Sorry this took so long to get out, I have two other stories that I'm currently writing, plus some stuff going on in real life. But if you wanna check out my other two stories, you can head to my profile for more info about them.
Something I should also mention, is this chapter delves a bit deeper into each character's personalities, and how certain things will affect their behaviour. I already have each of their backstories planned, some being much more grim and dark than the others, and the exact reasons for why they act how they do, including Vincent.
So, yeah, this chapter focuses on a bit more character development, plus a bit more insight on this world. So prepare for a rollercoaster of emotions in this chapter.
=Reviews=
ShadowForge: Thanks, I actually started planning this story probably a good month before it actually came out, Carla wasn't originally planned to act so... 'violent', and was going to just be... I guess you could say 'ordinary', but I kinda liked the new attitude I gave her. While not much changed with the other two. And yes, I do have some fun banter planned for those two, I purposely made each character's personalities so different for the reason that it would give me much more to work with. Also, something about one (or more) of the characters is going to become pretty obvious in this chapter.
TrainerBenji: To answer your first question, I upload when I feel the chapters are ready; when I first began writing, I would always post them without doing a thorough check for any errors, so they didn't turn out the best quality, but now I make sure everything is in order before posting. As for your second question, I can see why you'd assume that, afterall, the only members that have been shown so far were female. Anyways, thanks for the feedback.
Chapter 2: Medicine Run
It was the middle of the night, the whole guild was silent, and every member fast asleep in their rooms, with the exception of one.
The door to the infirmary quietly slid open, and the floorboards quietly creaked as paws walked across them, although gently enough to not make enough noise to wake the sleeping Lucario.
The moon's glow was the only light within the room, however, the mysterious pokemon was able to keep to the shadows, keeping themselves hidden from any form of sight. They crept up towards the cabinets, quietly opening them, and gently rummaging through the shelves of medicine, moving a few bottles of herbs and liquid to the wooden table, they began mixing them together in a glass syringe.
With the needle prepped and ready, they quietly tiptoed to the sleeping pokemon, lining up the needle with their arm, and pushing it into their tough flesh. Vincent cringed a bit, but didn't wake, as the contents of the needle kept him asleep and quiet.
Once the fluids were drained into the Lucario's bloodstream, the mysterious pokemon set the needle on the nightstand, and returned to the cabinet; using some psychic energy, they began to remove many of the glass jars and bottles, each filled with herbs and coloured liquids, and gently placing them in a wooden crate. Wanting to stay quiet, they lifted the crate with the same psychic energy, and quietly went back to the door, glancing back at the Lucario with their red eyes, before stepping out of the room, and quietly closing the door.
Morning had come, shining down on the town of Brightvale, and signalling the start of a new day. The doors of the guild members' rooms slid open, one by one, each of the members tiredly went to the guild's dining hall to get breakfast, before they would begin their busy day of doing jobs.
On the second floor, Carla, Umbra, and Shelby, all awoke to a knock on their door, hearing Tanya's voice on the other side, "Wake up, girls, you gotta eat before heading out for your jobs."
Tiredly sitting up, Shelby stepped onto the wooden floor, bending her body back as she stretched, and letting out a tongue curling yawn while rubbing her eyes, "Thahnks, Tahnyah... I'll get the others up." Shelby went over to Umbra, waking her first, but when she tried to wake Carla, the Braixen just swatted her hand away, and rolled over. "Come on, Carla, we gotta get up now."
Groaning in agitation, Carla finally sat up, looking at the taller fox with tired eyes, "Fine, I'm getting up." She stepped down onto the floor, yawning loudly, and started teatering a bit to the side, stumbling as she kept herself from falling.
Umbra was concerned for her friend, coming up to ask what was wrong, "Carla, are you alright? Usually you can't wait to pick out a job and go."
The Braixen yawned again, "I know... I just didn't get much sleep last night... no big deal, just give me some food and I'll be good." The two Dark foxes looked at each other, curious about their friend, but brushed it off for now to help her down to the dining hall.
