Maybe The Real Treasure Is The Friends We Made Along The Way

Truth be told, Darcy hated sand, and it was rare for her to say she hated anything. The way the small grains of sand seemed to sneak into her fur and in between her toes, causing her whole paw - No, her whole leg, really, to feel scratchy and itchy and strange. Not to mention the fact that sometimes she sunk into the sand. And it was hot, and her paws always felt like they were burning. Maybe they were. Should she get them checked out once she was back in town? Probably. The Skitty sighed, her ears twitching as she found herself wishing she was a fire-type for the millionth time that day.  

Panting, the kitten Pokemon clambered up to the top of the dune she currently found herself situated on. Squinting, she could make out green in the distance. Green! She had... Frankly, no clue where she was at this point. She'd lost her map hours ago, shortly after entering the desert. Some feral sandshrew had found it fit to attack her, and while it hadn't presented much of a physical threat, it did find a way to run off with her map.

At the very least, her bottles of water were intact. Things could've been much worse then they were. That was the bright side of everything, huh?

"But none of that matters now!" Darcy cried out into the searing hot desert. She began to trot down, picking up speed the more she ran, more than eager to get out of the searing hot, grainy sand, away from the burning sensation that plagued her paws, away from everything about the desert, and to finally spend some time in the grass again. And water! There had to be water, right? Fresh water!

Of course, in her haste to get to to the oasis, Darcy forgot just how finicky sand could be. Her front legs slid out from under her as a wave of loose sand gave out from under her feet. Suddenly, Darcy found herself rolling, tumbling down the sand dune, her cries of surprise (And more than a bit of pain. Why was it so hot?) swallowed by the sand. She was swallowing sand. It had gotten into her mouth.

This was not a happy moment.

Darcy spat out the sound, her eyes shut tightly to prevent any of the heated grains from entering her eyes. Finally, she found herself able to speak again. She was rolling a lot, wasn't she? "SANDVALANCHE!" She found herself crying out, the phrase being the only word of warning she could think of in her head. There were other words. But for some reason, she found herself doubting that Owowowowhothothothelpmeplease would make suitable words of warning to anyone below her.

Finally, she came to a stop. It'd be alright if she took a second by herself, right? At least she was at the bottom of the dune now. Closer to the oasis. Even if she did feel like her whole body was on fire.

Arceus, Darcy hated sand.

SANDVALANCHE!

Okay, what the fuck? Phosphor jolted in surprise, looking up from his map to see a small pink pokemon tumbling down, down, down the dune, right towards him. Thanks to her... oddly worded warning, he managed to scamper back before getting swept away in the sand, biting back a yelp of shock as she came sliding to an undignified stop next to him.

Oh, no. Was she alright? She was breathing, at least, but if she was hurt, would Phosphor have to carry her? He wasn't exactly very strong yet! He barely had arms! The Ralts gave her a little poke, shaking her gently to see if she was awake. "Are you okay?" He managed, hoping he didn't sound quite as awkward as he felt.

"I'm a guild member, and there's an oasis nearby, if you need any help getting there." He managed to offer without sounding too dumb. He reached out a hand to help her up, but it was... questionable how that would work out, when she didn't have any arms, and Phosphor may as well not have any either.

Crowned Gods, help him. He couldn't wait to evolve.

Phosphor's Energy: 6
(13 - 7)

Darcy closed her eyes, feeling the whole world tumbling around her, even after she'd become aware that she'd slid to a stop. Finally. She was sandy all over! Sand in her ears, in her mouth in her noise, absolutely coating her fur, and she hated it! At the very least, she could hope that she'd been the only one to suffer in this sandvalanche, as she'd called it in her moment of panic. The kitten's tail struggled to lift itself from under the large pile of sand most of her body found itself under. Finally, it poked out from beneath the sand. Darcy spat out another glob of sand, groaning softly in annoyance.

