Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Dare To Dream
Chapter 8
Sprouting Relationships
Draped by the ghostly curtain of pale moonlight, stood a proud and weathered manor.
The striking allure of broiled meats wafted from the old hall, whose windows warmly glowed and betrayed the lively silhouettes of many attendants within their abode. Two stories did it stand tall, and many more heights did the encroaching bare trees and their jagged, twisting limbs tower over the dated mansion. Its multi-floored rooftops did little to distract from its past grandeur.
Following behind Petal, the cluttered and vibrant clamor of the gathering grew in intensity as Felix drew closer- as did the hole in his stomach as the scale of the structure became increasingly apparent.
At the front entrance of parted mahogany doors, stood a sylveon who bore a confident smile as he welcomed a conkeldurr inside whilst the behemoth of muscle lumbered forward into the hall.
Shooting a quick peek behind herself, Petal noticed the small grimace on Felix's rounded face. "Hey, chin up there, Blue!" Petal spoke as she poked him in the side with one of her longer grass blades, "they need us in there to provide both whatever foods and stuff they want, and smiles!" Turning her featureless face to him, Petal narrowed her beady, amber eyes. "And we both know smiling isn't in the cards for me, so you'll have to pull double for us, alright?"
"Right, right," Felix half-attentively responded. They were quickly approaching the base of the small set of wooden-planked stairs, which raised itself onto the chipped balcony. "I mean, it's not like you're playing with a full deck, anyhow," he rolled out his mouth.
While beside him he heard a half-confused, half-vexed grunt, he remained focused on the sylveon with a black bag strapped to its waist ahead.
Riley.
Riley's head broke off its glued stare from the conkeldurr, turning to Felix and Petal as they climbed up the stairs. The lips on Riley's cool smile parted as he prepared to greet the two.
The constant hum of the crowd behind him could be heard as his poised smile softened. Scanning Felix up and down, Riley's ribbons flicked in contemplation as Felix stared dryly into the sylveon's sharp blue eyes. Closing his mouth and softly clearing his throat, Riley spoke.
"Fella."
"Riley."
Sensing the stuffed air between the two, Petal bounced her curious peer between the two. "Say, Blue, you familiar with this guy?"
"We're acquainted, yes," Riley responded, not taking his eyes off Felix for a moment.
"Oh, I know him, alright," Felix dryly added as he returned Riley's locked gaze.
"Well, Riley, sir," Petal continued, "Felix here is the helping hand I found. He'll be helping where he can, or whatever you tell him to do. I guess."
Coiling his svelte ribbons back around his body and front leg, Riley broke his observance on Felix, tenderly looking down to Petal. "Is that right? Good, good. Say, Petal, why don't you head on inside and help your dear mother? I do believe I wish for us to start soon." A single ribbon from along Riley's bow on his neck lengthened and gestured towards the interior of the lit hall.
Petal looked towards the crowded hall. The conglomeration of sounds between stubby legs of chairs scooting across a wooden floor, indecipherable disorder of voices, and the unmistakable sound of a platter crashing to the ground all pierced through to her. Letting out an audible groan, Petal began to enter the building, but not before turning to Felix. "Hey, Blue, once you're all finished up with the sir here, help us out in here, yeah?" Turning past the corner of the entryway inside, she left sight.
Riley stood silently before Felix, not having lost his focused leer upon him as he scanned Felix "So," he said, "been some time since we last traveled."
"Yeah," Felix replied, "I guess it's been some time."
Riley and Felix exchanged glares that bore through the other's unmoving demean.
"I suppose you're not here for a social call," Riley calmly stated. "Regardless, it's great to see you up and moving, fella! Last I recall, you were as cold as the dirt and laid out across the ground. Good to see you haven't left us yet!" He softened his gaze and relaxed it into a small smile.
"Yeah, unfortunately for you," Felix coldly replied. He took a step forward towards the Sylveon. "Don't give me that silver-tongue. You weren't counting on me getting back up! I'd gotten you out of that mess in that blizzard, and it wasn't two moments later that you left me there and stole that stone from me!"
Riley's shimmering blue eyes and snaring smile did not waver. "Why, I'm quite sorry that's how you remember things," he hummed. Treading forward, Riley began circling Felix whilst locking his eyes onto him. "That's certainly a strange way of looking at it," he mused.
Felix's leer cut through the lingering amber light from the doorway, straight into Riley's complacent mien. "What do you mean?"
"I intend no foul," Riley hummed, "but from what I recall, I was responsible for my own safeguard after my escort had been unfortunately struck down by wilds. I know not of any ice stone. I had hurriedly fled to the village, and notified a good ghastly tree fellow of the events, before finding the nearest cleric to patch me up. The trevenant and shuckle would agree with me on these same points that I had confided to them. And really, fella…" Riley leaned in closer to Felix, dropping his voice to near silence, only just audible above the racket beside them, "you'll agree that inimical events tend to find dishonest folk."
Riley pulled his head away with an unflappable grin and beaming blue eyes. All Felix could do was stand idly in silence, the cold air of the night seeping into him.
A flash of anger filled his chest at the unsubtle remark. Collecting his thoughts once more, he blinked the irritability out of his eyes. "And is that a threat?"
"I don't deal in threats," Riley coyly breathed. Felix stuck him with a glare, but remained still. "Do we have an understanding?"
Felix shifted on his feet and looked away; a frown still held on his pointed face. "Yeah."
"Wonderful!" Using two of his ribbons, Riley carefully adjusted the pink bow on his neck. "Now is there anything else we might need to discuss, or are we well and good? I've an auction to host, after all."
Felix recalled the major reason he had come tonight. "You know, there is something else. That loan. I think I'll need it."
Riley's round eyes began to taper, hungry for a deal. "Is that right? Finally come around to getting yourself stronger?" he keenly asked.
"No, not at all." Riley's eager peer waned at Felix's words. Staring the sly sylveon down, he continued. "I'm looking to cross the ocean, and to cross it soon. Last I remember, you're looking to share."
The smile affixed to Riley's face flattened. "I'm not looking to share. I'm looking to make folks happy- me among them." A dull thud against the hollow wood floor inside turned both of their attentions towards the doorway for a moment before returning to their ocular trade.
"Well? How about it?"
"Well?" Riley chuckled. "Have you not just stated you're looking to set sail across a grand sea? And leave me on my lonesome, stranded with my purse turned inside-out? Please, enlighten me: how would emptying my purse down to its lining come around to benefit me, when you'll be a voyage over to who knows where?"
"Well, I-" the words dropped dead there. Felix hummed a thought, but could not formulate a good reason for Riley to agree to such a one-sided deal. He could only remain still, at a loss for words as a lingering thought tickled the back of his throat.
Then a flash of remembrance.
"That's what I figured, fella," Riley remarked as he trotted to the door.
"You're going to need help with that gang."
Riley stopped. His dainty ears twitched. Slowly leering over his shoulder, his eyes burned into Felix. "And how have you come to that?"
"Easy, really," Felix answered as he leaned against the cold wooden stock of the doorframe, "for someone with ears bigger than their head, you're not too keen on your surroundings."
Riley sucked in a breath, turning to face Felix. "And for someone with such a small nose, you sure found a terrible place to stick it. Maybe I am looking to find some trouble. And maybe you're not aware of the magnitude of a fool you'd need to be to hunt this kind quarry."
Felix scoffed. "Then what a couple of fools we are."
