Ethnographic Study: On the Habits and Habitats of Guildmasters
(Before Chapter 1)
Beneath a starry night sky, three pokemon, an Audino, Vulpix, and Galvantula. sat on a dusty hill out in the plains.
Bell, the Audino, laid back with her paws behind her head, and idly twirled one of the feelers on her ears. Hazel the Vulpix sat on his bottom, tails splayed out behind him, while Garland lay with his legs curled up against him, and shivered a bit from the cool night wind.
They watched the stars.
"You know, I never noticed before," started Hazel, "But that group of stars kinda looks like Garland's face." He pointed with a paw at the sky. Bell looked where he pointed and nodded with a grin.
"Oh you're right. I can see the grumpiness and wrinkles from here."
"Shove it, you two," groused Garland.
Bell grinned further. She liked to stargaze.
It gave her a break from the constant activity of the guild, and her branch in particular. Oh sure, she loved weaving and stitching different patterns into cloth, and she enjoyed her guildmate's company well enough, but the chance to get some air helped cool her head. At some point, Hazel nosed his way into her outings, and soon after, dragged Garland along since the old spider had a habit of staying cooped up in his workshop.
For as much as she didn't like to socialize, she enjoyed their company. It felt good to be among like minds.
There was another reason she liked them, though, besides their shared passion for making clothing. Stargazing gave them the opportunity to indulge in a favorite hobby of theirs.
Trading gossip.
"Okay, okay, so get this!" Hazel thumped his paws on the ground to get their attention. "So you know how Esther hates it when people go into her personal workshop? Well, I was walking past yesterday morning and you won't believe what I saw when I took a quick glance inside."
"A body pillow of Purl," stated Bell, no hesitation.
"...Maid outfit. Final answer," said Garland after some consideration. Hazel chuckled and shook his head.
"I wish, but nope! I saw you," he pointed at Bell. "And you," then at Garland. "And me, and like, ten other guild members on a shelf. In doll form."
"Dude, what? Are you serious?" Bell scoffed when he nodded. "Creepy...you think she talks to them?"
"Oh yeah. I bet she probably plays with em' too." Hazel held his paws in front of him and wriggled them around. "Bet she pairs us up and makes us make out. All sloppy like."
Hazel started to make kissy sounds, and Bell giggled and pushed him away. Garland grunted and shook his head. He thumped the ground with a pedipalp to get their attention.
"That's the best you got? Everyone knows Esther's a little creepy, that's nothing new. Now, listen, this'll throw you kids for a loop."
They leaned in, interested, and he cleared his throat.
"I was walking to the Guildmaster's office last night, I had a quick question for them. But before I opened the flap, guess what I heard on the other side?"
"What?" they both asked. All of Garland's six eyes were squinted in a smug way.
"Moaning."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?"
"Noooooooooo..."
"Mmm-hmm. And by the sounds of it, it wasn't Pandora."
"Wait...Wait...I'm imagining it now," Hazel closed his eyes, and then shivered. "Yeah, shouldn't have done that. I'll never recover from this."
"I mean, they're cute together but...I wouldn't have thought they'd be that brash," murmured Bell. The Audino smirked a second later. "Surprised Vert could stay awake. I guess that guy is good for more than just sleeping wherever he feels like."
Bell had a chuckle at her own joke, but it petered off when the others didn't join in. She turned, and saw that Hazel looked at her with raised eyebrows, while Garland just looked at her with all six of his eyes squinted in disappointment.
"What?" she asked.
"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" asked the Vulpix. "I mean, yeah we see him sleep a bunch, but it's not like he does nothing, y'know?"
"And how would you know? When have you ever actually seen him do anything? Half the time he's not here, and the other half he's probably asleep in some random part of the guild." she asserted.
"Oh c'mon. Just last week he gave me some advice on a pattern for a scarf I was working on!"
"Uh-huh. And what did you see him do right after that?"
"I mean...I didn't see him much at all after that, but-"
"See. Right there. He's lazy." The other two gasped, and she rolled her eyes. "Would you two calm down? I'm just telling it how it is. And I get it, he's the Guildmaster, we're the apprentices. He pays us, and we make whatever he wants. It's just the way it is."
"Gonna have to stop you there Bell. It's not good to disrespect your Guildmaster like that, and especially not Vert. You really haven't been paying attention, have you?" Garland huffed, and it came out as an arachnid hiss. "Almost everyone here owes some of their finest work to his guidance."
Bell scoffed, and pulled her satchel closer to reach a cream paw inside.
