Joint Expedition: Investigation

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Kestro sauntered up to the entrance of Serene Cave, looking quite different than before. No longer were his scales bared to the world, the Cranidos having received a gift from his grandmother while visiting in Grassveil. He was now adorned in fine cloth and silk clothing similar in style to a desert scholar or merchant. A gold buckle in the shape of a Volcarona's head and gold neck piece held the majority of the piece together. He also had wide gold bracelets on, which appeared to be little more than accessories. Atop his head was a turban with the same colors as the rest of the outfit; green with pale blue highlights, and a gold piece used as both an accessory and to help fasten it to his head. He had a small pair of glasses atop his nose, which he fiddled with every now and again as he tried to get used to them. The final piece to the outfit was his new bag. Instead of the simple bag he had before, which was more of just a sack with a single large pocket for him to throw everything into, this once was made of a sturdier leather and was adorned with several pockets. It certainly helped with organizing his items, allowing quick access to anything Kestro placed on the outer pockets.

The Cranidos looked around for a moment. No sign of Saturn, but Kestro expected this. Their plan was to meet at the entrance at noon, which was still nearly an hour away. Perhaps he should've just tried to find Saturn first, but Kestro was sure his Cubone partner knew the way to Serene Cave, given that they passed the path that led to it while coming to Grassveil.

Kestro stretched for a moment before sitting himself down, taking a moment to relax and gather his thoughts on their goal. Supposedly there was a healing spring in the dungeon, if the rumor were to be trusted. Serene Cave itself didn't appear properly explored, and the pair had decided to rectify that on top of their goal to investigate the rumor. Kestro thought on what Pokemon might inhabit a cave. He was still unfamiliar with many species of Pokemon, but he'd heard that many rock, dark, and ground type Pokemon like caves as dens. Given how Serene Cave also connected to Rainfront, there might also be water types. Supposedly a notoriously common Pokemon known as Zubat frequented caves, though it was a Flying/Poison type, and very weak compared to most Pokemon, so Kestro wasn't quite concerned.

As far as items, Kestro had learned that berries aren't very common in caves, so he and Saturn would need to be conservative on using any healing berries they had. He glanced at the small sack at his side. A few berries he planned to give Saturn were in there, of which two were oran berries. Back to what he'd heard, evolutionary stones, TMs, and throwing items were common finds in caves. He didn't know how much use those would be, unless they found a particularly good one. They could always use the throwing items to keep Zubat at bay if they lived in this cave.

Kestro's beak clicked. He shouldn't have come so early. He was getting too eager to go in now, and unless Saturn showed up early, the Cranidos felt like he'd explode with anticipation. Definitely not a good state if the pair were to make careful notes on the dungeon and discover the truth of the rumored healing spring.

Energy: 32-20= 12

The main thing Saturn was worried about at this point was contracting some sort of disease. However, he remembered the Heal Seed he had, so worst-case scenario that would probably do the trick. "...ok, do what you need to do." He stretched his arm out towards the sightless creature. It immediately lowered itself down and pricked two small holes into Saturn's arm. It stung a bit briefly, but otherwise, the entire process wasn't nearly as loathsome as Saturn was afraid it would be. "Licklicklicklicklicklicklicklicklickllicklicklicklicklick-okay I'm done." The Zubat then promptly dropped down a small sack filled with items, before flying off deeper into the caverns. "That wasn't so bad.", Saturn said to Kestro while rubbing his arm. He opened the bag up and felt around. He could feel a seed of some sort, a long piece of soft fabric, some kind of smooth disc, and a small squishy morsel. He carefully laid the items down on the cave floor, using the smaller bag they came in as a buffer so they didn't get wet. "Hey, Kestro, would you please do that thing with your head again, so I can properly see what these are?"

Kestro blinked in shock that Saturn would up and agree to such a thing. The zubat was asking for his blood, not a cup of water or something. Yet Saturn still allowed it, and it sounded as disgusting as Kestro was sure it would look if he could clearly see it. A light shiver of disgust swept down his spine as he heard the bat slurp out the ground type's blood. It was over fast, but still! Kestro let out a small huff at Saturn's comment. "You just let someone suck your blood for items. That did not seem smart," he grumbled before moving closer to the Cubone, his head gaining the psychic glow of his Zen Headbutt.

