PD: YOOOOO! I know it's been a long feckin 10 months since the first chapter of this story got uploaded, but prepare yourselves because it's finally time to get this golden ball rolling once again. With my improved writing style, this story should be a wonder to read. With that being said, I won't take up more of your time. Hope you enjoy!
A Day In The Elder's Life
The crisp, cool, refreshing early spring air blows through the colony, crossing paths instantaneously with the mint-green furred Cinccino. His fur fluffs and scarf flutter and wave with the gentle gust of wind as he stands in the middle of the fountain plaza next to the fountain on the right side. A misty spray of water droplets surrounds the perimeter of the fountain with the ground being mildly damp underfoot, but not damp enough to create mud luckily. Within this misty spray, the large gap in the trees that sits above the fountain allows a bountiful amount of sunlight to shine in, casting a faint but vivid rainbow with each ray the water droplets reflect. Mint stands at just the right spot and from his perspective, he can see a rainbow sitting over the entire fountain; a rare and beautiful sight to behold on an equally gorgeous day. The little proud Cinccino's dark brown iris reflects the vibrant scenery around him, as well as all of the citizens in the colony doing their own thing with small smiles on their faces. It'll only be a matter of time before someone comes up to him and asks him for help, or a visitor from one of the other colonies comes by to do some business and trading. Knowing this, Mint takes a long, deep breath of air. The refreshing, cool air filling his body with an unexpected energy before turning around to face the fountain and the pedestal he stood on earlier. When he had the fountain rebuilt with the help of his parents and friends 6 months ago, he made a slight change to the fountain as he thought it would be a great place to stand while giving speeches. The redesign made it where with the press of a button, a small little platform would come out of the sides of the base of the fountain. This platform is raised up a bit higher than the actual base so it allows Mint to address the entire colony if need be and cleanup is just as easy as setting it up; a simple button press makes it retract back into the side of the fountain, neatly tucked away out of sight. The little Cinccino walks up to a seemingly random spot about 10 feet away from the fountain and presses one of the two buttons on a panel that nearly blends into the scenery. He watches as the platforms slowly retract back into the fountain in the exact way he designed them, putting a tiny smile on his face since it wasn't just his idea that made it possible, but the help of everyone else. With that done, he walks back towards the fountain and goes past it this time, a few Minccino nearby noticing him and saying "hello" or waving at him. While still somewhat socially awkward, he's polite and says "hello" or waves back to them. It's quite a nice feeling to be noticed after all those years of being ignored… the ironic thing is that while Mint enjoys the fact that his fellow Minccino acknowledge him now, he sometimes wishes to be alone and unnoticed at times, not being too used to the others paying attention to him or responding to things he says. "I'll probably never get used to this… I did want this after all though, so I can't really complain too much."
As he slowly strolls across the pebble laden dirt path cutting through his colony composed of dens carved out of wood or burrowed into the dirt with tree leaves and grasses surrounding the cozy little collection of houses, his happiness collides with the rapidly growing feeling of boredom. As colony elder, his biggest job is to watch over the entire colony of 119 Minccino, a job that's fairly easy by itself. Coming in right next to that is helping them out with certain issues; an example of that being if someone wants to expand their den or burrow but the expansion makes their home cross over into a neighbor's yard. He's the one who will settle that dispute and even figure out how such an expansion will be done. Most of the time though, the actual issues he deals with are giving advice on certain situations, being there to soothe conflicts between others, and doing little errands here and there when available. While he's more than happy to do all these things for everyone else, they're tedious and boring tasks… but in the end, he's pleased to see the beaming faces of those he helps out. While his mind wanders and tries to predict what he'll have to do today, the sound of a happy, high pitched voice grabs his attention. "Elder Mint!" they yell in his direction, causing him to look up and see who's calling him. Dead ahead of him is a group of Minccino who were playing with a ball made out of tightly woven grass. The one who called him is waving her hands in the air for him to see and she calls him again. "Elder Mint! Can you please help us!?" He chuckles under his breath and walks over to the group, the little Minccino who was calling him runs right up to him. "We were playing a game of soccer and having fun when I accidentally kicked the ball too hard and now it's stuck on the roof of that house over there…" she turns to her left and points to the house the ball landed on with her left paw. This house is much taller than the others near it and it would be impossible for her or any of the other Minccino in this group to jump up to the roof and get the ball down.
