member," Valen said.

Should I mention that I saw him in Shadowhue Forest? Valen wondered. Well, maybe it's not necessary now. What if he thinks I'm spying on him or something? I don't think he noticed me back there, as he doesn't seem to know me. Come to think of it, what if this is actually a different Murkrow? It was pretty difficult to see in that forest, after all.

"So, what's your name and where are you from?" Valen continued.

As the Eevee's steps seemed to become slightly more sluggish, Leander became even more sure of his assumption of her being tired. Poor thing even seemed to be moping, as she kept staring at the ground. The Seedot's eyelids lowered into a somewhat sad expression as he watched her go, even though he was still more worried than he was sad. His face just wasn't that good for expressing feelings accurately. He had always preferred to do that through words.

After observing her for a little longer, he began to consider approaching her. She was bound to notice him sometime soon, right? Then it would be better to speak up first, instead of waiting to be spotted and be declared weird for following her. Even if she got a little crabby. The difficult part was deciding what to say. "Hey, I heard you scream earlier and secretly followed you for a while, what's up?" just wasn't cutting it. He'd have to do better than that. Coat it in some way to make it sound nicer and get his actual intentions across.

The acorn was picking up the pace, trying to catch up to her as he mulled it over. It became apparent to him that she was humming some sort of tune as he got close, however he was unable to recognize it. It wasn't like he got a lot of time to listen to it, though, as a problem soon presented itself to him: a weird pressure and an itch-like sensation behind his face. An incoming sneeze. Wait, no no no! He desperately tried to stifle it, his eyes taking on all sorts of weird expressions as he held it back. I haven't even greeted her, I can't just-

"Aaa-choooo!"

The lethargic look the sneeze had left on him was swiftly replaced with his eyes widening in stress. He'd sneezed almost right behind her, like some inelegant idiot. So much for coming up with a good introduction...

“Thanks! Sorry for not introducing myself before.” The other bird apologized. “I'm Valen.” Valen, hm? Valen...she had a nice name, Radar kinda liked it. “I come from Aileron Village, but I'm here at Grassveil because I heard there were some dungeons that would be nice for new explorers to go to.” Valen continued, Radar just listening to the other Avian speak. “I've already been to Pecha and Shadowhue,”—wow, Pecha and Shadowhue Forest? Well, Radar's been there, too, but Valen talked about going to Shadowhue like it was no big deal for her!—“and I'm hoping to train enough that I can join the Aileron Guild someday and be a good member.”

Guild member...?

Okay, guild members were bad. Really bad. Oh Arceus, were they bad. First off, they have access to an Outlaw board. Radar's probably got wanted posters in places just like the criminals had them. The Outlaws—why they’re called Outlaw Posters!—got wanted posters with bounties on them placed on a board in every guild thanks to the police. If, say, Valen had access to an Outlaw Board...she'd see a wanted poster for Radar's brother, Hiro, somewhere, and Radar didn’t know how well it was known that Hiro the Honchkrow had a little brother that’s also committed crimes in the form of stealing, which meant wanted poster. The police probably knew, they know everything. Also, secondly...Yigo hated the guild. You would not get him near that building. And if Yigo didn’t like them...well, Radar shouldn’t, either!

I feel, as the reader, you should choose not to question his subtle obsession with Yigo...

Good? Great! Let’s move on!

“So, what's your name and where are you from?” Valen asked the now panicked Murkrow. There was only one thing that stuck out in his mind...‘guild member.’ Wait, why did she sound so...specific. Why...why ask; what’s your name and where are you from?

“Grassveil Town.” Radar lied after a tiny bit of nervous hesitation, rubbing his wings together quicker. He felt extremely uncomfortable, he wanted out now! “I-I-I’m from G-Grassveil Town...” He nervously stuttered out, his voice having tiny traces of nervousness or fear laced into it. “M-My name's Radar...”

Radar was still trying to figure out if giving this girl his name was the best thing to do...probably not.

Li's steps faltered as she heard the sneeze, ears perking up to the sound. She even almost tripped on her own paws...clumsy much? She glanced at the Seedot quickly, eyes narrow and ears flat as she stepped a little bit to the left, away from the Seedot. She looked ahead, kept walking—a bit more normally this time—as she shook her body...then she looked back at the Seedot, eyes going wide before taking her gaze away from him almost as quickly after. Her ears were alert, listening, and her muscles had tensed. She looked like she was getting ready to fight, or...defend herself, or...