"Carla, after breakfast, maybe you should get a bit more rest, I'm sure Guildmaster Dana wouldn't mind." Umbra suggested.
Carla yawned again, not showing much emotion on her face, "Mmh, maybe you're right... but, I wanna check on Vincent first." She looked away a bit as she said this.
"Why? You didn't really act too 'friendly' last night, so what's with the sudden attitude change?" Shelby inquired.
Carla stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with the Zoroark like she felt guilty over something. They reached the bottom of the stairs, leading their friend through the back hallway, and through a door to the dining hall, each sitting down in their usual seats; finally, Carla decided to respond, surprising the two with what she said, "I... want to apologize to him..."
"Wow, you really aren't yourself when your tired, huh?" Shelby asked, taking a bit of food from what was laid across the long table.
"I'm serious, guys, I messed up... he didn't deserve it..." Carla was acting completely different to how she normally would, it kinda scared them, since she'd usually never want to actually 'apologize', and sound like she really meant it.
The two were going to comfort her some more, but Tanya burst into the room in a panic, "Dana, it's an emergency! Something's wrong with Vincent!"
Stopping what she was doing, Dana quickly stood up and followed the Lopunny. Umbra and Shelby looked at Carla, and how her face grew very worried. "Carla?" Umbra asked, about to nudge her with her paw, but pulled back when she suddenly stood up and ran out the door, Shelby and Umbra looking at each other confused, before getting up and following the Fire type.
Stepping into the room, they saw Tanya by the medical cabinets, and Dana standing near Vincent, seeing that he wasn't moving, other than the slow movement of his chest from his weak breathing.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked, catching the attention of the two.
Dana turned to her, "It seems Vincent was poisoned last night," she lifted up a used needle, "we found this syringe on his nightstand, so we don't know if he did it himself or not, but Tanya's trying to find an antidote for him."
"Except it looks like every antidotal medicine we have seems to be missing," Tanya called, searching through the cabinets.
"Hold on, I thought Steel types were immune to poisons, why is this effecting him?" Shelby questioned, hurrying over to Vincent's bed.
"They are, although if a strong enough poison is injected into their bloodstream at one time, their immune system can't counter it as fast, especially in such a weak state like this."
"So... Vincent's going to die?" Carla asked.
Dana sighed, "Without knowing exactly how much poison is in his blood, or how potent it is, we can't say for sure if he'll live or not, but it's not looking good for him..."
Umbra held herself close to Shelby, pushing her face into her leg as she started tearing up, "No... I-I don't want him to die..."
Shelby wasn't ready to give up, "Guildmaster, is there a way we can help him? I mean, we get almost all of our herbs from Brightvale Woods, so there's gotta be something that could work."
"I know you're concerned, Shelby, but we don't even know what kinds of poisons are in his system, Tanya's doing everything she can to figure this out." Just as Dana finished her sentence, they heard Tanya gasp.
"Dana, I think I know what happened to him." She lifted a small empty vial with the words 'Venom Spore' written on the label.
"Venom Spore? What's that?" Shelby inquired, as Tanya brought the vial over, explaining to them what the herb was.
"Venom Spore is a highly toxic plant, coming from Venom Bulbs in the marshlands in a far southern region of Vale, and it's the most lethal toxin that has been discovered so far, and without the cure, he might only have until tonight."
Carla quickly snapped her gaze towards the Lopunny, almost having a bit of hope, "Then what's the cure?"
Taken back by her sudden outburst, Tanya went over to the bookshelf and pulled out a large book, flipping through the pages with haste, "I think it was a plant called 'Shaymin's Blessing' or something, give me a second to find it." Umbra suddenly stopped, her eyes widening when she heard the name of the cure, which sounded very familiar to her.
"What the hell is 'Shaymin's Blessing'?" Carla asked, growing impatient.
