Chapter 8 - Good Days and Bad Days
"All right! Let's do this! You guys ready?"
The excited Riolu looked back to his two companions. To his right, his long-time friend and companion Terry, and to his left the older and larger Sparks.
"Ready!" Terry chirped.
"Toss 'er down!" Sparks proclaimed.
The three were standing in the middle of the park somewhere near the southeast of the city. The park encompassed land that had once been owned by the Pokémon who first founded the town way back in the day, but now it was city property that had been turned into a greenspace. There were information signs and plaques here and there that shared the history of this location with park-goers, but the main attraction was an old, traditional-style water well that was at the top of a small hill. While it was dry now, with the city installing a drain at the bottom so it wouldn't flood, the old stone foundation held strong around the cylindrical hole dug deep into the ground.
The well was where the three Pokémon were located, working together to rescue a Lillipup cub that had fallen down into it. There were fences and warning signs surrounding the well, but unfortunately the young Lillipup had simply been too curious and was now trapped at the bottom.
News of this incident had reached the guild only minutes into the morning briefing. Carmen had immediately assigned Terry and Rico to handle the rescue, and the two of them had requested the assistance of Sparks to help with the heavy lifting.
The Raichu watched as Rico tossed down a rope, which had been fastened into a loop that the Lillipup could climb into and easily tighten on his own. The two younger alumni had crafted the rope together, working quickly but making sure not to be careless. The well was too narrow to fit a ladder down, so the rope would have to do, but Sparks was impressed by the two's craftwork. Rico then fed the other end of the rope over the metal bar above the well which used to hold the well's bucket. Using it as a makeshift pulley, he then brought the rope over to his two companions.
Sparks picked up the end of the rope and started tying it around his waist. He would act as the anchor, due to him being the heaviest. "All right. Make sure he's tied in securely and let's get him out," he said.
Rico was back over at the well's edge. "You see what to do?" he called down, "Slide into the loop and pull it so it's tight around your waist!"
"Jason! Be careful, sweetie!" shouted a female Herdier, who was standing nearby with an extremely worried look.
"Miss Christine," Terry said to her, "I know you're worried about your son, but please make sure to stand back. We need space so we can make this work."
"Oh goodness…" Christine muttered, "I should have been watching him more closely…"
"Yup! You got it!" Rico called out. He had turned on his badge's light so he could see down into the well more clearly, "Nice and tight! Hold onto it with your paws and your teeth as well, just to make sure! We'll start pulling you up!"
Rico then turned off his badge, hopped back down, and ran over towards Terry. "Okay! We're ready!" he said, picking up the rope in his paws.
Sparks also picked up his end of the rope, holding it firm between himself and Rico. With the rope taut, Terry could stand up on his hind legs and grab the rope with his paws too. The trio took a few paces back until the entire rope was taut.
"Okay! Three…two…one…Pull!"
All three Pokémon tugged on the rope as hard as they could. After a moment of resistance, the rope started to move. The Lillpup had been lifted off of the bottom.
"Pull! Pull!" Rico continued to shout the command, and every time he did the trio would all pull on the rope some more. Slowly but surely, they worked their way backwards along the lawn, pulling more and more of the rope up out of the well.
Sparks held his ground, grunting softly with exertion as he gripped the rope tightly and kept his hind paws locked firmly on the ground. His job was to make sure the Lillipup wouldn't fall back down if the other two lost their grip.
Rico and Terry weren't slouching, though. It was definitely more of a struggle for them, but they were the ones doing most of the pulling while Sparks remained as the anchor. Rico kept shouting his command, and Terry growled with fierce determination as he and the Riolu pulled as hard as they could. It was like an epic battle of tug-o-war, and the opponent was gravity.
"Keep going…!" Rico grunted, "We're almost there!"
"You okay in there, Jason?" Terry called out.
"Y-yeah…!" a tiny voice echoed from within the well.
"Hold tight, Terry! We can do this!" Rico shouted.
"You too! Let's do this!"
"Keep it steady, Sparks!"
"It's under control," Sparks replied, "Just get him outta there."
Indeed, Sparks did his best impression of a heavy boulder, since it was pretty much his job to be one. The Riolu and Eevee continued to pull the rope up, inch by agonizing inch, and Sparks kept gathering the rope to keep it taut. The two smaller Pokémon poured all of their strength into their task, the sounds of exertion increasing in volume with every passing second.
"I see him!" Terry exclaimed, "He's up!"
Sparks looked up at the well and saw two small brown paws reaching up over the edge. "Don't stop! Keep going until he's all the way up."
"Jason!" Christine shouted.
"Stay back until he's out, Miss Christine!" Terry commanded.
"C'mon, little buddy!" Rico shouted to the Lillipup, "Just a bit more! Try to pull yourself up!"
The brutal tug-o-war continued for a few more tense seconds. Terry and Rico growled fiercely as they tried to pull the rope up its last few precious inches, while Jason's paws scrambled frantically to try and grab the edge.
"I…I got it…!" the Lillipup cried out as his paws finally found purchase. At long last, the poor cub's head was visible. His bottom half was still hanging over the edge, though, so he wasn't quite out of the woods yet. Rico and Terry kept pulling, Sparks kept holding strong, and Jason tried frantically to pull his hind legs up over the well's rim.
Then suddenly, without warning, the Lillipup was out. When he finally got one of his hind legs up and shifted his weight upwards, all tension in the rope vanished and the force of momentum reared its ugly head. Jason went tumbling over the edge, landing and rolling onto the grass, while the three guildmembers all ended up careening backwards. Sparks landed painfully on his rump, earning an irritated groan from the Raichu.
After wincing and sitting up straight, he saw that Christine had finally run over towards Jason and swept him up into a crushingly tight hug. She was crying tears of relief, finally reunited with her child.
Sparks then heard cheering, followed by laughter. He looked off to the side and found Terry and Rico on the ground nearby, lying in a heap on top of one another. It looked as if Rico had fallen right back into Terry and the two had careened back onto the grass. The two were jumbled together in a tangle of limbs, but they were laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
"We did it!" Terry cheered.
"That was awesome!" Rico exclaimed, "Woo-hoo!"
The two then tried to untangle themselves and sit up, but ended up falling down onto the lawn and laughing even harder. They looked like two cubs having the time of their lives. It was hard to believe they were both only 18 years old.
"Good work, you two," Sparks said as he stood up, "A successful mission."
"Yeah! We saved him!" Terry said, "Look at how happy they are!"
Everybody glanced over to see that the Herdier was still hugging and nuzzling her son. "I'm glad we could help them," Rico commented, "You did great, Terry! Great work!"
"Aw, I couldn't have done it without you! You're a lot stronger than I am! Without you in front, I wouldn't've even been able to pull it!"
