Refuge from the Rain

First topic message reminder :

It had been a disastrous few days. Shion had arrived in the area only to find it bathed in a horrible purple smog. She'd never been here before, so it had been a bit of a shock to find somewhere so toxic. It didn't matter where she went on the flatlands, it felt like she was breathing in something that disagreed with her. To make matters worse, the smog irritated her eyes and she was struggling to see where she was going.

Even here in this poisonous wasteland, it seemed there were some pokemon who thrived. Shion had considered for a moment that staying here in such a barren place might be for the best in the end. However, a surprising number of encounters with poison types over the last few days caused her to accept that maybe that wasn't a good choice for anyone involved.

After skirting around some sort of settlement, the greying clouds on the horizon had finally opened and provided a little respite from the smog. The area had been dry, with little vegetation and Shion found herself wondering how long it had been since the last rain here. Was she lucky that the heavens had opened? Or was this a great misfortune for those that lived here?

Although the smog's presence had been lifted slightly thanks to the rain, Shion was soon soaked through. Already feeling weak from the poisonous fog, Shion became aware that she would need to find somewhere to rest, dry off and warm up. Sooner rather than later, unless she wanted to remain out in the open and become ill.

Pushing herself onwards, Shion eventually spotted a giant house. Her first impulse was to avoid it. It was a house, so surely someone lived there. Getting closer, it was clear to her that the place was in a state of disrepair. The roof was patchy, parts of it missing and having fallen to the ground and vnes crawled through some of the woodwork. Soaked through and needing somewhere relatively sheltered to rest, Shion opted to take her chances.

Entering the house was relatively easy. Shion approached the front door, assuming that if anyone really did live there they'd be quick to stop her from entering. She pushed open the door and stood in the entrance way for a few moments. Nothing happened, so she headed a little further into the building. Perhaps the mansion was abandoned after all.

Shion didn't go far from the entrance. One room over was far enough to avoid the drafts from the entranceway. Shion shook the moisture from her feathers, her gaze filtering across the room. There was a chandelier hung from the ceiling, but most of the furniture looked sturdy. The area beneath the chandelier was a no-go; she wasn't going to risk it falling. Eyeing up the furniture further away from the centre of the room, Shion finally decided to perch on the back of what once might have been a seat of some kind.

With her perch decided, Shion took a moment to check that her belongings had all remained dry in her bag. Sifting through it seemed that most everything had remained dry except for the book tucked closest to the front. Thankfully she'd already finished reading it, but it was a shame to see its pages soaked. With a small sigh, she pulled it out from the bag. The Warmth of Suns. An unfortunate title considering it was now dripping cold rainwater all over the floor.

Gently, she laid the book alongside her on the perch, separating its pages and perusing the damage. The ink appeared to be fine in most places but had run in few places. What a shame. Alas, she could do no more than hope it was still legible when it had dried.

With her book drying beside her, Shion fluffed up her feathers and closed her eyes, hoping to sleep out the rain.

Alki didn't like what she was suggesting... Why was she giving her back her blanket? It was obvious, really, but it didn't mean that Alki wanted to recognize this... She wanted her to stay. She felt some sort of... well, the Murkrow didn't seem all too dissimilar to her... Smarter, of course. Better. She could read. She seemed intelligent, and Alki wasn't, but if possible, she wanted to help her... But of course, she'd made a mistake at some point or another... Why else would she be leaving? The Murkrow set down the blanket, and then flew off in the direction of the door. She didn't have a choice now, did she...? Alki picked up the blanket, and put it back in her bag. She wished the Murkrow still had it. She wished she could be more useful... Useful at all...

The jigglypuff mumbled another small apology, but she wasn't sure if Shion heard, or if she simply didn't want to respond. What had she done so wrong...? She thought and thought back on the interaction, and even if Shion seemed quiet, she hadn't really seemed upset with her... Maybe she'd just been pretending? It wouldn't be out of the question... Alki met Shion's eyes once more, as she turned back to look at all three of them. She seemed almost... desperate? Longing? Sad? Alki wasn't very good at reading emotions, but she could at least tell that the expression on the Murkrow's face was a far cry from what upset Pokemon looked like...

It's safer for all of you if I go...

