"No, this isn't good whatsoever." A Huntail remarked as he scanned a shelf for various food items.
A puff came from a nearby Gorebyss. "You and your perfection." she replied as she turned over a jug of milk with her fins. She turned to face him, her light blue scarf following her motion. "I'd expect nothing less from you Vans." she finished with a light chuckle.
The Huntail went to look at a different shelf and said, "You're telling me that if I get the wrong type of bread Marie won't bitch about it?" Vans gave her a level and unamused look before turning back with a puff. "And there's nothing wrong with striving for perfection Haley." he raised his voice slightly, nearing the point of reprimandation but halting just shy of it.
She let out a sound of amusement as she dropped an item into the shopping basket. "Now then, we nee-huh?" The Gorebyss' voice was cut short by a soft buzzing as a Ninjask landed just atop the shelves, she turned to face the source of it. "Hive?" she sounded.
The Ninjask looked at them curiously and said with a small amount of regret in her voice as she told them, "Sorry to bother you two. The boss called a meeting, it's urgent." she turned and flew off, her padded wings flapping with incredible speed as she hovered. "Best not to keep him waiting, yeah?"
As Hive flew off, Vans and Haley exchanged a glance. "You heard the woman." Vans said as he motioned to the air.
Haley sighed and said, "Best cover our tracks… You think they'd tell us in advance, but no." she held out the last word for a long time but when she finished. With a grumble and a hop into the air she dove into the ground as it liquified beneath her, letting her sink into it with ease. Vans gave a bored look into the hardening ground before sighing, setting the basket on the shelf and doing the same.
Flocon, Irukan and Bancho walked in silence for a long time before Bancho finally spoke to Irukan, "First you, now Ohm." his voice was flat and unamused as he continued walking.
Ninetales gave the two a small but worried look before letting out a sigh. Well, at least it isn't me this time. he thought to himself as they continued.
Irukan gave a soft grunt and replied, "At least I had a reason, I don't know what Ohm's deal is." she turned her head to the side and continued, "It has to be something, it always is."
Flocon looked between the two. "Has he done this before?" he asked as he tilted his head, letting out a soft grunt.
The Dragalge let out a weary sigh and said, "Quite a few times, what can I say except that his emotions come in extremes. If he's not happy, he's sad. If he's not interested, he's bored." once she finished her voice trailed off until she was muttering to herself.
Bancho gave a slight shrug and spoke for Irukan, "Yes." he looked around unamused. "He'll be fine in the morning."
Flocon gave a slight grunt and put his eyes back forward. I guess that's one way to look at it. He thought to himself as he peered around.
Bancho stopped and pointed to an iron gate guarded by a Corviknight. "We're here." he said flatly.
Flocon looked over. That's the entrance to La Premiere Quartiere? Doesn't seem very impressive. He thought as he strolled over to check it out without any prompting.
Irukan and Bancho gave him a somewhat confused look but neither did anything, choosing instead to let the scene play out on its own.
As the Ninetales got closer he saw that the red eyes of the Corviknight began to follow him. Flocon turned to face him and said, "Hello?" his voice was tentative and a little worried.
The guard did not give a reply, instead standing firm, his glare unmoving. Flocon started walking around him and giving him looks up and down in mild interest. "You don't have to be so cold about it." he said.
Irukan watched this interaction in embarrassed amusement as Flocon began sniffing the air to see if the pokemon set in front of him was real or not. "Should we stop him before he gets hurt?" she asked Bancho.
The Pangoro gave her a look and said, "Probably." he began to stroll towards the Corviknight and said, "We're just here to get Ninetales out of your feathers." With his paws up to show that he wasn't about to do anything too bold.
The massive bird gave a quick ruffle of his feathers. Flocon gave him an odd look as he heard some snickering across the gate that drew the attention of all but Corviknight, who kept his eyes trained upon the trio.
Flocon drew his attention to the source of the noise. He saw two nobles, a Delphox and a Serperior, dressed in rather extravagant clothing made of pristine cloth and golden accessories. «Look at the silly peasant trying to find his way in, eh?» the Serperior spoke in an odd language that Bancho and Irukan knew far too well. Sirin: the language of the aristocrats, the descendants of those who conquered this city so long ago. They knew they must be looking down on them but they couldn't respond to something they knew nothing about.