Continuing to flip through the pages, Tanya stopped when she found the entry, letting out a quick "here it is," and began reciting what was written on the paper, "Shaymin's Blessing: This plant is one of the most powerful curative herbs recorded, even stronger than Revival Herbs, and is said to be one of the world's 'Legendary Blessings'. The stem of this plant is filled with a curative liquid that can either be ingested, or mixed into the bloodstream to cure any toxins within the body, but it is extremely rare, and only grows in a few places throughout Vale."
Tightening her fists, Carla punched at the wall, not strong enough to damage it, but enough to show her anger, "Fuck! Vincent's on the verge of death again, and we can't fucking do anything to help! All because of a stupid flower!"
As Carla hit the wall again, Umbra's ears perked up, "Hold on, I-I think I know where to get one," she said, her voice actually full of hope.
Everyone looked to the small fox. "Where is it?" Tanya question.
Umbra ran out of the room, coming back shortly after with a paper in her mouth. She handed the paper to the rabbit, seeing there was a picture of a plant on it, the words 'Shaymin's Blessing' written in large words at the top, "I found a patch of these in a grove in Brightvale Woods when I was collecting some herbs for a doctor, and I had no idea what they were back then, but I think I remember where I found them."
Shelby looked to the Umbreon, "Good, then me and Carla will go get some right away, so just tell us where we need to go."
"Hold on, Shelby," Dana stepped forward, "I think you should bring Umbra along." The small fox looked up at the Delphox, asking why she'd need to go, "Umbra, it would be much safer if you were to lead them to the grove, they could get lost without a proper guide, and Vincent could die if they don't get back in time."
She couldn't argue with that, Vincent was so nice to her, and she didn't want him to die because she couldn't go into a forest. Umbra gulped, "O-okay, I'll do it."
Dana looking at the three, younger foxes, "Good, you three should leave right away, don't waste any time." Nodding their heads, they ran to their room to grab their bags, and ran out of the building, unaware of the pokemon around the corner of the dining hall's entrance.
Passing through the east gates of town, the trio of foxes made their way towards the forest's entrance. Shelby held a map in her clawed hands, while Umbra rode on her shoulder to help navigate them.
Extending her paw, Umbra pointed at a spot on the map, "I think they were around this area."
Shelby cocked her head to the side, "Wow, no wonder no one has ever reported seeing Shaymin's Blessing around here, that's one of the deepest parts of the woods, and with all the savage pokemon around that area, no one bothers traveling there."
The small fox shivered, "I know, I'm just glad I survived that..."
Smiling at the Dark fox, Shelby rolled up their map, and put it back in her bag, "So am I, Umbra; you may be one of the fastest pokemon in the guild, and it's no surprise you would have been able to escape them, but I still worry about you when you go off alone." Umbra was a bit surprised when she felt Shelby's head rub against her, "We may not really be related, but I'll always see you as my little sister, Umbra."
Even though Shelby has said this many times before, it always made Umbra feel better, no matter the situation. Returning the smile, Umbra nuzzled against Shelby's cheek, "I know, 'big sis', thank you."
As the two shared their sisterly affection, Carla was silently walking behind them, just staring at the ground as she thought about the Lucario back at the guild, mumbling to herself, "I'm sorry..."
Making their way through the forest, the three girls traveled farther and farther into the woods; with the fauna growing thicker, the path grew darker, as they delved deeper into the dense forest.
Having left the comfort of the much larger fox's shoulders, Umbra now walked along the path, though still staying close by the Zoroark's side.
"You're positive we're going the right way, Umbra?" Shelby asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm sure it's this way," she said, though her voice said otherwise.
Carla, who's been silent for nearly the entire time, was starting to grow impatient, "Dammit, Umbra! We're fucking lost, aren't we?!" She shouted.
Startled by her sudden outburst, the Umbreon hid behind Shelby, who looked back at the Braixen with an angry scowl, "What the hell, Carla? You don't have to be a bitch to her, she's doing the best she can!"