Her bushy tail had started tapping the ground faster, just small, light taps, probably about five taps a second. She took a deep breath, looking back at the Seedot, face expression a little calmer...then she looked away again. A low growl started to come from her, which just...stopped suddenly. She mumbled something under her breath, speeding up her walking speed. She almost tripped again, paw just refusing to lift off the ground, said paw flipping over with her toes still touching the ground, her leg putting pressure on the top of her paw rather than the underside of it. That almost caused a face plant. She lifted the same paw up and shot it in front of her, slamming it on the ground ahead of her to keep her from falling. After not getting very far, she looked over her shoulder to see the Seedot who hadn’t gone anywhere from her line of sight.

She stood in place, looking ahead of her for...something. Her tail slowly stopped tapping the ground, actually being still for once. Then said tail started its swishing motion back up as she looked completely at Lea, turning around, stepping closer to him...and looking angry at him. Surely, that...enraged look wasn’t because of the sneeze...right? Then she smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile, though...it’d be one of those smiles you’d get when you felt tired and so upset at something you actually found it funny. Like when you’d spend your entire day doing paperwork, you finally finish, you’re so happy about it and then look...there's so much more paperwork there you just smile and laugh at the shitty, depressing luck you have. The smile this Eevee showed was a tired smile, an angry smile.

“Everymon wants to ‘follow me around’ today, huh?” She spoke through a strained voice and tightly clenched teeth, very audible, heavy air quotes around; ‘follow me around.’ Her eyes were just...done. Done with everything. Done with the shit of life, as one might say. Her paws dug into the ground, looking like they could press through stone if this Pokémon so chose to do so. Her smile faded as her tail seemed to start flicking back and forth instead of just gently drifting back and forth. “You think I’m too stupid to notice you following me?” She replied not through clenched teeth, still sounding furious, though, as if...everything else about her and her offensive stance weren’t giveaways as far as her mood went. “To wait for me to be alone?”

So his name is Radar... but he seems even more worried than before. He's rubbing his wings together and stuttering. It seems that he doesn't want to talk to me. Valen thought to himself. Why? Was what I asked too personal? But the things I asked were the same kinds of things that I just told him about myself without anyone asking... come to think of it, maybe that wasn't the best idea?

By now, Valen was staring intently at Radar. This continued for a bit before Valen realized his way of looking might be contributing to the Murkrow's worry and probably wasn't polite, so he slightly turned away. Well, at least he doesn't seem dangerous, as far as I can tell. And there was that angry Eevee walking away before - and even before that, what happened in Shadowhue Forest, if he's the Murkrow from there, which he seems to be. He doesn't recognize me, but it's not as if I would recognize everyone from there either now. So I guess he has reasons to be worried. Valen continued thinking.

So what to do now? On one wing, there was how Radar apparently did not want to talk anymore. Even more than just wanting to be polite because he had been told to, Valen could understand that feeling to some extent. Not that he felt as nervous as Radar did, but in places such as Pecha Forest - not even just that, but also some times in Aileron Village before - Valen had also gotten into awkward social situations that he had wanted to escape from. And there was still the thought of that angry Eevee, who had moved away for now, but what if the Eevee came back and just made the situation even worse? And a third thing - Radar had said that he was from Grassveil. Valen had been hoping somewhat that Radar was or had been a native of Aileron as well, so they could talk about familiar things together - but that didn't seem to be the case.

On the other wing, Radar was still a fellow bird Pokemon, and there was some chance that Valen could find a way around his worry and become friends with him. And if I could help him, that would be great! Plus, it's what a guild member would do, right? It would be good practice! Valen thought to himself. But I have to be careful about what I say.

Valen continued thinking for a bit, then stated "I would like to go shopping," as he looked towards some stalls in the distance. He then realized that it might have sounded a bit silly to suddenly say that in the middle of what was technically a conversation - especially since where he was and the question he had asked about shops before would have probably made his desires obvious already. But at least I'm not asking him any questions or telling him to do something. I think that's what might worry him? And I've heard before that distracting someone from their problems can help sometimes. Or leaving them alone. If he tells me to just leave or further implies that I should, I'll do that.

Leander was dead silent as he watched her stumble away and repeatedly cast glances at him. Part of him contemplated just walking off now. Perhaps this had not been that good an idea after all. The Eevee certainly did not seem comfortable, and he did not want to frighten her, yet he seemed to be doing just that now. But what if something did happen to her after he left? He had sworn that he would become a better person, and just leaving someone who did not seem to be in their right mind to wander the streets alone like this did not feel like a good thing to do...

His hesitation made him stay until the kid surprisingly turned around and came back to him, once again with a infuriated and unnerving mien. Which soon was replaced with one that somehow managed to be even worse despite her smiling. Although he had mostly managed to get over the fear the fox had made him feel earlier, it came creeping back as a slight shiver now. She wasn't going to hurt him for this... right?

“Everymon wants to ‘follow me around’ today, huh?”