Flocon ceased his activities to simply stare down the nobles. Bancho and Irukan gave them harsh looks as the Delphox replied in Sirin, «Just look at that imbecile Ninetales and you'll have seen everything. Probably a bastard child that criminal.» she gave a short laugh as she motioned towards Flocon.
Flocon turned his head to face the Delphox as she spoke and then towards the serpent as she replied, «What would you expect from the lower quarters? I doubt the Pangoro and Dragalge are any smarter. I'd bet they're his accomplices.»
Giving a hard grunt and marching up to the gate «How would you like to say that to my face?» Flocon said with a hard edge to his voice. Everyone immediately turned their attention on him. The nobles went white like a sheet, Bancho and Irukan were sent bolt upright, and Corviknight stood in shock, unsure of what he should do in response. «Come across this fence and fight me you lowly bitches!» he exclaimed with a growl.
Before the Corviknight had a chance to respond to the nobles running or the Ninetales outburst Irukan leapt forward and pulled Flocon away. She didn't wait to see what was about to happen as she sped down the alley alongside Bancho.
When they had reached a safe distance and took a moment to make sure they weren't being followed she dropped him and gave some time to herself to catch her breath.
Flocon got to his feet and said, "I-I'm sorry." his head fell low and his tails alongside it. "It's just that they were saying all that crap about you guys and I... I just broke."
Irukan gave him a confused look before letting out a chuckle. "You think we're angry with you?" she said.
Flocon looked up with a puzzled face as Bancho said, "It was nice to see them get told off. Even if I don't know what you said." he held a paw to his chin as he chewed lightly.
Flocon stood in silence for a moment before saying, "So, neither of you are mad? Really?"
"How could we? Sure, I'd rather you didn't make as much of a scene but screw them." she said with a grin on her face before muttering, "It may not be the most legal thing but it was nice to see." She picked up Flocon's head to look him in the eyes before nodding. "You know… maybe you're innocent, maybe you're not, but at least you're alright. The name's Irukan H. O. Minaar, but just call me Irukan will you?"
Flocon backed up and gave a nod. "Well, thank you? Call me Flocon then." he replied as he began to wag his tails. Not really sure if that was a compliment or not but accepting it anyways.
The Dragalge gave him a warm smile before saying. "Well, at least we know for sure that you're from La Premiere Quartiere now. So I guess we'll have to work from there."
Giving her a nod Bancho said, "We should tell Fringe as soon as possible." he rose from a squatted position, letting his arms swing a bit before tucking his paws in either pocket.
Flocon gave a small and satisfied huff as they began to walk.
As they walked away Flocon felt something stare at him from afar, he glanced behind him, barely missing whatever it happened to be beyond the tip of a black, two-spined tail. He stared in wonder for a few more seconds before turning back around and leaving.
"What's got you all in a ruff this time, Flocon?" Bancho asked as he peered down at the Ice-type.
Looking up for a moment Flocon said, "Probably just paranoia. Wait, why Flocon?"
Bancho shrugged. "Bancho B. Goode. Don't laugh. Just call me Bancho."
Flocon gave a confused tilt of his head. I guess that's one way to do it? he considered.
Irukan cast a curious look in his direction before shrugging and saying, "Considering recent events, that paranoia may not be misplaced."
Flocon let out a sigh and began moving once again. I really hope it is… he thought to himself.
Bancho looked down at the Ninetales and then up at Irukan, remarking, "You'll get along just fine."
Looking back up with minor confusion and giving a short growl Flocon said, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Irukan gave him a look as Bancho gave a mischievous half smirk and kept on walking. Irukan remarked to the Pangoro, "You've been spending too much time with Frukkshin I swear."
They eventually came to their base. Bancho gave Flocon a nod before leaving. Irukan patted him on the back and said, "You should talk to Fringe about this, it'll look a bit better if you're the one that does it."
Flocon gave a confused look to the Dragalge's figure as she sat down at a table.