"Yeah?! Well while we're out here probably walking in fucking circles, Vincent is dying back at the guild!... and it's all my fault…"
Both Umbra and Shelby's eyes widened in shock and confusion, as Carla just lowered her head in despair, "Wait… you did it?" Shelby asked. Carla was about to speak, but was quickly cut off, "Is that why you were so tired this morning? Cause you were waiting for everyone else to be asleep so you could kill him?!"
Carla looked up in shock, "N-no! I-I didn't do it!... but, it's still probably my fault..."
Feeling the anger rising within herself, Shelby stepped forward, "I wouldn't doubt that! You treated Vincent like shit last night!" Again, Carla was about to speak, but didn't get the chance, as Shelby reeled her arm back, and slashed at the Braixen with her claws, leaving three large gashes on her cheek as she fell to the ground.
As Shelby stood above her, Carla put her paw to her cheek, pulling back to see blood soaking her paw, tears falling from her eyes as she put her paw back to her cheek, instinctively trying to stop the bleeding.
"Shelby! Stop it!" Umbra pleaded, running in between the two, "I know Carla isn't always the nicest, but you and I both know she wouldn't kill unless it was life or death!" Knowing Shelby would never hurt her, and that her voice would always snap her out of these blind rages, Umbra felt no fear standing before the Zoroark, "What would Carla have to gain from killing Vincent? And what would you gain from killing her? We have to focus on finding those herbs, otherwise Vincent's gonna die!"
Lifting her paw, Shelby watched as blood dripped from her claws, a few strands of white fur stuck to the tips. Shelby stepped back, realizing what she had just done, "I-I..." She dropped her paw, facing away from the two, "I'm... sorry..."
Umbra rubbed her head against the Zoroark's leg, "It's fine, just please don't do that again," she turned to face the Braixen, "are you okay, Carla?" She asked, leaning down to look at her face.
"...Y-yeah... I'm okay..." Carla kept staring at the ground, her voice hardly above a whisper.
Her eyes glowing faintly, Umbra lifted some medical supplies from her bag, "Here, Carla, move your paw," she ordered, although in her usual gentle voice. The injured fox let go of her face, her white cheek and paw stained red from the blood. Umbra poured a small bit of water on a rag, then started to gently wash away the blood; then, after rinsing off the now bloodied rag, she took a ball of cotton and some disinfectant, dabbing the fluffy clump into the liquid, "This is gonna sting a bit," she warned, gently applying the medicine to her friend's wounds. With the cuts all cleaned, Umbra took some bandages and started to cover the gashes, "There… you gonna be okay?" She asked, putting everything back in her bag.
Carla silently nodded, sitting up on her knees, "Yeah… thank you…" she said, though still in her guilt ridden voice.
As this was going on, Shelby just stood a short distance away, rubbing her arm as she watched Umbra help Carla to her feet. Closing her eyes, Shelby took a quick breath before speaking up, "Will she be okay?"
"Yeah, the gashes are pretty deep, but she should be-" As Umbra faced the Zoroark, her eyes widened in fear, "Shelby! Behind you!" She shouted.
Perking up, the Dark fox turned around, her expression matching Umbra's as she saw the large Ursaring behind her, and it did not look friendly.
The bear lifted it's paw, each claw glowing bright white as it prepared to strike the stunned Dark type; but luckily, she was able to snap out of her initial shock in the nick of time, just barely managing to duck down and avoid a swipe from it's deadly claws, her reflexes and reaction time being too fast for the bulky bear to follow.
Quickly retreating to a safe distance, Shelby felt her heart rate increase exponentially, placing her paw over her chest as she felt it thumping rapidly, "Holy fuck… that was too close." She scowled at the larger pokemon, "What the fuck's your problem, asshole?! We're just trying to find some medicine for our friend!" The Ursaring only responded with a low growl, slowly stepping out of the bushes it was hiding in. As it stepped into the open, Shelby finally got a good look at it, and after noticing it's practically bloodthirsty expression, only one explanation popped into her head, "It's savage," she whispered.