He chuckles amusingly, this isn't the first time this group of children has gotten the ball stuck on a roof or in a tree. He slightly shakes his head back and forth, then kneels down to be eye level with the little Minccino that stands in front of him. "Emily… I've told you and the others at least a hundred times now to be careful with how hard you kick the ball. You all know that a hard kick can make it go flying into a place where you can't get it."
She taps her paws together, knowing better than to have kicked it as hard as she did. Her ears droop down very slightly and she looks at the ground while her cheeks faintly grow red. "I know… I'm sorry… I'll try to be more careful next time…"
He smiles and with his right paw, he gently pats her on the head. "Hey, no tears okay? I'll get it back, no big deal!" she giggles in the presence of his chipper tone and gentle touch. He then looks up at the roof of the house she pointed to. For a normal Minccino, it would take quite the effort to jump up and reach it, requiring multiple attempts with no guarantee that they could reach the top of the roof. For him, a Cinccino, this won't be a problem since his evolution enhanced the strength of his muscles in his feet, giving him the power to leap up to the roof and then some. He turns his head to look at her. "Stand back, Emily. I don't want to accidentally kick you when I jump up there." and with that, she takes a few steps back to prevent herself from getting hurt as he said. He crouches down on all four of his paws and prepares to jump up there, tightening all the muscles in his front and back paws as hard as he can, then with a mighty explosion of power, he jumps all the way up onto the roof with ease, leaving a little cloud of dust and dirt from where he jumped from and landing on all 4 of his paws smoothly. The kids below all cheer for him, their happy, high pitched, hyper sounding voices full of joy from a simple leap. Mint stands up on his back paws and slowly walks over to the ball, grabs it with both front paws, and then hops off the side of the roof. Upon landing, a small cloud of dirt appears and the entire group of children run at him, surrounding him with giant smiles on their faces. Their energy rubs off on him and he gets a small idea. "Hey, all of you, run along! I'll kick it to one of you!" with that, they all quickly disperse and run away, looking back at him while doing so. He drops the ball out of his paws and on the ground, placing his left foot gently on top of it while scanning the field for the best possible player to kick it to. His eyes, which were calm and serene looking before, have taken on a fierce, competitive spark. He seeks the player he's looking for and locks eyes with them before kicking the ball towards them with impressive speed. The ball slingshots off his foot and right at his target, hitting his mark and passing the ball off to them. He watches as they continue their game for a few seconds, listening to the happy yells and screams of the little Minccino as they all try to score a goal. He sighs, at least they're all happy and having fun whilst he's out here trying to find something fun to actually do. He considers possibly joining them in their little soccer game, but considering how he's much bigger, faster, and stronger, it'd be unfair to them if he joined in so he stays on the sidelines this time.
After watching them for a few more minutes, a familiar voice is heard from behind him, sounding female. "Well, well, well… Look who it is!" which prompts him to turn around to see who it is. Behind him stands 4 Minccino who are much larger than the children he just helped out, but still a bit smaller than him. These 4 Minccino are well known to him: Patricia, Rachel, Wesley, and Sean; all of them would bully him before he evolved, but have become his friends after saving the colony. They were the main group that made his life a living nightmare alongside his own personal issues in the past, nowadays, he's forgiven them for all the terrible things they've done, while at the same time, also thanking them as it helped him become who he is today. "Elder Mint is out and about playing with little kids again!" says Patricia teasingly.
"Oh c-c'mon, you guys all know they constantly cause trouble for each other with that ball of theirs…" he says with a very faint flush on his cheeks as he rubs the back of his head with his right paw. "I-I can't control what they do, if they k-kick it somewhere they can't get it, I-I'm really the only one who can retrieve it."
She waves him off. "I know, I know… even though you've gotten softer, you're still a bit defensive when teased." she places her paws on her hips, giving him a smile. "Those kids really are troublemakers though, I should know! I've been around them long enough to know that one day, they're gonna tackle you to the ground and pile up on you so you better watch yourself!" she then puts her right paw in the air, waggling it to further push her point home.
