A/N If any of you lovely people can give me a better verb than 'slunk' for a certain Snake character, it'd be much appreciated. See it's cuz he moves like a caterpillar so I can't really use 'slither'... I MEAN I JUST DUNNO
edit: Also I apologize for Valissa in advance; she always puts herself ahead of others, y'know... Even if it means breaking grammar rules. They should bend to her will to her too according to her after all...
Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
Valissa headed swiftly through Winding Woodland, taking the most direct route home. Despite the fact that she often praised herself for qualities she did not have, she did, actually, have an excellent sense of direction. Perhaps her pompous nature stemmed from her being a Serperior; after all, they [as a species,] seemed to regard themselves as being better than most. She was a lighter green than other Serperior, with orange eyes and light blue coloration along the back and sides of her body with some pale yellow accents on her back and a similar color for her inner collar.
Or at least, her sense of direction was great compared to Kakorio's. He had a hard time keeping up with her, seeing as she naturally was much faster than him. By the time they had reached the familiar entrance to their base, which was nothing more than a small cave-like opening leading downwards, covered by trees and various plant life, he was virtually exhausted. Kakorio, like most Arbok, was a purple color with a face-like pattern on his hood. Kakorio's, however, looked a bit different from most other's. The 'eyes' on such had distinct pupil markings and the 'mouth' had black diagonal lines in it that were reminiscent of razor sharp teeth.
As he finally slithered up to Valissa, who was waiting impatiently by the door, he sheepishly said "Ladiesss firssst?, to which she rolled her eyes and entered first, smacking him with her tail as she turned around. He flinched, though said nothing as he waited cautiously in the doorway, half in and half out, unsure of how the next few moments were going to play out.
The base itself wasn't much to look at, having a medium-sized entrance leading in a downward slope to a large, open room. The only two things of note where the table near the north wall, which was a sort of 'meeting area', and two other passageways branching out to the northeast and northwest respectively, leading further into the base.
Sighing sharply, Valissa mumbled under her breath "You'd think he'd be expecting us..." but then shook her head. "OURA!" she shouted, making her and her teammate's presence known. Kakorio flinched at her sudden screaming.
Only a moment later, a Seviper slunk into the room. "It took you both long enou- AGH!" He was stopped mid-sentence by something hard hitting his head.
"Perhaps you should do it yourself next time!" she glared, the Sitrus berry she threw now landing on the ground with a sharp thud after landing spot-on against Oura's forehead.
"What!?" Oura replied, still a bit dazed from the throw.
"You heard me," she scowled, dropping the berries she was holding, "I'm sick of YOU forcing ME to go scavenge for food like we're damn SAVAGES! I deserve better than this."
"What you deserve," the Seviper replied bluntly, his eyes piercing through her defenses, "is to actually live like a savage and then tell me how bad you have it here."
"H-...How dare you..." she murmured shakily as Oura advanced towards the berry pile that she had dropped. He stared at it for a moment, then shouted "KAKORIO! Get the hell in here," as he turned towards the entrance, seeing the poor Arbok now pretty much completely out of the base due to his own fear. He jumped a little as he heard the shout, though he did as he was told and [reluctantly] entered the base and went up to his teammates.
"Now, you're usually very honest with me, right?" Oura asked.
"Um...y-yesss, Bossss? I-I mean-"
"So, why is it that there's hardly anything here?"
"Well if someone didn't forget the bag!" Valissa interjected, even though she was not part of the conversation; she spoke as if the previous comment wasn't still burning her.
"Why do I alwaysss have to get it!?" Kakorio frowned, turning to her, "You're the one with armsss! Why do you never want to help me with it? I mean you did put the hook up for me, which was niccce, b-but it's a bit high up-"
"Ugh..." she smacked her forehead with her right vine, "the whole point of you getting the bag is so that you can help me, you moron! Why do I need to help you?"
"What!?" he shot her a bewildered look. "I-I get that! I mean the part about me actually getting it. You know how hard that thing isss to get on, let alone keep on?"
