When Jasmine had insisted that the service would be her treat, Crystal was expecting the basic package. Some shampooing, maybe a bit of brushing and a light trim. But when Jasmine treats one to a spa day, it's all or nothing. Shampoo, conditioning, nail trim, fur trim and a massage just because she never had one before. By the end of it all, Crystal was stumbling out the doors behind Jasmine who was just brimming with delight.
How she could still keep her tail standing straight and proud was beyond Crystal's understanding, but that's the high life, she supposed. Crystal wasn't made for the high life. High life kept her in the hot seat for too long and now she was feeling like a boiled, limp noodle.
Emizella was no better, her face dazed under the glow of the sun. They had this thing called a "Fighter's Massage" specifically designed for fighting types. Crystal could only guess that the services just went deeper than a regular massage just to make sure it worked out all the kinks and knots in a fighting pokémon's muscles. But she wondered if they possibly went in too deeply because Emizella was just staring away into space since she was brought out from the back room.
"They pulled things out of me I didn't even know were there…" was all she muttered when she came back with her glistening coat and neatly trimmed tail.
"Pink really is the way to go when you want to feel energized and refreshed," Jasmine announced with a rejuvenated sigh, definitely feeling the most chipper of the exiting bunch.
No longer was her fur an unruly mess with no sense of style or direction. All of her excess fluff was trimmed off, leaving soft clouds of fluff neatly draping her head and down over her shoulders, from her knees down to her ankles, on either side of her hips and a little puffball at the tip of her tail. Pink accents were dyed into the fur, the peppy hue coloring her legs and tail and just a bit over her forehead in the shape of a plump heart.
"Yes, this is just what I needed! So light and breezy, nothing beats a day at the spa! Wouldn't you agree, Val?" she asked, turning back to look at them.
Although Valerie was a better sport about the whole pampering treatment, she wasn't blind to the plight of the newbies to the experience. "It's all well and good, but don't you think you could have taken it easy on these two?" she asked, pointing the tip of her tail down to the wobbly pair.
Jasmine glanced down at them, examining their uneasy stature and worn-out expressions before giving a short chuckle, "They'll be fine. The walk to uptown Harmonia will wake them right up." she decided with a quick turn to the open road.
"There's more?" Emizella blinked into focus, her voice dreading the idea of another round so soon.
"Oh yes. Now that you're all dolled up and looking your dapper best, it's about time you two got yourselves checked-in with the guild's HQ. Don't you need to officially declare that you intend to take the exam?" Jasmine asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Oh…right," Emizella let out a relieved sigh.
Guess she's not about that high-class pampering life either, Crystal thought with a soft chuckle.
Jasmine giggled as well, "Right then, let's get this show on the road. Chins up, my lovelies, and strut!"
Jasmine led them forward in a trot that exuded confidence and status. With her head held high, her entire body emitted an atmosphere in which the local bystanders' attention was a mandatory requirement. A sort of "look or you'll miss something amazing" type of air that captured even Crystal's gaze.
Did the city teach her how to walk like that or was it ingrained into her genetics? Either way, she was sure Damien and Janice must be proud to have such a poised and self-assured daughter like her.
Jasmine's stride glided the whole way to the upper parts of Harmonia City, never faltering or slowing while keeping her elegant radiance at a steady glow. Uptown felt a bit more spacious to her small body. The roads were wider and much more straight forward compared to the maze that made up the lower level's streets. It allowed more sun to shine in and the plant life loved it.
Blossoming flowerbeds consumed and lined the edge of the pathways, the stones ripped away to allow them to breathe and flourish as much as their tiny hearts desired. They practically ate up the attention a young lilligant was giving them as she chatted away in her tending. They glowed brilliantly in their delight in all kinds of colors. From young white to bashful pink to giddy yellow to dazzling red and so on and so on.
Crystal wished she could have admired them for just a bit longer on their walk but the sharp about-face turn of Jasmine's body told her that her admiration would have to wait for another time.
She brought them before a towering mass of stone and ivy, a metal plaque hanging over the door simply circling the words "Adventurers League Guild" around the silhouette of a Latios…or a Latias. Crystal was having a hard time distinguishing between the two with the shadowed body, but it was one out of the two for sure. It wasn't any type of elaborate declaration for the nature of this building and it wasn't in her face about being the HQ for the nation's guild of adventuring professionals. It just stood there, soaking up all the greatness and prestige brought back by the success and victories of its outstanding members.