"I-I'm fine, thanks," Darcy said, panting softly as she opened her eyes. She felt a small poke on her shoulder, and she looked up at the source of the voice. "Today's just... r-really not my day, huh," At the very least, she was happy she'd left Alki with their older sibling, back in Rainfront. Having to take care of her, on top of this turn of events, well... She wasn't sure she'd be up to the task.

Darcy felt the sun's rays beating down on her, and the kitten pokemon's hatred for sand found renewed vigor. The skitty tilted her head, feeling a significant amount of sand fall down the side of her head, although a good chunk still clung to her fur, like pollen, but a lot more annoying.

"I... s-should be fine, I'm just... really dizzy." As if to prove her point, the Skitty struggled to her feet, pushing off a rather large amount of sand off her back, and struggling to stand steady on her own four feet. Arceus the world was spinning. Was she falling?

Plop.

Darcy fell to her side, a wry, bitter smile on her face. She hated to lie down in the sand, but how else was she supposed to steady her head? She hoped there'd be a place to clean off all the sand. She hated this sensation. "C-Can y-you just give me five minutes... Uh..." Darcy paused, tilting her head to regard the small ralts before her. "I... d-don't think I caught your n-name?"

"Phosphor. Team Daybreak." He fished around for his guild badge, but all things considered, the Skitty seemed to have... other priorities. Like laying down in the sand. He abandoned his search for it, settling instead to plop down on the ground next to her. "Mind if I stick around 'til you're feeling better? Not like I'm on a mission or anything, so I'm not in any rush." Even if he wasn't really well-equipped enough to help yet, it felt wrong to leave someone collapsed in the sand. The desert could be pretty dangerous, if you didn't know what you were doing.

Not to say she didn't know what she was doing! It was just, that first impression didn't exactly... inspire confidence. That was the nicest way he could think to phrase it, and it still sounded pretty rude. Whoops. He kicked himself slightly, unfurling his map while he waited for the stranger to feel a bit better. She could take care of herself once they hit the oasis, right? Or... was he going to have to stick around?

No, helping civilians had to come before treasure hunting. Even if his eye lingered a little too long on the crystal flower, drawn in pencil in the very corner of his map. A crystalline flower that never wilts, bringing peace and tranquility to all who see it. Someone would pay a small fortune for something like that. If it was real, anyways. He'd have more than enough money to bring Tsera here.

It was... strange, being apart from his sibling for this long, when they'd always been together. He felt almost incomplete on his own. Wasn't that kind of pathetic? He glanced back at the Skitty, offering a faint smile. "So what brought you here, anyways? You're probably treasure hunting too?"

Darcy closed her eyes, waiting for her head to stop spinning so that she could actually stand up straight and stop with this nauseous, lingering falling sensation. She felt the other pokemon plop down next to her. Phosphor, as he introduced himself. From Team Daybreak. She quite liked the name of that team! Of course, it didn't quite stack up with the name she'd chosen for her team, but it wasn't like her to brag! It was certainly less of a mouthful, and that had to count for something?

She wondered if Phosphor's teammates were embarrassed by the name, like Alki was embarrassed by theirs. What was embarrassing about the name Team Friendship Alliance? She thought it was good! It was bright and cheery, and she liked that in a name?

Alki always struggled to actually say their team's name to strangers though.

"Sure, I don't mind! Company's always a pleasure," Darcy said, creaking her eyes open. Arceus, it was sunny. She missed the woods. "And I 'ppreciate it, Phosphor! My name's Darcy!"

Both of them lay there in silence. She turned over his team's name in her mind, again and again. Daybreak. Daybreak. She couldn't recall if she'd heard the name somewhere in the guild before, but the more she repeated it in her own head, the more certain she became that she hadn't. So a new team? Or, no, he could be from aileron, she supposed. He certainly carried himself like an Aileron 'mon.

Hmm. Maybe it'd be best to not mention she was from the grassveil guild, then. That... probably wouldn't reflect all too well on them. Yeah. She should probably keep quiet about that one.