"That's for you to figure out. I'm not your mother."
"I-I guessss you're right, b-but-"
"It's not like you help much in the first place," she crossed her vines. "You just make me do all the work!"
"Wait, hold on!? Sssince when do I-"
"SHUT UP! Both of you are idiots!" Oura screamed, breaking up the fight.
"I-I'm sorry, Bossss-"
"How am I an idiot-" Valissa began, though she was cut off by a quick "Because I said so, that's why!" from Oura.
"Actually," Valissa replied, putting her right vine to her chin for a moment, as if to make a mock-thinking pose, "perhaps the true idiot around here is YOU," she pointed with that same vine at her team leader. His eyes widened; Kakorio desperately wished Valissa would stop talking.
"Oh? And why do you say that?" Oura said, as if accepting her observation as a challenge. "Enlighten me."
"You see, it's not my fault about the whole food thing."
This is going to end badly. I just know it... Kakorio thought, nervously looking from one teammate to the other as they spoke. Sometimes I wish you had a filter, Valissa...
"Actually, it's not even my fault about the whole money thing, really."
Wait, when did this become about money? The Arbok frowned a bit more. It doesn't always have to be about money... I dunno if she realizes that...
Oura seemed yet unfazed by what she was saying.
"Truth be told, I honestly think it stems from a very obvious fact. It's quite funny, now that I think about it. I had only realized this a few moments ago, but it all adds up perfectly."
"Go on."
"Perhaps it might be because of, oh, I don't know, THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BEEN SIDETRACKED WITH YOUR WILD GOD DAMN GOOSE CHASE FOR THREE YEARS NOW, TO THE POINT WHERE NOTHING ELSE IS ON YOUR MIND ANYMORE!?"
The base fell into an eerie silence. Oura had absolutely no change in expression, but Kakorio was shaking visibly. He held his tongue, knowing that even starting a sentence with the wrong letter could set off a bomb that would destroy everyone and everything in the surrounding area.
"When you agreed to be a part of this team," Oura began in an unnervingly calm tone, "what exactly was asked of you?"
"Jack shit!" she spat. "Absolutely nothing pertaining to something like this! THIS only happened because you SAID IT NEEDED TO HAPPEN. And we didn't mind at first, I and Kakorio. However, it's gone too far."
Another patch of silence. It hung in the air with a weight so heavy it threatened to crush them all.
"...Then what do you suggest we do?" he questioned.
She smiled. "That's more like it." Clearing her throat, she quickly continued with "While I and Kakorio were...out...We happened to find something interesting;" she leaned in, "our chance at victory."
Oura blinked, then replied in a tone more like his usual one "You did? What was it?"
Smiling more, Valissa added "I'll only tell you on one condition."
"...Alright."
"You have this one chance, and if we fail once more...then it's over. Give it up. If not, I and Kakorio will leave, and that's that."
Kakorio choked on his own breath after hearing himself be mentioned. "B-But-" he stammered, though his interjection was promptly ignored.
"So be it," Oura answered. "So this means you're sure that we'll win."
"If we botch this, then I'm positive there's better things out there for me in this world," she said.
"What's the reason?"
"Not only are Team Akokanon down a member...it's the one-trick Kitty, by the way...but they also seemed to have rookies with them," she leaned in and whispered, then leaned back.
"You must be joking. They still have that rule?" Oura laughed. "This is priceless!"
"Would I lie?" Valissa smirked, putting her vines together at her chest.
"Depends on your mood," he responded.
"She'sss telling the truth, th-though..." Kakorio chimed in nervously. "I wasss there. I sssaw it, too."
"Where was this, exactly?"
"Just outside Echoed Caverns. It seems like they were on their way to Glade Town."
"Ah...I see."
"So...do you know what to do, Bossss?"
"Yes. Don't I always?"