A ribbon wrapped around Riley's ankle began rhythmically tapping the floorboard beneath. A hum rang out from the sylveon's throat as he churned through his thoughts. "We'll discuss this further later. Tonight, we've a crowd to please."
Riley turned and left inside. As Felix took a step away from the frame, he heard from behind and above him the distinct skitter of a many-legged creature noisily patter along a surface. Yet when he swung around, no source of the sound was found. Continuing into the broad entrance, Felix's body became overwhelmed by new senses trampling over him at once.
The two-floored, spacious hall was stuffed, both in numbers and in temperature from the large group being confined in such a limited space. The sweltering heat was accompanied with the potent waft of cooked meats that overpowered the air; the enticing allure of simmered fat oozing in the atmosphere, an image of the marbling layers of sweet and umami fat spilling out from seasoned, piping-hot meats onto sizzling pans manifested into his mind.
Some narrow windows along the walls both on the first and second floors had been propped open. Faded wallpaper bearing patterns of flowers had begun peeling and wilting away from the grand walls. A rustic, once-exaggerant chandelier hung loosely from chains on the ceiling, dingy lanterns honoring their disgraced king swung in many sporadic spots around the large, open room, painting the air with tamed fire.
Most notable of all, was the great variety of monsters it housed. The conkeldurr from earlier had settled at a counter far smaller than itself near a side of the room, nestled atop a wooden stool that buckled and bent beneath his mighty weight: a true miracle that it remained intact.
Swellow, honchkrow, and a corvisquire, had found perches for themselves along the decorated banisters of the second floor and on the grand central staircase connecting the two levels. Caught in casual and excited conversations below laid zebstrika, cramorant, and countless more, either standing or sitting around damaged wooden tables scarred with time and indifference. Small pouches could be observed tied to many of the attendees, small rigid edges jutting along the surface of the bags.
Closed doors barred entryways into many rooms scattered on both floors, save for an open door tucked in a near corner of the room, which Felix could distinctly hear was a kitchen as platters and plates clinked and rattled in a hurry.
Some of the monsters gave only a passing glance to Felix as he walked behind Riley, before quickly losing interest and resuming their chatter with friends. Arriving beside the lone stained counter with Riley, he broke into an uncomfortable sweat.
Riley peered over his shoulder towards a slunken Felix. "No time like the present, right?" Softly clearing his throat, Riley's ribbons theatrically straightened the pink bows they were attached to, before all weaved themselves around his petite body.
He leapt up onto the countertop and quickly removed his bag, stowing it beneath the counter.
"Fellas! Fellas!" he shouted. Within a moment, the hall fell silent; an avalanche of attentive eyes falling onto the sylveon. "My name is Riley! And what a truly blessed occasion it is for us to gather this wonderful night! Now, I'm certain many of you can agree that this has been an exhaustive year. We've toiled away from sun up to sun down, tending to bleak fields and building ourselves modest homes from the tissue of the land."
Some members of the crowd nodded. Felix heard the quiet clatter of platter approach from behind. A wide tray of silver appeared beside him, loaded with plates of thinly cut roasted meats and slices of tantalizingly red apples, divided amongst themselves into organized groups: meals of meats, and plates of plants. Diced mushrooms, vegetables, and speckles of black spice embellished the savory spreads. Most eye-catching to him were cleaved beige roots that accompanied each meal, their gnarled form jutting out awkwardly on each dish. The fatty meats seemed well-seared, marbles of their fat oozing off the sides and dressed in various spices. Yet he could see no one carrying this assortment.
He bent down below the tray and met the steadfast beady eyes of Petal, the tray apparently having been placed upon the splayed leaves on her head. "Come on, Blue!" she whispered. "You don't fit the 'pretty' part enough to just stand there! Grab the plate, we're almost on!" Heeding her words, albeit with a conflicted scoff, Felix took hold of the large plate off of Petal. Now freed from the culinary load, Petal darted back into the kitchen.
The charismatic, welcoming smile of Riley's had made itself known again. His ribbons fanned themselves away from his body, fluttering gracefully like streamers in the wind. "But we've made it work! From the dingy, suffocating darkness below the earth, we've come to make our homes, our dens, our nests, into a land where the wind guides us! And I don't know about you lot, but I feel this calls for celebration! For as long as it takes for that brilliant sun to rise once more, all the food and drink in this here hall are entirely free!"
Hoots and hollers broke out, before settling down once more.
"I encourage you all to abandon any notions of frugality and to indulge yourselves, if but only for one night!" The sea of eyes that focused on Riley shifted to Felix and the plate he held. The hungry leers of many shapes and sizes latched themselves onto him, eagerly awaiting his move. A drop of sweat ran down his head.
Once again, clatter came from the doorway and another platter strolled to Felix's side, laden with mismatching glassware of cups, mugs, and tall glasses filled with water- the surfaces of all of which were well-worn with scratches and chips. "Don't wait on ceremony, let's go!" came from beneath the tray. The tray beside him hobbled forward at once. To his surprise, Petal kept the variety of glassware perfectly balanced as she navigated around the room, patrons of the night snagging the passing cupware as she passed.
Grasping the hint, he started forward. Hoisting the broad plate filled with succulent choice over his small body, Felix trudged around the edges of the tables, passing by groups of monsters around him.
"Now, fellas, I am aware that most if not all of you are eager for the auction," Riley announced, "and we most certainly will get to it! But for now, I encourage you all to eat your fill and then some! And do treat our wonderful servers well tonight! Do not make them angry!" The crowd looked to Riley, curious. "That riolu right there, for example. I caught him in a bad mood once, during a wicked blizzard one terrible day, and they nearly had to bury me!"
A moderate chorus of laughter came from the crowd. Felix grumbled to himself, bumping into an edge of a table in his lapse of spatial awareness.
The platter he held became lighter and lighter as he made his way around the room, and the noise of the chatter around him grew and grew, until there was nothing remaining and he was forced back to the counter alongside Petal. Looking at her tray, it too was bare, despite neither of them having accommodated more than a fifth of the guests present. "I'm all out here," Felix told her over the sounds of the room, "what next?"
"What next?" she repeated. Hopping up, Petal bumped her plate into Felix's, knocking it from his grip and catching it atop her empty tray she held on her head. "We grab more and serve more, that's what's next!" Petal scurried to the kitchen entrance, the plates on her head justling and clattering along the way. Felix followed behind.
The air was thick with drenching steam and aromatic fragrance both that suffocated the air. Thinly clouds of vapor wafted to the chipped ceiling above, streaming to a window propped as far open as its hinges would allow.
Beside the countertops cluttered with countless plates filled with more steaming meals and an array of contradicting glassware and ceramic bowls, were a number of stepping stools and a tireless lilligant, whose thinly arms glowed vibrant green as they passed through meat and fruit seamlessly.
Petal the twelfth.
Numerous blackened pots and pans hung from the cabinets above, or could be found scattered around the countertop.
Woven baskets seemed full of those roots and tan mushrooms. Felix passed by a sizzling stovetop as he followed Petal, feeling the intense radiating heat that had come to saturate the room. Petal hopped up a stool and began grabbing plates with her leaves, hastily reloading a tray that Felix held behind her.
"Petal, dear!" called out the lilligant as she worked diligently on the foodstuff in front of her, reducing it to squarely diced bits in moments.
"What, mom?"
In an instant, a tomato in front of the lilligant was swiftly annihilated, sprays of juice spraying away from the symmetrical remains and splattering to her arms. "The house is packed worse than a basket in harvest, so these needed to get out there yesterday!"