With Carla in the state she was, and Umbra not having any experience in combat, Shelby knew she was the only one able to fight right now; even so, she knew the dangers of fighting savage pokemon, they have no sense of reason, driven by their most basic of instincts, and being completely unpredictable.
They've gone over the dangers of savage pokemon many times at the guild, and they've always been told the same thing, "I know it's not be an easy thing to do, it never really is, but sometimes you don't have any other choice," Shelby dug a paw into her bag, "you either kill, or be killed." Lifting her paw, Shelby pulled a large dagger from her bag, it's blade looked brand new, never tainted with the blood of a life, until today.
Umbra stared at the blade, never thinking Shelby would actually use it, "Sh-shelby?" She asked, caught off guard by the Zoroark's actions.
Holding the dagger before her, Shelby didn't look away from the Ursaring, "Umbra… please, don't let this change how you see me," she said, trying to keep her composure. Closing her eyes, a few tears trailed down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, mom and dad, but I have no choice." Tightening her grip on the hilt, Shelby pushed off the ground, charging at the bear with her blade poised to strike.
After stepping within reach of the bear, Shelby swung her blade at the Ursaring's gut, but not before she felt a massive force hit her side, which had knocked her precious blade from her grasp as she tumbled a short distance down the path, her dagger landing a couple feet away from her. Feeling the sharp stinging of where the Ursaring's claws had cut into her flesh, she slowly crawled towards her weapon, however, she didn't get too far, as the large bear had stomped towards her, grabbing her red mane, and lifting her into the air.
As the bear snarled at the fox, it reached it's free paw towards her neck, grabbing her throat, and cutting off her air. "Shelby!" Umbra panicked, watching her sister being strangled by the beast.
Held up by her throat, Shelby thrashed and struggled to pry herself from the bear's grip, but it was no use, as she began to feel light headed from the lack of oxygen, and the slight blood loss from her wounds, thinking this was it, it was finally her time. Tears of both pain and sorrow built in her eyes, almost ready to accept her fate.
Starting to feel herself being lost to the darkness, Shelby jolted back to reality as she suddenly saw a flash of bright red flames burst up behind her captor, feeling herself being dropped to the ground, and instinctively grasping at her neck as she began coughing violently, focusing on refilling her empty lungs with air, "What the hell?"
A fair distance behind the Ursaring, Carla was leaning over Umbra's back, holding her stick out towards the large predator, the tip ignited with a small flame left behind from her sudden attack. Umbra looked at her wide eyed, "Carla? What are you doing?" She asked, watching the Braixen push herself to her feet.
"I'm not going to just sit back and watch my best friend get killed by the fuckhead, and I'm sure as hell not letting it keep us from getting that medicine…" She stumbled a bit, dropping to one knee as she stared at the large scorch mark on the Ursaring's back, seeing it turn around to face her in anger. It started stomping towards them, slowly picking up speed as it went along. With it's attention away from the Zoroark, Carla called out to her, "Shelby! Now's your chance! Grab your knife!" Umbra and Carla watched as the much larger pokemon stormed towards them, ready to take their lives without hesitation, but with it's full attention directed at them, it was unaware of what went on behind it.
Closing the gap between them faster and faster, Umbra didn't know what to do, while Carla just kept still, showing no fear towards the savage pokemon, more focused on what was happening behind it. Once if was only a few seconds away from tearing them limb from limb, Umbra huddled close to the Fire fox, expecting to feel the unbearable pain of death, but it didn't come.
Looking up, both foxes saw the Ursaring standing only a few feet away, it's eyes widened as they slowly began to dilate, a red liquid oozing from it's mouth as it let out a few small gasps and gurgles, soon falling to it's knees, then slamming onto it's belly with a large stab wound on the back of it's neck; Shelby standing behind where the bear once stood, her dagger soaked with the blood of their foe as she panted heavily.
A multitude of emotions hit the Umbreon all at once, tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Shelby lower the large knife, staring at the blood that dripped from it's blade, although, her vision began to grow a little blurry as Carla helped Umbra towards her.