Crystal suddenly began feeling something tapping away against her flank, going harder and faster with each second. She looked back at the blue, fuzzy thing hitting her, watching the feather-light fur twinkle every time it caught the light. Her eyes trailed up to clenched fists that barely resisted the urge to go into her grinning mouth and up to twinkling eyes that shimmered like freshly polished jewels in her head.
This was it. As underwhelming as it presented itself to Crystal, this was it. Emizella's first steps towards her life's ambitions. The golden temple that held the power of making her dreams reality. It was here in front of her, its entrance just a couple of feet in front of her.
"Crystal…" she whispered her name in a breathless squeal, "Bite me. I need to see if I'm dreaming."
Crystal chuckled, "I'm not going to bite you."
"That's right," Jasmine interjected, moving just a bit closer to dust off their bodies. Crystal wasn't really sure how much their appearance was going to matter in their final grade but her finicky light touches did have a nurturing, nostalgic feel to it that Crystal couldn't say she was opposed to. "There will be no need for that kind of rough play. You're both awake and well on your way. Now then, Val and I have some business to take care of so we'll be back to pick you girls up later."
Crystal smiled up at her as she continued to fluff up her ear tufts and failing to make the fur stand from its drooping posture. "Thanks for escorting us up here… and for cleaning us up," she added despite how over the top such extravagance felt in the moment.
"It was my pleasure," Jasmine responded, Crystal having a feeling that she meant the phrase to be more literal than a polite formality. "Well then, I'll leave you girls to it. Come, Val," she called with a graceful turn of her body.
Valerie turned a glance to her departing frame, a gentle roll of her eyes putting a soft smile to her lips. "Duty calls…" she muttered under her breath before directing her body to follow. "I'll see you kids later," she said, giving a short flick of her tail at the two before leaving to trot alongside Jasmine down the sunny lane.
Crystal watched them for a moment, her eyes feeling entranced by the way the pair moved together, paced just right to walk themselves shoulder to shoulder. Even with the less than friendly outward appearance, Valerie still managed to hold a candle next to Jasmine's proud and dignified stride. Albeit a tad more strong and intimidating and maybe a bit more heavy-handed but her head still remained high in the air, not a skulking step in sight.
She wondered about the kind of history those two had together. Jasmine called Valerie her "one and only sweetheart" but how did that circumstance come to be? What whims of fate and chance led them to where they were this very second? It sounded like it could be a romantic story, although she was sure any couple would call their story romantic. Maybe she could ask while they were here…
"C'mon, Crystal," Emizella urged with a gentle shove, "I'm about to burst over here and you're staring off like into space like an elgyem cadet!"
"I-I wasn't," Crystal defended but the riolu was taking none of it.
"Yeah, yeah. Move your caboose." She pushed Crystal closer to the door, standing for no further distractions and moving them right along.
The lobby that welcomed them was as uneventful and quiet as the building's exterior led Crystal to believe. Turn her head one side and she could see the seats and cushioned sofas idly waiting for some tired fellow to find comfort in their soft, knitted fabric. Turn her head to the other side and there was a tree taking root in the corner, encouraging other little patches of green to add some color to the monotone walls and cracked floors. And in front of them was a desk centered to the wall and a door with some kind of scanner panel to the side of that. Honestly, that had to be the most worthwhile part of this lobby, stirring Crystal's curiosity into wondering just how exactly such a device worked in this kind of world.
She would call her first impressions of this guild's HQ office dull and possibly a bit anticlimactic if Emizella's brimming delight had faltered just a bit. But no, not even a little. Actually, she looked to be even more excited, her tail swinging even faster and sweeping up a clearing by her feet.
"This is where legends are born…" she whispered, her elation choking the breath out of her voice.
Crystal pressed her side a bit closer. Her mind was completely convinced that Emizella would faint at any second now from the lacking oxygen and her overexcitement.
"Crystal!" the riolu was prompted to shout her name, turning to her with eyes that sang in their enchantment, "We're standing right in the same spot as so many other notorious adventurers. Diego the Wicked Hero. Skye the Curious Wanderer. Even Zacian and Zamazenta have walked through those same front doors!"
Well, when she put it like that, Crystal's heart couldn't help getting a bit excited herself. Its warm beating echoed in her body, flooding her vision to paint the lobby with a new appreciation for its worn, meek appearance. It has known greatness, welcomed greatness and will continue to be the first stepping stone for greatness as long as its four walls will last.