"Um... There's... Treasure?" Well, that would've been a good thing to know beforehand. "I'd just heard about the oasis, and I wanted to... Well, visit it. But I lost my map." Not quite, correct, but she didn't want to concern the kind stranger any more than she already had.

Oh, uh. Maybe he shouldn't have spilled that and gave himself more potential competition. Luckily, Darcy didn't seem particularly interested in the idea. If she even put much stock in the rumor, which... she was probably smarter than he was, if she wasn't believing this stuff. Phosphor was skeptical, too, but he wasn't above grasping at straws. Nothing to lose but time, right? "Yup. Treasure. Rumors of it, anyways. A crystalline flower that never wilts. Makes you feel calm or something? I figure someone would pay a lot of money for something like that, and then I could help my sister get into Grassveil." It wasn't like Tsera was some kinda secret. Still, talking about her to this stranger almost felt... wrong?

He shrugged his shoulders and tried not to think about it, pulling out an apple from his bag. It was way too easy to imagine Tsera chiding him for pushing himself too hard. He felt fine, but he supposed he hadn't eaten in a while. The apple did taste pretty good. Not as fresh as it was when he packed it. The desert heat hadn't been kind to it, but that was just the lot in life of an explorer.

He pointed at the little doodle of a flower in the corner of his map as he spoke of the 'treasure'. Sure, it didn't sound like anything too special to him. Auras weren't anything too mysterious to a pokemon like him, anyways. But it did sound exactly like the kind of thing that some pretentious millionaire would shell out for.

"Not like I'm the only one with that idea, though." He added between bites with a shrug. "You found yourself in a bit of a hot spot for treasure hunters. But anyways, the oasis was going to be my first stop, so I wouldn't mind teaming up until we get there. I don't think I'm half bad in a fight."

That was about all he really had going for him. Good thing being a guild member didn't take too much thinking, right? Even if he'd wanted to be a cop like Saido, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to puzzle his way through cases. Not to mention, the idea of pinning the blame on the wrong person was... daunting, to say the least. Best left to someone smarter than him.

Stuff like this suited him better. Get from Point A to Point B. Find C person or thing. Punch the lights out of someone for good measure. He was at least smart enough to play to his strengths.

Phosphor's Energy: 11
(6 + 5, 1 apple used)

Darcy's eyes widened as the Ralts mentioned a sister. She was a bit soft, in that regard. Almost all of her siblings were girls, and while she wasn't sure what Phosphor's circumstances might be, she still found it hard to not feel some emotion. Here he was, all the way out in the desert, under the searing heat, on his own time, searching for a treasure that may or may not actually be there... All for his sister? She found such an act to be quite noble. She wondered if she'd do the same thing for Alki, or any of her siblings.

She'd like to think she would.

"That's really nice of you, Phosphor," Darcy said quietly, a soft smile on her face as she rolled back onto her stomach, almost ready to begin their journey anew, now that the dizziness seemed to be wearing off. She tucked her paws under her chest as she nodded. "That you're doing this for your sister, I mean. What's her name?"

Darcy paused, wondering what next to address. She figured the most pressing issue was that of the treasure hunt, although he did mention something else that caught her ear. It could wait.

"As for the treasure, I don't... really have a need for it, m'self." She nodded. At least, not any sort of need that superseded Phosphor's. She wondered if it might improve Alki's self esteem, but it was a long shot, and it didn't sit right with her to try and argue for why she needed it, when the other guild-mon was apart from his sister. "And I'd be happy to help you out. I'm not... I'm ok, in a fight. I've been in a couple of scrapes in the past."

Darcy blinked, standing once more. The dizziness had subsided, and aside from the sand that coated her fur, she felt quite good! She stretched out each one of her legs in turn, and shook her body, trying to get as much sand off of herself as possible.

"In any case, I'm ready to go! I got some water in my bag, if y'need it!" Darcy said, presenting the bag to her new companion. Her tail swished gently behind her, before she turned to face Phosphor once more. "But... Uh, real quick, before we start, did you say you were from Grassveil?"

