The typical clamour of the Guild Hall filled the air. Voices calling across the room, laughter from new families and Exploration teams, scribbling pens on parchment as documents were drafted up for the new arrivals. The Vulpix wanted nothing more than to groan in frustration and slam her head into the desk repeatedly as the queue was held up again by some egotist Pokemon trying to (hopelessly) flirt with her.
"So, you free after all this? I was hoping maybe you could... show me around? You know, all the cool places around here, neat stores. It'd be fun, just you and me. What do you say, cutie?" The vixen's eye twitched slightly, but she remained calm.
'Be professional, Luminous, be calm. Be collected. You are the waves on the ocean, softly lapping against a beach at sunset... Relax...'
"Thank you for the offer, sir. But we're quite busy today, as you might be able to tell. The map provided to you will tell you all about the variety of stores available, and what they offer for you." The girl smiled to herself. 'That's it. Keep your cool, girl. You're stronger than that.'
"I mean, sure. But I was hoping you'd be show me some of the other stores that aren't marked, or run me down your favourite stuff from the bakers and café's. Come on, it'll be my treat." The Luxray clearly was not getting the message. And the vixen found herself at her breaking point.
"Hey, dude." Another voice called out from behind the offender, causing the icy fox to tilt her head and the Luxray to spin around and glare at the owner. A cloaked Glaceon stood behind him, impatiently tapping his left forepaw into the ground repeatedly. "I've been stuck in this place for like, 4 hours. Is this seriously what's been holding everyone up? Clowns like you harassing the clerk with unwanted advances? Time and a place, buddy. And it's not here. So leave the poor girl alone, hop aside and let's get this queue moving, all these folks have better places to be than watching you make a fool of yourself."
She couldn't believe her ears. In all her time working here as a clerk for the Guild, not once had anybody called the idiots out for holding everybody up. And yet here, now, one young man had spoken what was on everybody's minds. Even now, she could hear the murmur's of agreement from behind the boy.
"Who the hell are you? Buzz off, will ya? I'm working here, punk." The Luxray didn't take to kindly to the Glaceon's interruption. Said ice type simply rolled his eyes, walking forward past the angry electric type up to the desk as he leaned against it.
"Hey, sorry about all that. You must get this kinda nonsense a lot, judging from how tightly your clenching your jaw. That, and your eye keeps twitching. I'm surprised you were able to even hold your composure for that long. That's some seriously impressive dedication you've got there." The lion-esque electric type behind the Glaceon could hardly believe he was being ignored. Several screams rang out as the charging Thunderbolt was noticed by the people in the queue behind them.
The Luxray never even knew what hit him, and before long, a Mienshao had him in a firm lock, grappling the would-be assailant. "Alright, that's enough out of you! First you harass the clerk, then make an attempt on another new arrival? Troublemakers like you need a firm hand to get you back in line!" Without missing a beat, the angry weasel-like fighting type dragged the Luxray away from the desk, as onlookers watched in shock.
The Vulpix released a sigh she hadn't realised she'd been holding, her guise falling away rapidly as she gave the kind ice type an exhausted, almost defeated, smile. "You wouldn't even being to believe how many creepy old guys, or would be hotshots stand here for hours talking my ears off in a desperate attempt to curry favour from me. This is the first time anybody in the queue has ever stepped up and told them to shove off. I'm not allowed to be rude, unfortunately. Or I'd gladly let them know what I think of them. Seriously, thanks for that. I was reaching my breaking point..."
The Glaceon offered an apologetic smile before flicking one of his ears like he'd heard something. "Yeah, I'm not surprised to be honest. Don't take this the wrong way, but a pretty thing like you? I'm hardly shocked. Especially when you're one of those, uh... "Alolan" Vulpix's, right? That's what they call 'em?" The Glaceon tilted his head slightly.
He was surprised when the girl quirked her eyebrow at him in surprise. "Well I'll be, not only polite, but also knowledgeable too? What a rare find we've got ourselves here, huh? Well, let me start being professional, you're here for a reason after all. Not that I'd mind standing around chatting with you. Others, sure. I'd get annoyed, but you actually seem to think about the person behind the desk, and not just her appearance."
With a short 'ahem', the Vulpix bowed to the young man. "Greetings, and welcome to the Sunrise Peaks Guild Hall. I'll be your clerk this afternoon, my name is Luminous Snowdrop, but I'd prefer if you called me Lumi. Repeating "Luminous Snowdrop" every time you wanted to talk to me would be both annoying, and impractical! May I have your name, region of origin, age and reason for coming here?"
"Will you stop squirming?!"
"I... beg your pardon, sir?" The icy vixen was baffled by his response, blinking in a confused way at the, now occupied, Glaceon.
"Oh for the love of Mew, just- HEY! Just sit still for a second, you can say "hello" too, just lemme-" The boy loosened his cloak slightly, and two brown ears poked out from behind his own. The Vulpix watched in bewilderment as a tiny Eevee popped out from just above the boys head as he rolled his eyes.