"I know, mom," Petal irritably replied as she loaded another plate with a thunk, "me and Blue are on it already."
Taking the broad side of arm, the lilligant diligently brushed the chopped fruit into a close bowl. "'Already on it' won't cut it when you're doing this all by yourself in the future. You know, when my own mother and I tended to events like these, we had the whole room catered to the minute the speaker called for it!"
"And you think I have the potential to be like you, I know." Petal motioned to Felix, and he laid the full plate off to the side. Now grabbing hold of the various cups and bowls, she hurriedly began loading the empty plate.
"Unfortunately for you, I know my budding daughter can be even better than her mother."
Petal fumbled a glass, the water it held spilling across the counter and pooling around the remaining cupware. Small streams of water began flowing off the counter. "And if I'm not looking to spend my life as a glorified hostess?"
"Our family is more than just tending to tables. For generations, we've upheld a modest yet fruitful lineage. We've catered to the founding of Fango, celebrated the opening of the gateways in the capitol, and have grown the very food that has sated these souls. I'm sorry, dear, but -"
"Please, mom," Petal interjected, "can we not do this again? Just let me work."
The lilligant looked over her shoulder to Petal, their eyes meeting for a brief moment, then returning to the dishes in front of her.
Having finished loading the trays, Felix placed one atop Petal's splayed leaves and grabbed hold of one his own. The two left back out into the clamoring hall, the sounds of splitting fruits and boiling water being overcome by discord.
Readjusting his grip on his loaded platter, Felix looked down to Petal beside him- though much of his view of her was obstructed by the wide plate she held aloft. "So," he started, "is bickering something of a pastime between you two?"
"It's a game she just won't put down."
Standing before the conversing crowd, many of those already attended to were seen gleefully chowing down on the provided foods and clumsily drinking from their cups and bowls. Felix scanned the scene and took note of the slices of apples that every meal seemed to have excessive amounts of. No matter where he looked, if there was a dish, it would be laden with many slices of those brilliant red fermented apples.
"Hey, you sure giving out these apples this early is a good idea?" he asked Petal.
The plate held aloft at his side rotated towards him as Petal turned below, slightly sliding the glassware on top. "Wasn't my idea, Blue. If the guy up top wants them out, they get put out. But hey, if there's trouble, that's what we got you here for, right?"
"And let us hope it doesn't come to that," called out Riley atop the countertop at his side. The sylveon leaped daintily down onto the fracted floorboards below. "And if it does, it's as she says: at least we have you."
The crowd before them prattled in evening delight. Some seemed deep in recounting past days, whilst others counted the coin they carried in close bags. The rest cast impatient glares onto Felix and Petal. "You drew quite a crowd tonight," Felix remarked.
"Well, some say I do hold a certain cute charm about me." Walking across the countertop, Riley's ribbons wrapped around underneath the surface, then pulling up an amber bottle in each ribbon. The corners of his mouth pulled into a small grin.
A small cold nudge poked at his side from a metallic tray. "Come on, Blue," Petal said, "we've got people to please."
—-
Beads of sweat rolled down Felix's face. His breathing had turned hastily, air quickly taking up and vacating the volume in his lungs as he ran about the room.
"Two genuine bottles of iron! These tonics will change your life for the better! Your body will be like stone! Never again will you worry about scrapes nor grievous wounds, alike! Starting bid is two-thousand!" Riley shouted over the tumultuous crowd. In an instant, a few shouts rose from the crowd.
"I'll take them!"
"No, no! Me! Give them to me! I've got two and a half, friend!"
"My mate's going to kill me… but I'd like to see her try after I take this stuff! Three thousand!"
The three voices continued contesting one another, becoming a mismatched shouting match as they nonsensically raised both volume of noise and of bid.
Leaping up to the tables to make up for his height, he grabbed empty plates and stacked them, then taking them back to the kitchen.
"I totally can do it, just wait a sec, let me mentally prepare myself," spat out a gengar between fits of spit at a table near him.
"No no no, I swear to you I saw a scavenger crawling around on the ceiling," uttered a zebstrika as Felix passed a packed table, "it was a gray bug thing! I know I saw it!"
Collecting a small amount of dishes at a battered table in the corner of the room, a swellow and honchkrow perched atop stools began snickering as Felix passed. Try as he may to ignore them, their incessant, half-heartedly restrained chortles of broken caws and cheeps pierced through the ruckus of the room and bored into him. "What's so funny?"
The two avians turned to each other and broke out in laughter, flapping their wings about randomly. Their eyes seemed to be gravitating to the ceiling, their laughter renewing every time they shot a glance up. Following where they had been looking, Felix cast his gaze upward.
A purple bulge hung from the ceiling.
One with a stubby tail and legs.
A gengar had gotten itself stuck in the dingy ceiling, leaving the lower half of its body dangling over the party.
Glancing around, he was relieved to see that no one else had appeared to notice the full purple moon looming overhead- after all, he was not sure how he would even begin to approach getting a gengar to phase out of a ceiling.
"Hey. Hey, you there!" the honchkrow croaked to Felix. "Notice anything… funny?"
"What, you mean besides from the two jokers in front of me?" he mumbled with his back towards them.
The swellow rasped out a dry laugh that wasn't too far off from sounding like a deathly wheeze, then aloofly lying its head on the table.
"No, I mean… maybe you sense something off?" the honchkrow pried, a sly gaze studying Felix from beneath its massive crest.
Felix scowled. "I said I don't see much of anything besides you two, haven't seen much else," he lied.
"No, no! Not see!" the honchkrow blurted, leaning over the table. "Sense!"
"Sense?" he repeated back. "What, you want me to sniff someone out? Or hear them? Swing my arms around 'til I touch them?"
"The thing you riolus can do! That aura-ey thing!" the black bird snickered. "Do the thing! See if you can sense something off around here with your mind's eye or whatever!"
The swellow picked its head up and lazily peered at its partner. "Huh? riolus can do what now?"
"You know, the aura sense they got! They can like see emotions and spiritual stuff and ghosts I think. Look, check this out. Hey, riolu- what sort of emotion would you say I'm giving off right now?" it asked with a self-assured smile.
"Insufferable."
The swellow laid its head back on the table and slid it across the surface to its black-clad friend with an amused tinkle in its eyes. "Say, I think you might be onto something!"
The honchkrow glowered, pinching a strip of meat on its plate and jutting its head to swallow the piece whole whilst it looked away from the others.
Nodding to himself, Felix simply readjusted the plates he held and went back towards the kitchen, leaving the now-docile birds to themselves. He would be simply content with the night if he could get through it with as little trouble as possible. For now, he had to resume work.
For some time afterwards, Felix had found himself darting across the stuffy room once more, working steadily alongside Petal for a length of time.
More cheers and racket filled the room every odd moment, drowning out his own thoughts as he worked; not even in the recesses of his mind could be alone in his thoughts. A troubling situation which made a frown grow across his face as he thought back to what that buzzed honchkrow had said- something about 'aura.' He could not shake an encroaching feeling about that conversation, one he struggled to describe as he grew physically and mentally exhausted.
Resting against the doorframe to the kitchen, he wiped the sweat off his brow. The hall had become like a sauna; the air was stifling and weighed heavily on him. The monsters that filled the room were absorbed in their own discussions, heartily laughing and sloppily recounting old memories.
Darting through the room to accomplish his many assumed tasks, he spied Riley cheerfully handing a blue-capped amber bottle to a blissful conkeldurr across from him, its eyes seemingly glazed over in a trance. One ribbon offered out the nutrient, another retrieved a tied bag from the mountain of muscle, and yet one more lightly wrapped around the forearm of the brute.