[Energy: 31 - 7 = 24]

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Paradox Woods :

Darcy might have been thrilled to hear that Phosphor was from Grassveil, if it weren't for the immediacy and urgency of this giant, thick yellow cloud that had appeared among them. Her first thought was it was sand. It certainly felt like sand, with it's graininess, and stickiness, and general discomfort, but that hypothesis was soon disproven. Darcy knew paralysis when she felt it, and as uncomfortable as it was, sand didn't generally making movement difficult. She felt her joints lock, and the faint crackle of static electricity surround her. The Skitty backed off, away from the cloud, stumbling back onto the sand.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Darcy cried out, identifying the Squirtle, running off with Phosphor's map. At least the oasis was nearby. It'd be hard to get lost, this close, right? If the two pokemon heard her, however, they didn't care, the Lilligant uttering some words of disappointment before letting the map float off into the sky. Darcy let out an undignified cry, struggling to make her legs move, attempting to clamber up the dune. But the wind was fast, must faster than the paralyzed kitten, and the map flew off, off, and over the dune, out of sight.

"Why would you do that? That was unnecessary!" The sand covered Skitty turned back to the Lilligant and Squirtle, her disappointment and frustration palpable on her face. What was the point of that? They could've asked to borrow the map, and if it didn't help them, they could just... give it back? Why would they do that? That just seemed excessive. "And rude. You two should be ashamed!" Was it going to get their map back? No. But it did seem necessary to chastise them. The squirtle, at least, seemed to have some vague sense of guilt about the whole thing, but the lilligant was another matter altogether.

"Ah. I see." The Lilligant hummed with a bold grin, seeming to only feed off of the two's irritation. She raised a hand to her mouth as she snickered, but Phosphor could still see her self-satisfied smile. "You haven't yet heard my name. Well! I am the flower that blossoms in the wasteland, the tyrant queen of treasure hunting!" Phosphor glanced over to see that the poor Squirtle had his head in his hands. He couldn't tell whether this was new to him, or a regular occurrence. Frankly, Phosphor wasn't sure which was worse, and he felt a shred of sympathy for the little jerk. Just a shred.

"The masked thief in the night!" Added the Lilligant, who was most certainly not wearing a mask.

"Listen, if you're a thief, I'm gonna have to bring you in-" Phosphor's warning continued, talked over and unheeded.

"The radiant beacon to her allies and the death kneel to her enemies, almighty and cunning! And you, dear peasants, may know me as Vixen." She finally finished her introduction, seeming satisfied with herself, her grin bright as the sun. Phosphor was done being angry, mostly because he was now extremely, extremely confused. The Squirtle's glance towards him seemed almost apologetic.

Well, maybe he had taken Darcy's warning to heart, and he'd decided to at least act ashamed, but the grass type certainly hadn't. "I swear we're not thieves." He managed, casting a glance back up at... Vixen? That definitely wasn't her real name. "We're just treasure hunters!" He swore, earning him a disgruntled glance from the Lilligant.

"Stealing my map was pretty thief-ish!" Phosphor protested loudly. How old was she, anyways? She definitely didn't seem like an adult, but it was hard to say whether that was in body or just in mind.

"I owe you no explanations." She answered haughtily. "Let us be off! Squirtle!" And with that, she actually, genuinely turned to leave, like she hadn't just waltzed in and stolen from them. Phosphor wanted to say something, but he mostly just... stood there gobsmacked, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Darcy's eyes widened the more the Lilligant spoke, her exaggerations and titles getting more and more dramatic the longer she went on. A tyrant queen was bad enough, but a masked thief? (Maybe she'd lost her mask? She couldn't fault her too much though, it certainly seemed as though it had taken her quite a while to rehearse this spiel.) The Skitty sat down patiently, waiting for the Lilligant to finish her well-rehearsed speech. A small, bemused smile was written across her face, turning over an idea in her mind. Her tail wagged back and forth, intensifying as the Squirtle spoke. He was sincere! She could tell, from the way he spoke (as well as the Lilligant's reaction.) They weren't actually criminals!