"Not me," she stated. After a few seconds, she pulled out a thick pair of specs, and held them out for them to see. Both lenses flared out into a black barrel, with a slider around each barrel. She slid them over her ears, and grinned at their confused faces.
"This is one of my finest works, Vert free. I call it the Zoom specs. It lets you zoom in and get a read on things from a distance. I got inspiration from coming out here and stargazing, but then I realized it helps me spy on people without needing to get close."
"Whoa, how's it work!?"
"You made something that complex just to spy on people?"
She merely grinned wider at Garland, and was only too excited to explain.
"I essentially wanted to make a stronger, more portable telescope than what's already out there, so I looked up the pattern for the Compound Eyes ability, and spent some time imbuing the frame with it. But since that limited the depth of zoom, I installed the aperture and sliders to moderate the effect and allow for a more flexible range of distance."
She took them off and handed them to Hazel, who tried to nose it onto his snout. She sighed at his struggling, and helped him put it on.
"The current literature on cameras isn't that developed yet, but it still took like three weeks to understand the basics, enough to do what I wanted, anyway. What do you think?"
"Wait a minute..." Garland murmured as Hazel fiddled with the lens and gawked at the night sky. "Is that why you forced me to sit still so you could look into my eyes for four hours straight that one time?"
"Why are you complaining? When was the last time someone gave each of your six eyes that much attention?"
"Yooo, Bell this is sick!" Hazel's excited laughter drowned out Garland's sigh. "I can see way more stars when I do the zoom thingy!"
"Naturally."
"The only thing is, it gets a little blurry sometimes, and I can't actually see that much if I zoom too far."
"Well, there's bound to be kinks. It's not perfect after all."
"Still, with a foundation like that, you're not that far off from something really special, kid. I'm sure if you show it to Vert, he could give you some final pointers to make it really shine."
Bell's smile evaporated, and she clenched her teeth at Garland's words. Perhaps rougher than she meant to, she snatched the glasses off of Hazel's snout and shoved them back into her bag. She stood up and brushed off some dirt on her cream fur, before she started to stomp back to the guild.
"Hey, what's wrong?" called Garland as he skittered to catch up. Bell rolled her eyes and called back.
"It's cold and late. I'm going to bed."
She didn't elaborate, nor did she slow her pace as the others rushed a bit to catch up.
They walked the short distance to the guild in silence, the shrubs and rocks of the plains lit by the stars above. Bell did her best to tamper down the fresh annoyance she now felt at the other two.
What the hell was the big deal? She didn't need anyone to tell her how to improve her inventions, least of all some guy everyone decided is the greatest for no reason. If she didn't have to hear more about Vert and his lazy ass, it would be too soon.
Then they opened the entrance flap and saw their Guildmaster up against the right wall, curled asleep.
"Godda- you see this? This right here? This is exactly what I'm talking about!" she fumed under her breath. Hazel strolled in and rolled his eyes at her.
"Since when did you turn into such a hater? Let the guy sleep where he wants, it's his house."
"But all the time, Hazel? It doesn't bother you at all that the guy who you respect so much spends more time sleeping than working?"
"Have you thought to ask yourself why you always see him sleeping?" sassed Garland. Bell waved him off, so the spider shrugged and bid them goodnight. He walked past the large, sleeping Absol and into the flap on the right.
Bell watched him go with her arms crossed, but her sour expression turned confused when she saw Hazel make his way over to Vert. The Vulpix brushed up against the Absol, turned into a quick circle, and snuggled up against the thick white fur of his belly. He let out a yawn and rested his head, tails curled against him.
Bell shook her head at him.
"What are you doing?"
"What's it look like? Nice bed right here." He patted some fur next to him and grinned. "C'mon, get some sleep with me. When you find a sleeping Vert, it's considered good luck to make a sleep pile with him. Most everyone does it."
"What is it with everyone and-no, you know what?" She pointed a finger at the Vulpix. "You can have your weird sleep pile. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this weird fascination everyone has."
"Eh, suit yourself. More room for me! Night," he said, and adjusted himself one last time before his head drooped. Bell stole a glance at Vert's face, who didn't seem to be at all distuturbed despite them not being particularly quiet, and stomped off towards the Development wing.
She pulled out her Zoom specs one more time as an idea formed in her head. With just a little more preparation, she would have what she needed to get to the bottom of this once and for all.
[0600 Hours]. Subject has elected to remain within the guild perimeter as opposed to his usual outside excursions. This presents a valuable opportunity to observe and collect data. A suitable distance secured between observer and target. Concealment has been confirmed.