He knows that those kids wouldn't hurt him, though the sound of being tackled to the ground and piled on by all of them isn't the most pleasant thought. "Yeah… I'll keep an eye out for them…"
Sean suddenly thinks of something. "Oh! I just thought of something interesting!" Everyone looks at him, wondering just exactly what it is that he thought of. "Mint, we call you the "Elder" because you're the one who watches over and protects the colony, yet, all the elders we've had in the past were rather old Minccino. You're the same age as us, albeit the oldest in the group due to when you were born, but still quite young. Shouldn't we call you something else like "Protectorate Mint", or "Colony Guardian Mint"?"
He's a little confused on why he'd want to call him something other than "Elder". "What's wrong with calling me "Elder"? I don't see anything wrong with it."
"The reason I ask is because "Elder" is usually used to address old people and Pokemon, but you're not even close to being old yet."
"Oh! I get it, you want to use something that's more appropriate since I'm not actually an elder yet." he rubs his chin with his right paw for a moment, thinking about it. "I really don't care what you call me honestly. Formalities are silly when it comes down to casual discussions like this and whatnot. Just call me whatever you think fits!"
Rachel decides to poke fun of him with that, her voice sly and mischievous. "Call you anything we like?"
He nods his head up and down. "You heard me, whatever you like!"
Her face becomes smug. "Well, if you truly say so, big silly scarf boy, you might be making a mistake!" she has a massive, goofy looking smile following the end of her sentence.
He simply laughs at her attempt to make a bad nickname for him because, unfortunately, he is quite silly at times; has scarves; and is a male Cinccino; meaning that nickname is true. His laughter sparks off more laughter from the group for a few seconds before Mint comes back at her. "Sure thing, little diva!" which slightly embarrasses her since it's true, but she also laughs it off along with the rest of them
Wesley, being a bit bold, decides to ask a somewhat personal question after the laughter dies down. "So, Mint, since you're the colony elder now, have any female Minccino besides Rachel and Patricia asked you out on a date?"
His cheeks flush up a bit and he holds his paws behind his back. He wasn't expecting such a question to pop up so fast. "N-not really, only a few…" he tucks his feet in and points them inward a little. "I-I'm not really interested in anyone in the colony… b-besides, I don't think I could really handle a relationship right now considering I'm the e-elder and all that…"
He nods in agreement with his reasoning. "I guess that's true, being the elder is hard work... I could've sworn the other girls would've gone ga-ga googly eyes for you because of how awesome you look, plus, being somewhat reclusive and shy, you're also still a bit of a mystery to all of us since you haven't revealed too much to everyone. Girls fucking love that shit here man, you could have the Minccino of your dreams kissing your feet right now just to get a date with you!" Truth be told, while he might be right about that, Mint isn't that confident in himself to give his mate a proper relationship. He wants such a relationship to have his full attention as opposed to just half of it while the other half tends to the responsibilities he has as the colony elder. That isn't the only reason though, as he said before, he doesn't have anyone he's interested in living in the colony. He sees almost everyone there as family members over relationship material and while some of the Minccino there are family bloodline in terms of their relationships, he doesn't want that. He knows that there are plenty of Pokemon out there who are in a relationship with each other despite being two completely different species. His parents have told him that "love knows no bounds", and if what happened with his mother is anything to go by, this statement is true from top to bottom. Wesley finds it interesting how he isn't looking for a partner though. "I know you have responsibilities as the colony elder, but I know for a fact you've got to have thought about what you'll be doing later on in life." he puts his right paw up to his chin, thinks for a moment, then continues. "Some of us go solo, others try to find their life partner or soulmate. I know for a fact that I'll be trying to find a soulmate myself with Sean, Patricia, and Rachel doing the same, too. You're the only one who hasn't said or dropped any hints as to what you'll do."
He shrugs. "I don't know, I haven't really given it much of any thought… although, it does sound nice to have a partner to come home to everyday…" he looks down at the ground while fixing the scarf that's wrapped around his head with both paws. "It's just that… I've got too much going on right now to handle something like that."
Patricia decides to step in. "Hey, don't feel pressured to find a significant other today, tomorrow, or anytime super soon. You, me, we all have our entire lives ahead of us and all the time in the world to find love or whatever." she gives him a big smile along with a tiny giggle. "Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much, like you said, you've got lots to do… hell, Elder Naomi lived her whole life being single and enjoyed every second of it!"
This makes him feel a bit at ease. "That's true, and even though she was single, she still had all of us to keep her company! Maybe I don't need a partner after all, I've got everyone I could ever want right here!"
