Chapter 2
Sorry for the delay in the story progression, but hopefully we will get more out soon with less time in between! I thank you all who have waited for this coming chapter!
Credit goes to Jolty, since he had done most of this chapter! Oh, and we don't own Pokemon.
The group walked along the forested back road. Ella and Sammy continued to chat about the new guild they were travelling too. Grace was silent, yet she listened to their conversation about the fantastical adventures they were going to have, and the cool loot they were going to find. Then, she noticed Toby was silent. He had been almost the entire time, and had strayed a small distance from the group.
Slowing down a bit, she shyly nudged him, snapping him back into reality from his thoughts. "O-Oh. H-hello Grace. I-Is something wrong?" Grace shook her head. "No… I was actually going to ask you that…" she voiced out in a quiet tone.
"Oh...I see." Toby said. "W-well, I just.. Have a lot on my mind… Truth be told, I'm sort of nervous about heading to this guild. I've never been to a guild before, so I suppose it's just that I'm nervous about doing something big and new…."
Grace gave him a small smile. "I get that… to be honest with you, I'm nervous as well. But, we have each other, right? That's what counts!" Toby smiled. "I-I suppose that's true…" Ella glanced at Sammy, and proceeded to whisper in his ear. He smiled. "That's a great idea…"
Grace looked up. "What do you think they are talking about now?" "I-I don't know… probably whatever they were talking a-about earlier." "True."
Eventually, the group reached the town that "housed" the guild (haha, funny joke). The guild itself was a bright red tent with a large grate in front. A sign in front of it read "Please step on grate. If there are more than one person, then please step on one at a time.
Ella boldly stepped forwards. "Espeon." Then came Sammy "Flareon!" Next, Grace. "Glaceon!" Finally, Toby stared nervously at the grate. He knew how the identification system worked, and feared it. Nervously, he stepped on the grate. "... Um…. pokemon…. You may enter…." Toby followed the rest of the group down the ladder, his face a bright red.
The four Eeveelutions reached the floor, and were met by a Minccino. "Greetings!" He happily said. "I'm Andrew, and welcome to FireStorm guild. What bring four Eeveelutions here?" "We would like to form a dungeon team." Ella explained. "Hm… okay then. One question: Which of you is the one with 6 toes?" "T-That w-would b-be m-me…" Toby mumbled. He held up his paw. "Hm… well! What a rare and unique part of a pokemon. I was just curious, as I was the person who actually saw it. That's all." Toby gave a small nod.
"Very well. So, if you'll follow me, we will get you all signed up!" With that, the group followed the ever-cheerful Andrew over to a desk, and he hopped onto a low stool, pulling out some kind of form and a quill and ink. "Soooo, 1 Espeon, 1 Flareon, 1 Glaceon and 1 Jolteon! Have you decided on a name yet?" Suddenly, immense conversation was started over the team's new name." Suddenly, everyone turned to Toby. "Well, Toby, you haven't given your two Poke yet? What name do you want?" Sammy asked. Toby paused and mumbled something. "What was that?" Andrew asked. "T-team Cipher…." Toby mumbled. Ella was the first to smile. "Team Cipher it is, then! Andrew, that will be our name! It sound wicked cool and mysterious!" Sammy nodded heartily and Grace smiled. Toby smiled shyly back at them.
Andrew wrote the name down on the form, and tacked it on the spike next to him. "Great! Team Cipher, you are now an official team of the FireStorm Guild! Come this way, I'll show you to your rooms!"
The group of four followed the Minccino through the guild, getting either questioning or welcoming looks from Pokémon they passed by. They soon reached their destination. "Welcome to your new rooms!" Andrew said. The two rooms had simple blank wooden doors. In side, for each were two beds, lots of empty space, and a large window for each."So, w-what shall we d-do when it comes to rooming?" Toby asked "I figured boys together and girls together would make the most sense…."
Grace nodded in agreement. Ella looked at Toby and Grace then at Sammy, in which he just shrugged before she sighed and put on a weak smile. "Yeah… that would, wouldn't it?" she put in. "Alrighty then! Well, I know there isn't much left in the day, but I'll let you guys get comfortable and I will come down when it's dinner time. Then I suggest getting to bed right after. You will be waking up early tomorrow morning! Anyway, I will see you guys later!" Andrew then went on his way. The group watched him go before they turned to their rooms.
Sammy yawned and stretched. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I would like to make myself comfortable for at least a little bit before dinner." He went into the room on the right, but left the door open for Toby, who sighed and followed in suit.
"Well, I guess we have the left room! Come on Grace!" Ella said with her cheerful demeanor back. She trotted into their new room and stopped in the middle. Grace followed in, but before she could get very far, Ella asked, "Oh, could you close the door?" Grace nodded and did so, the door making a small *click* sound when it latched. "Thanks! Gives us some privacy from the guys at least! I had been meaning to talk to you!"
"Eh? What about it? Why couldn't you have done so earlier?" Grace questioned her Espeon friend. "Because it's about the guys, duh! It's time to have some girl talk!" Ella spoke with her usual grin on her face. Grace walked farther away from the door and sat down next to her before saying in a quiet voice, "If it's about your feelings for Sammy, I've had heard you talk about him many times…" She was already starting to lose interest.
