After bumping along a woefully uneven road for almost half an hour, which itself had been preceded by an even more agonizingly dull drive, the shuttle came to a loud stop at the corner street in the midst of a small, out of the way little town. All around it, mountains rose into the sky and blocking out any trace of a view from the world beyond. Secluded maybe wasn't the right word for it. Even though it was barely a hundred miles from Century City, this petite pocket of civilization felt as remote as being in the middle of the ocean.
The air was cleaner, too, and it was the first thing that Lauren noticed as she stepped off of the bus, her trusty vulpine companion hopping out behind her.
While the Pokémon went about stretching its legs a little and sniffing around at the immediate area, Lauren's eyes were drawn around her, moving slowly from one building to another and admiring the old style of the architecture. It was picturesque of what she expected to find in a mountain town that had a long-standing tradition of being a tourist hub, but there was one leering aspect that made her smile more: it was completely and utterly fake.
To their credit, some of the people who called Hilt their home were, in fact, the descendants of the mountain-dwellers who founded the town in ages past, and they did make a good show by trying to make everything look as authentic as possible. In truth, however, that beauty was only skin deep, and this place was about as original as the Taco Mike's truck that was peddling street cuisine in the nearby alleyway.
Even still, it was pretty to look at, and she gazed through the large windows of the many shops along the sidewalk as she went.
Eventually, Lauren found her way to the address that Ivy had given her only for her jaw to drop upon seeing the place. She'd expected it to be a condominium or maybe a townhouse, even a three-room wooden cottage to go with the rest of the look and feel of the town.
Instead, she was greeted by a two-story abode with sleek, brown walls and a black roof, that must have been well over two-hundred and fifty square meters. The front protruded slightly forward, giving it the shape of T and making it look more like a lodge than a house, and huge vanity windows cradled many of the second-story room, lit with a dull yellow light.
Lauren pulled out her phone, double-checking. After last time Ivy had given her directions...
...nope. This was...it.
"Geeze..." Lauren said to herself under her breath, "How much does this place even cost...?"
A loud bark drew her back out of her bewildered trance and she looked down, seeing the Vulpix at her feet wiggling its tails and looking up at her with concern. Lauren only smiled and shook her head, taking out the fob Ivy had supplied her with.
A low bleep later, the chestnut door came open and Lauren stepped forth into the gaping entryway, which reminded her in a lot of ways of those descriptions of mansions: it even had the spiral staircase at the far end!
"...maybe I should work at the Pokémon Center..." Lauren's voice echoed into the hallway. As if in response, however, the lights in the room brightened. "Fancy," she remarked with a smile, then looked down as the Vulpix started hopping eagerly up the stairs.
"I agree," Lauren said, putting her bag down on a small lounger nearby, "Let's check it out!"
She'd gotten no more than a quarter of the way up the stairs, however, when the sound of a door shutting somewhere within the house made her immediately freeze. Shit! Was there someone here after all?! Damnit, Ivy! She was supposed to call ahead and make sure the place was free!
"Oh...um...hello..." came a gentle voice from nearby.
Lauren turned, her gaze falling on a small, dainty-looking figure of a young woman wearing a frilly black and white dress. Her face was milky white and a pair of round spectacles sat atop her tiny, pointed nose, serving to magnify a pair of luminous green eyes. The woman fidgeted with the silvery braid that fell over her left shoulder, approaching nervously.
"Oh!" Lauren stammered, "I-I'm so sorry! I'm friends with Ivy and her-"
"Y-yes!" the girl said, interrupting, "That is...Miss Vanclough informed me already. You're...Miss Hart, right?"
Miss? Lauren wrinkled her nose a little at the formality but nodded.
The young woman swallowed meekly, coming to stand at the bottom of the stairs where she clasped her hands together and bowed lightly, "I-it's...my pleasure, M-miss Hart. My name is Cleve."
"Oh...nice to meet you..." Lauren said, now fighting to contain not only her surprise but also her curiosity. The way she was acting, and the way she was dressed...was she...a maid? "Ivy didn't mention you...?"
Cleve looked rather distraught at the revelation that her presence was not expected and quickly set about explaining, "M-my apologies! I thought you knew...I...I'm sorry, I'll leave you be..."
"No!" Lauren exclaimed, then instantly caught herself. That had come out a lot louder and desperate-sounding than she meant it, causing the woman to gasp quietly and turn back, though her eyes were lowered to the floor.
Lauren sighed, scratching at the back of her neck, "S-sorry..." she said, coming down the stairs, "I was just surprised, that's all. Do you...?"
