Quite note: A buddy of mine made a banner for me on commission. Unfortunately, due to FF's limited image size, we had to reduce it to only show the duo for my cover image. However, you can also find my story on Archive of Our Own as well as the Nuzlocke forums under the same name here, where you can see the full banner.
Chapter 7: The Guildmates
The next few hours after we were dismissed were spent exploring the building that would be our new home. With the other guildmates on assignment and the guild's leadership occupied elsewhere, Sonchar and I were mostly left to our own devices. Of course, with the Lt. Guildmaster's instructions to not intrude on the other rooms and not to interfere with the guild's business, that essentially left us to our dormitory, though we could explore the two main floors if we made sure not to get in the way.
Sonchar decided the most prudent way to pass the time would be to sit out in the main floor and observe day-to-day operations. Part of his thinking was that it would give us a bit of knowledge when our training began, as well as it would show the leadership we had the initiative and the desire to learn what a true exploration team would need while on the field. In that time, we listened to a great number of Pokémon and teams visit the guild. Some came in to pick up jobs from the listings on the boards, while others were there to put in their own rescue requests before beginning their own treks. There was also the occasional desperate Pokémon that was begging for some sort of word on a friend or a loved one that was awaiting a rescue, only to have the receptionist, Isabelle, attempt to reassure and soothe them, even if she had no news to report on their whereabouts as of yet.
It was during those moments where I would see Sonchar occasionally tense up. The scenes of the worried Pokémon were clearly making him uncomfortable, and he would have to look away when they became nearly hysterical. I was concerned that he would not be able to handle witnessing that on a daily basis, as it would undoubtedly be a reality for the type of profession we were pursuing. When I brought that to mind, he shook his head and, in an attempt to reassure, said, "That's one of the reasons I want to apprentice here, so that we could help those in need."
I thought back to when Sonchar told me that about his experience exploring. When he attempted to bite off more than he could chew, he was in a position where he was in danger, and had to be saved by a rescue team. I wondered if that team happened to be a part of this guild and if we would end up meeting them, since the explorers here also perform rescue work to gain experience as well as funding for the guild. As it turned out, they were a freelance team that wasn't affiliated with the guild, but took the job some time before moving on to another region.
I wondered if his experience on that day was what inspired him to want to pursue that career. Perhaps that team left an impact on him, and he wanted to be able to help those that were in his situation while he traveled the world. And if we were to achieve that goal, would we also travel the regions, constantly being on the move as we explored the world? Or would we do what others have done and establish a reputation as we gain a more intimate knowledge about the region we were already in? It was strange, but I couldn't help notice that either prospect sounded exciting.
Remembering my own situation, it seemed more likely that we wouldn't stick to one place for too long. After all, the more the locals would hear about us, the more likely the chance would be of somebody finding out the truth about me. The thought of being hunted down to be imprisoned for "invading" Pokémon territory was scary enough. The more likely outcome of being experimented on if my transmigration was discovered was enough to make me shiver.
Thankfully, those thoughts were interrupted as we were approached by Rowkin. "Ah, there you two are," he said.
"Hello, sir," Sonchar respectfully said.
"One of your guildmates, the newest recruit before you two, has just finished his daily tasks and has returned to the guild."
"Hello!" a voice greeted from behind Rowkin. "My name is Chet." The Pokémon was a brown, furry quadruped with stubby legs and two large buck teeth.
"Oh, hi!" Sonchar excitedly returned the greeting. "I'm Sonchar, and this is my Kamon."
"Chet, if you don't mind," Rowkin said, "I'd like you to show Sonchar around a little bit and get acquainted. In the meantime, I would like to borrow Kamon for a moment, if you wouldn't mind."
"What?"
"What?" Sonchar shared my confusion. "Um, sir, you do remember that-"
"I recall his disability, yes," Rowkin cut him off. "Don't worry, we only need to see him for a moment, and then you two can bring him up to speed."