Energy = 2

"Well, I wagered that that Zubat was probably really desperate if they were willing to straight-up ask me and offer items in return. If I had declined, who knows what they would have done to get their fill?" Under the brilliant purple glow, Saturn examined the items before him. The TM and the scarf weren't even remotely familiar to him. He didn't even know how to determine what move the TM had stored within it, or if he was compatible. The green scarf looked quite exquisite, and Saturn wondered just how that Zubat got ahold of it. I'm probably better off not knowing., he thought. The seed and the gummi were easy enough, however. The seed appeared to be a Vile Seed, which effectively amplifies the damage the eater takes. If he could get a hostile pokemon to consume it, they'd be much easier to deal with. The gummi was a dull grey color, which made Saturn fairly confident that it was for rock types. He checked with Kestro, regardless. "That gummi is a grey gummi, right? Which, if I recall correctly, is the one Rock types like the most. If so, feel free to take it. All I ask is that you do the same for me if we find any brown ones. Is that alright with you?"

"Sure, just hold onto it for now, hopefully more gummis like them are in the cave, and we can survive off of them if our rations run low." he said to Saturn's offer for the trade.

Kestro scratched his chin, as he was still unsure if Saturn's reasoning about the Zubat was sound. The Zubat admitted to had been following them, and yet neither detected it. Desperation seemed less likely to Kestro, and more so that the Zubat was simply staking them out. On top of that, he wouldn't be surprised if the Zubat knew of Kestro's type advantage. Through all this internal thought, Kestro hadn't noticed the added weight on his back, with another bat Pokemon deciding the Crandios made the perfect perch. At the very least Kestro's head was still a glow, leabing the Noibat bathed in the purplish glow.

"Yeah, good idea Kestro. With how long we're gonna be in here, we'll need all the nourishment we can get. Speaking of that, around how long did you say-" Saturn stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the small, fuzzy creature on his head. "I think one of those Zubat is- "Hey, I'm not a Zubat you dummy! I'm a Noivern! And I have a name, y'know.", the Noivern lashes out in a sassy tone. "Everyone has a name, and my momma always said to refer to others by their name. My name's Sasha, and don't bother introducing yourselves. I already know both your names. Heard you both say them with by perfect hearing. Okay, Kestro?", she says, mistaking Saturn for Kestro.

"Kestro's a bit too masculine of a name for you, though. You squeal like a sissy. You're more of a Sally, in my opinion."

Kestro blinked as Saturn pointed out that the Cranidos was now carrying a bit more than what he came with. The sassy Noibat seemed like she wouldn't let Saturn get a word in, so Kestro snapped his beak, the loud clack echoing through the cave. "I'm Kestro, he's Saturn, and I'd rather you ask before deciding I'm an appropriate perch for you," he said, keeping his Zen Headbutt glowing as he looked back at the Noibat, clearly annoyed at the situation. To be entirely fair, Kestro couldn't actually hit the Noibat without somehow getting her off of his back, which meant either Saturn would have to take action, Kestro would have to roll over to shake her off, or they'd have to come up with a third option.

Her bossy demeanor immediately melted away at Kestro's harsh words. "Ok, ok. No need to get all bent out of shape about it." She promptly glides off of Kestro's head and lands on the cave floor between Kestro and Saturn. "So, what brings you two to this place? I don't believe I've seen either of you pass through here, and pretty much all I do is stalk people, so..."
Saturn was a bit surprised by this statement. "Surely that can't be all you do, Sasha. Do you not have any friends to play with? She just shook her head 'no'. Poor thing. No wonder she hitched a ride with us. She probably just wants some company. Now that I think of it, I wasn't much different. At least, not until relatively recently. I'm not exactly popular, but I've definitely made a few friends ever since I got separated from my parents. I wonder how close Sasha is to her parents? Saturn considered asking her up front, but was afraid it might be a touchy subject, so he decided against it. Who knows how she might react to such a question?