"That's the spirit! You even said it yourself, we're all family!"
He chuckles. "How could I forget, we truly are one giant family at the end of the day!" a thought comes to mind regarding what Wesley had said about who he is. "I also have to say thanks to all of you once again… if it wasn't for what you guys did for all of those years, I might not be who I am right now." without any warning, he decides to grab and bring all of them together for a massive hug. All of them soak it up without hesitation and even hug him back.
"It might have turned you into the Cinccino that you are right now, but it's still not right that we bullied you…" says Rachel, feeling a bit guilty despite having been forgiven for it many times in the past.
"Yeah… especially me… I beat you up real bad so many times in the past. There's no excuse for what I did." says Patricia, also feeling guilty for it, holding her paws behind her back with her ears drooping down a little.
Sean and Wesley both nod in agreement. "We're also sorry for all the bullying as well. There truly isn't any reason for us to have been doing that to you." Says Sean.
"Be it grey fur, pink fur, or mint-green fur, we're all still Minccino and Cinccino. Mint was always one of us, but we never saw it that way because of the drastic difference he had compared to us." Says Wesley.
Mint waves it off with both his paws. "Hey, hey… there's no need to keep apologizing, what matters most is that we're all friends!"
Right as they were about to say something to add onto that, another voice from behind them is heard calling for Mint. "Elder Mint! Can you come help me?"
He doesn't want to keep them waiting. "Sorry guys, I gotta go… I've got to help them along with anyone else who might need it… I'm sure you all know how it is. Please take care of yourselves and don't cause too much trouble." he winks at them while sticking his tongue out. "Unlike the kids from before, I know for a fact that all 4 of you are true troublemakers!" with that, he runs off to the Minccino that called his name. His 4 friends say goodbye to him and the rest of the day goes exactly like that. He'll help out one Minccino with their issue, then almost immediately after be called upon by another one for help. As mentioned before, these tasks are usually menial and tiny. It's not that often that he ends up getting a really big issue or problem from someone, but when he does, he makes sure to solve it as best as he can. He isn't anywhere close to how Elder Naomi was, but rather, almost exactly like her personality wise… though comparing how well Mint can help the others against Naomi, it's clear that Naomi's age gives her the advantage. No matter what, young or old, the elder is a helpful and selfless being within the Minccino colony and Mint is the epitome of that.
After an entire day of helping out the fellow Minccino in his colony, Mint is exhausted. His ears droop down a bit over his head and his jet white tail, while usually perked up and wrapped around the lower half of his body, is wrapped around only a small part, lying flat and sprawled out across the ground below his feet. His tired, dark brown eyes look up at the trees as he sits on the edge of the fountain in the plaza. Through the large gap between the leaves, the sun has started to set and he can see the sky burning with a glorious orange tint, turning the vibrant colors around him into a bit more of a dark, mysterious tone. The fountain plaza has a completely different look in the evening; a bright and cheery place becomes dull and tinted, creating a less inviting atmosphere that gives off a vibe that is best described as melancholy. The green leaves and trees turn a slightly muddy brown color while the ground and dirt homes take on a burnt look. Even Mint himself can't escape a slight color change, for his mint-green fur takes on a faint, olive-brown tint with the setting sun. The entire day has been cloudless from start to now and is best described as a perfect day in paradise. This little Cinccino gently kicks his feet up and down as he watches an airplane slowly drag itself across the sky, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. As he watches, a very small amount of wind nudges the loose fur on his body, making it wave; his jet white fur fluffs move ever so slightly with this wind. He closes his eyes and allows it to blow all over him, making him feel cool and relaxed. Today was a good day, and while it was boring, he didn't really have anything to complain about outside a few bonks on the head from crawling through a tight space to fix something for someone. He places both of his paws on the side of the fountain and leans back, listening to the calming, flowing water as it spurts out of the top and into the base below. What he has right now is everything he could ever wish for, it's literally paradise for him, though he has no idea that someone he met a long time ago is currently in the area, someone who helped him realize just exactly what he had. They decided to pay Pinwheel Forest a little visit since they could float across from the city not too far north from here.