Sonchar returned my pleading glance with a look of concern, but then shrugged uncertainly. "Okay, I guess. We'll, uh, see you in a bit, Kamon?"
"Alright then. Please follow me, Kamon."
Suppressing my sudden anxiousness, I took a quiet breath and then followed Rowkin to the office. I glanced back to see that Sonchar kept his concerned glance, while an oblivious Chet spoke excitedly.
"Golly! I can't believe I finally have a guildmate junior to me!" Chet all but shouted. "And not just one, but two! This is the happiest day in a long time!"
Their voices started to become muffled as Rowkin and I stepped foot into the Guildmaster's office, until they were completely muted as the door was shut.
"Guildmaster," Rowkin called. "I've returned with Kamon."
"Hello again, friend!" Wigglytuff greeted joyfully as ever. Somehow, his excitement was no more reassuring now than it was earlier. "How are you enjoying the guild so far?"
Giving an uncertain glance to Rowkin, who looked to be suppressing an eye roll or at least a sigh himself, I returned my attention to the Guildmaster and shrugged.
"Oh, silly me!" Wigglytuff seemed to remember, though he didn't seem embarrassed. "That was rude of me to forget."
"Speaking of that, however," Rowkin chimed in, "if you don't mind, Guildmaster, given the situation, I think it would be better not to beat around the bush here." I wasn't sure where this was going, yet I was certain I wouldn't like it.
"That would be best, Rowkin," Wigglytuff answered, suddenly looking more serious than I had seen in my short time here.
"Thank you, Guildmaster. Now Kamon, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable here," Rowkin said, seemingly trying but failing to put me at ease. "But as you can probably imagine, the Guildmaster and I are… well, concerned, to put it simply." He looked at me as if waiting for a reaction, and then continued. "Suffice it to say, we don't really see a lot of Pokémon around here with your specific condition. And as I first approached you two, you seemed to be in a bit of distress. While I did not hear most of what was said between the two of you – which, obviously, was only from Sonchar's part, of course – it almost seemed as if you were being pressured into joining with him."
He heard some of our conversation?
"Please understand, we don't mean to sound accusatory."
'Well done there.'
"We just want to make sure that you are here because you want to be. Just know, if there's anything that you need to tell us, you can come and see us, alright?"
Something about the way he emphasized that made it obvious what he was implying. It seemed he was already suspicious about my situation. With both Rowkin and Wigglytuff's eyes gauging my reaction, it was all I could do not to let my anxiety betray our story. The only response I could offer was a nod, and I hoped it would be enough to put a stop to their interrogation.
"Okay. Just remember that the Guildmaster and I will be here for all of our apprentices. For now, you're dismissed. Feel free to return to your friend. I believe Chet was looking forward to meeting you as well."
"So long, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff's friendly demeanor suddenly returned. "Starting tomorrow, your training will begin, so enjoy the rest of the day!"
Nodding again, I walked out of the cramped office, closing the door behind me. Looking around, I didn't see Sonchar anywhere, so I figured he must have gone upstairs or perhaps a different room. My first reaction was to retreat to our room where I could avoid any more scrutinizing eyes. Yet, that would only arouse further suspicion from the guild's leadership, and I imagined Sonchar was likely waiting for me to return. Pushing aside my worry, I took the ladder up to the first basement floor.
As soon my head was over the top step, I spotted Sonchar at one of the corners of the large room alongside Chet. The latter seemed to be explaining something to my partner. I made my way over to the two of them, gaining their attention.
"Kamon!" Sonchar greeted with a much more welcome enthusiasm than before. "What was that all about?" he asked, concern overtaking his previous relief.
"It was nothing," I lied.
"Are you sure?" he whispered, not believing my answer. "You look a little shaky…"
"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it here. I'll tell you about it later when others aren't around."
"Oh, okay." Sonchar seemed to understand my caution, but continued in a hushed voice, "Was it something bad?"
"I don't know. Look, we'll talk about it later, okay?"