By the time the two teams had reached the base, they were all exhausted. The shortcut they took made them completely miss the town, but it didn't matter much, as it was much too dark to see mostly anything; that, and anything of interest to them would definitely be long closed.
Nychia was the first to enter, and he kept the door open for the rest of his companions.
"You go get some sleep, alright, Felicia? I'll show Team Searchlights to where they'll be staying."
She only gave a soft nod in response, then hurried off.
Cendre tried to study the house, but couldn't make out much, seeing as it was very dark. He turned around, to make sure his teammates were still with him. They indeed were, but he could see how tired they were.
"You don't mind if I give more of an official tour in the morning, do you?" Nychia asked, gesturing for the rookies to follow him further into the home.
"No, it's fine," Cendre answered. I guess even Nychia's tired, too. Everyone has their limits, I guess.
After being guided through a door near the back of the first room, it lead into what seemed like a spare room, since there wasn't much in it, only a few small hay beds and a window on the north wall, which was the only faint light source in the room at the moment.
"This isn't a broom closet, right?" Lora asked, the last to enter.
"No, it actually used to be the bedroom, before we put add-ons to the house a little while back."
"Oh."
Add-ons? So you can make your house bigger if you're a good Exploration Team? Cendre tilted his head. I guess that'll help, since Lora's house isn't the biggest...Not that it's particularly bad, but still.
"Sleep well, Team Searchlights," Nychia said, going over to the door. "By the way, if you don't mind, I'll wake you up when my teammates and I get up."
"That's not gonna be before dawn, right? We kinda need some sleep." Lora crossed her arms.
Cendre looked over to Lamperé, who hadn't said a word in quite some time. From what he could see, she had her eyes half closed and almost looked as if she could fall asleep standing.
"No, no. Tomorrow will be a later morning, don't worry."
"Well, I guess..."
"Is that alright, Cen-" Nychia proceeded to ask, but stopped himself as he noticed the Cyndaquil was busy with something else.
"Lamperé? Take my hand, alright?" Cendre softly grabbed her hand, then lead her towards a bed, the one on the far left of the room, which was the one she was closest to.
"Ok..." she mumbled.
He stopped her once she was on top of a bed. "Here. You can sleep, now," he said, letting her go. As soon as he said so, she lied down, going into her shell and sleeping.
"Blech. Get a room!" Lora grumbled, lying down on the bed furthest from the two.
Cendre blushed once again. "Wh-What did I-" he shook his head, then looked up into the doorway. "A-Anyway, you wanted to ask me something?"
Nychia smiled. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. I'll see you all in the morning, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Lora replied. "Night, scarface."
I really need to get her to stop doing that. "Goodnight," Cendre said, lying down on the bed in-between his teammates.
"Goodnight, Team Searchlights," Nychia then closed the door softly behind him.
Lora was the first to fall asleep, though it took Cendre some time yet again to get himself to. He ended up lost in his thoughts once more, like the previous night.
This Exploration Team thing isn't too hard...I think... What am I supposed to do once I don't have Nychia to watch after and my teammates? I just don't think I can do this yet...
And what about Nychia's team in general? I mean, I trust them more than I trust myself, but there's still so much that I don't know. There's a lot to Nychia that I really don't understand, and he seems to carry these things with him...Erioris does, too. Actually, they all do. There's something here that I don't know but they hold with them all the time. I can't tell who has this more out of them, though. Nychia, if he actually lets you know, seems to be worried more often than not, and something seems to be wrong with Erioris, but he won't tell us. Felicia...she might be just pretending to be that happy. I could be wrong, though, but with the track record so far of her teammates, I wouldn't be surprised.
I just wish I knew them better, I guess. I hope I still get to work with them, even after this mission.
Again like the previous night, it took quite some time, but Cendre eventually fell into a restless, worried sleep.
A bit earlier...