While Mint relaxes and starts to drift off into a daydream, a Pokemon from one of the other colonies makes haste to find where he is. This little caterpillar wearing a leafy green hood is known as a "Sewaddle", his hurried, panicked look tells any of the Minccino that are nearby to witness his rapid scuttling into town that something terrible might've happened. He looks around to see a few of them looking at him and, with a lack of oxygen due to running the entire way. He notices one of them is close enough for him to talk to without getting closer, so he talks to them while panting heavily. "I… I need to find…. Elder Mint… Someone… someone from the city is looking for him."
Coincidentally, the Minccino they're talking to is the perfect one to tell him where Mint could be: Ross. To add more to this, he knows this Sewaddle's name personally as he's friends with them. "Sebastian! Long time no see… I think my so-err Elder Mint is in the fountain plaza. You can't miss it, just keep going straight until you see a large fountain."
Sebastian bows thankfully. "Thanks, Ross…" he puts his head down to allow one of his stubby little arms the ability to wipe some sweat off his forehead. "Phew! I ran all the way here…"
"I can see that. By the way, who's this Pokemon that you're talking about that knows my son?" he asks, curious as to how someone from the city knows Mint.
"It's…" the fatigue of running here makes it impossible for him to say. "Gaahhhh…! Fucking… why do I gotta have such small feet!" he wobbles a little, starting to get dizzy. "Oh shit… I think I might've pushed myself too hard…"
Ross kneels down to help him stay standing. "Hey, take it easy… it's quite a long way from here to your colony. Relax and catch your breath before you talk to him."
He smiles through the pain he's experiencing in his ribcage. "Ah… T-thanks, Ross… you're too kind…" He takes a few moments to catch his breath and recover enough to talk properly. "Alright. You said the fountain plaza? I just walk straight through and I should see it?" Ross nods 'yes' and this tells Sebastian all he needs to know. "Sweet, thanks again!" he heads straight like he was told at a slow pace as to not hurt himself again and after about 3 minutes, he reaches the fountain. The caterpillar's little black button eyes show him exactly the Pokemon he was looking for. He clears his throat and addresses him. "Excuse me, Elder Mint?"
Sebastian's voice jars Mint from his little daydream, his head comes forwards and his eyes open up in response. It's been a while since he's seen anyone from another colony, so he thinks this matter is about trading. "Oh, sorry, I was just resting for a bit. Today was a long day for me." he yawns and hops off the side of the fountain. "Alrighty, now, are you here to trade or something like that? If so, you should follow me, I'll show you what we have for trade…"
He starts to turn around when Sebastian speaks. "As much as I would love to trade and bring back resources for my own humble colony, that isn't the reason why I'm here." he stands a bit tall, almost like an army general was addressing him. "Elder Mint, a Pokemon flew to and landed in our colony requesting that they see you specifically with said Pokemon in question being an Emolga from Castelia City."
This puzzles him because he hasn't talked to an Emolga recently, nor has he gone to Castelia City either. He stands there completely dumbfounded with this news. "An Emolga from Castelia City is asking to see me? I don't recall ever meeting an Emo-" his brain suddenly lights up bright with the memory of someone who he hasn't seen since he left Castelia City. "No way, she landed in the Sewaddle colony?" he says as his eyes light up a bit, wiping away the slightly tired look he was wearing moments before.
"Yes, she insisted that she see you as soon as possible. She seemed to be somewhat impatient and excited as well. Perhaps you two are friends and I'm unaware?"
"Yes, we are actually! She helped me out-" he quickly shakes his head back and forth and haste takes control of his voice. "No time for that! If she looked like she wasn't going to wait for a long time, you have to take me to the colony now!"
"Right! Follow me, I know the quickest way there!" and with that, both Sebastian and Mint took off running down the path into Pinwheel Forest, leaving anyone watching them confused and worried, that, just like how Sebastian was in a bit of a panic before, something terrible happened and their elder was needed. In the back of his mind, Mint can't believe that she of all Pokemon ended up in the forest, let alone the Sewaddle colony. His mind tingles with anticipation as to the reason why she decided to visit, but more importantly, see someone who was truly the best friend he ever could've had at the time in the past.
PD: I hope you enjoyed it because I sure had fun writing it! So, if you haven't read my profile yet, I'm going to be uploading a new chapter to this story every week on Monday or Tuesday. There is a chance for two chapters in one week depending on how much I write, but for now, expect one chapter on either day to be uploaded. I hope you enjoyed, feel free to leave comments and whatnot but nothing overly harsh. Seeya in the next chapter!