"Alright," he nodded. "So, uh, anyway…" His attention returned to Chet, who appeared to be patiently waiting for us to finish. If he was annoyed with Sonchar being pulled away, he didn't show it. "Chet, this is Kamon, which you probably heard me say."
"Yup yup, I remember," Chet answered. "And I'm Chet the Bidoof. It's nice to meet ya. I'd shake hands, but that ain't very easy for us four-legged 'mons." Hearing Sonchar's giggle, I assumed that was an attempt at a joke. "But uh, your buddy here told me about your, uh, condition, was it? So don't worry, I understand, yup yup."
Unsure how to respond, I glanced toward Sonchar, who jumped in for me. "He says thanks and nice to meet you."
"Yup yup," Chet repeated with his slightly absent smile.
"Oh, uh, he can be a little shy," Sonchar added, sensing my uncertainty in the situation. "Give him a little time, and he'll be more talkative. Or, well… you know what I mean."
I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Sonchar taking it upon himself to speak for me so much. On the one hand, it made me feel like I was being coddled, that I was unable to function in a normal setting. But on the other, well, that was more or less the case. I didn't know what to do or how I should be reacting in these casual, social settings. It seemed as if I would have to get used to relying on Sonchar to help me through even the most basic, every-day scenarios, at least if I had any hope of not drawing attention to us.
"So, Chet," Sonchar redirected his attention. "You were telling me about the boards and stuff? Should we, uh, bring Kamon up to speed now?"
"Yup yup!" Chet answered. "Ain't a problem, I'd be happy to. This here board's the basic job bulletin board. That's where they put up all sorts'a job requests."
"What sorts of jobs are they?" I asked, deciding to actually involve myself in the conversation.
Sonchar repeated my question for the Bidoof, who answered, "Well, let's see. They got the usual rescue missions for the Pokémon that went and got themselves stranded. We've also got little errands, like finding some sorta item they lost while they were exploring. Those are usually the easy ones."
"And the hard ones are?" Sonchar asked.
"Well, some 'mons like to go explorin', but ain't very good at it. So, they'll come and hire one of us to chaperone 'em through a dungeon. That way, they can have a little excitement while not havin' ta worry about gettin' back safe. I, uh, may 'a done it a couple 'a times before comin' here?" Chet chuckled nervously.
"Haha, no worries," Sonchar reassured. "I might've needed a rescue once or twice."
"'Twice?'" I repeated, having only heard one story.
"But hey, that's why we're in training, right?"
"Yup yup," Chet answered with what must be his catchphrase. "We ain't gonna get better unless we work at it. And we get ta' help some others out while we're at it!"
Either Sonchar's positivity was as infectious as I thought, or the Bidoof shared the same optimism.
"Anyway, thinkin' we should go over ta the other board now," Bidoof said, directing us to the corner on the other side of the ladder.
"Is it different than this one?" Sonchar asked.
"Yup. This one here's the outlaw notice board."
"What do you mean 'outlaws?'" Sonchar asked nervously.
"It's where we get bounties from Officer Magnezone. Lots'a shady types like ta stir up trouble, and when they get a lead on 'em, the officers will ask the guild for help in catchin' them."
"What do they do when they capture them?" I asked.
"They get put in jail for the crimes they committed," Sonchar answered me.
"Wait. You just lock them away? Why would you do that to someone?"
"Well, they're criminals!" Sonchar answered as if it was obvious. "They don't just arrest anybody for no reason."
"That's right," Chet chimed in. "These 'mons have done all sorts'a things ta disturb the peace. Some'a them stole things, some've hurt others. And some'a them've even done other unspeakable things."
"Like what?" Sonchar gulped.
"Well, ya know… I think y'all can use your imagination." Sonchar shivered. "But don't worry! They only send the most experienced teams after those outlaws. Not common, inexperienced 'mons like us."
"What do they do when they're imprisoned?" I asked. "Are they… are they tortured, or 'experimented on,' like what would happen with…" I shuddered as my mind returned to the dark thoughts from before. The idea of putting another into that situation was enough to make me nauseous.