"Can I help you girls?" a voice asked from the lone desk, a morpeko peeking her golden head into view. She looked so tiny compared to the giant piece of furniture, it was a mystery why one more appropriate for her size wasn't prepared. "We're currently closed to tours for the next couple of weeks, you know."
"Oh, we're not here for a tour," Emizella corrected, although her overly zealous attitude could have fooled anyone. "We're actually here about the internship exam. We're checking in to participate."
"Oh! Well that's a different story, then," the morpeko's ears perked up. She disappeared back behind the desk, her rustling and thudding echoing in the lobby. "C'mon in! Stay for a bit," she beckoned among her shuffling around.
They both approached the desk, Emizella's curiosity peeking her nose above the edge and Crystal's was quick to follow. Of course, she had to stand on the tips of her toes more than Emizella but she could see what it was the little electric rodent was pulling out of her desk drawer. Well, pushing it out, it looked too big for her to pull. She shoved the book onto the surface, panting and grunting with the effort before she could join it on the desk's top.
"Phew… they really need to think first before that put this kind of thing together…" she grumbled under her breath. The cover was pushed open and she began flipping through the pages. "Names, please," she asked, looking between the two of them. She looked at Emizella first.
"Emizella," the riolu answered.
She then looked over to Crystal.
"Crystal," the fennekin answered as well.
"Right, Emizella and Crystal. Little miss Emizella and Crystal…" the morpeko mumbled, flipping past page after page before halting. She continued to whisper their names under her breath, her nubby little paw sliding down the paper and her eyes squinting at the print. "A-ha!" the eureka moment hit the room with a soft boom, "There you are, Emizella and Crystal. All the way from Ippona Village. Nice, nice, very good." she commented away, grabbing a quill pen and scribbling away on the page. She looked up at them and smiled, "Well, it's good to have you both here. We're always excited to see what small towns have to offer the guild," she said, placing the quill pen down and pushing the book off to the corner.
Her body hopped right back into the desk drawer. "We just need you both to sign a bit of paperwork. I promise this is the dullest part of this process," she explained. She came back with a large packet of paper that has definitely seen better days. Cracked edges and crinkled backsides all held together by a piece of string tied around its body. "Alright, I just need you girls to read through this and sign and date the back," she said, pushing it off the desk to fall between the two of them with a dusty thump.
"What is all this?" Crystal asked, letting go of the desk edge to kneel down and take a look at the stack. She sniffed at it and her nose took a step back, taken away by the strong, musky aroma. How old is this?
"Just a few terms and conditions for taking the internship exam," the morpeko answered, "And a few waivers to claim we are not liable for any injuries sustained while partaking in the exam process," she added, speaking fast and soft.
"What was that last part?" Crystal asked with a quick turn of her head.
"Nothing!" the morpeko exclaimed with a beaming smile, handing off a couple of pens to the two of them so they could get started.
Crystal's eyes examining her grinning deception, watching for the slightest quiver that would tattle on the morpeko's pleasant façade. But her will was strong, maintaining her smile as if she never mentioned such an alarming inclusion to their paperwork stack.
"Crystal, let's read it together over here!" Emizella waved. She was already over in the waiting area with the sofas and the chairs, eagerly patting the cushion next to her.
Crystal couldn't keep her waiting, suspending her skepticism and joining her on the couch. Looking at the unraveled stack sat between the two of them sent a spark of dread rumbling through her throat. This is going to be a daunting read, isn't it? She peeked over at Emizella who began to read the first page, smile still on her face and tail tapping away by her legs. Guess not even boring paperwork can get her down, she thought with a gentle smile taking over her own face as well.
They took turns reading the packet filled with rules, conditions and regulations the two must abide by during their participation in the exam. It outlined what would be means for disqualification and what falls under cheating. It emphasized how any information on the exam shared outside the guild would be met with serious consequences, including, but not limited to, expulsion from the Xernia's Adventurers League Guild. They also reserved the right to inform other adventurers guilds outside the nation of the breach in this confidentiality agreement, essentially labeling the applicant as a blabbermouth that could not be trusted.
"Whoa… guess Zeke wasn't kidding…" Emizella commented in a soft whisper.
Crystal nodded in agreement. Advice doesn't count as information, right? She looked back at the listed items that qualified for spilling the exam's secrets, not a single mention of vague advice. Safe.
They continued on. Crystal's tongue began to get tired after a while so Emizella picked things up on the next page. Now it was time for those waivers, which really were a thing despite the morpeko skimming past that part. "Nothing," she said. Crystal snuck a glance towards the desk, catching the little hamster lounging on her desk with what looked to be a magazine sprawled out in front of her and a lollipop candy sticking out of her mouth.