"And that's why we make such a great team!" Rico chuckled, and after a pause he glanced up at the Pokémon that was standing nearby. "Er, I mean of course you did great too, Sparks. We definitely couldn't have done this without you! Thanks for coming along!"
Sparks laughed at their antics. "I could've been replaced with a big rock. I just happened to be easier to move out here."
"Woo…!" Terry said, letting out a breath of relief, "That was awesome, dude! I think that's my favourite mission we've done so far."
"Yeah…That was pretty great. And, even though the kid was in danger, it was kinda fun too!" Rico added, "Is that weird to say?"
"I know what you mean," Terry said, giving the Riolu a playful swat.
"Speaking of which," Sparks interjected, "You two should probably go make sure they're both all right." He gestured towards the mother and son, still hugging.
"Oh right!" Rico exclaimed. He and Terry then finally managed to untangle each other and get to their paws. They then quickly made their way over to Jason and Christine.
"Hey!" Terry greeted them, "Is everything all right? Jason, are you hurt at all?"
"Oh, goodness!" Christine babbled suddenly, once she was aware of the two's presence, "You wonderful Pokémon! I can't thank you enough for rescuing my little Jay. I was so scared. I was going to panic so hard, and…I-I-I don't even know what to say. Words can't express my gratitude…"
"Not to worry, miss," Rico said, "We're just happy to help! That's what we do!"
"Jason!" Christine said, "Jason, say 'thank you' to the wonderful rescuers…a-and promise all of us that you'll never do anything like that ever again!"
The young Lillipup looked up from within his mother's vice-like embrace. He looked shy and remorseful, a little shaken by the experience, but otherwise unharmed. "Th…Thank you," he said in a meek voice, "I-I'm really sorry…"
"Hey, buddy…" Terry said with a calming smile, "We're just glad you're okay, okay?"
"Again," Christine spoke up, "I cannot thank you enough. I was so worried, but…you got here so fast! The sun was barely up and I was told you were already on your way! The guild is so wonderful. Please tell your boss or whoever that I am so grateful for their hard work."
"Gosh, Miss," Terry said, "You're making us blush. Please! We're just happy to help."
"Here…Hold on for one moment," Christine said. She then finally released Jason from her grip, but only so that she could reach back for a small pink fashionable bag that was resting across her back. She used her paws to carefully open it, revealing that it was actually her purse. "Here," she said, pulling out a couple of banknotes, "Please, take this. It's a token of my gratitude. Your services are worth so much more, but I'm afraid this is all I can give you."
Christine then swiftly handed the banknotes over to the Riolu, who was slightly caught off-guard by the exchange, and then immediately turned her attention back to Jason. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you back home so we can get you cleaned up and fed. You must be starving, you poor baby!" Then, before anyone could say another word, she picked up Jason by the scruff of his neck, gracefully jumped over the fence, and was off.
"Well, that was abrupt," Sparks commented with a chuckle.
"She seemed really happy," Terry said, "I'm so glad we could help them both. Seeing her smile makes all the aches and pains worth it. Right, Rico?"
The Eevee elbowed Rico in the side, but the Riolu didn't respond. He was just sitting there, staring transfixed at the banknotes in his paws.
"Rico?" Terry spoke up in concern.
"She…" Rico murmured, "She gave us…fifteen hundred Poké…"
"What?!"
Terry proceeded to bully his way into Rico's personal space to get a better look at the wad of cash they had been given. Rico fanned out the hundred Poké bills for him to see and count, and soon Terry had that same blank expression of awe.
"Fifteen…hundred…!" Rico murmured in disbelief.
"That…Sh-she must've made a mistake," Terry said, "She gave you too much by accident…right?"
"I don't think so," Sparks spoke up, causing them both to look in his direction.
"What do you mean…?" Rico asked.
"That was your first rescue, wasn't it?" Sparks asked, "As in, your first time rescuing a live Pokémon who was in danger?" When they nodded he continued and said, "Well, rescues usually come with a large gratuity. Then, it was a cub, so that's usually a bit more, plus the client was a worried mother… Adds up to one very thankful, happy family."
Rico and Terry sat there for a moment just blinking. "But…" Rico eventually spoke up, "We can't…take this much from her…"
"Oh, trust me," Sparks said, "I can tell you from experience, trying to give any of that money back to her will be ten times as hard as getting her son out of that well. She was happy to give that to you for a job well done, and for rescuing her son."
Terry and Rico then turned to look at one another, and shared a moment of silence. Eventually, they finally started to smile in excitement. "Holy moly…!" Rico said, "Did we seriously, really just earn 1500 Poké from a job?"
"We did!" Terry exclaimed, "That's incredible!"
"I…I'm speechless!" Rico laughed, "I didn't even get a chance to thank her properly! This is insane!"
"I thought only the super-duper tough elite jobs that we're way unqualified for would pay this much!"
"Heh heh… Nice work, you two," Sparks said, "That's gonna make Carmen smile too."
"Wow!" Rico said, counting the bills once more just to be sure, "I mean, even after the guild takes its cut, that's still 250 Poké each!"
"…Wait, what?" Sparks said, tilting his head, "I think your math's off…"
"No," Rico replied, "Half of this is 750, and then split three ways that's 250 each."
"No, no, no, no," Sparks retorted, shaking his head, "That 750 is all yours. You two split it between yourselves."
"What?" Rico blurted out in disbelief, "Sparks, are you nuts?"
"Possibly. But no, those are your earnings. Keep 'em."
"Sparks, you were part of this mission too," Terry spoke up, "I mean, we couldn't have done it without you."
The Raichu simply shook his head again. "This was your mission. You two were assigned this mission, and you two were in charge of it. It was your idea to bring me along for extra help, but you two made all of the important decisions and got the job done."
"Sparks…" Rico said, starting to argue again.
"Rico…"
"Sparks, we can't…"
"Rico, you absolutely can. You two did a great job today. You earned that 750! I don't need any of it, it's fine."
A moment of silence fell upon the glade. Rico and Terry looked at one another, both looking like they were deep in thought. When Rico turned back to Sparks, he simply asked, "Are you sure?"
"Just take it, you boneheads!" Sparks said with a laugh.
"Wow… Thanks, Sparks," Rico said with a grateful smile. He then looked down at the wad of cash once more and his grin grew even wider. It wasn't a greedy grin, but one filled with pride. Sparks could see that it wasn't so much the amount of money he was receiving, but the satisfaction of a job well done.
"Terry…" Rico said, turning to the Eevee, "We just made 750 bucks!" Well, perhaps a little because of how much money they were receiving.
"That's awesome!" Terry cheered, "And the day's not even half over. We can go do another job!"