"What?" Sonchar gasped as he finished my thought in his own head. "No, of course not! They would never do that!"
"How could you be sure?" I demanded. "If they would do all those things just because of what I was, why wouldn't they do it to someone who has done "unspeakable things?""
"Because that's not what they do!"
I could only look at him in disbelief at his answer.
"Excuse me," somebody interjected. The three of us turned to the source of the voice and saw Isabelle facing towards us. "Would you mind if I answered him?"
"No problem, ma'am," Chet politely answered. "Please do."
"So, I didn't hear what Kamon was thinking, but I'm guessing it was something pretty bad?"
Sonchar nodded for me.
"I figured as much. Listen to me, sweetie," Isabelle said in an attempt to sound soothing. "We don't lock people up just because we like to or because we want to punish them, you see? We only do it as a way to try to deter other people from doing the same thing. And when we capture them, we try our best to rehabilitate them so when they come back, they hopefully won't be a threat to others or themselves. Do you understand?"
It… made sense. I guess. However, the thought of holding somebody against their will like that made my skin crawl. After all, how would they know if the person being chased was really guilty? Or… what if their reasons for their actions were for the best of intentions? I asked these questions to Sonchar, who relayed them to Isabelle.
"Well, the system isn't perfect," Chimeco answered sympathetically. "Sometimes, we make mistakes, and people are wrongly accused. But usually, the people we bring in have already been found to be guilty, so in the majority of the cases, we are bringing in criminals."
"And the other cases?"
"Like I said, the system isn't perfect," Isabelle answered after Sonchar relayed my question. "That's why we like to try to bring them in peacefully if we can."
"She's right, Kamon," Sonchar added. "It's not ideal, but it's the best we're able to do."
I snorted derisively. Perhaps I was being too harsh, but I was bothered by what seemed to be the nonchalance towards those that didn't deserve those sentences. Yet, I couldn't think of anything to say in response. Most of what they said sounded reasonable. I wasn't sure why exactly I felt so outraged by what was probably, or hopefully, a rare occurrence.
Sonchar sighed in relief when I seemed to back off. I was confused at first, but then realized I probably wasn't helping my case earlier. With Rowkin suspecting we were hiding something, it wasn't wise to sympathize with potential criminals in a sudden, emotional response. I felt it better if I kept my figurative mouth shut before I drew even more attention.
"So, uh…" Chet awkwardly attempted to transition. "We're prob'ly done here, right? How 'bout we go back downstairs, and I show you fellas the Swap Cauldron?"
Sonchar looked to me, silently asking if I was okay with that. I nodded my agreement, but kept my gaze mostly to the ground.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sonchar answered. "Let's go."
The next few hours were spent with Chet continuing his thorough tour of the guild. While Rowkin gave a brief description of the main areas of interest, Chet really got into explaining every aspect of each room and station (the details of which having various amounts of usefulness). Somehow, despite the uncomfortableness of the scene I caused, the Bidoof really seemed to be enjoying himself as he shared his knowledge with us.
Chet's tour was interrupted briefly by the two sentries that greeted us upon our arrival. "Hey guys!" the Bidoof hollered at the duo.
"Hey Chet," one of them returned the greeting. He appeared to be a mole, but only half of his brown body was visible. The other half, where I figured all his limbs were, appeared to be underground, but as he burrowed towards us, the ground behind him somehow remained undisturbed. I was going to question it, until I noticed that nobody else seemed perturbed by it, so I kept my mouth shut. Once again, figuratively.
"What are you up to?" the other said, nearly bursting my eardrums with his loud voice. This one had a somewhat large, purple, almost square-shaped body. Its mouth appeared to cover almost half its entire upper body, which explained his voice volume. Somehow, he also had two large, circular ears that appeared to be immune to it.
"Just giving the newbies a tour 'a the place," Chet answered proudly.
