Chapter 28: What Fathers are Like
"Now, remember: You will likely encounter multiple sandstorms during your exploration," Dusknoir told Laura and Paula. The two members of Team Rainbow had just been about to head out to search for a Time Gear in the Northern Desert when Dusknoir called them over to give them some last minute advice.
"The sandstorms will harm you," Dusknoir continued, "and they will obscure your vision, so if you find yourselves in a pinch it would be best to make it to the stairs as quickly as possible."
Paula nodded. "Got it," she assured. "But since we're supposed to be searching for something hidden, we probably don't want to hurry through the floors too often if we can avoid it… so should we go pick up some more Oran Berries?"
"That won't be necessary," Dusknoir said, pulling something out of his treasure bag. "Take these with you," he told them, offering some Orbs to Laura. "These are Sunny and Rainy Orbs—you can use them to change the weather into something less harmful."
"Wow! Thanks!" Paula exclaimed.
Laura had a look of surprise on her face, but she accepted the offering nonetheless. "…Thanks," she said, sounding slightly stunned.
Dusknoir smiled. "You're very welcome," he replied. "Now, another thing that you will have to worry about in the Northern Desert is the lack of food; the only available source is Grimy Food."
Both girls grimaced—they had watched Loudred eat some Grimy Food once on a dare from Croagunk and the results… had not been pretty.
Dusknoir chuckled at their expressions. "Yes," he agreed. "The effects can be very debilitating, so I would suggest that you only eat Grimy Food as a last resort, and, even then, only if you are next to the stairs, as any effects will wear off when you reach the next floor."
"Gotcha," Paula said, with Laura nodding her head in agreement.
"Good. Now, one last thing…" Dusknoir began, getting a serious expression on his face. "This dungeon leaves you at a disadvantage, Paula. Laura will likely be able to cover for you, but if you—and this goes for you as well, Laura—ever find yourself in real danger, then you need to immediately abandon the mission and use an Escape Orb. Your safety and well-being is far more important than taking a risk because there's a chance of finding a Time Gear."
Paula gulped. "R-right," she said.
"We'll be careful," Laura assured with a smile.
Dusknoir reciprocated with a fond smile of his own. "Good," he said. "I'll look forward to your safe return."
Later that night, as she and Laura waited for dinner, Paula glanced back to where Dusknoir was speaking with Chatot (it had been late by the time everyone had finally returned from their explorations, so Dusknoir had been invited to stay and eat with the guild) and sighed. "Since the great Dusknoir helped suggest the locations, I was sure that we'd find something," she gloomily told her partner.
Laura, who had been inspecting something on her arm, glanced over at her friend and shrugged.
Paula sighed again. "Yeah, yeah… well, at least we tried."
Laura smiled encouragingly before returning to inspecting her arm.
Paula frowned at her. "Laura, why are you doing that?" she asked.
"Why is Laura doing what?" a voice from behind her inquired. She turned in surprise to see that Dusknoir was heading towards them.
"Oh! Dusknoir, sir!" Paula exclaimed, causing Laura to look up again. Dusknoir looked at Paula and gestured for an explanation, so Paula obliged, "Laura keeps looking at the same spot on her arm, and I'm not sure why, so…"
Dusknoir frowned. "Laura is there a problem?" he asked.
Laura shook her head before glancing back down at her arm. Dusknoir raised a brow. "If that's the case, then why do you keep focusing intently on your arm like that?"
Laura sighed before admitting, "It just… sort of stings."
Dusknor frowned. "Did you injure it during your exploration?" he asked in concern.
"Um… I think I may have nicked it on a rock when I was turning a corner on the fifth floor…" she admitted.
Dusknoir frowned again. "Let me take a look at it," he ordered. Laura frowned, but allowed him to inspect her arm.
"So? What's the verdict?" Paula asked curiously a few moments later.
"I believe some sand particles may be trapped in the wound," Dusknoir informed.
Laura blinked in surprise. "'Wound?'" she repeated. "It's just a tiny cut… I didn't even remember getting it until we got home…"
"All injuries, no matter how small they are, can cause problems," Dusknoir said, his face becoming haunted for some reason. "I once had a… a close friend. One day while we were out together, she got a scratch on her palm. It was very small, and she forgot all about it until… well, until it got infected. But that infection… it…" he trailed off, closing his eye in sadness.
Paula and Laura glanced at each other in surprise, but they quickly looked back to Dusknoir when he sighed a moment later and resumed inspecting Laura's arm. "In any case… I suggest that you go wash out this cut and then eat an Oran Berry to ensure that it heals," he told Laura. "And be sure tonight to eat something sweet, such as a Pecha Berry; the extra sugar will help supplement the natural sugars that your body, as you are a Grass-type pokémon, creates through photosynthesis for you to use as energy. Understand?"
Laura nodded, and that caused Dusknoir to smile warmly and—to her and Paula's surprise—place a hand on her head.
"Good girl," he said.
"Hey, does anyone know if the great Dusknoir has a family of his own?" Paula asked that night when the apprentices had assembled for their nightly meeting.
Dugtrio frowned. "I do not think he does," he said. "At least… I have not heard anything to that effect."
"Yup, yup; me neither," Bidoof agreed.
"Why do you ask?" Chimecho inquired.
Paula shrugged. "Oh, it's just that the way he was acting today reminded me of my dad."
"Oh my gosh! Really?" Sunflora asked. "How so?"
"Well, he was giving us lots of advice on how to stay safe during our exploration—even going so far as to give us useful items to take with us—and then the way he was treating Laura when he was looking over her 'injury'… well, it just reminded me of how fathers act towards their children."
"Ooh… I guess that's just one more thing that makes the great Dusknoir so amazing!" Chimecho exclaimed.
Croagunk snickered. "Meh heh heh… I'm surprised he doesn't have women swarming him everywhere he goes. After all, he's smart… he would, apparently, make a good father… according to Sunflora, he's 'handsome…'"
"Eek! Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed, blushing furiously. "Croagunk, how did you know I thought that? Did you… gasp! Did you read my diary?!" she demanded.
Croagunk just snickered again, indicating that yes, he had. That made Sunflora blush even harder and exclaim, "Oh my gosh! That's so mean! I hate you!"
Everyone laughed at her display, but Laura remained quiet. She was busy thinking over what Paula had said. "Dusknoir acts like a father?" she wondered. "I can't remember my parents, but… being kind and gentle… and caring about your children's health and safety… is that what fathers are like?"