As her mind flooded with the realization that she had actually taken a life, her vision began to grow more and more blurry, dropping her weapon to the ground as she fell to her knees, feeling very sick all of a sudden, and swaying a bit to all sides as she heard the muffled voices of her friends, then falling to the ground as she blacked out.
Hearing a faint crackling sound, and feeling the warmth of a nearby flame, Shelby slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see the thick foliage of leaves overhead, however, she was actually surprised when she saw the bright red sky overhead, "Where am I?" She asked no one in particular, although her question was quickly met by a familiar voice.
"Shelby?" The Zoroark turned her head, seeing the other two sitting next to a fire nearby. Umbra quickly stood up and hurried over to her big sister with a worried, yet relieved expression, while Carla stayed by the fire, poking it with her stick, as she stared deep into the flames. "Shelby, are you okay?" The Umbreon asked, standing at her side.
Shelby sat up, noticing her movements feeling a bit restricted as she felt bandages wrapped around her, "I've been better," she said, looking back to the sky, "how long have we been here?"
Looking to the sky as well, Umbra thought it over, "Well, I'd say about two hours, give or take." Shelby sighed, looking down in guilt, "What's wrong?" Umbra inquired.
"We failed him," she said, covering her face, "we couldn't find the Shaymin's Blessing in time… we weren't able to save him." Looking back to her bag, Umbra let out a small chuckle, catching Shelby's attention, "Why are you laughing?" Not saying a word, Umbra went back to the fire, opening her bag and taking out a small, green plant, which looked no longer than maybe four inches, being just a stem with a couple leaves sprouting out, Shelby looking at it in almost disbelief, "Is that?" Umbra nodded, looking over to a patch of somewhat taller grass, seeing many of the small plants clustered together.
"After you fainted, Carla and I carried you away, and we just so happened to find the grove we were looking for," she looked back to the fox, "as soon as we saw the Shaymin's Blessing, I used some of it to heal your's and Carla's injuries, although your's needed more time because of how bad they were."
Shelby was overjoyed, they might actually be able to rescue Vincent, however, as she looked up to the sky, she wasn't too sure again, "But, will we be able to make it back in time?" She asked.
Tenderly placing her paw on Shelby's shoulder, Umbra smiled at her big sis, "Don't worry, Shelby; Carla's trying to contact Guildmaster Dana about this, and hopefully we can get teleported out of here," she glanced back at the Fire fox, "but we might be too far for her telepathy to reach the guild, so she's been staring at the fire to try and concentrate a little better. She's been silent for about an hour and a half now, so I'm actually wondering if they were able to connect or not."
Looking past the Umbreon, Shelby observed the Braixen; she sat on her butt with her knees pulled up to her chest, sitting completely still in a trance-like state, picking up her stick every couple minutes or so and poking the fire. "Isn't that the technique Guildmaster Dana taught her?" She asked, sitting back.
"Yeah, but I never actually learned how it works," Umbra replied, watching Carla poke the fire with her stick again.
Meanwhile, as the other two were speaking with each other, Carla was still deep in her trance; she had been able to reach somewhat close to the guild in her telepathic range, but she was already at her limit, and she had always been told that pushing her range too far could shatter her mind. So her only option now was to hopefully locate someone in town, and get them to bring her mom within range.
("Come on… where are all the townsfolk?... Ugh, we really need some sorta telepathy relay point in Brightvale, or at least the-") As Carla began to feel her range drop a bit again, she quickly picked up her stick and poked the fire, re-establishing a steady focus on her range, ("I hate it when that happens… maybe that's why it-")
("Hello?") Carla heard someone say, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Finally finding a response, Carla wasted no time explaining their situation, as she didn't know how long their connection would last, ("This is Carla of Burning Fox, me and my companions are deep in Brightvale Woods, and are in need of assistance.") She paused as the other voice spoke, sounding a bit like a young boy.