She could tell that Cleve's nerves had settled a little, though her hands were still trembling, "I...work here," she said in just a little above a whisper, "...as a live-in housekeeper and caretaker."
"Wow," Lauren said even more surprised than before, "I didn't expect this at all."
There was a bit of an awkward pause before Cleve's gaze finally rose to meet her's, and the timid woman tried to clear her throat before speaking again, "I...I'll be happy to serve you f...for the duration of your stay here."
Lauren felt her cheeks growing warm. Curse that girl for throwing me into a situation like this! Ivy had an irritatingly childish sense of humor. Lauren could imagine her laughing at the thought of all this transpiring; she was probably waiting at the phone with bated breath right this moment, expecting Lauren to call and yell at her.
"Would y-you...like me to show you around...?" Cleve asked though Lauren was prevented from immediately answering as both of them turned towards a loud bark from the little orange fox who was still waiting quite impatiently on the lower steps.
"Oh my!" the maid said gleefully, bending down and holding out her hands to the Vulpix. "What a cute Pokémon! Is she yours?"
How was everyone able to tell it was a girl?!
Lauren nodded, "Yeah, um...it's...ok to have her here, right?"
"Of course!" the maid said exuberantly as the Pokémon trodded down to meet her, allowing the woman to pet her without even a hint of the leery attitude she usually showed people. "I love Pokémon! Especially cute ones like this!" She giggled a little as the Vulpix brushed against her legs.
Whew. Lauren smiled as she watched Cleve play with her companion, rubbing her fingers together above her so that the Vulpix would stand on its hind legs to nip at her.
"She seems to like you..."
Cleve nodded, rubbing a little under the Pokémon's chin, "I'm so glad!" After a moment, she stood, gaze shifting to Lauren with a renewed sense of confidence, then settling on the bag behind her. "Let's show you to your room, first. May I?"
With a flick of her wrist, a silver-colored ball appeared in Cleve's hand and she held it forth, releasing a shining light from within that streaked to the floor at her feet. Soon after, it faded, revealing a small, bipedal form that had the shape of an hourglass and soft, short fur. Its legs, arms, and most of its head were a deep purple, while its face, feet, hands, and torso were pure white, and a pair of knotted gray horns hooked downwards from its head. It even had a fluffy little tail that jittered back and forth as it curtsied cutely before Lauren.
Is that a Pokémon? Well, it came from a ball, so it must be? Actually...
Lauren looked at the Pokémon, then to Cleve, then back again. It...kind of looked like her; like they were wearing the same outfit!
"This is Melone," Cleve stated with a smile, motioning to the Pokémon, who curtsied again, then turned to meet the gaze of the Vulpix who had come over to sniff it. The fox seemed particularly interested in the other Pokémon's horns, though when she tried to get a bit closer, it quickly spun around, ending up a few feet away and giggling.
This, however, only prompted the Vulpix to chase, at least until Lauren cleared her throat.
"Melone," Cleve said, "Please fetch Miss Hart's things and follow us, ok?"
Lauren watched as the Pokémon dutifully went to grab her backpack, hoisting it up with one hand and saying much for the strength of the otherwise tiny creature. That said, Lauren had grown somewhat accustomed to the idea that these beings were deceptively stronger than they often appeared.
"Shall we?" came Cleve's voice and Lauren turned again to face her.
She nodded, "Sure...but do me a favor. Just call me Lauren."
The maid smiled and motioned for her to follow, leading the four of them up towards the second floor. Lauren, meanwhile, ruminated thoughtfully. Today had already been full of surprises, and she wondered just how many more were around the corner. Maybe she ought to start bracing herself...
As it turned out, there were several more. The house had four separate bedrooms-two on the first floor and two on the second, as well as a guest house a little ways from the back-and each of these rooms, was easily half the size of her apartment. What's more, each of the two bathrooms covered the same area and had huge vanities with enough shelf space for a supermodel to house their assorted array of make-ups and perfumes.
The other rooms, too, were equally large, including a kitchen with an attached pantry, dining room, billiards lounge, and several rooms just for seating. It even had a small library, which Lauren couldn't help but gawk at, eyes trailing along shelves upon shelves of books from classic literature, to Pokémon lore, to various reference materials.
All in all, this place was a mansion!
When all was said and done, Lauren was more than ready for the lunch offered by Cleve, and she sat quietly on the suspended swing, rocking gently back and forth while her Vulpix ran back and forth between the cleanly cut hedges that lined the walking path in the back yard.
Lauren still couldn't get over how clear the air was here, though admittedly, it felt a little heavy, too. She assumed it was just due to altitude sickness. The elevation was a couple of thousand meters difference from that of Century City, after all, so it made sense that it would be somewhat more difficult to breathe.