As Nychia walked out of the room, he quickly headed towards the back of the house, eventually ending up in a medium sized room with three beds in it, one pushed up against the left corner, near the window, going vertically, and the other two up against the right wall, one near the upper corner, the other, the lower, each going horizontally. Another window was on the wall between the two. Beside each bed was a nightstand, and on it a small oil lamp. The only one that was on in the room was the one nearest the door; the one beside Erioris' bed, which was the only one that was currently occupied.
Felicia was sitting beside it, solemnly looking him. He was still knocked out, though his breathing seemed to be normal.
Nychia approached carefully, slowly, as not to startle the Purugly. "He'll wake up in the morning," he said softly.
"You always say that," she replied, not looking up at him.
"Yes. And I haven't been wrong, have I?"
She ignored his question. "What're we gonna do once he wakes up, Nychi? We lied to him."
He sighed. "Yes, that...wasn't the brightest idea."
"I didn't wanna bring this up earlier, but this is something that was bugging you, wasn't it?"
"Yes...it was."
"It's bugging me, too."
Nychia tilted his head a bit. "It's bugging you that I did it, or that you and I did it."
"Both," she said. The way she said it hit the Zangoose like a truck.
"But I thought you said-"
"I did. And I meant it. You're a nice guy because you learn from mistakes. You're not a meanie that way. I know you'll learn from this," she explained. It relieved him, but only slightly.
"I see."
"But you still did it."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's alright. We should apologize more to Eri more than you should apologize to me."
"You're right."
A patch of silence. Never a good sign, especially in a situation like this.
"What did Forte say to you," Felicia finally said, framing it more as a strong demand rather than a question.
Nychia was taken aback. "Felicia, it's not-"
"It is. Tell me."
"No, please I-"
"Tell me!" she sharply said, turning to him for the first time in their conversation.
He sharply gasped, not expecting her to raise her voice. "I..." he tried to gather his thoughts. "Alright...I'll tell you," he said, after a moment.
Felicia remained silent, though turned away, only giving him a slight nod of confirmation to show she had listened.
"He just- he tried to make me feel like I had learned nothing since I last saw him, that's all. Nothing more."
"There's a lot more...I know you better than that," she spoke kinder now, losing the unbecoming harsh tone she had.
He sighed, then sat down on the end of Erioris' bed. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," she replied. "What happened the time we got separated and the time you spent with him after I ran off with Eri and the rookies. That's what I want to know."
Nychia took a deep breath. "...If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do."
Team Searchlights:
Cendre Tephra (San-druh Tef-rah) the Cyndaquil - Male (15)
Ability: Flash Fire
Timid nature, often lost in thought
Lamperé Lenterazine (Lam-pier-ay Len-terra-zeen) the Squirtle* - Female (14)
Ability: Torrent
Quirky nature, somewhat of a clown
Lora Lillium (Lore-ah Lil-E-um) the Cubone - Female (12)
Ability: Battle Armor
Rash nature, quick tempered
Held Item: Thick Club
Team Akokanon(Ah-co-ka-non):
Nychia Acetyl (Neh-he-ah Ah-C-till) the Zangoose - Male (21)
Ability: Toxic Boost
Adamant nature, strong willed
Erioris Nyx (Eh-ree-or-es Nicks) the Meowstic - Male (19)
Ability: Prankster
Relaxed nature, alert to sounds
Felicia Keen (Feh-lee-C-ah Keyn) the Purugly - Female (18)
Ability: Thick Fat
Naïve nature, likes to run
Team Syspeiro (Sis-spear-oh):
Oura Bane (Oo-rah Bane) the Seviper - Male (21)
Ability: Infiltrator
Naughty nature, mischievous
Kakorio Blight (Kah-core-E-oh Bluhight) the Arbok - Male (20)
Ability: Intimidate
Mild nature, often lost in thought
Valissa Opulent (Vah-lis-ah Ahp-pew-lent) the Serperior - Female (20)
Ability: Overgrow
Sassy nature, somewhat vain
Oura: -covers mouth with his tail and speaks in a funky voice-
YOU MERELY ADOPTED THE DARK, VALISSA
I WAS BORN INTO IT