Finally! After suffering many hardships, I achieved my life goal! No one should struggle as much as I did to make their dreams come true! My flat is up and running, ready to handle the burliest of baddies! The mightiest of muscles! The —
"Baron!!"
The ramblings of Baron the Mr. Rime always seem to go on forever. But who can blame him? This veteran adventurer has the feats to back up the mightiest of claims!
Ahh, I can hear the crowds of adoring adventurers now! I'm chuffed to bits! Brilliant!
"Baron? Hey Baron!"
Quite the accomplishment, innit? Cost quite the quid, please put in your applications and we'll get back to you in a fortnight, cha —
The door burst off its hinge, carving a shape into the adjacent wall. An Oricorio in Sensu style stood in the frame, striking a deadly pose towards Baron.
"Oi! Salsa, that's the fourth door you miffed this week! Have you lost the plot?" Baron protested.
"No, but your clients might if you leave them in the lobby any longer."
"Blimey! That's today, innit? Well, don't be cheeky, let's go through at once!"
Salsa snatched a red flower off Baron's desk and took a sip. Swirls of crimson and stars engulfed her, and out came Baile style! Baron dusted a gaudy hat and slapped it on. Both mons dashed to the building's stairs, ready to meet their clients.
From the gates of Twiligleam city, a trio of purple and gray approached Baron's Monster House, walls of beige loomed above. The duo of mouse Pokémon giggled and guffawed at the sight of the big city, their bags shuffling like cards. The bigger skunk Pokémon shot glares, treading lightly, carrying only what she wore: a grimace. The frosty morning weather sent chills across the pathway leading to the entrance.
"Hurry up, big sis!" Squeaked the Rattata sporting a gray scarf. A tornado on his head, Tuff knew it bothered his friend to refer to her as a sister, but found it fun to annoy.
"Yeah, and don't do that thingy you do, we wanna look decent," Chirped his darker furred brother, sporting a grape scarf and a clean head. Buff only had eyes for the free lifestyle they'd have in the apartments, away from suffocating familial duties.
"Shut up," a grumble bellowed from the Stunky, who wore simple black sock-like shoes and a long coal scarf. "All that matters is getting our space. It doesn't matter if they like us or not. The owner lets anyone stay if they can 'pay', whatever that means."
"But, Sia…big sis…" Tuff whined, pupils like oran berries.
With a tiny waggle of her tail, Sia groaned at her metaphorical brother. "I said shut up. Ah, here they come, get ready!" Her grim demeanor melted to jam trying to look presentable to the landlord.
The double doors shifted open, revealing the proper Baron and the flamboyant Salsa to the trio. Sia did her best to greet the landlord with proper etiquette, as Tuff and Buff exchanged laughs behind her. Baron and Salsa showed off their whimsical style, inviting the new clients in to discuss the potential move-in. Baron decides it would be best to give a grand tour of the building, as well as letting the clients meet any potential neighbors.
Reaching the ground floor, the trio of Team Hope's jaws dropped at the extravagance displayed before them. Sia, while wary, felt her nerves soften a little at the thought of having a warm bed. This…feels so weird, nobody's this nice, especially not to people like us. It just doesn't feel right. Still, it'll be better than the cold grass at least, she thought.
A paw tapped Sia's tummy, snatching her out of her thoughts. "This'll be great, huh? No more handouts, or napping in the grass for us!" Buff smiled.
"Y-yeah, almost too good to be true."
"Huh??" Buff blew away his whiskers at Sia's nerves. "What's there to worry about? We pay the dues the way the guy asks and we get rooms all to ourselves basically for free!"
"I know. I'm...not good at pretending that I feel okay with this. I can't be alone in this, right?"
Sia's words reflected off the sleek ground, as Buff went off with his brother on the tour. They seem happy. I guess it can't be too bad if we stay a while. Maybe he's right, I should calm down. She inhaled deeply, stretching out her legs before catching up with the rest of her team.
"To the left, you'll find a board with a plethora of requests at hand for teams like yourselves to accept. To your right, another board is filled with similar jobs, but those require the capture or apprehension of outlaws." Salsa explained to Team Hope.
"Quite right, and do be careful when dealing with rapscallions out there! You never know what you'll run into!" Baron chimed in.
"Hey. Uh…sorry. Excuse me is what I meant. But I wanna know when we'd be able to see our place," Sia's eyes darted away from Baron.
"Ah, no worries, lass! We've already discussed plenty of the important bits, we can head up there now if you'd like." Baron replied.
"Yes, that would be nice, thank you."
The Rattata brothers glanced at one another, pondering their big sister's rush to see their room. But they have no reason to complain, the sooner they see their room, the easier it will be to settle down. A new place to stay meant the brothers could indulge in all the delights of Twiligleam City. With the tour suspended early, the small group of mons traveled upstairs, past the first floor of residency to the second. The sleek, simplistic design of the steps made it easy to traverse for the smaller Rattata. As they arrived at the top of the steps, a hall stretched through the building. Suddenly, a door flew open with a Pikachu and a Fennekin stepping out of their flat.
"Blimey!" Baron stepped back, nearly trampling his new clients. "Ahh, here are some of your neighbors on this floor. Team Harmony, would you kindly introduce yourselves?" With a bow, Baron and the group met with the duo in the lobby area of the second floor.