Doesn't she look comfy?
The doors opened on the other side, a simipour bursting her way into the building with a couple of aipoms hopping in behind her. One carried a blue orb, a cerulean light glowing from deep within its core, while the other held up what looked like a camera in the stylings of a rotom. Crystal didn't think an actual rotom was possessing it, though, the object remaining way too still in his tail's hand to suggest any form of life. He lifted his tail up high with the scarlet device clenched securely in his bulbous palm.
"Oh good lord, not again…" the morpeko groaned with a roll of her eyes. She stared down at them from her desk, not bothering to adjust her posture or her attitude for their approach.
"A good day to you too, Malorie." the simipour greeted despite the sour demeanor on display.
"It was…" she answered, her tone flat with not an ounce of mirth to decorate it.
"Noted. So, have you talked with your boss about that interview we discussed?"
"Yeah, that's a no go on our end. 'Fraid we don't have anyone qualified who could answer your questions."
"We're not picky,"
"We don't have anyone stupid enough to say yes, either." she added without missing a beat, "If that's all, you can leave now. We're closed."
"Tch!" Crystal heard the simipour click her tongue with a sharp pang of annoyance.
She had tried to be discreet, keeping one ear turned on her while the other focused on Emizella's reading. She turned an eye to look at them again but found the simipour staring back at them this time. Her ear swiveled forward on her head quickly, squaring her focus on the packet of paper and the words that floated in a jumbled mess on the page. Oh no, where are we right now? She tried to catch up with Emizella's voice but everything just looked like a two-year-old was playing scrabble with the letters in her panicked haste to cover up her tracks.
"Phew… I think that was the last one." Emizella sighed, turning through the pages of signatures that followed. They held no real substance aside from the claim that whoever signed this would agree to everything contained in the pack of documents.
"Really?" Crystal looked up at her quickly, "We're done?"
Emizella laughed softly, "Yep! I didn't think it was going to end either but it looks like we made it through. Let's go again and sign this bad boy already."
She began handing the pen to Crystal, but just as her jaw snapped shut onto its base, she felt a fake smiling presence creep itself behind the two of them.
"Hey, kiddies," the simipour greeted from behind the back of the sofa, "What're you two looking at over here?"
Crystal began to inch herself over the paper, watching the simipour carefully.
"Can't say," Emizella answered, "It's something for our eyes only so could you back up?"
"'For your eyes only'? Come now, you don't really believe something like that exists for a place like this, do you?" the simipour laughed.
Emizella's eyes began to narrow, an irritated growl starting to rumble from deep in her chest.
"This is the great Adventurers League Guild HQ, home base to some of the biggest names of our generation—the pride of our beautiful nation. The public wants to know more about the goings-on of such a grand staple of our community and I'm merely seeking to give them that truth." She pushed herself closer, pressing between the two and forcing Crystal's head back. "Come on, everyone wants to feel closer to their heroes. We're not doing anything bad in letting everyday pokémon feel closer to their heroes."
"Even if you put it that way, we still can't show you. I'm not blowing my chances before I even get to compete," Emizella said, moving the packet around to the other side while watching the simipour with a vigilant gaze.
"Besides," the pen dropped from Crystal's lips, "I heard what the front desk said to you. She already told you no…and that the building's closed to outsiders." she said, speaking with all the assertiveness she could muster in her small voice.
The simipour looked between the two sets of glaring eyes and sighed regretfully, "I see, so it's come to this," she mused with a shake of her head, "Just remember, I tried to be nice about it."
She slowly stepped away, pulling the pair's cautious gazes to follow her instead of the aipom creeping its tail into the seat. The fingers plucked the paper bundle clean out of Emizella's hands, snatching it free from her grip. He screeched in his delight, victory claimed for him and his companions as he jumped out of range of Emizella's swiping hands.
"Hey! Give that back!" Emizella shouted, jumping off the back of the sofa to chase after them.
Crystal followed immediately after, landing her jump with a bit of a pause to work out the shock in her paws before running after the fleeing trio. They passed by the front desk where the morpeko had gone back to engrossing herself in the magazine's articles and chased them into the overgrown tree taking residence in the sunny corner. The monkeys scaled it with ease, the aipoms tails swinging them higher up the branches with practiced finesse while the simipour pulled herself up into the highest perch and sat with a leg crossing over the other.
"If you think this is a joke, it's not funny!" Emizella yelled up into the stretching branches, her good mood taken mercilessly from her face and leaving a snarling growl in its place.