("O-okay, I'll-uh, I'll go tell Guildmaster Da-") The boy's voice was cut off as Carla's range dropped again.
Swearing to herself, she picked up her stick and poked the fire again, ("Dammit! I hope that kid understood what I said, we could really use an emergency teleport, but I might as well keep trying to reach some-") Carla could feel her head starting to pound a bit, ("Shit, I've been at this for too long… I gotta take a break… I just hope the kid can get mom to help us.")
Slowly pulling back her enhanced range, Carla started to feel her headache ease up a bit, although it still hurt like a bitch, groaning a bit after finally dropping her almsot two hour long trance, which had alerted the other two of her return.
"So, Carla? You get anything?" Shelby asked, eating a few berries Umbra had brought from the guild.
Sighing, Carla rubbed her temples, "Well… other than a headache, I was only able to get in contact with one pokemon," she paused as Umbra brought over a bowl of berries, "from the sound of their voice, they were probably just a kid, but since I lost the connection with them when my range dropped, so they're either not experienced with telepathy enough, or they aren't actually capable of it themselves." Carla popped a berry into her maw as she finished informing them.
"Did you at least tell them enough before you got cut off?" Shelby inquired, pulling a few pieces of jerky from her bag.
"I managed to tell him who I was, where we were, and that we needed assistance, but that's it. After that, I think I heard him say he'd go get my mom's help, and then it cut out."
Umbra looked to the sky, seeing it was growing darker as they sat in the grove, "Well, then all we can do now is-" Umbra stopped when Carla raised her paw for her to be quiet, understanding someone had reached her through telepathy.
("Hello?") Carla asked, wondering who had contacted her so quickly, and she could not be more happy about who it was.
("Carla? Are you okay, honey?!") She heard her mother ask.
("We're fine, mom; we did run into a savage Ursaring a few hours ago, but other than a few cuts and bruises, we're perfectly fine,") Carla could hear her mother sigh in relief over the telepathic link, ("anyways, we were able to find the Shaymin's Blessing, but after fighting the Ursaring, Shelby was out cold for a few hours, so we weren't able to come back right away, could you get us an emergency teleport?")
There was a pause, ("Okay, hon, I just sent your location to a few of the town's Psychic types, a portal should be appearing shortly, and it'll lead you straight to me.")
Thanking her, Carla dropped the connection, quickly telling the others a portal should appear soon, and sure enough, a swirling energy materialized nearby, spreading out a bit as it connected the two locations with each other. After gathering their things, and Shelby double checking that she had her dagger in her bag, the three passed through the portal, finally able to save Vincent's life; however, as the thought of Vincent trailed back to her mind, Carla wondered if he really did try killing himself, and if she was the cause of it.
Slowly opening his weary eyes, Vincent saw everyone from before standing around his bed, with the exception of the hot-headed Braixen. The Lucario groaned, curiouse as to why they were all looking at him the way they did, "What's going on?" He asked, lifting his paw to rub his eyes.
Completely caught of guard, Vincent suddenly felt a weight press down on him, the big chested Zoroark pressing against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank Arceus, you're okay, Vincent." Shelby said, holding back a few tears of joy.
Not knowing what to do, he lifted his paw above her back, stopping for a moment before gently stroking her dark red mane, "Uh… it's okay?" He said, his confusion clearly audible in his tone.
"I'm assuming you're confused?" Dana asked, Vincent just replied with a shrug, and Dana began to explain what had all happened to him, and by the end of it, Vincent didn't know what to think.
"So, I was in another coma?" He asked, Dana nodding her head, "and Shelby, Umbra, and Carla went to go get me the cure?" This time, Shelby nodded, having let her emotions out and feeling much more calm.
"Yeah, but… I'd rather not talk about what happened out their," Shelby said, remembering how it felt to kill for the first time, something she didn't want to do again.
"Okay then, but why isn't Carla in here as well?" He asked.