Felix snapped his head away, refocusing on himself. His blue fur felt like it was being pressed against him with the moisture it had accumulated through the night, spurring thoughts of washing bins filled with clear, refreshing water and blocks of soup he had enjoyed just a week ago. All he could do now was hold out his arms partially away from himself in a vain attempt to air out the sweat.
He needed some fresh air.
Exiting the building, the effect was immediate. The dim forest enwrapped him with cold, frigid air, and banished fever of the hall behind him. Darkness encroached on the fleeting amber light that had escaped through the open door and windows, snuffing out the glow before it could reach the gnarled and thick roots of the senior trees around.
Taking a seat on the steps and letting out a sigh, he was relieved to be away from the center of the turbulent noise behind him- even if the difference was slight.
Closing his eyes, he took in another deep breath of the crisp air, immersing himself into the brisk night-
"Hey, Blue. You surviving?"
-then releasing an exasperated groan. "Unfortunately so."
Soft footsteps approached him as Petal drew close, then a soft thump as Petal let herself on the step by his side. "Fun night, right?"
Felix shook, trying to fight off some fatigue that had set in.
Turning towards Petal, he could see how alert she remained: her beady eyes attentively looking back to him, her posture straight and alert, as well as her triage of leaves atop her head remaining perked up. A much better image of endurance than he seemed in the moment.
He remained slouched, resting his arms on his knees, and rubbed some creeping drowsiness away from his eyes. "How are you not tired yet?" he asked curiously. "We've been tending to that room all night, and it's so god-forsakenly stuffy in there! I'm sweating like nothing else, and you look like you're just starting. How?"
Petal stared into his eyes, her blank face betraying no hint of emotion. "Meat sack."
Felix's mouth was partially agape as he processed that singular word with his fried mind, all the while Petal began snickering. "What?"
"I ain't a sack of meat and bones like you. I just don't ever sweat. Sure, I guess it might be stuffy for a meat bag like you in there, but I think it actually feels nice. Nice and toasty," she hummed.
"Alright, guess that makes sense," he softly replied whilst he mentally chastised himself for thinking a petilil's body would work like his own. "And you're not tired?"
"Oh, I can't wait for the sweet release of sleep, don't get me wrong there. But you know, I've been doing this for some time, so I can power through."
A small silence fell between the pair, little as it may have mattered with the ruckus behind. The darkness of the night seemed to have swallowed the forestry before them as they remained idle on that stairway.
"So," Petal spoke up, "thanks for not bringing Star along tonight. I'm sure she needed a little rest, even if she'd never admit to it. How's she holding up, by the way?"
"Just fine," Felix murmured. "Or at least I think, anyway."
Petal squinted her beady eyes at him, but quickly dropped the glare, staring ahead. "She'll be fine, she's always been a stubborn thing."
Felix sat quietly, still taking in lungful after lungful breaths of crisp air.
Petal fidgeted with her three leaves, slightly flexing them into small curves and then relaxing them. "Say, Blue… what's it like, you know? Being on an expedition team?"
"What's it like?"
"Yeah, what's it like? What kinda things they having you do?"
Felix leaned forward and rested his elbows on his black crooked canine legs, one palm up to his chin and humming in thought. "Mostly busy physical work, I guess. Shepherding our good fellow in here for starters, then that case with getting back your mom's stuff along with some other thing's things. Why do you ask?"
A loud hollow thump against the floorboards came behind them.
They both spun their heads over behind their shoulder, and saw the stumbling image of a red-faced farfetch'd. The bird swerved side to side as it drew closer. Felix and Petal got up from the step and cleared the way as the stubby bird tripped down the stairs and crashed into the dirt before them.
Sloppily hoisting itself up with its leek, it began muttering under its breath. "Not my fault I don't remember where my money is," it said through slurred speech. The farfetch'd tottered forward into the dark woodwork of the night, seemingly traveling towards the brilliant light of the village's briar which towered in the distance. "Could've sworn I brought it…" it hiccupped.
The two looked on as the farfetch'd vanished down the road into the darkness beyond.
"Have a safe trip home, sir!" Petal shouted.
The farfetch'd continued stumbling down the path, oblivious to the farewell.
"He'll probably be alright, right? Yeah, probably."
"Petal? Petal!" came an irate shout behind them. In the doorway stood the lilligant, her arms and torso covered in various colors of culinary collateral damage. "What do you think you're doing?"
Petal's eyes shifted between Felix and her mother. "Just… talking. Literally. Why?"
"What are you doing 'just talking' out here? Do you know how many empty plates you need to grab right now? We aren't done working, so get that lazy stem of yours off the stairs, and come and help me."
Petal began rapidly sputtering as words struggled to be fully realized out of her. "Lazy? Lazy?! I've been helping out all night, grabbing dishes and dealing out refreshments, and cleaning spills and doing loads other stuff!"
"And you believe that excuses you to slack off now?"
At this point in the squabble, Felix had hung his head away and faced the road leading out, hoping to have as little a presence as possible in the moment.
"I am not slacking off! We were just talking! I haven't even been out here five minutes! I swear, every minute I'm not doing stuff for you, it's 'oh, that Petal sure is lazy!' That's all I ever hear from you when we work!"
"It's for your own good for the future! We both know well enough I won't be around forever, so I need to know you won't shirk any work when you come to inherit our heritage."
"And if that's not what I'm looking to do with my life?"
The lilligant's eyes turned to daggers. "We are not doing this now. Come back inside. Now." She turned and left.
After making certain that Petal's mother had left, Felix looked to the petilil by his side. Her dark leaves were quaking, and her eyes burned with a visceral fire. Taking a moment to compose herself, Petal hopped back up the stairs, entering the doorway herself. "No time like the present, Blue."
Hoisting himself up, he followed behind her. Back inside the offensively hot hall, Petal had already begun collecting plates. Holding a modest stack balanced on her head, she went table to table as patrons clumsily stacked plate after plate on her. Petal's mother likewise could be seen collecting trays- though with her arms rather than her head. Riley was still shouting across the room, ever full of merriment and announcing the current bid.
Felix began going around the room as well, collecting dishes from tables taller than him. Picking up plates, taking them to the filth-laden kitchen, and repeating the process alongside the two Petal's.
Silent as they may have been amidst the reckless shouting match between bidders, one could sense the animosity between Petal and her mother: the two had been exchanging unsubtle glares for the lesser part of their work. The room seemed to have quieted down a fair amount deep into the night. Much of the bidding had been accomplished, and what haze of noise remained was that of idle chatter as the late evening approached a close.
"Hey, miss," Felix faintly overheard through the modest chatter. "Have you seen my bag? I can't seem to remember where I put it," a low, gravelly voice asked.
"Haven't seen any loose bags, sorry," Petal replied. The conversation between the two seemed to fade into the background as he worked.
The night had been largely uneventful, much to his relief. Placing a stack of plates he gathered onto a counter, he took a moment to catch his breath from the hot room.
"It isn't my fault I don't have it! I won them fair and square!" cried out a shrill voice, shattering the peace. At once, the room's attention anchored itself to a bagon shakingly balancing itself atop an upper-floor banister. "it's… it's not my fault!"
"Sit down!" cried a member of the crowd. A scrap of food flew from the crowd and past the bagon, splatting against the peeled wall behind.