"Hi, hiya! Hello Miss Lumi! I'm Sunshine!" The Eevee squeaked eagerly, wiggling beneath the Glaceon's cloak as her eyes sparkled. "Wooooow... You're so pretty! I've never seen an Alolo- Alolao-"
"Alolan." The Glaceon interrupted the young Eevee's confused babbling.
"A-Alolan Vulpix before! Papa told me they were really rare to see back home, but he'd always said they were really pretty! Papa, don't you think she's pretty?" The Eevee giggled eagerly as she bounced up and down atop the boys head.
"Now, that's enough of that, Sweetpea. I think Miss Lumi's had plenty enough unfamiliar men calling her pretty all day to warrant me keeping quiet." The Glaceon offered another apologetic smile to the vixen. "I'm sorry about her, she's... really young and really just likes meeting new people. She means no harm, I assure you. Now, to answer your questions. My name is Kaguya, I'm from Azure Pines, up in the Hinterlands. I'm 22 years old, and the reason I came here was to make a new life for my daughter, Sunshine. We have... A lot of bad memories up north, and I want her to grow up happy and healthy, far away from all that stress."
The icy fox stared at the boy and the small kit atop his head, scribbling down everything he'd said upon the parchment before her. "...So let me get this straight. That's your daughter? She's yours? So where's the mother? Surely she's around here with you, right?" The Glaceon shook his head, smiling sadly.
"No, she's mine. But not by blood. I'm her adoptive father. Unfortunately, he biological parents abandoned her before she was even born. I found her sobbing in a hollowed out tree stump, soaked to the bone during a horrible storm that'd blown in 3 years ago. She was newly hatched, with small shards of her own egg still trapped in her fur when I found her. Sadly, she's never had a mother figure. Only me..."
"But Papa's the best! I love my Papa!" The Eevee cried out, wrapping her tiny paws around the older 'Eon's head in a hug. Causing the boy to gently nuzzle his daughters paw.
"And I love you too, my little ray." The Vulpix smiled. He was honest to a fault, it seemed. She could tell, he was worried about the repercussions of the idea of being a single father, and at such a young age too. 'The same age as me...' The Vulpix couldn't help but note to herself.
"I see... Well, we'll be able to set you up with accommodation quite easily, seeing as it's just the two of you. However, have you thought about what profession you'd like to pursue here? We're in need of more construction workers, researchers and-"
"Explorers, right?" The male tilted his head with a grin. "Heard it all in Azure Pines. I'd always fancied myself a bit of an explorer, to be honest. But there's a world of difference between walking through to pine groves back home and battling my way through a Mystery Dungeon here. I'm no slouch when it comes to battle, but... I'd still need help just to be sure. Is that an option?"
The Vulpix beamed brightly, how refreshing it was to see someone be honest with their doubts! She was used to them bragging about their skills in battle, and how they'd EASILY be able to manage a dungeon. Many of them went out cocky, and didn't come back. So to see somebody openly express their worries and ask for proper training and advice? The vixen hated to admit it, but she was really beginning to like this Glaceon.
"You have no idea how refreshing it is to see somebody express genuine interest in the training we provide out would-be explorers. We're used to hotshots turning down the training, and then flailing uselessly on the front lines in a dungeon somewhere. The lucky ones get hurt and come back complaining they're never going out there again. The unlucky ones don't come back at all." The Eevee atop the icy 'Eon's head shivered.
"Papa's not gonna be in danger out there, right? Papa's gonna be safe, right?" The icy vixen smiled up at the Eevee sweetly.
"Don't you worry about a thing, honey. Your father will be trained properly alongside his future teammates to be properly prepared for what awaits them. We've got some of our best exploration teams ready to serve as guides for the new generation, and I'm sure your father will be in good paws." The Glaceon flinched slightly at the mention of a team. Of course he'd need one, but...
The Vulpix reached behind the desk, pulling forth a key that she gently placed into the Glaceon's paw alongside a folder with a gentle squeeze. "You'll need that key to get into your new home, it's marked on the map provided for you. In that folder is all the documentation that marks you as one of us. Welcome to your new home, I look forward to seeing you around more often from now on. And I don't say that often~" The vixen winked playfully at the Glaceon, who awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, feeling slightly put on the spot.
"I'm sure we'll be seeing each other a lot, given I'll hopefully be working here in the future, right? Thank you for all your help, Miss Lumi. We really appreciate the time you've spent to help us get us set up. And, should you need to vent or something, I suppose you'd know where to find us?" The Glaceon offered an awkward shrug. He might not like being overly social, but it'd please his kit to have a friendly face around, he supposed.
"I may just take you up on that offer eventually, if you play your cards right~ for now though, I've got more people to see to. I guess we'll be seeing each other 'round?" The two ice types offered small waves to one another, before the Glaceon turned and left the building, handing the map to the Eevee on his head.
"Well I'll be... I guess there's still some interesting folks left to find out there, huh? And some polite one's too, who'd have thought?" The Vulpix grinned to herself before turning to the next new arrival, offering a polite bow and beginning the process all over again, albeit with renewed vigour.