Bell glanced up from her notes and peeked from behind the job board to check on her 'subject.' After the guild cheer, she had rushed to her workshop to retrieve all of the materials for her analysis, and then bunkered down behind the job board among the cover of the many recruits.
In order to prove just how annoying her guildmates were being, she would put her full effort into recording all of the nothing that Vert did in a structured way.
No. It wasn't stalking. It was an ethnographic study. Get it right.
She noticed that Vert had begun to make his way over to the Development Wing, and readied her notepad.
Subject is en route to his first destination. Employing observation measures now.
Bell slid her Zoom specs onto her face, and the aperture widened in response to being worn. She adjusted the sliders around the lens so that Vert was the main focal point, and she managed to catch his hind end disappear through the flap.
Commencing stealth and pursuit measures now.
Bell backflipped out of cover over the heads of her guildmates with grace and expertise they had never seen, and cleared the entire entry way only to meld with the shadows on the wall with seamless ease. Truly some real ninja shit.
...Is what she wanted to happen. In reality, she awkwardly jumped backwards, earned some weird looks from those around her, and then scurried to the side of the tent flap. To avoid eye contact, she consulted her notes again.
Note: Work out more and eat less poffin cake.
Addendum: Ignore the above note. Poffin cake tastes good
Satisfied with her updates, she slipped through the flap and continued to trail Vert. Her zoom specs allowed her to easily keep him in frame even when he was on the other side of the Wing.
Subject has chosen to visit the Dynamo Branch for an unknown purpose. His body language and pace suggests a firm direction, however he seems easily distracted by greetings and chatter from surrounding guild mates. Two have stopped him now to engage in idle pleasantries.
His facial expression does not change throughout these interactions, but judging by tail wagging frequency and relaxing of joints, he seems to not mind these disruptions.
Of course, she minded these disruptions. Thanks to their large ears, her kind had naturally impressive hearing, and being able to zoom in helped her focus out the ambient noise and listen to what she wanted to with good clarity.
Conversation content is dull and mundane. Yet, the subject makes frequent inquiries regarding apprentice wellbeing despite this. Often asks about the state of projects. Subject demonstrates notable levels of both interpersonal knowledge, as well as awareness of individual tasks and projects.
Conjecture: Subject knows just enough to make apprentices feel like he is interested, and little beyond. Likelihood of genuine interest is low, as there is no reasonable way to actually be interested in the wellbeing of so many individuals.
Addendum: Update profile of subject to include 'polite.'
She jotted down her notes and followed Vert through the Dynamo flap once he had finished speaking with the Morpeko that had his attention. She waited a few moments so as to not be too close before she entered.
The long room stretched before her, and the loud sounds of item testing within the Proto Dungeons assaulted her ears. Bell clasped her paws over them and tried to parse out where Vert had gone amidst the chaos.
After readjusting her Zoom specs, she spotted him on the far side of the hall, with a Totodile and Hoothoot, Gill and Reed. She made her way past the Proto Dungeons and ducked behind a crate of testing supplies that were up against the wall, which provided good cover to peek her head over.
This close, she could see that the two seemed upset about something as they spoke to Vert. Gill stomped a foot down and pointed up at Reed, while the owl flapped his wings in an agitated way. Vert looked down on them with an impartial stare.
Subject seems to be intervening in a dispute. From the content, it seems to involve two different items.
"...orb design is uninspired and does effectively nothing!" cried Reed. The Totodile below him groaned, and shook his head.
"As if you're one to talk, pal. Your wand is literally as useful as a cool breeze."
"Now see here-"
"Before we start, explain why you asked me to help with this instead of your Head, Damia?" interjected Vert. The two smaller Pokemon went from glaring daggers at each other to looking at the ground, sheepish.
"It's uh...we already did..." murmured Gill.
"And?"
"She said if we don't settle on a design for this job, she'll give it to someone else."
"And we have to settle on a decision together, but Gill simply won't see the beauty in my design! I was hoping you could help him see reason."
Gill was about to jump up and grab Reed's talons, but the Absol brushed by both of them and entered the Proto Dungeon. They followed him in, and it became hard to hear, so Bell just recorded what she saw.
Subject has begun to judge between two different items. (Both of them suck) Both are unimpressive; Reed's wand seemed to merely blow out a puff of cold air when waved, while Gill's orb made a tiny pillar of ice right in front of him. Subject has sat them both down and engaged the two in what looks to be a lecture, carried with input from both sides.
Bell wasn't sure how long this would take, but she had already committed to her study, so she simply made herself comfortable.