The crowd laughed as the bagon clumsily threw its head to the side to dodge the attack. Then another piece of food flew up towards the banister. And another. Soon, both insults and fine-dining found themselves being slung.
Felix grabbed his plates and hustled back into the kitchen, setting the items down inside and then returning to the countertop where Riley scowled as he examined the crowd before him. Petal and her mother hurried past him, retreating to the room behind him.
"Fellas, fellas! Please, settle yourselves!" Riley hollered.
The crowd did not yield, their continued efforts raising more havoc and food into the air. "I insist you calm yourselves!"
Again, no favorable response.
The sylveon huffed and leapt off the countertop, landing gracefully beside Felix.
A soft tap arrived at Felix's shoulder from a dainty ribbon as Riley drew close. "I think this one's due for home. Set him out, will you? I think it's time we started wrapping up," Riley whispered.
Grumbling to himself, Felix steeled himself and crossed the chaotic room towards the central stairway, ducking and dodging as patrons much larger than him sporadically moved. Ascending to the second floor, the tipsied crowd began to quiet themselves as they poked and prodded one another to point their attention to him.
"Go get 'em, little guy!" a zebstrika cheered.
"Yeah, put on a good show!" chimed in a conkeldurr.
"Now, now! There is little need to concern yourselves over such a little matter, folks! No need to throw a thing! Settle yourselves promptly!" The crowd turned to Riley, chuckling amongst themselves.
At the top of the staircase, Felix carefully stepped towards the absent-minded bagon as it stood atop the banister. "Hey!" he called out, "what in god's name are you doing? Get down from there, you drunken idiot!"
The bagon's gaze glacially slid onto Felix, its eyes dim and void of coherent thought. "I was robbed! Those irons were mine, I got the money for them!" it pleaded. Hobbling along the beam of the wooden railing, it teetered across the length of the banister.
"Well, step down from there. Let's go and get your stuff! It's just down there! Oh, and I mean, just down this way, don't just jump." Felix reached out towards the dragon, poised to grab it and pull it down, before it suddenly spun its head to him and threateningly hung a foot over the ledge towards the floor below.
"Don't touch me! Don't get near me! I'll do it! My kind can fly! I'll fly around and burn everyone and everything, and, and, everyone!" it spat out.
Felix pulled away his arm and gently lowered it down to his side. "Well, we don't want you flying in here, you'll scare the others if you do that! Just… step down like you normally would, and we'll grab those irons!"
The bagon's eyes narrowed into a glare, which then melted into a frown. "But I can't! I didn't have enough money! Some other thing won them!"
Felix's face became blank. Shaking his head, a scowl manifested on his face. "You didn't even win the blasted things?!"
"Oh, I'll- I'll win them, alright," growled the red-faced bagon. The dragon's body turned parallel to the banister, its stubby arms held away from its body. "I'll show you all… the power of a dragon!"
The bagon hopped off the banister, falling backwards. Felix quickly ran to the railing and shot his arm out to grab the falling bagon, only to be too slow as the stubby dragon plummeted to the floor below. A loud crash of wood shattering broke out in the hall. Bits of plates, cups, and food flew up into the air and rained back down onto the area below in a culinary shower. Felix jumped up to the banister and leaned over it, eyes wide at the mess below.
The bagon lay still between the shattered carcass of a table. Unconscious. Gathering around, numerous shapes and colors of monster circled around the scene. A corvisquire was the first to break the hanging silence, gazing back up to Felix, and letting out a hearty rhythm of caws in delight. Then another holler in delight. Then another.
The room began cheering.
Riley seemed less than pleased; a scowl had manifested onto his small white face towards Felix. Stretching out a ribbon, he pointed at the bagon lying still in the middle of the mess, then flicked the ribbon towards the door.
Knowing the intent, Felix flew down the flight of stairs and carefully stepped over the shards of broken plates and glass to the dozing dragon, and irritability heaved the dense lizard over his shoulder.
Spits and spats of mocking praises engulfed Felix as he made his way past the crowd to the exit. At the doors, he used his foot to push the heavy door open wider and stepped out as he carefully balanced the bagon on his shoulder to avoid clipping its head against the frames as they left.
Once outside, he pondered a thought, thinking of an out-of-the-way spot he could throw his new cargo.
Jumping off the patio and turned the corner of the building, he threw the bagon off his shoulder and propped it against the wall, all while it blissfully snoozed away.
Dusting his hands off, he turned back towards the noisy hall.
Which became suddenly louder.
Blares of shouts and a cacophony of shattering glassware filled the air.
He ran back inside.
The crowd was furious, far more agitated than he had seen before; limbs and tails seemed to swing wildly about, flailing towards something that drew their ire and meshing shouts. Siding on the sidelines he could see Petal being held back by her mother as she tried to squirm free, her eyes locked on the crowd in front of her. "Mom! Let go!"
"What do you think you're doing?" her mother shouted back. "Stay away from them!" The lilligant tightened her grip on Petal, lifting her into her arms and holding Petal tightly to her chest whilst backing away towards the kitchen. He could not see Riley anywhere.
"Blue!" Petal pointed towards the mass of the frenzied crowd with her leaves. "Don't just stand there! Go help Riley"
Felix hurriedly ran to the thrashing mass of swinging parts, squeezing himself past limb after limb and avoiding being trampled by hooves and claws as they continuously shifted in the ever-shifting mass of bodies. Ahead, the conkeldurr crouched down and attempted to grab with its titanic arms something that ran low to the ground, its head and many others then following something that moved away from the crowd and seemingly up the stairs.
Squeezing his way past the legs of a zebstrika and conkeldurr, he finally found Riley.
Perfectly fine, with not a scratch on him.
"Where do you think you're running off to?" Riley shouted towards the stairs. Dashing into the legs of the crowd in front of him, Riley squirmed his way partially into the sea of legs before a light tap at his back from Felix drew his attention.
"What's going on? I thought these people were tearing you into pretty little pink pieces, what happened?"
"A sneaky little thieving vermin, that's what happened! Jumped out as soon as you left and took my bag! I nearly had him! He went to the stairs! Come on!"
The two pressed their way past the crowd, emerging out the other side at the base of the stairs. Surveying the upper-floor, a familiar pointed face stood at the top of the staircase.
A morgrem holding Riley's black satchel, whose back was turned to the two as it frantically swiveled its head back and forth, scanning for an exit. A hole felt like it had gaped open in Felix's stomach at the sight of the imp, stifling his breath for a moment.
"Hold it there!" Riley shouted as he ran up the staircase, startling the morgrem as it itself peeled off to a corner of the upper-floor. Chasing behind, Felix and Riley turned the corner as well past the banisters. The morgrem's eyes flicked between the two as they rapidly approached and the crowd below; no easy escape for itself was in sight. The morgrem climbed onto the near banister and leapt onto the chandelier close by, escaping Riley's outstretched ribbons by inches and creating a bizarre spectacle of golden light as the chandelier rocked back and forth, causing the shadows below to recede and advance continuously like a tide.
The crowd once more rose to a fever-pitch. "That's gotta be him!" a cramorant squawked.
"Hey, where'd you take my things, little guy?" the conkeldurr belched out from the depths of its throat.
Jumping up and planting his forelegs onto the railing, Riley tried and failed to grab the morgrem as the chandelier swung about. "Felix!" he called out as he pulled himself down off the railing. "Get on out there, and grab him!"
Felix shot glances between the murderous stare of the morgrem atop the swinging chandelier, and Riley's dead-serious glare. "You want me to go out on that thing?"
"Think of it as an opportunity for future prospects in partnership."