"Oh my gosh! You're right!"
"Good job, partner! Good job!" Terry then leaned in and engulfed Rico in a big hug, which the Riolu was quite happy to reciprocate. The two teammates started to laugh once again, happiness filling their voices.
Meanwhile, Sparks stretched his limbs and glanced off into the distance. Now that this job was done, he was left wondering what to do with the next few hours of his day. A few thoughts occurred to him, mostly concerning what kind of lunch he would like to eat.
Unfortunately, the answer was decided a moment later when his badge illuminated and a female's voice emitted from it. "Sparks?"
The Raichu tapped the badge and answered, "I'm here."
"Sparks, you gotta get back to the guild," said Lupe, the owner of the voice on the other end, "The quicker, the better."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's Ziggy."
"Oh…" Sparks said, his shoulders slumping a little.
"He's panicking. I think it's best if you come back for him."
"Yeah, absolutely. We're done out here, so I'll head right back. Tell Ziggy I'll be there in five to ten minutes."
"Got it. Thanks, Sparks."
"Don't mention it, Lupe," Sparks said, and then his badge dimmed. Once his conversation with the Vulpix was over, Sparks let out a huge sigh.
It had been at least two weeks since Sparks had first encountered the little muddy Buizel on the street. Ziggy had been staying with them in the guild since then, relatively calm and comfortable but ultimately running out the clock on his one-month limit. Sparks had been doing his best to rehabilitate the Buizel and get him on some kind of path towards a better life, but he was starting to think he was hitting a wall. The guild wasn't meant to act as a bomb shelter to protect Ziggy from the horrors of the outside world. As much as Sparks liked the little guy, both he and the guild itself had other matters to deal with.
The good news was that Ziggy was finally comfortable living within the guild's walls. For the most part, he was also on good terms with everybody on the active team and no longer got nervous in their presence. If Ziggy was sitting in the dorms or the common room, and his only company was members of the active team, then he could relax and not feel too stressed out. Ziggy still jumped a little when somebody entered a room, but if he saw that it was somebody he knew then he would calm right back down.
Unfortunately, that was the only major step forward Ziggy had taken. If Ziggy was asked to leave the building in any way, even just out onto the grounds or into the backyard, or to interact with anybody outside of the active team, then he regressed right back to the panicked, terrified Buizel that Sparks had first met back at the beginning. Even just asking Ziggy to leave the common room to travel to other parts within the Guild set him on the verge of panic.
Sparks had been trying to make any progress that he possibly could. It was not always the case that one month was enough time to fully help a client who needed to stay within the guild, and in those cases it would be determined if any other groups or businesses could help them further. Usually this resulted in assistance from the homeless shelters, once the Pokémon could get back onto steady paws and would be ready to start working their way out of the homeless shelter.
Under no circumstances did Sparks ever want to send Ziggy to a homeless shelter.
So, he had been trying somewhat desperately to find another avenue towards success. Perhaps Ziggy could reach a level of mental stability where he could find a nice, caring roommate to stay with temporarily. Maybe he could find some sort of work he would be comfortable doing. Or, if nothing else, Ziggy could perhaps be handed over to a mental health facility who could work with him and perhaps, hopefully, even house him.
The fact that Sparks was currently being called back to deal with a badly panicking Ziggy, however, was proof enough that things were not going well.
"Hi, Sparks," Lupe greeted as the Raichu stepped through the side entrance of the guild.
"Hello, Lupe. Thanks for calling me…"
"Not a problem. Glad you could come back."
Sparks walked into the common room. Looking around, he saw that the Vulpix was the only other occupant. "So… What happened?"
"I heard him crying in the bathroom," Lupe said with a vexed expression, "I went in and got him and then let him into his room. He's in there now."
"And the career counsellor?"
"She left."
Sparks sighed and shook his head. As part of his attempts to help Ziggy towards a better life, he had set up a meeting with a career counsellor. The idea was for her and Ziggy to discuss his likes and his skills to possibly suggest an avenue of employment that he would be comfortable doing. The meeting with the counsellor wasn't intended to find Ziggy a job, but simply a direction.
As the days had gone by, Sparks had tried to warm Ziggy up to the idea of interacting with others besides members of the guild. He was coexisting rather peacefully with most of the guild by this point, and so could clearly see that there did exist Pokémon in this world who didn't care about his fur colour. But with the deadline approaching, Sparks hoped that Ziggy could relax enough to make a rapport with someone like he had done with the Raichu himself.
Sparks had been there in the morning when the career counsellor had arrived. She was a very sweet and friendly Whimsicott, and Sparks had sat down with the two of them to help break the ice. Ziggy had been extremely nervous upon first meeting her, but he seemed at least somewhat calmed when Sparks took his leave to go help Rico and Terry. The Whimsicott had indeed stared at Ziggy for an extra second or two, but besides that had neither said nor done anything to indicate she had a problem with him being a shiny.
"I'll go talk to him, then…" Sparks said grimly.
"Sparks? Are you all right?"
Sparks groaned in frustration and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "No, Lupe. I'm not. I'm…very concerned about him, but at the same time, I'm a little irked that he can't even seem to take a little step forward. I like him, I really do, but it's like I'm raising a newborn cub here…"
Lupe frowned. "I can see he's trying, at least…"
"I know he is… and even though it's frustrating, I still do want to help him. It's just…I don't know if, logistically, I'll be able to."
"He is a bit of a full plate, yes…"
"Do not let him hear you say that."
"Of course, of course…"
Sparks sighed once more and gazed off blankly into the distance for a moment. "I…just don't know what to do. I hate that feeling. I feel…helpless. I feel like I can't do what I'm meant to do… There was a long time where I felt like that every day, and that's not a time in my life I want to go back to…"
"You won't, Sparks," Lupe said reassuringly, "You have already helped him a little bit. I'd hazard a guess that he hasn't felt this secure in a long, long time. He's got a place to live, even if it is just temporary, and you've shown him that not the entire world is out to get him."
"I guess…" Spark murmured, shaking his head, "I… I just wish I could see him smile…"
"Smile?"
"He's never smiled once since I met him. Never."
Lupe paused for a moment and then said, "I'm sure he will…Give it time."
Sparks could only shrug in response. After he collected his thoughts, he thanked Lupe again for calling him in, and then made his way over to the dorms. Before long, he was standing outside of the door to Ziggy's temporary room. With each passing day, Sparks was reminded more and more of just how 'temporary' it was. He had a feeling the Buizel felt the same way.
"Ziggy?" he called out, giving the door a few gentle knocks.
"S…Sparks…?"
"Can I come in, buddy?"