It shouldn't take too long, anyway.
[Update: 0900 Hours]
Bell began to have second thoughts about this process at the fifteen minute mark. She didn't expect Vert to stay with them for more than half an hour, nevermind three.
Nevertheless, she endured, and took her notes.
Subject no longer leads the lecture, and insteads only provides cursory input as apprentices test slowly improving trials of a new item with increasing amounts of fervor. Previous bickering has evaporated, suspected cause is attributed to carefully timed statements by subject designed specifically to encourage collaboration and trust between the two apprentices.
Final item is (actually pretty cool) unrelated to the scope of this assignment but bears describing: their orb flash-freezes the ground in a coat of ice made to inhibit ground movements. Design merges both of their ideas into one. Possibly intention from the start?
Query: Why did subject choose to give these two so much attention? As Guildmaster, it is likely that he has more important things to do than spend an extended period of time with those under him.
Possible conclusion:...
Bell ruminated on that question for a bit, unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. Why did Vert decide to subject himself to trying to work with those two bickering for so long, and more importantly, why did he seem to enjoy it?
Vert began to move, and she stored her thoughts away to focus on moving her aching legs to follow him towards his next destination, the Bio Branch.
. His long strides did not falter even as his feet dug into the soft grass, and Bell had to push herself to keep up through the somewhat unfamiliar environment. The thick vegetation and greenery wasn't quite her element, however she managed to keep Vert in sight as the Absol loped forward into the deep jungle.
She kept her eyes peeled on his white tail as she dipped between the cover of bushes and the shade of low hanging leaves, as a hunter would stalk their unsuspecting prey. She must have been more skilled at stealth than she thought, because her quarry seemed to still be unaware of her presence.
After some time under the shade of trees, he broke through a bush line into a clearing. Bell peeked her head through the bushes, and saw that Vert had sat on his haunches and seemed to be speaking with someone, but his large frame blocked her view from this angle. She chewed her lip and looked around, before her eyes caught a particularly climbable looking tree on the far side. With careful steps, she tiptoed her way around the treeline, mindful of twigs or vines, and arrived at the tree to climb.
Fifteen minutes later, Bell heaved her frame up to the tallest branch that could support her weight, and slumped up against the trunk as she sucked in desperate breaths. She clutched her notepad with sweat coated paws.
Note: Please work out more!
Addendum: Ignore above note, simply avoid all trees in the future.
She huffed and set her notepad down, then carefully crawled over to look over the branch and down into the clearing where Vert had gone. From her position above, she could zoom in on Vert and the little Gligar they had decided to keep. Basil, if she remembered correctly.
This next appointment seems entirely unrelated to the presumed scope of a Guildmaster's duties. A workbook sits between the subject and the adolescent. Upon closer inspection, it seems as if the subject is providing counsel to help the younger with...homework...
Homework? Really?
Sure enough, if she zoomed in enough, she could see hints of simple equations and work tasks, although they got blurry after a certain point.
Subject does not seem to mind the superfluous musings of the child, and utilizes conversational techniques to gently guide the interaction towards the subject of his assignment. Facial expression remains stoic, although manages to keep the child engaged despite this. No other purpose to his presence has been identified other than to be present as a source of information as Basil attempts his assignments.
Bell racked her brain to try and write down something more insightful, but as the minutes ticked on, it became clear that Vert really did come here just to help the youngest member of their guild with homework. She couldn't tell if this supported or refuted her assessment of him as being lazy, spending time tutoring a child didn't exactly seem like a Guildmaster worthy activity.
She wondered how much of his time was spent in little moments like this. She had assumed he would want to spend most of his time alone. That was the vibe he gave off, anyway.
The flap of wings overhead tore her from writing down her thoughts, and she looked up to see a Trumbeak's multicolored beak pointed down at her. Bell schooched back on the branch to give the bird some room to perch, and they nodded at her as they glanced down at the two below.
"Drat, missed 'im!" she complained in a spunky voice. They were high up enough that the ones below shouldn't hear them if they talked normally. "And here I was thinking I could get a second opinion on the cross breed I've been working on..."
Bell noticed the funny looking seed clutched in her talons, but before she could comment on it, the Trumbeak turned and inclined her head at her.
"...Wait...I got it...Bell, right? In Dynamo?" she extended a wing in greeting. Bell gave a subdued wave from where she sat.
"Almost. I'm Bell from Tailor. And you are...?"
"Call me Cas, mate. And let me just say, those are some wicked looking goggles you got going on!" Cas hopped over and settled in front of the Audino. Bell had to zoom out once her vision got filled with black and orange beak.