"N-No way...!" Darcy said, eyes widening as she watched the Shion flew off into the next room. She sounded so depressed... Darcy couldn't help but hear a bit of her little sister in that voice… If Alki weren't right there, next to her, it was so easy to imagine that voice belonging to the Murkrow rather than to the balloon…

The Skitty picked up her little sister's apology, her ears perking up before she turned to look at her. "H-Hey… it's not your fault, Ok, Alki?" Darcy said, brushing her tail softly against the Jigglypuff. She wished she could spend more time cheering her up, but the Murkrow was in more immediate danger… So she ran after Shion, into the other room, only to be met with… well, actually, Shion was still there, thankfully… the door wasn't, but weren't they going to spend some time in here anyways? They'd find the exit later…

Darcy breathed a soft sigh of relief, as she heard the other two run after her. She walked up softly to the Murkrow, staring up at the wall. "Well, it's not a door, but at least we got a pretty picture to make up for it! Darcy said cheerily, prompting a rather loud guffaw from the Oddish.

"Well, now you don't have a choice! Now you have to hang out with us!" The Oddish positively beamed, as Alki walked up quietly behind shion, doing her best to go unnoticed. She seemed so preoccupied with the others, that it shouldn't be too difficult… Alki pulled out the blanket, and threw it back onto the Murkrow, doing her best to adjust it for Shion.

"P-Please…? Alki asked softly, rubbing her wrist again as soon as her hands were free. Darcy, meanwhile, nudged Shion softly, smiling coyly at her.

"Besides, I don't see how you leaving makes us safer. Not that it matters! We're all here on a guild trip, so me and Alki are responsible for the two of you now! Don't worry about our safety! The two of us have been through danger before…" Of course, she talked bigger than their past trips merited… Even though it had absolutely been dangerous, she hadn't really had any control during her last outing to a dungeon… She'd had no control over the sharp claws that had cut into her, nor much control during the fight that followed… She snuck a glance at Alki, who seemed quite nervous… she wished she hadn't put the Jigglypuff through that…

Alki nudged Shion herself, her smile melancholy as she tried to speak. "I-It's mostly Darcy… I-I'm not good for much, B-but I'll do my best to protect you t-too, S-So… P-Please stay…"

Shion stared at the painting. The meadows depicted within looked so peaceful, but the painting's existance felt more like an elaborate joke at her expense. Shion was so sure that the longer she stayed in this house the more likely something was going to happen, but there wasn't an easy way out anymore. How was she supposed to fix this?

Lost in her thoughts, the sudden presence of Darcy beside her startled Shion. She edged a step away from the skitty on instinct, but Darcy's words halted any further movement from her.

So similar.

In that moment, Shion could easily imagine orange feathers and a striped tail plume in the place of Darcy's pink form. She shifted her gaze to the painting. It really was pretty. Upon closer look she could see the brush strokes that formed grasses and flowers. It was easy to appreciate the hard work of the artist who had made it. Of course, Shion hadn't taken notice of its craftsmanship before, as she could only focus on how the offending painting was not the exit.

Before Shion knew it, Alki had snuck up on her and draped her in the blanket once again. She glanced to Alki, grateful, but unsure how to voice it. Why the jigglypuff and the oddish seemed to want her to stick around, Shion had no clue. Between Alki's plea and Darcy's words Shion could tell they weren't going to just leave her whilst they were still in the chateau.

"B-because bad things are less likely to happen to you all," Shion replied to Darcy, who seemed confused about the benefits of keeping their distance. Not that it mattered with no exit in sight. Shion paused as she weighed up her options. She could keep fleeing from the group, but it would likely hinder their guild work since it seemed they would try to follow her. There was also no guarantee that the chateau wouldn't rearrange itself again, rendering her attempts to stay as far away as possible practically useless.

Or, she could agree to stick with them until they managed to locate an exit. The trio would be exposed to the misfortune of her presence, but she would be able to keep an eye out for potential dangers, maybe even warn them in time, and Shion wouldn't waste their precious time by running away.

Shion tugged nervously at her wing feathers. Reluctantly, she had to admit that joining their group sounded like the best option for the trio. Temporarily of course. Her gaze flicked to each of the pokemon in turn. "O-okay. I'll go with you. Just until we find the exit," she replied quietly. Shion paused briefly, her eyes widening in realisation before she hurriedly added, "B-but please don't worry about looking out for me! You and your client are much more important. I can look out for myself."