Glancing over to the door, Dana sighed a bit, "She blames herself for what happened to you; apparently she treated you a bit poorly when you first woke up, and after we found a syringe on the nightstand, she thinks that you were trying to commit suicide because of her." Vincent was silent, looking over to the door, and seeing the Braixen's silhouette through the screen. "She does want to see you, but she wants to talk in private."
"W-well, okay…" Vincent was still confused about this whole thing.
Feeling they'd spoken with him for long enough, Dana decided it was time for them all to leave, and give Carla a chance to speak with Vincent. As they stepped through the doors, Dana pat her daughter's shoulder, giving her a nod before walking off. Carla stepped into the infirmary, and shut the door behind her. Vincent looked over to the fox as she walked towards his bed, there was an awkward silence for a few moments, before Carla finally spoke up, "L-look, Vincent… I…" she paused for a second, "I only saved you cause I felt bad about yesterday… and I…" She tightened her fists, trying to find the right words without sounding weak.
"You don't have to apologize, Carla, you didn't do anything wrong." She heard Vincent say.
"B-but… the way I treated you… it wasn't fair." She faced the floor as she rubbed her arm.
Vincent couldn't help but smirk to himself, "Carla? What do you all know about Lucarios?" He asked, catching her attention.
"What does that have to do with this?" She asked, growing a bit irritated from all the emotions she felt.
"Just answer the question," he said, keeping his voice calm.
Carla faced away, "Well… I've never actually met a Lucario before, so I don't actually know anything about them."
"You're aware of what aura is, correct?" She nodded, "Well, Lucarios are natural masters at using aura, and with enough training and focus, we can read the auras of everything around us, and I can tell you for a fact, that not a single word you said to me before had any ill intent behind it."
Carla crossed her arms and faced away, "S-so, what's your point," she said, slowly returning to her normal self.
"My point is, even if what you said was harsh, I knew from the beginning that you never meant a word of it," Carla flinched, "so, do everyone a favour, and stop blaming yourself for something you didn't cause. I have no plans on killing myself anyways, even if you did mean those words, I've dealth with much, much worse than just being called weak."
Feeling the guilt within her slowly being pushed back by anger, Carla was getting flustered from all these conflicting emotions in her mind, turning her whole body away from Vincent as she felt her face heat up, but she didn't know from which emotion, "Wh-whatever; I only saved you so I could apologize for what I said, but I guess I never needed to in the first place."
With nearly all the guilt she once felt be pushed back, Carla walked to the door, but stopped when Vincent called to her, "Hey, one last thing," she didn't turn around, "I think you'll make a great Guildmaster one day." Carla felt even more heat rise to her face, quickly leaving the room in her flustered state.
There was a moment of silence as Carla's footsteps grew quieter, before a voice spoke up inside Vincent's mind, ("Thank you, Vincent, I hate seeing her act all moody like this, and I'm sorry if she gives you any trouble while you're here, she tends to hold a grudge.")
("Don't worry about it, I don't like seeing others worry about me anyways, besides, it's kinda my fault she felt so guilty in the first place.")
("No, it's not your fault that happened to you, but I'll make sure to keep a close eye on each of the members from now on.")
(Thank you, but as soon as I'm fully recovered, then I'll be out of your hair, not that I'm not grateful for the help or anything.")
("Hm-hm, don't worry, Vincent, I understand. Afterall, the founder started this guild with the tradition of only accepting female members, so you probably would feel a bit out of place here,") he heard a yawn come from the other side of the link, ("anywho, good night, Vincent.")
("Yeah, 'night.") As he felt Dana cut the connection, Vincent let out a yawn, lying back and getting ready to sleep, thinking about what Dana had said, "Hm, yeah… female members only…" Vincent shot up, his eyes wide and his breath caught in his throat, "Wait, what?!"
Yeah, I was kinda wanting to wait until next chapter to reveal that Burning Fox was a female only guild, but the opportunity appeared at the end, and I decided to go for it, and if you couldn't tell, Vincent had no idea Burning Fox was a female only guild, though I might build up on that next chapter.
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