The Ninetales looked around in a bit of confusion before walking to Fringe's room just down the hall. He looked at the door, then down at his paws and thought, How exactly am I going to knock? He looked up once more and then around. He backed up a few feet and angled himself back before dashing forwards, jumping, and slamming his head into the door. The door visibly bulged in before springing out as a loud thud reverberated through the rooms and hallways before Flocon shook out his head. There's probably a better way to do that. he thought as he felt ever so slightly concussed by it.
Fringe flung the door open and looked around. "What happened now?" he exclaimed as he looked up and down the hall before he finally noticed Flocon who was having some difficulty standing. "Oh, I've never been happier to see that it's just you." He opened the door further and finished with a simple, "Come on in."
Flocon entered into his room, it had a few stacks of paper piled up next to a desk and in the corner was a pile of hay. "So, I presume you need to talk to me?"
The Ninetales fumbled for a moment before giving a nod and saying, "Yeah, so we found new information."
Fringe perked up at the mention of this and said, "Very well, go on." He gave a motion with his ragged hands as he sat down, pulled out a pen and pad from his desk, and prepared to write.
Flocon sat across from him. "To make a long story short, we managed to figure out that I definitely had some ties to Le Premiere Quartiere when I talked back to some bad mouthing aristocrats in the language they were speaking in." he finished with a slight grumble.
After scribbling down a few notes the Banette gave a sigh. "Is that everything?" he asked.
Flocon returned his gaze with a curious one of his own as he said, "That's it really."
After leaning back in his chair Fringe let out a puff and gave it a moment of thought before finally saying, "Any information is good information. And now we know that we need to get you in somehow. I've been digging through a few contacts, pokemon we've worked with before, but so far I've had no luck." He gave Flocon a simple look as he rose from his chair and grabbed a stack of papers. "I assume there's nothing left to talk about as of now?" he gave a tilt of his head.
"No, not really." Flocon replied as his tails drooped a bit. Fringe held the door open for him as he left and Flocon gave him a verbal, "Thank you." As he left.
Fringe loitered for a bit giving the Ninetales a curious look before shrugging and walking over to the job board to begin pinning up new requests for the next day.
Irukan gave him a puzzled look from across the room, she marked her book and set it aside before calling over to him, "Rough day?"
The Banette paused for a moment before responding, "Busy as usual. Nothing more, nothing less."
Dragalge gave him a scrutinizing look before returning to her book and mumbling to herself. Fringe looked over and began to idly talk with her as he worked, "Is the book interesting?"
Irukan gave it some thought before replying, "It's good enough I suppose." She gave a small sigh as she looked at the book. "Nothing too special about it."
Fringe gave her a foreign look as he finished pinning up all the posters. He floated over to her and looked at the title of the book. The actual title was printed on the spine "In the Wake of Madness" Fringe easily recognized the book from the swirling lines on the cover alone as he remarked, "The work of the late Greirach? I'd say that book is better than 'good enough.' I'd say it's rather fascinating."
"It gives you a bit to think about, yeah, but it's not that fascinating nowadays. Plays are really meant to be performed rather than read. Besides, Galet's nothing like he makes it seem." she said as she pushed the book away from her.
Fringe gave a light chuckle as he turned on his heel. "I suppose that's true by today's standards. But you forget that Galet was once a proud kingdom of its own." He gave a sweeping motion as he talked, accentuating the grandeur of his sentence.
"Perhaps it was. But that day has long since passed." Irukan said as she leaned down on the table. "A day that'll never be seen again." her voice was quiet and wistful as if it were some sort of prayer. She arose from her seat and slithered off to her room. "Goodnight." she said as she left Fringe on his own.
He stood rooted to the ground as he peered around, not really sure what to do with himself by now. He pulled out a chair and sat in silence for a little while a sad look crossed his face. He waited in silence, mentally suffocating in it's air for a few minutes, before getting up himself and retiring to his room for the night.
And so closes NaNoWriMo, well, technically it closed yesterday, but according to my Google calender, today was a new upload day anyways. So, back to the old schedule!
As for my side project, it's still happening, I was just having difficulty keeping up with editing due to NaNoWriMo.