Phosphor interjected, and Darcy felt the slightest pang of embarrassment for the idea she was considering in her mind. Well, they could still treasure hunt! But they'd do it together, and it would be a lot of fun with someone like... Vixen, she'd said her name was? But - Oh! She was already leaving! The Skitty clambered back to her paws, offering Phosphor a sheepish, almost apologetic smile before running after Vixen and... Squirtle...?

"W-Wait!" The sand covered kitten Pokemon cried out, scrambling to a stop a meter behind Vixen. "I wanna play too! Can I play too? Please?" The Skitty offered a sincere smile at both the Lilligant and the Squirtle, tail wagging pleasantly. It seemed like a lot of fun! And it was a game, by this point, Darcy was sure of it! The way she talked, and the way the Squirtle carried himself around her... Well... He seemed embarrassed. Was this embarrassing? But Vixen seemed to be having so much fun! And Darcy wanted to do that too! If they were gonna be spending time in the desert, then they all might as well have some fun while they were at it! She turned back to Phosphor, a hint of her previous sheepishness returning, before she turned back to the Lilligant once more, the sheepishness remaining on her face. Would she let her? She really hoped so. Playing pretend seemed like so much fun!

"Playing pretend...?" She had half a mind to chastise the Skitty for such brazen disrespect! She wasn't playing pretend! This was deathly serious! She was going to, at least, until she finally placed that weird winged badge pinned to the Ralts' bag. Oh. He was a guild pokemon. That... wasn't ideal. And while her favorite characters in books had always been more of the antihero types, something they didn't lack was self-preservation. And she... had just robbed a guild member, you know, in the most technical sense of the word. She could get away with it! She was sure she could, but then she'd have to call today's treasure hunt a failure, and...

... "Vixen" cleared her throat, giving an elegant twirl. Adapt and overcome! No great heroine made it through a story without roadbumps, and she'd surely have the upper hand in the end and dash off with the treasure! "You have much to learn! But your spirit has touched me, feline. Very well, you and your friend may join my entourage!" She could use more servants. This worked out splendidly, on second thought! She had them fooled with her superior intellect, and they would serve as her unknowing minions until the time arrived to reveal her true colors!

Phosphor wasn't even sure what that word 'entourage' meant. He was pretty sure he wanted no part of it, though. The Squirtle had meekly approached him with a sheepish smile. "... I'm really sorry about your map..." He looked up at the Ralts with pleading eyes, his voice an urgent whisper so that the Lilligant wouldn't hear. "I'd really thought she'd give it back! She just... gets a little caught up in this treasure hunting thing..."

Phosphor raised a stubby arm to facepalm. "Fine. Whatever, I guess, but if you two do anything shady, I'm taking you straight to the cops." Could he even defeat them? Well, he had an obligation to try, since he was a guild member. If they decided to start acting out, anyways. Until then, he... seemed to be stuck in this entourage, for better or for worse.

Darcy hopped up and down with joy as the Lilligant agreed to let her accompany her. She'd just called her a feline, whatever that meant. Come to think of it, she didn't know what that word at the end meant either, entourage. For just a moment, Darcy reprimanded herself for not paying better attention in school, but that was alright! She didn't need to know every word she came across, and she got the gist of it anyways. Feline was her, Darcy! And entourage was... The group? That'd make sense! The Skitty's tail wagged as she approached the Lilligant further, looking up at her.

"Thanks for letting me join y'all, Vixen!" She exclaimed, her drawl becoming more apparent as it always did when she was excited. She shifted her weight around, weighing what question to ask next. There was so much she wanted to know! The Squirtle was saying something to Phosphor, but he was too far away for Darcy to overhear, nor did she want to intrude. Maybe they were befriending each other too! Instead, Darcy sidled up to the Lilligant and looked up at her with a beaming smile. "So how do you do it? How'd you act all cool-like like you did with us just a few seconds ago?" The Skitty replayed the speech back in her mind, wondering just what, exactly, she'd have to do to be good at playing this game. And Flora was good! Just thinking about it again sent chills down the Skitty's back. For just a few seconds, she'd even been scared of the Lilligant, but now, she was more excited than she'd been since entering the desert. This almost made all the sand worth it!