"Uh huh…"
Sparks held his badge up to the door and it unlocked. He opened it gingerly, peeking into the room to find Ziggy sitting on the edge of his bed. The Buizel wore a thousand-yard stare. He didn't look up as Sparks entered the room. At the very least, it didn't seem like he had been crying.
"What happened, Zig?" Sparks said as he made his way over to the bed, sitting down on it next to the Buizel.
"I'm sorry…"
"You don't need to apologize. I just want to know what happened."
"She kept looking at me weird…"
Sparks skewed his lips as he gave the Buizel a slightly exasperated look. "Weird how?"
"Weird like everybody looks at me…"
"Mm…" Sparks let out a heavy sigh.
"She was nice when you were there with us, but…I don't think she liked me very much."
Sparks closed his eyes and took a few slow breaths. He had a feeling that what Ziggy was describing was only something that happened within the Buizel's troubled mind, but he chose not to say anything.
"As soon as you left, I…I just…" Ziggy stammered.
"Started to panic?" Sparks finished.
"Y-yeah… She asked questions and… I couldn't answer them. I couldn't think. She just kept looking at me, and I knew what she was thinking, and sometimes she would give me a weird look when I answered and…"
"I see…"
"I got so worried I was…gonna say the wrong thing…or get in trouble, or I don't know…! I just couldn't do it, and I know she just thought I was some freak, and…"
Sparks sighed once more. "Ziggy, she was a very nice Whimsicott. She works with troubled youths all the time. She just…That wouldn't happen, Ziggy."
"I think she got frustrated too…"
"…Frustrated?"
"With my answers. Like she didn't know what to do with me…"
The Raichu paused. That sounded a little less like hyperbole, especially if Ziggy hadn't been thinking straight at the time.
"I hated that so much…" Ziggy whimpered.
"Tell me the truth," Sparks said, "Did it make you uncomfortable because she was somebody from outside of the guild. From 'the outside world'?"
Ziggy finally turned and looked at him, sporting a vulnerable, cub-like frown. "Y-yeah…"
"And you don't want anything to do with the outside world. You're happy and safe in here, in a place you can finally say you feel happy and safe in after all this time."
"Yeah…" Ziggy glanced down ashamedly.
"Aw, buddy…" Sparks reached over and patted Ziggy on his shoulder. He could feel his earlier frustration starting to simmer away. "I wish I could let you stay here. That's the honest truth. I think it would be the best thing for you, but it's just not something we can do…"
"I know…" Ziggy bemoaned.
"Then we could do things differently, work really slowly but surely… You're a lot less nervous than when you first showed up here, you know. I really hoped that me finding some really nice, sweet Pokémon to come in and meet with you would be okay. I picked out these Pokémon specifically because of how kind they were. But every time…something happens and you end up panicking."
"Mm…"
"Just because you think she's looking at you weird?"
"Well, y-yeah…" Ziggy muttered, but then looked up at Sparks again with a more serious expression. "But then…th-then this other Pokémon came into the room! And…a-and…"
"Hm? 'Other Pokémon'?"
"Yeah… It was just me and the worker, alone in the common room talking about stuff…and this big huge Fearow came into the room, and he was so big and scary… He looked lost or something, but then he came right over to us and said he had a package for 'Raz'. The worker said she didn't work here, so the Fearow turned to me. 'Where's Raz? Where can I find Raz? You know who Raz is, right?' I was so scared I could barely say anything, but he asked if I worked here, and I said I don't work here but right now I live here…
"I shouldn't've said that… He said if I live here, I must know who Raz is. Somebody sitting in this room must know who Raz is, because he works here, in this part of the building. That's what he was told. I had no idea what he was talking about, and he just got angrier and started yelling. The Whimsicott eventually made him go away, but… I just… I didn't know what to…"
Ziggy trailed off into quiet whimpering, looking like he was on the verge of tears once again. Sparks looked down at him with a crestfallen expression.
"Buddy…" he said, causing Ziggy to look up at him, "I'm Raz."
Ziggy blinked. "…Wha?"
"Raz is me," Sparks repeated, "That's my real name; Raz. Sparks is just a nickname."
"…Oh…"
Sparks frowned. "Have I seriously never told you that? Good grief, we've known each other for weeks and I never brought it up. Oh, Zig, I'm sorry. Everybody just calls me Sparks so I don't even think about it anymore…"
"It's okay…" Ziggy mumbled glumly, "It's not your fault…"
"It is, Ziggy. Telling someone your name is an important part of building a relationship, and I messed that up."
"Well, I don't even have a name…"
"Oh," Sparks said dismissively, "Ziggy's your name. It might not be whatever your legal name was, but for all intents and purposes that's your name. It's what you go by, and it's how you're identified. I still use 'Raz' from time to time, especially when I'm dealing with more important matters, so…"
"Whatever…"
An uncomfortable silence is what followed that conversation. The room was quiet for a few minutes as Ziggy moped and Sparks tried to figure out what to say next. He was starting to wonder if bringing Ziggy to the Society was the right move in the first place. Perhaps, after getting Ziggy off the street, Sparks should have handed him over to another organization immediately, one that didn't have a definitive stay limit.
As the Raichu glanced over at Ziggy, though, he decided that he had indeed made the right choice. Through the unusual circumstances of how they met one another, Ziggy had truly come to trust him. The fact that Sparks could sit this close to him, in the room where he felt the safest, and have him be completely content and comfortable spoke volumes. If Ziggy's care had been put in the paws of somebody else, things might not have gone so well.
However, that didn't make Sparks' task any easier.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Sparks asked him.
"Huh…? M-me?"
"I want to know what you want, Ziggy. We can give you all the help in the world, but it's only gonna matter if it's something you want. Do you want to find a job? Get a home? Get help for your anxiety? Move somewhere quieter?"
Ziggy fidgeted uncomfortably and said, "I, uh…I don't know…"
"Maybe the best thing for you is to just get you out of this city. It's just not the best place for you right now…"
"N-no."
Sparks glanced down at him. "No?"
"No, I…I want to stay here."
Sighing, Sparks said, "I know you want to live in here, but I'm afraid it's just not something you can do."
"No, no," Ziggy interrupted, "I mean…I want to stay here. In the city…"
"In Radiant City…?" Sparks blinked in confusion. "Uh…Why, exactly?"
"Because I…" Ziggy trailed off for a moment, fidgeting even more. He stammered for a bit before finally giving an answer. "I…don't want to leave all of you… If I go to another city, then…I'll never see any of you again…"
"Us…? You mean, us at the guild?"
"Mhm…I don't…want to go stay somewhere else in the city, but if I did…at least I'd still be able to see you…"
Sparks was silent for a moment. "Oh…I see," he said, processing this information.
"You're all really nice to me…" Ziggy said sadly, "and…some of you are…friends."
