Author's Notes
Thanks for reviewing: ABSOLUTELY NO ONE. :rage: :symbols_over_mouth:
A fennekin paced in circles around a cramped room. Faint blue light streamed through his window from the overcast outdoors, with the pitter-patter of rain sounding against the roof.
"'t's just not right." Shallot stopped, staring out the window. His eyes swept the empty, muddy driveway. A light frown tugged at his lips. "They should've been home by now. It's..." He glanced at the clock upon his wall.
The temporal device whirred with a rhythmic ticking. The sounds of seconds counting down and the pokémons' steady breathing contrasted with the unpredictable yet meaninglessly distinct noise of the downpour outside.
The fire-type felt himself internally cringe as a rumble of thunder reached out across the land.
With a heavy sigh, he allowed his head to sag at gravity's whim. He turned to let his eyes settle on a hopefully more comforting sight.
His room, in the corner, had a bed. The once proud wood beams sagged with age under the weight of his dusty mattress. He analyzed the contents atop his bed. Perhaps it would be a nice distraction. An old laptop, a few pop cans, a flat pillow, a plaid blanket...
Of course, the most eye-catching item was the gleam of shimmering silver, brilliant even in the dull storm's light. With the silver were two bright-yellow orbs, Shallot stared into them. He felt a reassuring tingle coarse through his body as his gaze locked with that of his good friend.
The minccino gave him a smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, Shallot noticed. The effort, nonetheless, got a mirrored grin out of himself. Tart's, in turn, grew more genuine.
The fennekin turned to close his curtains, cloaking the room in a shade of dark. He gingerly padded up to his bed, before hopping up onto the springy surface. He wormed his way underneath the covers with Tart, the two accepting each other into a close embrace.
"I'm quite certain they will be okay, Shallot."
"Mhhh..."
Silky, pearly paws mingled with the fur on Shallot's back. He felt his coat misplaced as they trailed up his form, before smoothing back down upon his descent. He felt his heaving begin to slow just a bit. He let his nose rest against Tart's. The two's shallow, muggy breathing was hot and humid, yet somehow comforting. The simple pleasure of feeling a friend's continued life.
"Tart..."
"Mmm?"
"They really really should have been back by now. It's not like em' to just up and disappear for... What, twenty hours now? Not without callin'. Or, at least, leavin' a note. Didn't respond t' none of my texts, either."
"I do understand your concerns, Shally, however I implore you to be patient and keep your mind in a good place. On the off chance that something bad has, in fact, occurred, you will need a clear had to deal with it."
"Ffffffffuuuuck."
The two laid in each other's embrace, neither speaking nor moving for that time being.
A beartic sat still on the couch, his unreadable gaze falling coldly upon the puny eevee before him. The small creature also endured an equally icy gaze from the espeon in the ice-type's lap. While the lesser size of the purple cat detracted from the intimidation factor, it still increased the effect overall intandem with its partner.
"Waffle."
The beartic's low, thunderous voice nearly shook the room with its presence, and likely would have if not for his practiced calm speech.
The eevee cringed away. His ears splayed back, with his head bowed submissively.
The two pokémon on the couch softened their gazes at the sight. The espeon gave a nervous flick of her tail, before speaking.
"You're not in trouble, honey." She brought a paw to his chin, lifting it to peer into innocent pools of amber. "You... Asked first, instead of committing. We can and do respect that, however..."
Her indigo eyes flicked up to those of the colossal figure which she laid on. He gave a short nod and continued in place of the espeon.
"It's a bit disturbing that you would even consider the idea. We will not punish you; we just want you to know that you're... You're..." A massive paw lifted to his head, scratching it anxiously.
"Scaring us," concluded the espeon.
"Mommy, daddy... I-I'm sorry. It's j-just, he's my friend, and... And... And..." Waffle was cut off in a squeak as he felt himself being lifted. He was set in his father's lap by the bear's large hand. It rested over him comfortingly, as his mother gave a loving embrace to the eevee.
"You're an adult. We can't make you do anything, and we won't try to. Just... Think about us, okay? If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. The thought of you running off with some... Filthy criminal... I just can't feel good about it." The espeon quivered as she spoke. Her tone grew more steady, however, as her husband's hand encouragingly stroked her back.
"I... I know, mom... It's just, I-I... Y-you know... He's reckless. H-he needs someone t-t-to k-keep him safe."
Waffle tensed up, hearing a long and withering sigh escape his father's lungs.
"Just... We don't want another situation like... Well, you know. It hurts everyday, not knowing what happened to her, and if you were to just up and vanish as well..."
"We'd have nothing to live for."
"I-I-I p-promise you g-guys. If I d-d-decide to g-go, I'll keep in touch... Won't be like big sis..."
The two pokémon of the eevee line felt themselves be lifted up, hugged closely together against a fluffy white chest.
Shallot jumped with a start as a bright flash filled the room. His fur stood on end as the complete darkness returned. A tense moment later, the heavy rumble of thunder met his ears. Relaxing, the fennekin groggily rubbed a paw to his eyes. He felt two limbs wrap around him from behind, pulling him back down.
He let out a bit of a sight as he leaned back into his friend's embrace.
"We've been sleepin' a while, I think... We should probably get up, Poptart."
"Mmm...?"
A yawn soon met the fire-type's ears. He turned back to see... Nothing. It was siill dark. He reached over to activate his dim lamp.