"They're a little invention I'm working on. They help me see things further. I just came out to the Growth Floor to...test them out."
"Blimey, you Tailor types always think of some wild stuff. Say, you wouldn't mind if I sat here and waited with you, would you? Vert and little Basil can be occupied for a while, so it would be nice to have some company while I wait."
"Be my guest. This was about to be a whole lot more boring before you showed up."
Cas trilled in delight and hopped over to sit snug next to Bell. She idly began to preen some of her feathers, and Bell resigned herself to this new company as she figured out how to not die from boredom until her subject did something more interesting.
Then she thought back on Cas's comment about Vert and Basil, and realized that she might still be able to learn something interesting. A little interview would help flesh out her analysis.
"It sure is strange seeing Vert play tutor to a little kid," she led with. Cas glanced her way, and shrugged.
"Ah, you think so? I find it to be a bit precious, personally. He's not bad with kids, you know."
"Is that right?" She twirled her pencil in her hand and put it to her notepad. "And how often would you say you see him actually help with homework? I'm assuming he doesn't have much better to do than this."
"I wouldn't say that. I catch the two together at least once a week as I'm flyin' around. This is their favorite spot," she gestured at the clearing below, and winked at her. "Honestly, I'm a bit jealous right now. No disrespect to Brook, very kind soul, but I always look forward to the chance to spend some time with Vert. He's a good mon, that one."
And there it is, the admiration. Bell squinted her eyes and resolved to drill in a bit deeper while she had the chance.
"Humor me for a second. Outside of giving the occasional lecture, he doesn't really strike me as good company. I mean, he barely talks at dinner or in the morning."
"Hah, you've got that right! I wonder if it's some kind of stage fright," Cas tittered behind a wing. "But when you sit down with him, it's the strangest feeling. He's got a knack for people, you see. Really knows how to make you feel, well, known, when he talks to you. Whether it's a little guidance, or you just want someone to talk to, he's good at making you feel like what you're doing matters."
Note: Subject charisma higher than anticipated: Possible reasons: psychological manipulation, satisfaction from induced dependency, ulterior motives for flattery.
Bell clenched her teeth. Cas's description set off a couple alarms in her head.
"You don't find any of that...creepy?" She leaned forward. "It's possible he could just be saying all of that so you work harder, you know."
"Heh, a bit of a pessimist aren't ya? Creepy isn't the word I would use mate. If I could put it into words...he's just good at reminding you that you matter."
Cas tilted her head in thought, and Bell prepared to write down whatever she said.
"I mean...if I'm honest, who doesn't like feeling a little special here and then, eh? Call it a bit of vanity, but I like knowing that the bleedin' Guildmaster never seems too busy to talk with little old me. Helps keep me confident in trying new things, and I just know I can make something truly special when I get his opinion on something."
"But you don't need his opinion. The only approval that should matter in the end is yours, not his."
"Who said anything about approval? It's more...alright, it's like I got this puzzle, see? And no matter how I look at it, it's just not clicking. Vert has a way of taking the same puzzle and rewording it in a completely different way to help me see something I didn't before. Heck, sometimes he doesn't even really tell me anything new, just helps me realize I knew more about the answer than I first thought."
"Like?"
"Like figuring out proper bleedin' watering amounts for Oran seeds! Ugh, that was one of my first tasks when I joined this branch, and despite Brook's best efforts, I still couldn't get the precise timing down. Do you know how specific the conditions need to be in order to actually grow Oran berries in a lab environment? Proper finicky, those little buggers..."
Cas ruffled her feathers a bit as she huffed, but continued.
"One day, I guess Vert overhead me cursing up a storm at another failed batch, and offered to grow his own batch right alongside me so I could compare a live sample. For a week straight, he never failed to come visit every day and give me pointers on growth techniques. I learned more in that time than out of any book, and now I'm confident enough to try crossbreeding something new!"
While listening to Cas, Bell slowed down her notetaking as she processed, and let out a noncommittal 'hmm' when she finished.
...With that information, Vert looked just a tiny bit more genuine as he pointed something out to Basil down below.
"Hey, not saying you can't ask questions, but you seem a little on edge about our Guildmaster." Cas hopped over and quirked her head at Bell. "Care to share, mate?"
The sound of giggling from below pulled her attention down at the clearing, and it looked like Basil had decided that he had had enough of homework and roped Vert into hide and seek. By the looks of it, Vert would be the one to hide.
Bell stifled a sigh at the display, and shrugged.