"Oh! I know! I can be your thief-partner-in-crime! Like the books and plays!" Darcy exclaimed, shooting a grin back at Phosphor before turning to face the Lilligant once more. That seemed like it'd be fun! It wasn't the type of character she was always a fan of, but she had read a book about a really nice group of thieves recently, and now she was imagining herself doing that, and... Boy, did it seem fun!

She kept insisting that this was a game, and Vixen was... daunted, for just a moment. Was the Skitty just teasing her? Was Vixen the one being outfoxed? Maybe she should keep her guard up. But no, she seemed genuine enough. And soon she would learn just how deathly serious this was! "Fine. I'll take mercy on you and teach you the ways of a true treasure hunter!" The childish Lilligant stomped her foot for emphasis, kicking up a little puff of sand. "First impressions are vital! You must be intimidating and confident, bold and unwavering! Respect will only be given if you demand it, and so demand it you must!"

Phosphor stared, dumbfounded. He cast a confused glance towards the Squirtle, who only hid a little bit deeper in his shell. "You get used to it." He said unhelpfully. Phosphor was pretty sure he'd never get used to this.

Vixen scanned their surroundings before finally settling on a target: an unsuspecting Ducklett waddling along. Perfect! Time to test her new vassal's abilities! "Go forth, and be not afraid." Vixen said encouragingly, giving Darcy a little nudge towards the Ducklett so that she could go introduce herself. She seemed to be telling Darcy to go say hi, in her odd language, from what Phosphor could decode. She was talking loudly enough that he didn't have any problems hearing her, but understanding what she was getting at was... another story.

(OOC note: Using a Pecha Berry to heal Phosphor's poison.)

Darcy sat once more, her face rapt with attention. Her father had always told her when she'd graduated from their little school, that she'd have to carry a learning spirit with her for the rest of her life. This was what he was talking about, clearly! Treasure hunting was a skill that seemed surprisingly useful, although not one she'd really thought of before. But who knew when one would need to search for treasure? This was important information! ...Maybe it'd even come in handy in her guild work?

And... before she knew it, the lesson was over. First impressions were important! She agreed quite a bit, that's why Darcy had always made an effort to be polite if she could. She'd never really thought of it as demanding respect, exactly, but she supposed, from a certain perspective, it could be viewed like that! Bold and unwavering. Intimidating and confident... Was she intimidating? Darcy tried on a scowl, but almost immediately, resumed a small, curious smile. Scowling felt wrong. Maybe she could find some other way to be intimidating!

"Alright! Got it, thanks, Vixen!" Darcy exclaimed, before hopping back onto her feet. In her funny way of speaking, she encouraged her to try it for herself, and it sounded like she meant it! Darcy nodded up at her new friend, positively beaming, before padding forward to the Ducklett. The Skitty beamed down at her, tilting her head as she flashed her a coy grin. "Howdy!" She said, her voice remaining more or less the same as it always did. A lot less intimidating, and much more pleasant. "Hmmm..." Her eyelids lowered in thought, attempting to figure out how best to demand respect as Vixen had told her. "M'name's Darcy, and I'm a real good treasure hunter! Fourth best you can see here before ya, as a matter-a-fact!" She cried out, as loud as the Lilligant had been only minutes prior. Now, however, she was spinning around in a circle, her excitement beginning to get to her. She was doing it! She was going to be cool, just like Vixen! Finally, the Skitty struck a pose, her tail wagging back and forth, more excited than she could recall being in the past week. She lifted her paw in the air, chin and head lifted up high, before addressing the Ducklett once more.

"How 'bout you?"