Though this was better than physical pain, the acorn still winced a little as the accusation came. He was guilty as charged, but... what was up with the way she said "follow me around"? It sounded like she was alluding to something other than just being weird and following others, but he was not sure what. Leander couldn't help but let some of his puzzlement slip through his otherwise wary body language, manifesting in a questioning squint. After her next sentence had fought its way past her gritted teeth, he stepped back ever so slightly, his eyes widening. "No, that's not it-"

“To wait for me to be alone?”

"What? No! Why would you think that? I just heard you shouting earlier and got worried, y'know... Was wondering if you were okay. I just didn't know how to ask," he tried to explain, shaking his body like one would shake one's head. His tone had started out as a surprised one, like he had been caught off-guard by what she said. It calmed down as the sentence went on and he managed to restrain his reaction, and a calmer and gentler tone took over. He was still trying his best not to distress or anger this critter more than necessary.

But she kept staring.

She just kept staring.

Radar didn’t know what to do, what Valen was doing, what he should do, what he shouldn't do because of what Valen might take from what he does...Radar was panicking. What do I do, what do I do? Radar just kept rubbing his wings as his heart started pounding, talon subtly tapping the ground. Wow, was he ever fidgety. Even when Valen turned away slightly, he still felt so incredibly nervous. This continued on for a bit, Radar taking a few deep breaths. You’re fine, Radar, he thought, but was interrupted by Valen’s voice.

“I would like to go shopping.” She said, looking at some stalls in the marketplace.

That one comment seemed to calm Radar, he could use that to avoid any more personal questions! Radar visibly perked up a bit as he stepped aside, letting Valen see the stalls behind him if those were what she was interested in. “If it’s your first time here, I can give you a tour.” Radar offered with a friendly smile. If Valen said yes and didn’t interrogate him, then maybe she might not be so bad.

However, distress and anger her Leander did, and continued to do so. “Suuuuuuuure you were.” Li agreed, smile remaining as sarcasm became laced in her voice. So much fire in such a tiny little furball. “And I’m the mayor of a town juuuuust on the other side of Pecha Forest, and I’m one of the most popular Pokémon in the world.” She added, slowly starting to back away. “There’s also a shit ton of potential witnesses, so kidnapping or killing me or even just kidnapping me so you can kill me wouldn’t be the best idea.” Had Leander ever heard somemon say ‘fuck you’ using only the tone of their voice? The words ‘fuck you’ were never said, but...the Eevee's tone on that last sentence said it for her.

At Valen's words, Radar - somewhat to Valen's surprise - seemed to calm down a bit. So maybe it was asking personal questions that worried him so much, Valen realized. I'll have to make sure to not do that with him from now on. Although it's still sort of weird, though - I can't think of anyone else who became that worried just because of a few questions. And he didn't even just ask me to stop or tell me I was being rude, like some other Pokemon have done before. Could he possibly have something to hide?

Valen, of course, kept these thoughts entirely to himself. So Radar had then suggested that he could take Valen on a tour of Grassveil Town. That actually seemed pretty nice, but there was still some things to think about... "Um... I've technically been here before... but - it was only for a short time. I really haven't seen much of this town yet. Taking a tour of Grassveil with you showing me around would be very helpful, if you still want to do that. Thanks a lot for your offer!" Valen replied to the Murkrow. After all, it was true, and while Valen doubted that his brief past visits actually mattered, he was being extra careful due to the situation. He definitely did not want to lie or seem as if he was forcing Radar to do something. It was still somewhat surprising to him that Radar actually wanted to stay and even help him for what could be an extended period of time.

There was one other thing... Is this safe? Valen worried. Radar doesn't seem dangerous, but it's not as if I really know him, and he has been acting quite oddly at times... Well, Grassveil Town, and especially the shops of course - those are public areas. I'll be fine there.

Yeah, this definitely had not been his brightest idea. There was no shortage of crazy in this Eevee. What was he supposed to say to something like that? Accusations of murder and kidnapping... He shrunk closer to the ground as they rolled out, dearly hoping the passerby pokémon would stop giving him such dirty looks. C'mon, you guys! It's not like I'm actually plotting anything like that! Unfortunately, saying anything about it would probably just make him seem fishier. Thus, he focused on the fox for now.

"H-hey, calm down, alright?" Leander took a few steps back, wanting to throw his palms up between them. He still lacked those, however, so he was limited to just backing off for now. "I know you don't believe me, but I really was just wanting to help. I... I'd offer to leave you alone now, but..." he began, staring at the ground for a good three seconds as he considered whether he wanted to continue or not. What if this started nasty rumours about him, or made someone so worried they sicced the police on him? Ugh, he'd never fulfill his goal of becoming truly good if he thought in such a selfish way. This Eevee obviously had it worse. "Are you really worried someone's gonna do that? Kill you? Is it safe to just leave you?" he asked, his voice quieter than before.