"I just don't understand his angle. When people above you act all nice and supportive, it's because they want something out of you. It's conditional, not genuine. Why should Vert be any different?"
"Well, maybe what he wants is to see you grow. That's the 'angle' of most mentors, anyway."
"But a mentor to everyone?"
"Would explain why he looks dead-tired all the time."
"...Say that again."
"What, about him looking dead tired all the time?" asked Cas. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if I would look just as tired if I had whatever his schedule is. Maybe you'd find me passed out in some closet too!"
"Yeah..." murmured Bell.
Updated Study Parameters: Assessment of subject as "Exhausted" will be accepted if researcher experiences similar strain.
"...Good idea."
[Update: ?:? Hours. Time since start of study - Approx. 30 hours.]
Subject displays no signs of exhaustion, and has continued on with his duties with the same level of determination as the day prior. He has not taken a single rest since the moment he awoke in the central room the morning before, and has managed to stay occupied through a variety of activities throughout the guild,
A sample of witnessed activities have been provided below:
Serve as a test subject for experimental seeds that resulted in his fur briefly gaining multicolored spots
Settle a dispute between two apprentices over who could create a more effective Sandy Orb. Spent an hour cleaning approximately 300 pounds of sand out of a Proto Dungeon
Host a brief seminar in Tailor on how new applications of Aether weaving can better serve new adventuring trends
Attend Furret Abigail's surprise birthday party in Bio. His gift: a bottle of imported bath soap.
Other activities have been recorded in the regular updates provided in this notebook, however the researcher cannot physically muster the energy to turn the pages back due to severe exhaustion. It is only through a steady infusion of coffee supplied by Clara in Dynamo that she(the researcher) has not faltered in her pursuit of understanding.
The researcher can only conclude that the subject (is fucking insane), (an absolute monster), (simply built different), has conditioned his body to function on minimal amounts of sleep that far exceed a normal Pokemon's capacity to withstand. As she writes this, the subject spends the current afternoon studying along with some apprentices in the Library.
How he resists the urge to sleep while laying on those large, plush, comfy cushions is a question the researcher is not prepared to answer. Even as she feels her eyelids growing even more heavy, and the silence of the library leaves her with only thoughts of finally being able (to stop this horrible idea) to rest, she will not falter.
In order to stave exhaustion, the researcher will continue to write notes. Doing so will stimulate brain activity and prevent the effects of exhaustion long enough to continue the research. As long as the researcher continues writing, she will
Bell jolted awake and sucked in a breath. She blinked her eyes to force the sleep out of them, and in her groggy state realized that she was still in the Library. She reached a blind paw out for her Zoom specs, but hit soft cushion instead. She looked down to see that she had somehow been covered up by a thick blanket, and rested on one of the larger pillows. A wall of bookcases surrounded her in a small alcove off to the side of the room, which gave her privacy.
Against her body's protest, the Audino raised herself up and gave a deep exhale. To the left, her materials had been placed in a neat pile on a nearby night stand, and she forced herself to roll off the pillow to retrieve them. When she stood, she couldn't resist the urge to stretch her paws above her head and release a satisfied yawn.
Based on how rested she felt, and the way moonlight simulated by luminous orbs streamed across the ceiling above her, Bell concluded that she had slept for at least eight hours. Given that she dropped cold in the afternoon, it was probably close to midnight at this point.
She cursed, and rushed to collect her materials to continue her study. She had been lucky that Vert decided to stay at the guild the past couple days, and losing eight hours meant a greater chance that she could lose him and miss out on valuable data. She would need all she could get if she wanted to...wanted to...
...Why was she doing this again?
As she walked out of the alcove and idly flipped through her notes, she thought back to the original goal of this perfectly legal and not at all creepy form of stalking.
Right. She wanted to prove to her friends that Vert was just a lazy layabout. Well, she supposed she could concede that, in light of recent information, his tendency to fall asleep had been justified. By all accounts, she had proved herself wrong, and could safely conclude the study and hope that Hazel wouldn't bother her about it in the morning.
But, as she walked past the myriad bookshelves and came across her quarry sitting alone in one of the more open areas, she cursed her own inherent nosiness and ducked behind a bookshelf to observe once again.
Somehow, this big, gloomy Absol managed to get everyone in the guild to respect him in some way, and dammit if she wasn't starting to see why. He was like a walking paradox; somebody who looked and sounded that apathetic had no business being that involved and approachable to his apprentices, and therein lies the puzzle that fascinated her enough to...
...Respect? No, definitely not! Respect was surely way too strong a word. But maybe...she could learn just a bit more about him, if she just watched him a little more.