"Oh, calm down," the simipour scoffed with a roll of her eyes, holding a hand out for the aipom to place the stolen packet into her open palm, "I'll give it back after I take a quick peek."
"That's the problem!" Crystal called up next, feeling her own fur begin to bristle, "Just give it back, you have no right to look at it!"
"'Right'? Listen to you and your righteous, entitled attitude. That's the problem with you adventurers nowadays: you think you're too good for us—too big for the little 'mons out there. You're all much too high on your pedestals, it's about time someone knocked you down a few pegs." the simipour said, waving the pages by her face and taunting them with every light swish.
"That's not even-" Crystal tried to bark back but felt a soft tapping on her shoulder.
The morpeko had climbed down from her desk and was now motioning for Crystal to step aside, smiling like everything was fine and absolutely peachy. She patted Emizella's arm next, gaining her attention to push her half-bitten lollipop into the riolu's hand.
She continued to walk forward, looking up at the pokémon in the tree and eyeing the simipour particularly with a beaming grin that made the air sparkle and shine. But it was merely a mask and she ripped off that mask in a single flash of bright fuchsia. In an instant, her golden fur was exchanged for a deep violet pelt, while angered, reddened eyes set themselves in a sharp glare on a canvas of black.
The color on the simipour drained from her face, the rich blue of her fur fading into a dead, steely grey. The smiles on the aipoms' face flipped to frowned, nervous, cold beads of sweat dripping down their terrified faces.
"Hey now, Mal. There's no need to be rash. Here! Here, I'll give it back. No harm done at all. So why don't we just-"
The morpeko didn't let her finish, her body revving up a spiraling, electric-blue charge that spun underneath her kicking feet. The kinetic energy she built up in her running wheel sent a powerful hum racing along the edges that made even Crystal's fur begin to stand from the static. It left a scorch mark on the floor when it took off for the top of the tree, breaking off the top like it was a twig and smashing them all through the wall of the guild building.
Crystal winced at the impact that sent rubble and shattered wood falling to the ground. She shielded her eyes from the floating dust and debris, peeking one eye open to see the scattered papers floating back down, fluttering about like so many dead leaves in autumn.
Emizella felt the need to catch them quickly before they lost even a single page. She pushed the candy into Crystal's mouth to hold, jumping and catching the pages by the bunch until she couldn't pick out anymore from the air. They were gathered together into one pile and counted carefully.
"I think that's all of them…" she noted with a relieved look in her eyes.
Thank goodness, Crystal thought, holding the lollipop between her teeth and nodding with the stem sticking out of her mouth.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Crystal heard the commotion continuing on outside.
She pushed her way through the door, hearing Emizella stepping behind to witness the follow up to the explosive exit. The crash didn't cool the morpeko in the slightest, her dark, foreboding colors still clinging to her body. She had one of the aipoms' camera in her hands, inspecting it silently before positioning it between her teeth. A dark shadow traced her open maw, lining her jaw with massive, razor-sharp fangs.
"No! Stop! What are you-" the simipour reached out to stop her, but it was too late.
The two sets of fangs snapped shut, the camera breaking apart into shattered pieces that fell to the ground.
The simipour screamed in her dismay, crawling to pick up the bits at the morpeko's feet. "Do you have any idea how must these things cost? My boss is going to kill me!"
The morpeko spat out the remnants lingering in her mouth before turning her glare back to the frantic simipour trying to fit the pieces back together. "You think I give a single fuck what's going to happen to you? After I tried to be nice and let you walk out with your shit intact? Oh no, fuck that!"
Her shouting pulled the eyes and ears of the surrounding pokémon, stopping their errands and their leisurely strolls to watch the spectacle.
The morpeko grabbed at the simipour's hair, gripping it with her tiny nubs and yanking on the locks with a force unlike what such cute little mittens would suggest. "It's fine if you want to annoy me. I can take your bullshit just fine. But you don't fuck with the kids." she growled close to her face, "Do I make myself clear?"
The simipour gulped, nodding her head with the little amount of give the morpeko's grip allowed.
"Good," she shoved her away, "Now get out of here before I smash your conn-orb next."
The trio's leader rubbed at her sniffling face, clearing her dripping nose and watering eyes before reaching to scoop up the two unconscious aipoms. She held their limp bodies by her side, squeezing them tight under her trembling arms. A shaky hand reached to grab at the orb that suffered a small crack from the blast and she was set to take off, running down the street and pushing her way to safety.