"What a load of… fine." Felix planted his palms atop the banister and pulled himself him, shakingly balancing himself upon the thin beam. "You owe me for this."
"I owe you nothing yet, go grab him!"
Sucking in a breath and crouching down, Felix leapt to the chandelier and grabbed hold one of its many beams, pulling himself onto the swaying iron web. The crowd below quieted down as they looked above.
The morgrem wrapped its hair around the center vertical beam, tethering itself in place. "What are you doing here?"
Bending down, Felix grabbed one of the many sprawling horizontal beams, holding himself in place as the chandelier settled. "Looking to get on good terms with someone."
The morgrem nodded, a wicked smile brandishing sharp rows of teeth. "I don't see the mutt. She got me good, I'll give her that," he pointed down to his leg, which was shoddily wrapped in bandages. "I still owe her for that."
"You won't get the chance. Give it up." The chandelier now swung to a near stillness. Felix released his grip and stood back up.
"Oh, don't it twisted," the morgrem's feet shifted beneath it, "I still owe you a little something."
The morgrem jumped back into the air with its hair still gripping the beam, and swung down onto the beam with all the might it could muster, making the chandelier lurch to the side. Felix could only flail his arms helplessly as he lost his balance and begun stumbling towards the center of the light. Still remaining firmly upright with a taut length of hair, the morgrem threw a fist glowing in a black energy, striking deeply into Felix's open side. Sharp, bitter pain filled Felix's side and he recoiled back.
The crowd began hollering in delight at the brawl above.
"Come on, Blue! Punch him! Punch him hard!" Petal yelled as her mother wrestled her back.
Steadying himself, Felix kept low and retaliated with two swift blows to the morgrem's torso, ducking beneath a wild swing as they scuffled close, haphazardly teetering the chandelier. The morgrem quickly released the grip its hair held and swung a blade of hair towards Felix as he ducked. The sudden shift beneath his feet caused Felix's balance to falter, leaving himself open as his arms thrashed in the air as he struggled to keep his two feet planted on the sparse, thin bars directly below him.
The morgrem's blade of hair whipped behind itself and rose above its head, poised to strike below. Felix raised an arm to block as it came crashing down onto him in a clash that sent sparks flying as it lodged itself in the large metal bead that resided on his arm. A roar of adoration rose from below.
The blade pressed down further and further, inching closer to Felix's head as his arm's strength faltered from the unrelenting pressure. Felix grunted as he attempted to push back, pouring all his strength he could to stand once more with his legs, only to be met with the morgrem's own vile smile as it pressed the blade down harder.
"Come on, fella!" Riley shouted from the banister behind him. "Don't just lay there! Do something!" Felix's free hand fell back to stop himself from toppling over completely, firmly gripping a beam below him.
"A little stuck at the moment!" As the blade inched closer and closer, a hollow thud rang out ahead of him, and the blade retracted back as the morgrem flinched. Then another thud from the ceiling above sent dull shards of glass raining down, forcing the both of them to cover themselves with their arms as more objects flew.
Blurts of shouting and table commodities alike flew without end towards them. Still covering his face with his arms, the morgrem spun around and leapt off the chandelier, sending it rocking once more. The morgrem's hair sharpened itself to a point like a spear and thrusted upwards into the ceiling as the morgrem was in the air, anchoring itself. Using its previous momentum, it swung ahead and pulled back its hair, launching itself towards one of the open windows atop the wall behind Riley.
As the morgrem frantically attempted to scramble out, Riley planted his forelegs against the wall and reached up towards the thief, desperately attempting to grab it with all four of his ribbons. Try as he might, Riley only managed to wrap one ribbon around his bag before the morgrem squirmed free and disappeared outside onto one of lower rooftops outside. The target of their ire gone, the hall settled into mere grumblings of insults.
Felix pulled himself up using the beam that held the chandelier, careful to not slip and fall in one of the many openings between the bars. He looked down to his hand. The metallic bead on the back of his palm held a large gash where the blade had fallen; the depth of the new nick seemed far deeper than the one before.
Glancing over to Riley, he could see the pink dealer strapping his satchel back around his waist. "Well, got your stuff back! I guess."
Riley's ears flicked. "You're not done yet, fella! I need him! I hardly could spare a thought for these trinkets! Go on out there and bring me him!"
"Out there?" he pointed towards the window the morgrem clawed out of. "You want me to get on out there and grab him?"
"Thank you, fella! I knew I could count on you. Find a way to bring him down outside, and fetch me when you have him." Riley gave a wink and walked across the floor and down the stairs to an impatient crowd below, his ribbons flowing behind him. "Alright now, fellas!" he announced at the bottom of the stairs, "time for you all to clear out! Go on, return to your homes! Thank you for your attendance on this eventful night!"
Some members of the crowd grumbled and began messily stumbling out. Others remained firmly in place.
A corvisquire approached Riley, its beady eyes lazily focused on him. "Hey, miss Riley-"
"Mister Riley," he corrected.
"Mister Riley, uh, where is my bag? I had it on me but now I don't see it."
The remaining crowd drew closer, murmuring in a sloppy agreement Felix could not hear as he remained balanced upon the light fixture. In the corner of the room, he could see Petal's mom finally release her, dropping her to the ground and waving an aggravated arm in front of her.
He could not tell if they were speaking as the constant hum of the room and the lack of mouths on them made it near impossible to determine if they were talking. At the end of the assumed lecture, Petal's mother grabbed a nearby rag from the counter and tossed it on top of Petal's leaves, then left for the kitchen. Petal's head tremored, and she flung the rag to the ground. The ruffles of leafage on her body rose in a huff as she moved towards the main door and left outside.
His eyes near-clenched shut as he thought how he might scale the wall and reach the roof outside, Felix looked behind himself to the opposite window in a vain attempt to spy anything he might be able to use to get on the roof outside.
A stubby pair of purple legs met his gaze, hanging passively from the roof in front of him. The gengar hadn't moved from its own imprisonment in the ceiling throughout the night. Try as he may to ignore the option and find an alternative, he could not see any chairs or the like that would provide the sufficient height he needed to reach the window with his short size.
Covering his face with both his hands, he breathed out the apprehension that filled him.
Edging towards the edge of the chandelier, he crouched and leapt towards the legs. Grabbing onto the dangling pair of short limbs, he hung suspended above the floor two stories below, feeling the immense pull of gravity weigh heavily on him. The stubs he clung to began squirming, justling feebly with him attached. Felix pulled his legs back then swung them forward, then back and kicking them forward once more, now swinging like a pendant. With enough momentum, he let go as he came forward and launched himself towards the open window, clutching the sill.
Pulling his small body through, he rolled out onto smooth tiles and into the cold blue world. Just standing up he could feel the spout of hot air that emanated from the hall seep past him into the night.
Looking around, he could see nothing but an endless sea of bare twisting trees around and the blazing briar of the village beaming past crooked branch after crooked branch. Atop the center higher level, the gengar's head could be seen poking out with a self-fulfilled grin as it stared longfully towards the moon above.
The ceramic roof tiles clinked and clacked as he made his way across towards the opposite side of the building, the two flats connected by a lip that jutted out along the center.
Flattening himself against the steep slope that led to the higher ceiling behind him, Felix crept along slowly across, feeling the back of his canine legs uncomfortably sliding across the rugged surface. He took slow shallow breaths, making a conscious effort to stare ahead to the other side; just a couple inches from him lay a two-and-a-half-story drop onto the dark earth below.