"'Newbies,' huh?" the loud one responded. Sonchar also seemed to cringe at the loudness of its voice. Chet must have gotten more or less used to it, as he only winced slightly.
"Yup!" Bidoof answered. "Oh, I should introduce ya, shouldn't I? These're our sentries, Louis the Loudred and Dominic the Diglett."
While I didn't recognize their species, it was easy to figure out which was which based on the context of the names. I wasn't sure if the alliteration was intentional, but I assumed it was coincidental, seeing as how they were the first two I'd met with that trend.
"And these here are Kamon the Riolu, and Sonchar the Chimchar."
"Nice to meet you guys," Sonchar said, extending his hand to the Loudred.
"Likewise," Louis shouted as he shook Sonchar's hand. "And since Chet forgot to mention, it's 'Sentry Loudred' and 'Sentry Diglett' when we're on duty. Gotta keep up formalities and all." I wasn't sure if the wince Sonchar made this time was due to the voice or the Loudred's grip, but I suppressed my glare as Sonchar managed a nod.
"It's nice to meet you too," Dominic added. "You can call me Dominic or Dom, by the way. Either is okay, as long as we're not on duty, like he said. Oh, and Chet, have you seen my dad recently?"
"Uh oh, he forget to update the boards again?" Chet asked.
"It looks like it. Once again, I need to go remind him to take care of that."
"Sorry buddy, I ain't seen him around."
"That's just great," Dominic sighed. "Sorry to cut this short, Kamon and Sonchar. I'm sure I'll be able to get to know you guys another time. But I've gotta go take care of this. See you guys later."
"Good luck!" Chet said his farewell as the Diglett burrowed under the ground. Once again, I was the only one that showed any shock as the ground that held him returned to its previous state as if he was never there.
"So, um…" Sonchar started, looking toward his hand that was still in Louis's grasp. "Could I, uh, get my hand ba-"
"I knew it!" the Loudred cut Sonchar off, finally releasing him in the process. "You're the guy that keeps on running from the gate whenever we open it for you!"
"Eep!" Sonchar yelped in surprise.
"What did you think you were doing? Think we wouldn't recognize a false stepper when we see one?"
"A what?"
"Don't 'what' me! Somebody who thinks they can try and mess around on our footstep grate."
"I didn't exactly know-"
"Don't be a little smartass!" Louis interrupted again. "Tell me what you think you were doing."
"I-I'm sorry, okay? I just got nervous and backed out! I wasn't meaning to cause trouble!"
I started approaching the Loudred to make him back off when another voice shouted, "Keep it down!" All of us looked to see an irritated Rowkin stepping outside the Guildmaster's office. "Your voice is ridiculously loud!"
"S-sorry, Rowkin," Louis backed down. I supposed that took care of the problem.
"If you have some sort of an issue with your guildmates, then solve it quietly or take it outside away from the guild. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir," Chet, Louis, and Sonchar answered in unison.
"Hmph." Rowkin, finished with his admonishment, fluttered up the ladder and left the four of us as we were.
"Guess I kinda got carried away there, huh?" Louis said much more quietly.
"Oh, uh, no harm done?" Sonchar responded unsurely.
"Don't get me wrong. The ditching was annoying, but I was honestly just giving you a hard time. But anyway, I've gotta go find Dom before he rips his dad a new one or three, ya know? See ya little rookies later!"
The Loudred made his way up the stairs, likely due to the ladder not being able to support his frame.
"Sorry 'bout Louis," Chet apologized with an embarrassed grimace. "He can be a little blunt sometimes, especially with rookies like us."
"It's no big deal," Sonchar said uncertainly. "But I probably didn't make a good first impression, huh?"
"I think we're one for six in that regard so far," I added sarcastically.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Sonchar laughed after counting with his fingers.
"What's so funny?" Chet asked, not hearing my comment.
"Nothing, just something he said," Sonchar decided not to answer.
"So, uh, I think that about does it with the tour of the place. Guess now, we can just hang out till dinner?"