He moved, and she scooched back enough so her ears didn't peek out of the corner. She saw him get up, and shuffle some kind of long, cylindrical case over his back. Odd, as normally the Treasure Bags they made were more than sufficient for most things. He stood there for a moment, and then walked out at a steady pace. Bell waited a moment longer, before she followed him.
She trailed him out of the Library and all the way to the main entrance, where she saw him slip out into the starry night outside. Egged on by the thought of what he could be up to this late at night, as well as the strange cylinder on his back, Bell stepped out into the cool air.
Vert's tail flung out from the tent's left side, and she started to trail him
She stayed far enough away that the crunch of dirt wouldn't alert him. Out in the plains, there wasn't much cover besides the occasional bush or large rock, so she hoped that the cover of night would keep her out of view. Still, the moon and stars kept the land well lit, even at night, and Vert's white fur helped her keep him in view of her specs, which were zoomed almost entirely on his form.
After a few minutes, he finally stopped on a low hill and set the cylinder down. With his teeth, he opened a lid on its top, and pulled out some piece of equipment. Bell twisted the barrel on her specs, curious to see what it actually was. What looked to be some kind of tripod stood on three legs, and she widened her eyes a bit as he affixed a long, smooth metal telescope to the tripod.
Vert angled the telescope up at the sky, sat down, and then turned his head to look directly at her.
A shot of adrenaline spiked through her system. Bell froze, and hoped to Arceus that he hadn't actually seen her, but a calm gesture towards himself with a paw put that to rest.
With her ears drooped and a fierce blush on her face, Bell took slow, embarrassed steps towards the hill. She cringed with every step, and tried to come up with several excuses to avoid whatever punishment came with stalking one's guildmaster.
She had a feeling "it was for science," wouldn't quite cut it.
After a few excruciating minutes, the Audino finally came to a stop in front of the Absol. She didn't meet his gaze, and instead kicked a rock around with her foot.
"...Well isn't this a coincidence?" She went for it. "Strange that we would both be out here. At the same time."
She coughed. Nailed it.
"A coincidence? I agree. It's a good thing we both brought things that help us see from far away. Although I think you've got some more recent experience than me in that regard."
Caught. Bell sighed, and slowly removed the Zoom specs that she had forgotten to remove. She didn't know if it were possible to look more guilty in that instance.
The worst part was that she couldn't tell what Vert thought about it; his face had the same tired, stoic expression as always.
"So you...knew?" she asked. He nodded. "Oh...for how long?"
"Since a couple mornings ago, when I was helping Gill and Reed," he said as he fiddled with some of the telescope controls. "Which reminds me, did you sleep well? You shouldn't overexert yourself like that, you completely dropped and I had to get you someplace comfortable."
"You're telling me to not overexert myself? I have actual pages of all the things you do in a given day!" She huffed, "And besides, if you didn't want me following you for so long, why didn't you just tell me to stop? Do you know how stupid I feel right now knowing that all that time I thought I was being sneaky, you were just humoring me?"
"I was waiting to see if you would approach me," he replied, and then settled on his front. "I know you're not comfortable around me, so I figured I would let you move at your own pace if you wanted to talk. I didn't want to confront you about it, but after the first day, I figured I could meet you in the middle like this."
"And what makes you think I wanted to talk to you?" she blurted, but then immediately backpedaled when she realized how confrontational that sounded.
"I mean...um..."
"It's okay, perhaps I misspoke. Maybe I was the one who wanted to talk to you," he said, and she couldn't tell if he was being genuine or simply helping her save face.
"Talk to me? About what?"
"You've been here close to two years now, and besides our initial meeting when I swore you in, you've done a great job avoiding me. You're not obligated to come to me with anything of course, but I do consider you my apprentice, and I take that seriously. I want you to know that I'm here for you, if you need it."
Bell stayed silent and grabbed her other arm as he took a moment to think.
"...I've been trying to figure out how to convey that to you for a while now, and your relentless stalking actually gave me an idea of how to bridge the gap."
"I-it wasn't...relentless! There was a structured system! I took notes!"
"Can I see them?"
She stopped cold. Turns out, this could actually get worse.
"Um...well...f-for the study..."
"Bell, you do know that, upon concluding a study, all participants must be provided the collected data. This isn't even mentioning how you failed to obtain informed consent from the participants involved, AKA, me, but I can let that slide seeing as you're just learning."
"Right. Of course. Just...here!"
She shoved her notes at Vert and crossed her arms. As if to spite her, he seemed to linger on each page and seemed to absorb every detail. And of course, his face never betrayed his thoughts.