Cleve's Pokémon soon appeared, a cloth draped over its arm and hopped up on to the chair opposite the little patio table where Lauren sat, collecting the empty dishes. She was impressed with how dutiful the creature was and watched it. For one thing, it wasn't lacking in finesse. The plates hardly made a sound as the goatish-looking thing stacked them, then hoisted them up with its paw flat beneath before it hopped back down.
In fact, it managed to perform the task so quietly that Lauren's poor Vulpix completely missed its presence, and when the fox did finally appear at the patio steps, the miniature maid had already disappeared back into the house.
"Welcome back," Lauren said as the Vulpix trotted over, a large, pink berry in its mouth. Where on earth it'd managed to dig the thing up, she didn't know, but it seemed to take quite a liking to the fruit, which she supposed was only natural. After all, berries were what some of these creatures ate in the wild. She'd have to make sure to pick some up before they left.
Eventually, Lauren stood. It was starting to get late, and the evening chill was beginning to settle in. Ivy had warned her about how cold it got up in the mountains, and Lauren wasn't all that keen to test her theory despite how lovely the weather had been during the day.
As she was about to leave, however, she stopped as she noticed that her little orange companion had jumped to its feet and now seemed to be staring intently towards the nearby brush.
Lauren followed its gaze, though nothing seemed out of order. It was just a hedge, and beyond it, the sidewalk which ran along the adjacent road.
Still, whatever her companion saw had captivated her wholly, and instead of turning away when Lauren nudged her in the side with her foot, the Vulpix immediately bounded forward, disappearing into the hedge.
"H-hey!" Lauren stammered, spinning on her heel and taking off after the Pokémon. By the time she had cleared the hedge herself, however, the fox was already racing down the sidewalk towards town and no amount of calling after it seemed to dissuade its task.
What the heck had gotten into her?! Lauren picked up the pace. She had half a mind to try and recall her companion back into her ball, but it was...strange. It was rare for her friend to blatantly ignore her commands. In fact, the only time that she could recall her doing so was when it had dashed headlong into that burning building. What if...?
The fox jolted suddenly, dashing into a nearby alleyway. Lauren turned to follow, though she almost tripped over the Vulpix, who had come to stop almost immediately around the corner.
A faint growl emanated from a little further in, however, and Lauren's gaze settled on a tiny shape at the far end. It was about the size and shape of her Vulpix but had sleek, brown fur, a pair of long, pointed ears, and a large fluffy tail that fluttered behind it. The mantle of fur that encircled its collar made the creature look almost lion-like, as did the fierce look in its eyes as it backed up a little further towards the wall behind it.
Yet even as the Pokémon snarled its warning to stay away, Lauren could somehow tell that there was something was amiss. The way it stepped as if its legs were weak, and its breathing was labored. Was it...sick?
"No! Stop!" came a voice from behind her, and Lauren turned to see a little girl come running towards her. "Don't hurt her!"
Lauren was about to reply when suddenly, the growling became a roar and the brown Pokémon came barreling towards them. The creature's speed was alarming, and despite its obvious affliction, it wove back and forth before ramming into the fox's side, rocketing them both out of the alley and into the street.
By the time that the Vulpix had recovered, however, the other Pokémon had already dashed away, heading down the street. The fox, eager to give chase, looked back to Lauren as if asking for permission.
Lauren hesitated. The creature was obviously hurting, which was probably what made it so violent, but...
She looked back as the girl came to a stop before her, "Is that your Pokémon?" she asked as the girl caught her breath, then shook her head.
"No, but..." the girl replied, still panting, "I know her. She's a stray, and she's always really nice to me."
Hrm... Lauren turned to look towards where it had fled, but it was already gone.
"She looked sick..."
"I think so, too!" the girl exclaimed, "A little while ago, I saw her fighting with an Ekans. I think she might've been poisoned..."
"That's not good..." Lauren frowned. But what could she do? She had no idea how to treat Pokémon. Plus, it wasn't exactly that friendly in its current state.
"You gotta help her!" pleaded the child and Lauren turned.
"I thought you said she wasn't yours?"
"So?!" She almost seemed offended, "That doesn't mean I don't care!"
"I..." Lauren started. She felt guilty almost immediately.
"Please!"
Lauren looked down at the little girl. It was clear to her that there was more to this child's relationship with that Pokémon than she admitted, but either way, if someone didn't do something, who knows what could happen to it.
She sighed.
"...alright," Lauren answered, finally, "Tell me where it could've gone."