"Yeah, probably. Does that sound good, Kamon?"
Thinking of nothing else we could be doing, I nodded in agreement.
The three of us spent the rest of the day in my and Sonchar's dorm relaxing and talking. Well, the two of them talked, mostly about the Bidoof's experiences in the guild and what Sonchar looked forward to experiencing, while I listened. I wasn't bothered being mostly an observer in the conversations. But Sonchar would still try to make sure I was included, asking me what I thought about things or making comments directly to me, and of course relaying my contributions to the Bidoof. Although unnecessary, I did appreciate my partner's consideration, while hoping my presence wasn't more of a burden.
Eventually, a bell chime was heard, followed by a familiar voice. "Dinner is ready!" Isabelle announced.
"Guess it's about time to get some grub," Chet confirmed.
"Awesome! I'm starving!" Sonchar exclaimed. "Let's go, Kamon!"
The three of us left the room and made our way to the mess hall where we were summoned. A few Pokémon were already seated inside, while others were entering behind us. Most of the Pokémon I recognized, although there were a few that we had yet to meet.
"Omigosh!" a feminine voice shrieked from behind, making us jump. "You two must be the new guildies! You are just the cutest rookies ever!" The owner of this new voice was essentially a talking sunflower. The green leaves that acted as her arms were pressed up against her face as she squealed in her, how do I put it… endearment of the two of us.
"Uh, thanks?" Sonchar responded, confident as ever.
"Omigosh, I'm sorry!" the bipedal flower squealed in embarrassment. "Lewey, you didn't tell me these two were so young!"
"Lewey?" Sonchar asked.
"I told you, 'small and wimpy,'" said the Loudred in question as he wrapped an arm around what would be the flower's shoulders were she more humanoid. "I think that describes them to a T, wouldn't you say, Daisy?"
"Oh, stop being such a jerk, Lewey," the flower, or Daisy as I heard, gently smacked the Loudred's arm from her. "And I told you, don't do that in public!" she scolded less quietly than she probably intended.
"Sorry, babe." Did I even need to mention Louis's failure at discretion?
"I'm Daisy the Sunflora, by the way," Daisy said. "And I know. My parents thought they were really original when they came up with my name."
"Preach it, sister!" Isabelle chimed in as she was setting plates on the dinner table.
"So, what are you two-"
"Hey hey!" came another shout from the previous room. "You guys are blocking the door! Move it!" This voice belonged to a red crustacean, who passed beside the couple and scuttled toward an open seat on the table, paying us no mind.
The others followed suit, each claiming an open seat. I also saw Dominic pop out of the ground into a spot missing a chair, along with another Pokémon similar to him. Only this one appeared to be three Diglett's attached at the hip fighting for their spot out of the hole they were sprouting from. I decided it best not to vocalize my questions about the two (or four?) moles. Not only would it draw attention to me being an outsider, but it would probably be a little rude.
"Please take a seat," Rowkin ordered, snapping me out of my possibly offensive daydreaming.
Sonchar and I nodded, and walked to the far end of the table to a couple of open seats next to Chet. With us seated, all the seats were taken, save for a few next to and across from us. The table itself was holding all sorts of different foods, all of which were some sort of fruit or vegetation, and more than enough for us all many times over.
"Now, before we eat," Rowkin announced, "I have a quick announcement to make."
"Oh, come on!" Louis shouted. "We're starving over here!"
"Yeah, it's been a long day!" the crustacean added. "Let us eat, hey hey!"
"Silence!" Rowkin ordered, rolling his eyes as if it were routine. "It'll only take a moment." Once the jeering settled, the Chatot continued. "Now, as I'm sure you've all figured out, we have a couple of new faces here at the guild. Sonchar and Kamon here, the Chimchar and Riolu respectively, are our newest recruits."
"Hi, Sonchar and Kamon!" the guildmates greeted, including the ones who had already met us for some reason.