The Raichu glanced away, feeling his heart begin to crack. Damn it, that was such a sweet thing to say, but it only reaffirmed Sparks' belief that here in the guild was the best place for him to stay in the long term. He couldn't send Ziggy away from the first friends he'd probably made in his whole life. It had been such a struggle to earn Ziggy's trust for the whole active team, and now that it was here this was the perfect environment to finally, truly help the poor Buizel.
Except, a couple weeks wasn't enough time.
"Y'know, Zig?" he spoke up, "I'll be honest. I don't wanna lose you as a friend either. Your story breaks my heart, Ziggy, and I want to help so badly…It hurts that I…don't know if I'll be able to."
Ziggy frowned. "I…know you're trying."
"I know you are too."
"I'm just too much of a mess…"
Sparks sighed again. "You're not a 'mess', Ziggy. You have some really bad social anxiety and have a hard time meeting strangers. That's not a problem specifically for shiny Pokémon."
"It isn't…?"
"Oh no, of course not. There's lots of Pokémon out there who get worried or even panic if they have to talk to a stranger. It's just a thing that some Pokémon really, really dislike, or it scares them. That's a thing we can help you with, in one way or another…It's just unfortunate that most of the ways we can help you require us to involve strangers…"
"Mmm…" Ziggy whined softly. It was clear from his body language alone that Ziggy was agreeing wholeheartedly. He did not want to spend the day with any more 'workers' or the like.
"But, it's not all bad," Sparks commented, "You and Kona have spent quite a bit of time together…"
"Yeah…"
For the last week or so, Ziggy had been spending a lot of his evenings with Kona, either in the Dewott's room or on one of the couches in the common room. As far as Sparks was aware, they didn't do much more than talk with one another, but Ziggy seemed comfortable around Kona for sure.
"Maybe Kona can help you work on some stuff, like meeting with workers. The only problem is that he's busy during the day doing jobs… Do you think the meeting with the Whimsicott might have gone better if Kona had been there?"
"Um… I dunno, maybe…?"
"And you've been eating dinner with us in the common room every day. That's something you probably never considered yourself doing before, right? Now you can sit and eat with a fairly large group and even make small talk sometimes."
"Mhm…"
"Ziggy, you have the skills to improve yourself. I know it's really hard, but it is something you can do. It's just that us here in the guild, we're the easy challenge. You can do the same with others out there, in the big wide world, but it just might be a little harder…"
Ziggy didn't have a response for that. He wore a neutral expression, neither seeming to agree nor disagree with Sparks' statements.
Silence fell upon the room again as the two Pokémon simply sat for a while without saying anything. Sparks glanced around at the noticeably empty room. It had been furnished with essentials for Ziggy's stay, with a bed, a dresser, a mirror, a desk and some throw pillows for sitting on the floor. Compared to every other room in the dorms, though, it was threadbare.
Eventually, Sparks started to feel his stomach rumbling. It was getting close to lunchtime. He decided it was time to go out and grab a bite to eat, so he spent a few minutes asking Ziggy what he wanted for lunch. When the matter of food had been decided, Sparks got up off the bed, intending to say goodbye and depart from the room.
He found himself paused on the spot, though. A few thoughts ran through his head, and he glanced back at Ziggy for a moment. He considered everything that had been said during this little get together, and thought about what was in store for the both of them in the future.
Eventually, though, he came to a firm decision. "Hey, Ziggy?"
The Buizel glanced up at him questioningly.
"Listen, buddy. I'm going to see if I can extend your stay here," he said with a somewhat determined expression, "I truly do believe that is the best thing for you right now. I'll talk with Carmen and see what we can do, but… I just have to tell you, Ziggy, that I can't promise anything. I'll do my best, but…y'know, it's not something that normally happens."
Despite Sparks' disclaimer, Ziggy looked hesitantly hopeful upon hearing this. "R-really…? You will?"
"All I can do is try…"
"…Thank you, Sparks," Ziggy said demurely.
Sparks nodded and flashed the Buizel a quick smile. "All right. I'll go get us some food, and then we can see what the rest of the day has in store for us, okay?"
"Okay."
"We'll figure it out, Zig. We'll figure it out…"
Ziggy stood in his temporary room, facing the door that led to the hallway outside.
He'd been standing there for 15 minutes.
There were a thousand uncomfortable feelings crawling inside of him, making his stomach turn and his pulse quicken. Warning bells ringing in his head, though that was nothing new. Warning bells were always ringing in his head. Every instinct in his body was telling him to turn around, crawl under the covers, and hide.
Why, though? Even he couldn't answer that question completely. All he intended to do was go out and sit in the common room.
Sparks had errands to run after lunch and wouldn't be back until an hour after dinner. The Raichu had briefly talked to Carmen about the length of his stay, but Carmen was a very busy Braixen and could only say at the moment that she would give it some thought. A more definitive answer wouldn't come until later. As it stood, nothing much was happening.
Ziggy groaned softly, frustrated with himself. He knew that, from the outside looking in, it looked like he wasn't putting in any effort to anything and was just running away from all of his problems. The truth was that Ziggy really was trying. He didn't want to live his life like this anymore. He wanted things to change. As Sparks was gone and hadn't left anything for him to do, Ziggy had the initiative to try and push himself to do something outside of his comfort zone.
It was just so terrifying, though.
He just planned to go out, walk into the common room, and sit quietly at the table. There were likely to be one or two Pokémon in there for one reason or another. It was the weekend, and many of the active team took either Saturdays or Sundays off. The occupants of that room were likely to be any of 13 particular Pokémon he had met, all of whom were friendly to him and didn't hate him.
But what if that wasn't the case? What if one of them was in there working with another Pokémon on something. A client? The last time Ziggy had encountered a client within that room, it had gone horribly. There were other Pokémon working in this building too. What if someone was out there he hadn't met? What if, for some reason, there was a stranger out there? Another mean, angry Clefable who wanted to punch his lights out?
Ziggy groaned and tapped his head with his paw, frustrated with himself. That's what always happened. His mind started asking a thousand questions and went off the rails within seconds. It took very little time before he immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario. Why did his stupid brain have to be like that? Ziggy knew that he had been through many hardships, most of which at the paws of other Pokémon, and there was no denying that, but he also knew that not every experience had to be bad. His time here with Sparks and his friends had shown him that. So, why was he so terrified of such a simple little task as opening the dang door and walking out into the big room?
As the Buizel reached out a paw to try opening the door again, Ziggy glanced down and looked at his paw. The smooth coat of garishly bright golden fur stood out to his eye. The answer was right there before him. Justification was in plain view.
"Why…?" Ziggy whispered, feeling a surge of depression in the pit of his stomach, "Why did you have to be gold…?"