Throwing his arm around the corner and pulling himself around onto solid footing, he could see the morgrem ahead beside a messy pile of various bags: some dark and others colorful. Its piercing eyes entrapped by a bag that let out sounds of jangling coins as it appreciated the weight in its hand. A passing glance flickered towards Felix then back to the bag, then locking onto him at last in sudden realization.
"Can't ever catch a break, can I?" it snarled.
Felix advanced slowly with measured steps, ever wary to stay a fair distance away whilst unbreaking their eye-contact. "That sylveon down there wants you. I'm not sure why he wants you so badly, but if he says to drag you down, I'm obliged to do so. Want to come down on your own terms, or do I need to use a guiding hand?" He stopped in place, fixing his stance to stand tall and firm.
The morgrem allowed the bag to roll off his hand. Standing up tall as well, it whipped its hair back behind itself. "That pink whelp will hear from me, don't worry- your broken body will speak volumes!"
The morgrem lunged forth, driving a spear of hair right past Felix's head as he threw himself to the side, rolling across tiles and feeling how loose they shook. He rushed the imp and tackled it down onto the ceramic surface below with his shoulder, taking the opportunity to squarely land a blow to the morgrem's jaw before being kicked off by gnarled feet.
The fiend clambered up from the roof and stooped its head low, whipping out its hair from the side and snagging Felix's legs in one motion. A powerful jerk flung Felix's legs forward and painfully slammed his body to the ground, then dragging him across rattling tiles towards itself like a mallet across a xylophone. The morgrem's fists curled and glowed in a dark malice, raising themselves in anticipation to meet him.
As he was dragged, Felix threw out his arms and tried grabbing hold of anything that might stop him, only being able to snag one of the hundreds of ceramic tiles and plucking them off as he ceased to stop. Now in reach, the morgrem slammed a fist into Felix's shoulder as he attempted to swivel out of the way, laying him flat out in dull pain.
The morgrem jumped into the air with the brilliance of the moon behind it. Its hair drew back and trained itself straight towards Felix as it descended down upon him. Felix hastily swung his arm in front of himself and batted the pike away from himself as the morgrem crashed into him, making the point shatter the tiles a hair's length away from his head in an explosion of terracotta as it plunged into the roof. In the brief moment that his hand had flew past his face, he saw he had been still holding a tile from the drag. He closed his eyes and slapped the piece against his assaulter's face, splintering it into many pieces as the morgrem reeled back and howled out in pain.
He threw out his hand and grabbed hold of the morgrem's thin throat, clenching tightly. The imp wheezed and sputtered as Felix pushed himself back up once more, using his other arm to wrestle away its free arms as they clawed at him. The hair writhed as it frantically tried to pull itself free from the roof. Face to face, Felix's eyes caught sight of how close to the ledge they had moved. Leaning his mass away and pulling with all his might, he attempted to pull them away from the drop.
The hair tugged ferociously, then with a great heave that sent saw its length grow taut, it freed itself with a burst of strength that sent wood chips flying and immediately went for Felix. It instantly wrapped itself tightly around his throat and began choking him, then pulling him away in a mighty swing that made the world a blur to Felix as he was dragged across the roof, only to feel weightless a moment later.
Felix's senses reorientated themselves, bringing clarity once more- his feet felt no surface beneath him though he remained upright. A tight grasp on his neck constricted, crushing his throat as he hung over the earth below. He desperately clawed at the hair that choked him, trying in vain to free himself, his lungs burning as seconds passed. Writhing and kicking his legs, his hearing deafened, and his vision became smeared as suffocated sputters were choked out of his clenched throat.
He tried to call out for help.
Calling out for his partner.
But no plea could be heard.
His thoughts and the world began vanishing. His limbs grew still. The sensation of fire inside him hushed.
Then he fell. The silhouettes of the world rushed past his glazing eyes, and he felt himself crash against the earth.
And he sucked in a breath.
Felix's frantic breathing filled his ears as he clung to consciousness. His vision remained locked towards the blacked sky as he laid on the ground, letting the darkness of his sight recede. He felt how his body ached from crashing into the earth from two stories above, but he was grateful to feel at all. He coughed and racked as he drew himself into a small ball onto his side. Then he saw her.
A little plant.
She remained firm in place, staring down a gangly figure that gathered itself off the ground.
It stood upright, clenching an arm in pain arm as it hunched forward. The length of its hair swung around, taper to a point and poised to thrust itself at her.
Petal's head shook, her leaves curling inward. The morgrem took a step forward, and launched its blade at her.
A yellow cloud of spores was flung from Petal's leaves in an instant, filling the air around the morgrem and freezing it in place as it and its hair became rigid and twitched fiercely. Its body contorted and shuddered, and it fell to the ground on its side, eyes wide open and still convulsing.
Petal rushed to Felix's side and leaned her head down. Muffles of her voice fought against the shrill ringing in his ear. Crawling onto his throbbing hands and legs, he sucked in more breaths and tried to focus on her voice.
"...Blue? Blue? Come on, bud! You're alright!"
He guzzled down some more breaths and attempted to stand on shaking limbs, but collapsed down onto his face.
"Hey, Blue, come on." Petal dug her leaves underneath him and flopped him over onto his back.
"How…" he wheezed out between labored breaths. "How… did you…"
"I heard you guys up there, dummy! You think I wouldn't hear someone tearing up the roof while I was out here on my lonesome? Here, get up, Blue. Looking defeated doesn't suit you."
Petal lowered down a singular leaf blade, which Felix grabbed weakly. With a firm pull with all her might, Felix found himself sitting upright once more, groaning in pain.
"No, I mean… how did you knock me free?" he gasped, massaging his aching neck.
"Well, less knocking you free, and more knocking him down. I nailed him from down here with some leafage! Pretty awesome shot, right?" She straightened her posture and flexed her blades proudly. Then her body went soft once more. "No, but seriously, Blue- you alright?"
"I'll live. Maybe." A dry cough left his throat as he stood up, feeling his bruises from the fall ebb into him. He could see the morgrem still lying stiff beside them, twitching every moment from their paralysis. "Say, could you do something for me?"
"Yeah? What?"
"Go and grab Riley, if you would."
Petal nodded. "Alright, on it." She hastily shuffled off around the dimly-lit corner.
Felix paced over towards the morgrem, each step racking new surges of pain in his bruised body, each heartbeat incurring throbbing aches. The eyes of the fallen imp followed him, and a wry smile grew across its face. "There's- there's always next time," it spoke, "right?"
Felix stood there for a moment, looking at the morgrem before him with apathy.
He pulled his black leg behind himself and swiftly kicked it forward into the morgrem's side. It spurted out several coughs as it remained twitching on the ground.
The small figure of Riley passed around the corner. Spotting the two, a devious gleam shined in the sylveon's eyes. "Well, if it isn't the cud of Cobb's chew, I presume?"
The morgrem's head wriggled choppily as it attempted to move, but only came to see Riley as he came over and lowered his head close to its face. "What- what do you want?"
"Just a couple simple questions, I assure you. Nothing more or less." His ribbons unfurled and hovered close over the immobilized morgrem.
"Questions, huh?" Felix added. He knelt down and furrowed his brow as he bored eyes like fire into the thief. "How about we start with this one: what're you doing here? Wasn't one knockout enough for you?"
The morgrem returned the glare with equal fury. "And why- why would I tell you that?"