"Please be willing to offer any help or advice when asked. And of course, don't give them any intentionally bad advice when they do ask you." Rowkin glared toward Louis as he said the last part. The offended Loudred responded with an indignant huff, which the Chatot ignored as he continued. "Also, please be courteous, as Kamon is unable to speak vocally, save for a telepathic connection he has with Sonchar. If there's anything you need to say, Sonchar will act as his interpreter."
I shrank in my seat as all eyes were suddenly on me. So much for not standing out. Sensing my discomfort, Sonchar placed a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to reassure me.
Possibly realizing the situation, Rowkin cleared his throat and concluded, "Now, without further ado, on your marks, get set…"
"Let's eat!" the table chanted. No longer interested in me, the guildmates turned their pitying gazes to the food in front of them as they began to devour their food. As I watched them demolish their meals, I somehow began to doubt there would really be enough. Louis and Chet alone seemed to have massive appetites, and Dominic's father, of course, had three mouths to feed.
"You better eat too, Kamon," Sonchar whispered as he nudged me. "Or else they might clear it all out before you can."
Nodding as I realized he was right, I grabbed an apple, a couple oran berries, and some strange vegetables I had never seen before onto my plate, and slowly began eating my meal.
"Do they have this much food all the time?" I asked incredulously.
"I think so," Sonchar answered. He seemed to be in almost as much disbelief, but was enjoying his meal nonetheless.
The food itself was tasty and nourishing, but as I ate, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing, like there was something else I was craving. Yet, at the same time, a part of me felt relieved about what I had in front of me. I felt dread as I realized what exactly it was my body was craving, which made me lose a little bit of my appetite. Sonchar gave me a slightly concerned look, but I shook my head and resumed eating.
"Just more food than I'm used to seeing, I think."
Sonchar's expression shifted from concerned to confused. I realized that what I said made no sense, considering my memory went as far back as the previous day. To my relief, Sonchar smiled and said, "Yeah, me too. Let's make sure to enjoy it."
"Sonchar and Kamon," Rowkin called. "I hope you are enjoying your time in the guild so far. Starting tomorrow, your training will begin. Make sure you eat well and get to bed early tonight, as we start our morning huddle just after dawn. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Sonchar exclaimed, as he began to really dig in to his food. As always, his excitement was contagious, causing me to smile as I did the same.
Author's Notes
Just got another couple chapters in my buffer finished, so I will be able to maintain my schedule for at least the next two updates. As for this chapter, which is my longest one so far, amongst all the angst we get to meet the guildmates. Obviously, we got to know some more than others, and this chapter is a pretty good indication of how prominently they will be featured. As for Chet, I was pretty hesitant to use the "bumpkin" type of dialogue for him, as I didn't want to make him a stereotype. But as it just so happens, two of my beta readers happen to be from Texas where many of their friends and families speak with that type of drawl, and told me I actually wasn't doing enough. with it. So, as you can see, southern Bidoof is here to stay. I am also keeping the others mostly true to how they were in game, exaggerating them a bit here and there. I am also just full on shipping Loudred and Sunflora, which was only sort of hinted at in one of the Special Episodes. And those who were mentioned but not named in this chapter will be named in the next couple chapters.
You also may noticed that I decided to change around the orders of some of the events in game and which members do certain things. I just figured it would make sense that the duo wouldn't be kept away from their soon-to-be colleagues when they're already living together, so this would be a good time to introduce them. And those who have played the first Special Episode also know how much Bidoof was looking forward to having some new buddies to show around, so I decided to give him a much more prominent role in team Blazing Aura's training overall. He'll also be one of the most prominent characters overall, so I'm hoping his mannerisms don't become annoying at all.
As for an editing note, this chapter was written literally over a month after the previous one when I was in a full on lazy mode. With the delay as well as the size compared to all the previous chapters, as well as my inability to proofread my own damn work, this one really put my prime beta to work. As always, I thank her for her assistance. I also thank you guys for reading. And as always, please feel free to leave any comments and feedback. It really is appreciated!