Darcy smiled softly as her little sister snuck up on the strange Murkrow, throwing the blanket that she had lent Shion back on to the bird. Truth be told, it was a rather sweet sight. Alki didn't ever seem to give herself enough credit, as a guild member, or just as a person. But she was nice. This just went to prove that! Darcy's smile only grew as the Murkrow turned back to face the jigglypuff, an expression of gratitude on her face. The bird seemed quite a lot like her little sister, in a lot of ways. Of course, bigger, and a lot less brightly-coloured, but the outside didn't really matter, did it?

If Shion was like Alki, then Darcy had a responsibility to keep her safe too, didn't she? Just like she'd done with Alki? Of course, the Murkrow seemed a bit older, but she didn't seem much less vulnerable... The words she spoke could've just as easily come from the balloon. Even her stutter...

"Nah, that's silly." Darcy said, nudging the Murkrow softly. She knew exactly what Shion was attempting to imply. It made her heart break, because it was far from the first time she'd heard it. Maybe not word for word, but Alki had said the same thing plenty of times before. That she just hurt people, simply by existing... This didn't seem far off from that. And that wasn't right... Nobody should have to feel that way about themselves. Darcy's ear perked up as her smile softened, and she turned to look at Shion. Her tail swished softly. She'd never been too good at this sort of thing, but she'd always tried her best... What more could be expected of her? Although she certainly wished she were good at it...

"You seem like a nice enough person. I trust ya!" The Skitty finally said, bright as she could manage. Of course, she knew that wasn't the point that Shion was trying to make, but Darcy didn't really care. She wasn't sure how to adress Shion's actual worries... She'd never really known... "Bad things've happened to us before, so it'd hardly be fair to blame you..."

The bird grew even more nervous, tugging at her feathers. She looked first at Darcy, then back to Alki, and finally, the Oddish. Her words seemed to indicate that she didn't really have much in the way of self worth. But at the very least, she agreed to hang around them.

Alki tugged softly on the Murkrow's... Well, technically, her blanket. Still, she didn't want it back... Just Shion's attention. The girl's ears twitched as she cocked her head, smiling softly. "Y-You c-can't tell us w-what to d-do..." The jigglypuff said, a small smile on her face. She wanted to help Shion! It's not like there was anything particularly wrong about that... "I wanna look out for you too. Can't I?" She asked, the question more rhetorical than anything. Permission would be appreciated, but if Shion said no, she wasn't going to listen... Unlike Alki, Shion seemed to be worth something. And she wanted to help people who were worth helping...

"Besides! Now we're even!" The Oddish yelled out, bouncing in place once more. The prospect of a new companion seemed to thrill him, as he looked at each Pokemon in turn. Both Darcy and Alki gave their client an amused, but puzzled gaze, before he decided to elaborate. "Before, there was two guild-members, and only one client! Now there's two guild members, and two clients! You're my client buddy now!" He grinned, bouncing up to the Murkrow and gazing up at her, his smile as large as possible.

"I'm going to evolve today! These two are going to help me! Don't you think that's cool? Don't you?" He grinned, now that Shion had decided to stay, he seemed more thrilled than ever. The more the merrier, after all![/size]

Darcy was... too kind. Fairness really had nothing to do with it, not when Shion was the direct cause. The Murkrow could see that the Skitty wasn't willing to accept Shion's role in any potential misfortune, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to happen. Shion nodded meekly at Darcy's words. If Darcy continued to try and disprove her, it'd just delay the guild members further.

A gentle tug on the blanket drew Shion's attention to Alki on her other side. The Jigglypuff was right, Shion couldn't tell them what to do. She could only warn them and hope they heeded her warnings. "Just... look out for yourself first. Please," Shion replied. She could never forgive herself if something happened to any of these three because they'd been trying to protect her instead of themselves. Shion understood that it was this natural compassion that made them so suited to be members of a rescue team, but she would do anything to prevent something horrible befalling them.

Shion was drawn immediately to the Oddish's loud voice. He seemed excited rather than concerned; a breath of fresh air that cut through the tension that had befallen Shion. Worrying at her wings, she flashed a small smile at the weed pokemon. "A-ah I'm not really a client-" she trailed off, the Oddish cementing the title by calling her his client buddy.

The exciteable Oddish was a little overwhelming with all of his energy. That said, Shion nodded in agreement. She'd never seen anyone evolve before, so she was a little curious. Whenever it had happened in the village she'd always seen the pokemon in one form one day and evolved the next. As she found herself wanting to see the Oddish attain his new form, Shion hoped her misfortune wouldn't get in the way of the Oddish's aspirations.