The urge to turn around and crawl back into bed returned, stronger than ever, and Ziggy just stood there feeling his will to fight the urge diminishing. Heavy storm clouds hovered over his head for a couple of minutes, leaving Ziggy to just stand there alone with his thoughts. Things were harder when Sparks wasn't around. Ziggy wasn't afraid to admit that he missed the Raichu already and wished he were here right now.
Finally, as Ziggy thought about Sparks and his unbelievably friendly personality, he managed to work some of his courage back up. Sparks was always encouraging him, always helping him, even when he wasn't making any progress. Sparks would want him to go and sit in the common room.
With a deep, shuddering breath, Ziggy stepped forward and pushed the door open. He was going to do this. This was a simple, easy task that anybody could do. All he had to do was do it. If things went wrong, he could run back to his room; it wasn't too far away.
Ziggy peeked out into the dorm hallway. He could already feel the eyes of imaginary shiny-haters hiding in the shadows, but nobody was actually in the hallway. He nervously stepped out, took a breath to calm himself, and then walked towards the nearby door to the common room. Ziggy knew that if he hesitated at that door, he would just go through everything he'd gone through with his room's door moments ago. So, without stopping, he opened the door and stepped through.
The room was quiet. It was quite empty and calm. Nobody was tossing buckets of orange paint at him or anything. It was just him standing there in front of the doorway, feeling awkward and out of place but unharmed, and the room's two occupants. Over at the dining table, sitting across from one another, were Rico and Jules.
The Sylveon, who had been facing away from him upon his entry, turned his head over his shoulder to regard the newcomer. Rico tilted his head so he could see past Jules' head and also looked over at Ziggy.
"H-" Ziggy started to say, but his voice caught in his throat and he coughed. He cleared his throat and then murmured, "Hi…"
Rico smiled and gave him a quick wave. "Hi!"
"What's up, Buizel boy?" Jules said with a grin.
Ziggy gulped. "Umm…" He fidgeted on the spot for a moment, feeling slightly caught off guard by Jules' nickname. "Can I…Uh…Can I sit…? …Down?"
Rico and Jules exchanged a confused look for a moment. "Sit down…here?" Rico asked, pointing to the dining table.
"Yeah…I guess… I mean, if it's…if I can, or…"
"Sure, you can sit with us," Rico said, cutting off Ziggy's rambling, "We were just shootin' the breeze."
"That's one way of putting it," Jules said with a snicker.
Ziggy felt a sense of relief and then made his way over to the table. Jules and Rico were sitting across from one another, So Ziggy didn't know which one he was supposed to sit next to. He stewed over it for a moment before deciding to just sit next to the Pokémon he was nearest to. That happened to be Jules.
"Buoy, oh buoy! Look who it is," Jules said, turning to face him.
"What…?" Ziggy murmured, experiencing a brief spike of panic as he wondered if he had done something wrong. Was he not supposed to sit next to Jules?
"I said… I said 'buoy', y'know?" the Sylveon said, "Like…buoy. It's a joke."
"A… joke?" Ziggy said, feeling his heartrate go back down.
"Yeah, 'cus like… Ah, never mind."
"Oh…Okay…"
"Don't listen to him," Rico said dismissively from across the table, "He's been a smartass all morning."
"Well, at least the best part of me is the smart part!" Jules said with a grin.
"Mmhm…" Rico replied in an unimpressed tone.
"Feh…I dunno why I waste my best material on you guys," Jules chuckled.
"You don't have material. You just say whatever dumb crap goes in your head," Rico replied with a mocking grin.
Ziggy was nervously glancing between the two. "Are…A-are you two fighting…?" he whispered.
"Are we?" Jules said, "I'm probably winning then."
"Shut up, Jules," Rico interrupted, and then addressed Ziggy. "No, we're just messin' with each other. We're friends so, y'know, we poke fun."
"Oh…"
Rico gave the Sylveon one more wry look and then cleared his throat. "So, uh, how're you?" he asked Ziggy, "Doin' okay?"
"I, uh…I guess. I dunno…"
"Ah, well I guess that's good news," Rico said with a nod, "I heard about what happened with that idiot delivery Pokémon. Sorry that had to happen…"
Ziggy rubbed his shoulder and glanced away. "Y-yeah…"
"I still can't believe nobody brought up Sparks' real name… That nickname has stuck to us like glue."
"'Cus he don't got the 'Razzle dazzle' no more," Jules quipped.
"Pfff… He's got more 'razzle dazzle' than you. What did you even do today? You delivered one package across town, came back for lunch and called it a day?"
"Hey, that package was heavy!" Jules replied indignantly, "And I got another job lined up for tonight. I'm gonna have to skip dinner with all of you, so y'know I'll probably starve."
Rico snickered and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise we wouldn't keep you around."
"'Cute'?!" Jules exclaimed, "Buddy, buy a thesaurus and pick any other word. I'm handsome as f-"
"Fine, fine," Rico said, holding up his paws defensively, "You're a drop-dead handsome devil and any Pokémon would be lucky to have you. That stroke your ego enough?"
"Possibly…" Jules replied in a fake haughty tone.
"It is possible to have a normal conversation with you?"
Now it was Jules' turn to roll his eyes. "Ahh, you're a lot of fun," he said to Rico with a chuckle. He then turned to Ziggy and said, "Quit eyein' me, buddy. I don't swing that way, sorry to say."
Ziggy had been watching the two Pokémon's back and forth with a mystified expression, but jumped suddenly when he was addressed. "Huh? Wh-what?" he blurted out, "I- What did I do…?!"
Jules held up a paw and laughed. "I'm joking, dude. Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."
"Ziggy," Rico spoke up, "It's pretty safe to assume that anything Jules says is a joke."
The Buizel gave them both a curious look. "What does…? What do you mean, 'swing'…?" he murmured quietly.
"I'm just teasin', buddy. Relax," Jules said.
Ziggy frowned. He found that a lot of Pokémon lately were telling him to 'relax'. It was such an easy thing for them to say, as if it were an easy thing for him to do.
After a moment of rather awkward silence, Jules started to stand up. "All right. Well, I'll get out of you guys' fur. I got stuff to do before my job later tonight that I'm doing and not being lazy," he said, putting emphasis on the last part while looking at Rico.
"Yeah, yeah," Rico said dismissively.
"Talk to ya later, punk," he said to Rico with a snicker. He then turned to Ziggy and said, "You too, bud. See ya around." And, with that, the Sylveon promptly turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him as he went.
"Oof," Rico said, "He can be a bit much, I know. He really is nice, though. He's a good friend and a great ally."
"Mm…" Ziggy said, having no strong feelings one way or another.