The Pikachu stepped forward, a smirk painted across her snoot. An emerald bracelet dressed her left paw, matching the emerald and juniper scarf across her neck. "Howdy, newbies! I'm Meira, co-leader of Team Harmony and the strongest around! …when I need to be. That kinda goes for both things, haha!" She struck a dazzling pose. "A-and this is my awesome partner, Flint." Her bright red cheek pouches shot micro sparks when regarding her Fennekin friend.
"A-awesome?? Gosh, Meira…oh!" Flint stumbled over his words, his stetson hat and cinnabar ear fluff shuffling around with him. He fashioned himself with a matching scarf to Meira, the knot facing the front. Several twigs stuck out from his fur, though he didn't seem to notice. "Howdy, neighbors! I'm the other co-leader of Team Harmony. I reckon we'll be best buds in no time, since we'll be living pretty close by!" He shined his pearly whites, catching a twig in his mouth.
"Hey," Sia bluntly replied. "I'm Sia, leader of Team Hope. Those two are my brothers, Tuffen and Buffer."
"Could've just stuck with Tuff and Buff, y'know?" Buff whispered to his scarf, meekly waving.
"Big sis, you're embarrassing us…" Tuff clung to his tail, hiding his shame.
"Those are your names, why does it matter?" Sia snapped, spikes infesting her back.
"Either way, new faces are welcome anytime! You guys should hang out with us today, we could show you around Twiligleam!" Meira beamed with confidence. "We were on our way to a mission, so let's rendezvous later, okay?"
"Sure, t-thank you," Sia felt her bones calcify at the Pikachu's offer. I don't like this. We just met, and they're already trying to be friends? They shouldn't be so trusting, she shuddered at her thoughts.
With their goodbyes, Team Harmony slipped past the group, disappearing into the steps. Baron hastily regrouped the presentation, leading Team Hope to the door of their destinies. As the door slowly creaked open, the team froze at the sight of their main room. A medium sized table with a peach carpet lie in the middle of the room, accompanied by a long cream colored couch with some pillows. Smaller tables paired on each side of the couch housed small unlit candles. The morning sun seemed to smile into the room with the warmth it provided, to Baron's luck. The main room broke off in two directions, one leading to a hallway with several doors, and the other leading to a room full of cupboards.
Is this meant for a small group, or an entire family? There's so much space, how the heck could we afford this!? Sia couldn't keep her hardened persona as her amazement grew at her new home. Baron invited the trio inside, offering his and Salsa's aid to any kinds of inquiries the team may have.
"Right, forgot to mention earlier, but we decided to gift you fine fellows some furniture as a warm welcome," Baron wiggled his mustache.
Salsa stomped rhythmically to a song only she could hear. "And we made sure any noisy days or something like that could never bother neighbors with the materials used! Be noisy all you'd like!"
"Wow, thanks. I, uh, appreciate it," Sia starved any joy in her response. She felt a grin try to break out of her stoic build. "Those boys can be a handful when they wanna be."
Without a care, Tuff and Buff scattered into the hallway, noticing their names carved upon wooden plaques decorating each arch. They didn't care for the important parts of renting and they knew how to show it to Baron.
"Haha, they even spelled my name right," Tuff squeaked.
"You're worried about that? I'd care more about what's in the rooms first," Buff sighed.
Both doors slid open with a creak and a little effort from the boys. To their surprise, the bedrooms were almost empty, sans a pile of hay, a satchel on a hook, and a stray book on the window. Heading into each of their rooms, they assessed the space they had available to themselves. Neither room seemed any bigger no matter how hard they stared at their walls. Without a word, the boys decided to check their big sister's room as well, only to be met with a familiar emptiness. Right before Buff decided to chew out the landlord for the subpar sleeping arrangements, Tuff snatched up a stray note from Sia's floor. It was an advertisement for Fine Furniture, who supposedly could deliver furniture to the flats on short notice if need be.
"Tuffen! Buffer!" An approaching voice called out.
They hadn't noticed before, but the brothers had wasted plenty of time checking out their rooms. Just then, Sia appeared in the doorway of her room with a small smirk.
Her tail swished back and forth like a broom. "There you are. I finished up all the complicated stuff, so the place is ours. If you wanna eat, they left some berries. I checked them out." Sia puffed out her chest fur at her smaller acquaintances.
"Ohh, nice!" Tuff passed the flyer to Sia, who didn't bother looking at it for more than a minute, "Let's go, Buff!"
The brothers quickly passed by Sia, who kept her door open and began to check out her room. So, this is where I'll be staying, huh? She thought. It's kinda small, and there isn't much to it. Heck, it's kinda plain, even. But it's home for now. Sia placed her bottom firmly on the wooden flooring, the spines she developed from tensity fading away. A wiggly grin began to form as she thought about being able to relax and feel safe at night, not having to fare for the brothers as much as usual.
Without a care, Sia let out a bellow of a yawn, making good use of the noise repellant material their space was made of. As she did, she noticed the pile of hay that seemed to resemble a bed of sorts, and lost control of her body as she glided to it. It's been so long since I've slept in one of these, I'm surprised they still make them. Who needs a Fine Furniture bed when these work?
As the morning sun gleamed over her window, Sia curled into her own fur, and closed her eyes. The sound of her brothers arguing down the hall didn't phase her a bit as she drifted off into dreamland. With drool dribbling out and a Snorlax-like snore, Sia had checked out for the morning.
Notes: Some elements of the stories were changed, but the revision welds this chapter better with the others.
(Old Notes) I plan to update with new chapters at least once a month. I'm taking a Novel course in Uni, so hopefully that'll improve my skills. Hope you enjoy!!