The minccino bellowed a long groan, shielding her eyes from the light.
"Okay, okay! By the lords... I require but a few moments to adjust. Is this acceptable?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Shallot leapt down from the bed, giving an intense stretch. He felt his muscles work out any buildup of stiffness, before glancing over to the clock.
"Holy shit! It's already 7:30!"
"A-ah?"
The normal-type rose next, blearily gazing to the time-telling device.
"So it is. Surely your parents have returned by now!"
"If they're not, then I'm callin' the guild."
"Quite understandable."
The two made for the door, exiting to walk down the stairs.
Shallot crept carefully down the creaky boards. His eyes flicked back and forth with his ears swiveling in time. Upon making it to the first floor, he began to call out.
"Mom? Dad? Bro?" He worriedly paced in circles, his cape dragging along as he glanced around. All that met his ears was the heavy sound of relentless rainfall. "Don't see hide nor hair. I'm gettin' real concerned, now."
"Quite troublesome. I shall go start on supper as you inform the authorities; worrying is worse on an empty stomach."
The fennekin looked down to the floor, releasing a defeated sigh.
"Thank ya'."
A liepard filed her claws carefully. She leaned back into her large office-chair with a sigh. Her tail flicked back and forth in a rhythm only known to its owner.
The dark-type's eyes lazed around the room. It was a wide-open space, baring a mostly white set of walls. The white of those surfaces was complimented by the shining white of the floor, and the dull white of the ceiling. They were all brought together by the powerful lights on the ceiling, bathing the white surfaces with their own white light.
She glanced down to her desk. What wasn't white? Her desk wasn't light; it was a dark gray. Windows lined the parallel walls, the scenery outside fading into the black of night. Below the windows sat a row of blue chairs, all unoccupied except for two.
An audino sat reading a magazine in one near the end, with a vulpix curled up on a different seat a few over. The two both had a pink cap on, bearing the symbol of a yellow semicircle, laid flat atop a slightly longer purple line.
The three pokémon in the room all jumped in alarm at once, as the telephone on the liepard's desk gave a shrill ring. The cat took a moment to regain her composure before picking up the phone, cutting it off on its third ring.
"You have reached Layer Guild HQ; Basil speaking. How may I help you tonight?" Her voice was akin to a whining door in pitch, though held the sturdy patience of a long winter's tree.
"Uhm... H-hey... Uhm..."
"Take your time, sweetie. No rush."
"My parents h-haven't come home. It's been more than a day since I've seen em'. My bro ain't here, either."
The liepard pulled open her desk drawer, lifting out a notepad and pencil. She began to scribble down information.
"I see, I see. I'm going to need you to answer me a few questions. Okay, sweetie?"
"G-gotcha."
"What is your name?"
"Shallot."
"Are you a child?"
"No, ma'am."
"What are the names of your missing family?"
"My mom's named Shroom, my dad's called Stew, and my brother's Oat."
"Okay. Species?"
"Delphox, jolteon, and fennekin. Respectively."
"Do you have any immediate family that we should contact?"
"Well... There's m'sister. Mustard. She's in the guild. Other than that, no one nearby."
"Ah, yes. Team Cook, if I recall?"
"Yeah."
"I'll inform them immediately. Just hang in there, and we'll do our best to find your family."
"One more thing!"
"Yeah?"
"Well... I was kinda gonna apply for the guild, soon... May as well kill two birds with one stone?"
"Of course; I can set you up a registry appointment ASAP. It'll need to be done in-person, though, okay?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Got it. Take care."
With that, the connection was ended, The audino and vulpix were at the liepard's desk when she looked up. The audino was the first to speak.
"What was up, Basil? Anything exciting?"
"Yeah. Missing pokémon. The details are on here." The liepard's powerful paw tore a page from the notebook she had been writing in, sliding it across the desk. The audino peeked down to read its contents, as the vulpix put its paws up on the desk to do the same.
"I see, I see."
"Could you two be dears and go hang this up on the job board for me? I've got some calls to make."
"Aye-aye!"
The two pokémon saluted, before the vulpix picked up the paper and they both walked off to the far-side of the room.
The liepard picked the phone back up, inputting a string of digits with the rotary dial. It wasn't long before the line was picked up.
"Hey, hey! You've reached Team Cook; this is Mayo speaking!"
An eevee and a chespin stood in the late-night rain, the howling winds raging past their small forms. They grit their teeth against the harsh weather, staring down the lamp-lit streets. The two stood in a thick, wet mud. A bag was slung over each of them respectively.
"Well... This is it, Lemon! Our life's gonna be big-time changing now that we're setting out to new places."
"You said it! Sad to go, but I am having the good tinglies nonetheless! I will only be missing... Well... I guess only Waffle, and the homies."
"Yeah yeah, the gang was cool. Waffle, too, I guess. Can't let them smother our ambition, though! Haha!"
"If we can get into the guild, we'll get a lot of good opportunities to nick some goodies!"
Lemon gave a small nod, turning to his friend. The two were about to set off toward the forest, when a voice reached their ears.
"Wait up!"
They turned to see an eevee fast approaching. He skidded to a stop, panting hard. He, too, had a bag.
"Waffle?" Lemon quirked an eyebrow. "What are you doin' out here? We already said bye, no?"
"I-I'm coming with you guys!"