Author's Note: Parts of this were hinted at in one or two of the previous side stories, but I may as well write out exactly how Rin and Iris met each other. Backstory! That's a good thing, right?

How It All Began

"You know," Claire commented as she sat down, "I've been wondering how you two met."

They'd just gotten back from that day's jobs (Team Shadow had rescued a lost Cranidos and found a missing Defense Scarf in Mount Bristle), and dinner wasn't ready yet. As such, everyone had settled back in their rooms. Claire looked curiously at her two newest teammates; Rin and Iris had been a part of the guild for a few days now, and she wanted to know more about them.

The two glanced at each other and shrugged, and Iris spoke up first.

"Well, we both grew up in the Northern Desert," she replied. "It's not too exciting, really! Our parents were friends, so we hung out a lot when we were little."

Rin nodded. "Yeah; my older sister and one of Iris's brothers are on a team together, too. That's kind of what gave us the idea to travel together. We both wanted to explore anyway, and Iris can be pretty reliable when she needs to be, so…we decided to leave together."

"You know, I think that's one of the nicest things you've ever said about me," Iris said proudly. "But, anyway, that's our story! Kinda boring, isn't it?"

Felix shook his head and grinned. "No, I think it's pretty cool! Traveling together like that sounds really fun… It took me forever to leave home, so…I think it's impressive."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Rin mused.

Iris grinned as well. "I guess it is kinda cool after all!"

Claire nodded, glancing up at the ceiling as she thought it over. It also explained why the two of them were friends despite their wildly different personalities. If they'd known each other for a long time, that would make sense.

"What about you two, then?" Rin asked.

"Oh, us?" Claire blinked, looking over at Felix. "Actually…we didn't even meet until right before we joined the guild."

"Yep…" Felix sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "We met on the beach, and I kind of just…dumped the suggestion on her."

Well, that was simplifying things a little, but it was basically what happened. However, the other two didn't seem to find it weird. In fact, Iris looked impressed; her eyes widened, and she waved her arms around excitedly as she spoke.

"Really? That's so awesome! You two just met, and you decided to do something cool like that? Man…" The Cacnea sighed gustily. "That's setting some really high standards for everything else! Now you have to do even more awesome stuff from now on."

"Y-you think so?" Felix replied anxiously. "Oh, no…"

Claire laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, Felix… We've already done some cool stuff, so don't worry about impressing me! Besides—"

She was cut off when Chimecho poked her head into the room. "Dinner's ready, everyone! Come and get it."

Chimecho floated out of the room, and everyone sprang to their feet. As interesting as that conversation had been, Claire was kind of glad she'd been interrupted. She was admittedly hungry, and food sounded great. Besides, she could always ask more questions later if she thought of them.

But, for now, dinner called—and the discussion went to the back of Claire's mind.