The Espeon huffed as her cheeks colored a bit. "Uh, no, not this time. It's more about…. Toby."
Sammy and Toby were getting their sheets, which had been left on their beds, onto their bed frames, when they heard a muffled squeal. "W-wh-what was that?!" Toby asked, fully terrified. Sammy shrugged. "Pretty sure Ella just weirded Grace out. She does that sometimes."
Meanwhile, Grace was recovering from the screech she had admitted that had even surprised her. "W-What do you want to know?!" She asked a little frantically. Ella grinned, knowing the answer before she even got to ask Grace. She wasn't really fazed by her scream. "Well, I was going to ask if you had any interest in him, but looks like I don't really have to." "D-Don't be ridiculous! Of course I don't!" Ella gave her a wry expression. "Are you suuuuuure about that?" Grace looked away. "Just… don't right now…."
There was a knock on the door. Ella went and opened it. Sammy was in the doorway. "Everything okay in here? We heard some kind of scream…." Ella gave her usual smile. "Yep, it's all okay in here!" Sammy gave her a weird look before accepting her answer. "Okay, well, I don't know if you heard, but the dinner bell just rang. Toby's already down there, we should get going." The two girls nodded in agreement and followed Sammy out of their room and to the dining area.
The group sat at a bench table, eating their meal which consisted of rice and peas. It wasn't anything compared to what they had had in town, but it was something, at least. "Sooo…." Ella whispered, turning to the Grace. "Why aren't you sitting next to him?" Grace glared knives at Ella. "STOP." She hissed. And that was when the door to the meal hall opened and all fell quiet.
A Leafeon walked through the door, but she didn't appear to be very friendly. Her eyes were filled with danger and unsaid threats. She walked over to the buffet area, and the chatter seemed to return, only this time, it was quieter, and you could practically feel the fear and danger in the air.
Ella's face scrunched slightly as she thought. She had seen that Leafeon somewhere, but where? As she kept thinking, she glanced over and stopped. "Toby?" The shy Jolteon's face had gotten more terrified than she had ever seen it before, and he breathing was shallow. His whole body was shaking. Instantly, she became worried. "Toby, what's wrong? Do you know that Leafeon?"
Toby was barely able to reply, so he nodded. "S-she's…. She's the-" "Oh, hello Toby. It's been a while, hasn't it?~" Toby was shaking so badly he felt close to fainting. "I-It c-certainly h-h-has, Princess Fern…" Fern smiled. "Oh Toby. You look so… ordinary without your guard outfit." Toby, mustering all the confidence he could, faced her. "I'm sorry Fern, b-but I'm n-not going b-back. I-I can't… go back…" Fern gave him another smile. "I won't persist for you to become my guard once again, but I'd certainly enjoy it." She looked over at the others. "Oh? Are these your new 'friends'? Do you really think they care? No one has ever cared except for-"
"HEY." Ella said, slamming her paws on the table. Pokémon stopped their conversations and meals once again to watch what was going on. The Leafeon looked right at her and she could just feel the negative energy that surrounded Fern, like it could make a Pokémon choke from it. Ella held firm though and gave Fern a glare that almost no Pokémon has seen from her. "You got some nerve saying that!"
Fern blinked, seeming like she wasn't very interested. She then smiled, but Ella was fully aware that it was fake. "Oh. I recognize you… you're Ella Being, aren't you? Daughter of Andrea and Andrew Being. Your family is well known here. And you had an older brother yes? Derek wasn't it?" Ella growled, making Fern grin. She knew that she struck a nerve with the usually cheerful Espeon. "Shame that he has disappeared. Probably couldn't stand being around here, or you, anymore. For all we know, he could be-"
Ella had enough. "DON'T talk about my brother like that!" she screeched. She looked like she was about to physically attack Fern, but Grace had grabbed hold of her, partly to stop Ella from doing so, and because she had started getting a little frightened. Sammy held his anger in him. If it was with any other Pokémon, he would have given them a piece of his mind already. However, with this one being the princess, it was best not to do something rash like attack out of anger. Instead, he growled a warning, "If I was you, I would watch what you say. It doesn't take an Alakazam to figure out you're bothering Toby, so leave him alone." His usual friendly tone had vanished, and the malice in his voice was practically solidified.
Fern may have been a princess, with a significant amount of power behind her, but even she knew when to back out. "Well, well, well. I'm interested to see how this unfolds. Good day to you, Toby's new "friends". Hah, that's a laugh." With that, Fern turned and confidently marched from the Cafeteria.
Despite still shaking, Toby smiled slightly. Grace turned to him. "Are you okay-" She didn't know why, but she felt the urge to smile when he smiled. Sammy and Ella turned. "Toby, how are you feeling?" He seemed to frown slightly when the pokemon talked to him, but still seemed semi-positive. "Oh, she's going to be super annoyed and embarrassed coming back in here." "Why?"
He gestured. "She forgot her meal tray."
Thank you for staying til the end! Again, sorry for the delay, but hopefully we can keep a good schedule time. And thank you to those who have followed / favorite the story!