"...This is pretty thorough," he finally said after a few minutes. "It seems like you were operating off the presumption that I don't do much around the Guild."
"Yeah well, you'll also see that my opinion changed on that by the end." She looked down and twirled one of her feelers. "It's actually kind of...really cool of you to meet up with everyone like that. In addition to your other duties."
"Mm-hmm. And did you come to that conclusion before or after you made note of how often I use the restroom in a given day?"
"...At least I didn't go inside..." she murmured, and then groaned. "Listen, can you just tell me if you're mad? I really can't tell, and if you want me to pack my bags or something, I can just-"
"Don't worry about that, I'm not mad. If anything, I'm flattered that anyone would take this much of an interest in what I do. I know some of my methods can seem unorthodox."
Vert broke eye contact for the first time, and glanced to the side. If she could guess, this was the closest he could get to looking bashful.
"If I'm honest, the other reason I let you observe was because I was curious how well those glasses of yours held up. Hope you don't mind, but I had a brief look at them while you were resting, and I think you're really on to something."
"Really?" she asked, dubious. "...What did you think?"
"I think applying mechanical camera techniques to moderate the effect of Compound Eyes is an excellent idea. It's an elegant way of letting the ability pattern do most of the work without needing to clutter the design with more components than necessary."
His lips finally moved to curl upwards in a smile.
"Great job."
Bell fought down the blush and vehemently rejected the warm feeling in her chest at the praise. She didn't need his approval. Definitely not.
"How long did it take you to make?"
"About three-ish weeks, give or take."
"Even more impressive."
"And? What's the catch?"
"Catch?"
"Yeah," she plastered an annoyed look on her face and looked at him. "Aren't you gonna tell me how you think it can be better, or something?"
"Actually, I brought that up so you could tell me what you think of my own application of your idea." He got up and gestured over at the telescope. "After looking at your specs, I decided to take your concept and apply it to something you might like."
Bell followed him to the telescope, but got stuck on part of his explanation.
"You...wait, you just made an entire telescope while I was asleep?"
"More like I modified one. I found one in storage and just switched out the lens with a custom one I applied the pattern to, along with some auxiliary modifications."
She looked up at him slack jawed. What took her at least a week of trial and error, he did in a matter of hours. Vert looked down at her and frowned at her lack of response.
"You...do like stargazing, right?" he asked. "I wanted to make a good gift you might enjoy."
"A...you made this for me!?" she exclaimed.
"Go on, test it out and tell me what you think."
With one eye on her Guildmaster, Bell grabbed the telescope mount and brought the eyepiece down to her level. After some adjustments with the knobs, she could see the stars up above, almost clearer than with her own eyes. Rather than become blurry, the stars only grew more numerous and sparkly when she zoomed in, and she lost herself as she swiveled the telescope around.
She could even count all the craters on the moon. She had never been able to do that before.
After a few more minutes, she sucked in a breath and stepped back from the telescope to look at Vert. She opened her mouth a few times, but just shook her head as words didn't quite come to her.
"This is...uh...this is really, really good. I didn't even know there were that many stars before." She crossed her arms in front of her belly. "...Thanks."
"I should be thanking you. That's all your idea at work, I just applied it to something else."
Bell nodded and pursed her lips, unsure of what to say in response.
"Do you know the constellations?" he asked. Bell flicked her eyes to him, and shrugged.
"Only a few. I know Lunala's Wings, and the Clefable Banquet."
"How about Stargazer Castle?"
She shook her head no, and he stepped forward to adjust the telescope.
"I can show you where it is. First, you locate the Lodestar, and then head about 70 degrees east..."
Bell listened with rapt attention as Vert explained every constellation he knew to her. She didn't notice that conflicted feeling she had before had fizzled out, and let herself go back and forth with him on what they both knew about the stars until he abruptly fell asleep midway through an explanation an hour later.
She looked at him, curled up on a patch of grass, and found that she couldn't be too annoyed; he had been up for much longer than her, after all. Instead, she sat against his front, and leaned back to look up at the sky above.
She decided to stay out here tonight.
"So. Quick question." Bell leaned down from atop Vert as he carried her back to the guild that following morning.
"Hmm?" he responded.
"A couple nights ago. Garland said he heard moaning when he walked by your's and Pandora's office, and I was wondering-"
"A massage. It was a massage."
"Ah. Okay."
Silence.
"...so was it just a massage, or..."
"If it was what you were thinking it was, would you really want me to tell you?"
"..."
"That's what I thought."