"He's just a smartass. Nine times out of ten if he says something mean or angry, he's not being real."
Ziggy nodded absentmindedly, and then turned to face Rico completely, who had sidled along his side of the table so that he was now directly across from him. "So," Rico spoke up, "Sparks isn't here today, huh?"
"No," Ziggy replied, "He said he'd come back at dinnertime…"
"Gotta admit, it's kinda weird seein' you without him. Haha…"
Ziggy bit his lip and didn't reply.
"Uh… Is this something he asked you to do? Come out of your room by yourself?"
"No," Ziggy shook his head, "I…Well, I just thought… I thought it would help…?"
"Ah," Rico said in understanding, "Well, sure, every little step counts. I betcha Sparks has fed you that line like a thousand times, but it's true." He then leaned on his wrist and gazed off to the side. "Yeah, it's a bit weird for me too. Terry took a job that he had to do by himself today. Me an' him hardly ever do missions without each other. I just did a bit of helping out sorting at the library, then I'm gonna train a bit with Angelo later."
"Who's Angelo…?"
"He's the guild's combat instructor. He's a Mienshao and he trains all guild members in basic combat. You have to pass his course within a year of joining the guild."
Ziggy's eyes opened wide. "C-combat…?" he whimpered, "You mean like…fighting?"
"Uh, sort of. Not really. It's more about self-defence really. The Rescue Society does all kinds of work, and some of it can be a bit dangerous, so the guild wants its members to be able to at least handle themselves in a fight just in case one breaks out. Angelo teaches us how to disable an opponent without hurting them."
"Oh…" Ziggy said, relaxing a little, "Oh, okay…"
"We don't go out there looking for fights," Rico said with a laugh.
"Yeah. I understand."
"I'm getting a jump on my training, but Terry's been putting it off. He doesn't really like conflict, so I get it, but he's gotta do it soon."
Ziggy nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "Terry seems…really nice."
"Oh, he's the sweetest," Rico replied with a jovial chuckle, "Always tries his best to put a smile on everybody's faces. And he's always been really super helpful."
"You said you knew him a long time, right?"
"We went to school together! Way back when we were cubs, we were in the same class in elementary school. We became friends after that and kept in touch through school. We both finished school at the same time, and joined the guild at the same time. We've been a team a lot longer than we've been a 'guild team'."
Ziggy cast his gaze downward a little and said, "That sounds nice…"
"Yeah! We've…Oh…" Rico paused and then continued in a more subdued voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad…"
"It's fine…"
"Hey, it's not like it's too late for you to make lifelong friends. You and Kona seem to be getting along, not to mention you and Sparks."
"Mhm…"
The sound of a door opening then caught both Pokémon's attention. Ziggy and Rico both turned to look at the doorway to the main hall, where someone had just entered the room. "Hey! There he is!" Rico proclaimed, "Terry!"
The Eevee had looked absentminded as he entered the room, but both of his ears perked up as soon as he heard his partner's voice. "Hey, Rico!" he said with a grin as he started to dash around to the other side of the table where Rico was sitting. Rico stood up from his seat as Terry approached and the two shared a quick hug.
"You're back already?" Rico asked.
"Yeah! It went a lot faster than we thought. What're you still doing here? Did you just finish lunch?"
Rico laughed. "I was performing the important job known as 'pestering Jules'."
Terry also laughed in response and the two shared a good chuckle.
"I know it sounds silly," Terry said as the two took a seat next to one another, still opposite to Ziggy, "but I missed you. It's not the same if the team's not together!"
"Ah, I know what you mean," Rico replied, "Feels a bit weird, huh?"
Terry nodded, and then turned to the Buizel. "Hey, Ziggy. How're you feeling?"
"Hi Terry…" Ziggy answered, "I'm…okay, I guess."
"Well that's good. I'm glad to hear that."
"I was just telling Ziggy about how we were in school together," Rico commented.
"Oh, yeah. I was such a tiny little cub, so shy and afraid of all these bigger cubs. That very first day of school was terrifying, but Rico happened to sit next to me and he was really nice."
"I remember, just before high school was when we both decided we wanted to join the guild. And we were both bummed out that we would have to finish school first, haha!"
"Gosh… We could fill books with the nonsense we got up to while we were in school," Terry said.
"Automatic bestsellers right there!"
The two laughed, and then there was a moment of quiet as they reflected upon their nostalgia. Then, Terry glanced over at Ziggy and spoke up. "Um…I guess you…never went to school?"
"Just a li'l bit when I was so young I can barely remember," Ziggy commented emotionlessly.
"Well," Rico said, "I think you're pretty smart considering those circumstances. You've gotta have a pretty good brain in that head."
Ziggy just gave Rico an odd look.
"I agree," Terry said, "I think you're bright. If you went back to school, I think you'd do all right."
The Buizel shuddered just a little, thoughts of being in school filling his mind. He had no frame of reference, but he at least knew that school involved being in groups of other students, with tens of them filling rooms. All of them, turning around in their desks, to stare at the weird cub with the weird fur.
Ziggy just barely picked up on the sound of Terry whispering, "What did I say…?"
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Can we…talk about something else?"
"Sorry…" Terry said with a frown.
"It's okay," Ziggy replied, followed by an awkward silence.
"Oh!" Terry then piped up suddenly. He turned to Rico and batted him on the arm to get his attention. "I picked up a newspaper on the way and saw something weird in it!"
"Ow…" Rico said in mock pain.
Terry snickered, and glanced over his shoulder. He then frowned for a moment, glanced around the room, and said, "Oh, shoot. I dropped my bag at the door."
Rico and Ziggy both followed the Eevee's gaze and saw a small, blue-coloured satchel laying abandoned on the ground right next to the door. It must have slipped off when he had first come in.
Ziggy glanced back at the other two for a moment, then back to the satchel, and once again back to the other two. "Uh…" he said, "I can get it."
"Huh?" Terry replied.
"I'm closer. I'll just go get it…" Ziggy said. He was referring to the fact that his side of the table faced towards the door, so he was the only Pokémon of the trio who wouldn't have to walk around the table to get to the satchel.
"Oh! Uh, okay. Thanks!"
Ziggy nodded and then stood up. For some reason, he got a brief wave of uncomfortableness. His fear of being seen by others briefly reared its head again, but it only lasted for a moment and Ziggy managed to shake it off. He glanced around to simply confirm to himself that the rest of the room was indeed empty, and then walked over to the door. It was a short trip to retrieve the satchel, and before long he had returned it to the table.
Terry reached over and took it. "Thanks, Ziggy!"
"It's okay…"
The Eevee nodded, and then opened his satchel. He fished out a rolled-up newspaper with his paw and unfurled it. "Here! Look at this weird article," he said to Rico.
"What?"
"This guy saw something weird over at Diamond Heights. We were just there like a week ago, weren't we?"
"Yeah, we were. When was this?"
"Yesterday, apparently. I dunno, he kinda sounds like a crazy old guy, but…"
The two continued to converse with each other about the newspaper article. It wasn't long before Ziggy couldn't follow what they were talking about, so he just remained silent and left them to their discussion. Instead, he took a moment to reflect on how he was feeling, and he realized something.
This was nice.
It was a very strange thing to admit to himself, but this was actually quite nice. He felt comfortable, or at least placated, sitting here with these two close friends and just spending time with them. For once, things felt calm. Things felt safe and relaxing and…normal.
Was this what life was like for normal Pokémon? Pokémon who weren't fr-
…Who weren't shiny?
"This Inteleon guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about," Rico commented.
"I don't think I've ever actually met an Inteleon before…" Terry said.
"Y'know…I don't think I have either. They're kinda rare, aren't they?"
"I guess… Hey Ziggy, you ever see an Inteleon?"
The Buizel took a moment before he realized he was being addressed. "Hu-wha? An Inteleon …? Ummm…" He thought about the question, but eventually shook his head. "Maybe one was in a crowd once, but that all just blurs together…"
A moment later, the door to the common room opened up once again, causing everybody to look in the door's direction. Lupe was coming through the doorway, struggling as she went. In addition to the satchel slung over her back, she was carrying a rather thick book in her mouth and carefully holding a roll of parchment with one of her six tails. She was forced to shove the door open with her shoulder.
"Whoa! Hey there, Lupe," Rico greeted her, "You all right, there?"
The Vulpix just grunted with exertion, the poor quadruped unable to do much in response while still holding all three of her items.
"Uh…" Ziggy spoke up, "D-d'you need help?"
"Rrnn?" Lupe replied with a questioning look.
Ziggy had already stood up. "That looks really hard… I, uh…I can hold the book for you. I-if you want, I mean…"
"Wrrhnrrg?"
Unable to understand her response, Ziggy simply walked over to her. He felt a bit of anxiousness, wondering if he was doing something wrong or offending her in some way by offering to help. She didn't offer any sort of negative response, though, so he eventually reached out and took hold of the book.
Lupe spat it out into his grip immediately. "Thanks, Ziggy," she said, "That sucker's heavy…"
"Uh…Y-yeah, no problem…" Ziggy stood there for a moment, awkwardly holding the book and now realizing that he didn't know what to do with himself.
"What is all of that?" Rico called to her.
"Helping out Olena with a bit of research. Copying down some notes from this library book for her. She neglected to mention it was a book with like a zillion chapters, though…"
"Oof…"
"Uhhh, so…" Ziggy spoke up in a soft, unsure voice, "Where, uh…Are you going to…your room with this, or…?"
Lupe looked up at him. "Um… I was going to, but I suppose I can sit here and do it. A little bit of company couldn't hurt."
"Sure!" Rico called over, "We're just hangin' out here. Feel free to join us!"
"Yeah!" Terry concurred.
Lupe nodded, and then looked at Ziggy and flashed him a thankful smile. She then made her way over to the table. Ziggy followed after her a moment later, carrying her book.
Once Lupe was settled at the table, she gave Ziggy the same pleasantries by asking him how he was doing and commenting on how nice it was to see him out of his room. Rico then showed her the newspaper article that Terry had brought in, which captured her interest for a short while.
Lupe then started to get to work while Rico and Terry started talking about something else. The conversation moved from topic to topic. Ziggy for the most part just sat there and listened, but he was interested in what the two had to say. Every now and then, he would dip his paw into the conversation briefly when he had something to say, or something was asked of him. Lupe would chime in from time to time as well.
As time slipped on by, Ziggy slowly found himself feeling less and less uncomfortable.
Sparks practically burst through the door, panting and out of breath. The long table, fully populated with guild members eating their dinner, all paused their conversation to glance over at him. When they saw who it was, many of them offered a friendly greeting.
"Glad you could join us, Sparks," Carmen said cheekily.
"Ah… Sorry… Sorry I'm late," he panted, "I got caught up in something… Lost track of time…"
It was late in the evening, and all the members of the active team had already gathered in the common room to eat dinner. It was a gathering Sparks was usually a part of, mostly because it hurt his soul if he had to pass up a delicious Liz-cooked meal. When he had glanced at the clock in the library and saw how late it had gotten, he had run back to the Society as quickly as he could. His legs were aching and now he was hungrier than ever, and he had still arrived almost 20 minutes late.
Sparks quickly made his way into the room. The truth was that being late to Liz's delicious meal wasn't the main reason he was so worried about his tardiness. It wasn't his dinnertime he was concerned about, but rather somebody else's.
When Sparks had first seen the time, he realized that 12 hungry Pokémon had already gathered in the common room to eat, but one would be missing. Ziggy had been spending most dinnertimes lately at the table with the rest of the crew, but only because Sparks was there with him. On those few nights where his stress was just too high, Sparks had to bring dinner back to his room for him.
Now, Sparks was worried he was letting Ziggy go hungry and keeping him from his dinner. He had left the Buizel alone in his room for the day, with a container of food for lunch, but Sparks hadn't planned to have been gone for so long.
"Aw, man…" Sparks groaned as he entered the room and started to cross to the other side, "I'll be with you guys in a minute. I just gotta go get…"
Sparks trailed off and slowly came to a stop as he noticed a certain Pokémon sitting at the table. Seated amongst the rest of the team, across from Rico and Terry and in between Lupe and Kona, was Ziggy. He had a half-eaten buttered bun in one paw and was looking over towards Sparks.
"…Oh! Hey buddy," Sparks said, caught off guard.
Ziggy Mareepishly raised a paw to wave at him and said, "Hey…"
"I didn't…expect to see you here," Sparks commented, "When did you come out of your room?"
"Uhh…" Ziggy replied with a genuinely unsure look, and then turned to give Rico a questioning expression.
Rico swallowed what was in his mouth and then answered for the Buizel. "A couple hours ago," he said, "Ziggy's been hanging out and chatting with us."
"…Really?" Sparks murmured.
Ziggy turned back to look at Sparks and was silent for a moment, then gave him a quick little half-grin.
A few seconds later, Sparks was smiling and walking over to give Ziggy a pat on the back. "Well, that's great! That's great, buddy. Good job!"
Ziggy just blushed bashfully and tried to deflect the attention by going back to eating his bun, but Sparks could see just a hint of pride sparkling in the Buizel's eyes. Sparks couldn't lie and say there wasn't a spark of pride in his own eyes as well.
"Good job."