Felix leaned closer, feeling sensations of rage build in him as he looked into the pathetic monster in front of him. Then a gentle touch arrived at his shoulder; one of Riley's ribbons came to rest on him. "This is my area of expertise. Now, may I?" Felix switched his gazes between the two, and with a reluctant exhale, backed away.
A gentle smile washed over Riley. Carefully, a ribbon fluttered over to the morgrem and tenderly began wrapping itself around the morgrem's arm, much to its confusion. "Hey- hey," it angrily uttered, "what do you think you're-" The ribbon tightened instantly. The scrunched brow and deathly stare of the morgrem bore into the ribbon as it tried and failed to control its rigid body. Its futile attempts then began slowing; its face softened, going from furious to irate, from irritable to neutral, then finally melted into a look Felix had never seen before from it: a genuine smile.
"Now, as my friend here was saying, what were you doing here, friend?" Riley warmly asked, his voice low and soft.
The morgrem's curled lips parted. "I- I was going to grab some good stuff from here, to take- take back to my boss. I couldn't go back empty-handed, not with him- him and his buddy taking my score from me a couple moons ago," it said whilst looking at Felix.
Riley turned to Felix and flashed a smug grin, then turned back to the morgrem. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure it was nothing personal, just business. Say, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of acquainting ourselves before. Name's Riley. And what might your name be?"
"They- they call me Shane."
"Well, what a pleasure to meet you, Shane!" Riley hummed. "Now, I am aware we have just been acquainted, but may I ask you something personal?" The ribbon tethered to the morgrem seemed to squeeze ever-so tighter.
"Sure, I- I don't see why not," Shane calmly replied.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Now, just to confirm my suspicions, you are running with Cobb's crew, yes?"
Shane shakingly nodded.
"That's great to hear! One last, very simple question…" Riley leaned closer, brandishing a lovely smile, "where might I find him?"
Shane's eyes drifted away in thought. "I- I don't where he's living or nothing, but I was suppo- supposed to bring a haul down the Dragonair River."
Riley rubbed the bottom of his round chin with a ribbon. "Is that right? Nowhere else comes to mind?"
"No- none else," Shane jitterily shook his head.
"I see." Riley leaned in closer, his face now near touching Shane's. "Then, goodnight, sweet prince." A soft pink glow gathered at Riley's lips and he pressed them against Shane's forehead. Shane's eyes flew wide-open as his body writhed and glittering sparkles seemed to be drawn from him towards Riley, being absorbed at once. Then Shane fell limp; no longer twitching, and his body falling flat against the ground.
Felix looked at Shane's unconscious body and scoffed. "So, is that what you wanted him for? A kiss and tell?"
"A tell then kiss, but yes." Riley straightened his postures and wrapped each ribbon of his around each of Shane's limbs, pulling him close.
Felix looked skyward, spying the edge he had been hung from a moment ago, and recalled something. "While I was up there, I saw a stash of goods he's been keeping up there. Want me to fetch the stuff and bring it down?"
Riley's eyes narrowed. "A stash of…? Oh, yes, yes, I understand now. No, no need for that; I'm more than capable of doing so myself, so keep quiet." He peered over to Felix over his shoulder. "Understand?"
"Right, right," Felix dismissively affirmed with a wave of his hand. Pacing around, he drew closer to Riley, rubbing his palms together. "So, I played waiter for you tonight, went out and cleaned up the guests when asked, and got a noose around my neck for the trouble, just to get the piece you were looking for. I need to know, Riley: are we doing this?"
Riley's head turned towards the night sky. Soft breaths entered and exited his nose. "I cannot say presently if we are to see one another again, united in goal… but should you be curious as to my definitive answer, I'd suggest checking that job board tomorrow. And do look thoroughly." Gathering up Shane, Riley dragged him along with him as he crossed the frosted grass below towards the back corner of the building. At the corner, he looked back over to Felix. "Any questions?"
"Uh, sure, I guess. Where you taking him?"
"Oh, him?" Riley raised an arm of Shane's. "Can't have him tattling on me to his friends, can we? I think I'm going to take him to the lock-up back in the village after tonight. For now, I need to stash him away for bit- nothing that should concern you. Anything else?"
"No, nothing."
"Good. Take care, fella. I'm sure we'll meet again soon." And just like that Riley and Shane disappeared around the corner.
Now on his own, Felix rubbed his sore neck and went to the opposite corner. The dark woodwork ahead and freezing air did little to numb his pain as he traveled along the great wall beside him.
Approaching the opposite corner, he could hear the bitter pangs of an argument just around the bend- Petal and her mother once more.
"So what? You would prefer I'd just let someone die? Is that it?"
Peeking out, he could see Petal's mother with her back to him. They were on the low balcony in front of the entrance, the grand doors of the hall shut behind them.
Petal's leaves stuck up pointedly in the air, rigid and irate.
"It's not about that! Helping others isn't the problem! But you need to think of yourself! That stunt could've gotten you hurt! Or worse!" her mother feverishly pleaded.
The two leaned closer to one another, scowls both made plain on them. Petal's eyes then flickered behind her mother, spotting a small blue head hovering by the corner. "Blue!" She hastily made her way down the steps and ran to him. "Blue! Tell her you would've literally died if I hadn't shown up! Come on!"
Felix walked out from his corner with his hands partially raised in the air, walking past Petal and heading towards the main path back to Fango. "Nope, I don't want no part in-"
"Wait, Blue! Please!" Petal shuffled in front of him and firmly began pushing him towards the balcony. Lacking the strength to refuse, he begrudgingly went along and did not resist as he soon found himself before the lilligant. "Go on, Blue! Tell her!" Petal added from his side.
"It's true, were it not for the sprig here, I… wouldn't be speaking to you now." The gravity of the situation before finally seeped into him. A cold shudder took hold of his body, and a tingle trickled down his spine. Swallowing some spit in his throat, he stared more intently into the lilligant's eyes. "If it weren't for her, I'd be dead."
The lilligant's stern mien wavered briefly. "And I'm glad to see you're alright. But that doesn't mean I don't worry!"
"And I don't blame you for worrying, ma'am, but I'm still thankful towards her."
"Yeah, see! Come on, mom, for once just tell me, 'Oh, I'm so proud of you, Petal!' Let me hear those words without any other baggage attached!" Petal's mother looked to her. Her eyes seemed to waiver, flicking between the dirt and her daughter.
"I do love you, dear. And I'm proud of the lovely daughter I've been blessed with, so very happy to know what she is capable of…"
Petal relaxed, the splay of her leaves flattening down towards the cool earth.
"... which makes it all the more frustrating when I see she doesn't put her all into everything she does, or when she's needlessly reckless!"
Petal's leaves flew up. "Really? Even that was too much to ask?"
"I know you can do so much more, Petal. Don't think I don't know you snuck out when you should've been cleaning. You need to think about how little actions today can shape your future."
Huffs left Petal continuously and deep, and the ruffles of her body had risen fiercely. "...So it's my future, is that it? Want me to think about that?"
"Yes, that's all I've ever asked for you. Now come," the lilligant lowered itself down and extended her arm to Petal. "We need to clean-up, then we can head home."
Petal stared emptily at the hand of her mother before her. Her eyes traveled up along the arm, then meeting her mom's gaze. "You know what? How's this for thinking about my future." she turned and looked up to Felix, her eyes filled with determination, "Blue, I want in on your team."
"What?!" both Felix and Petal's mother exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah, you heard me! I'm done! I quit! You're so ridiculous! There isn't a day that I wish I could be doing something else with my life!" Petal prodded at Felix's arm with a stiff leaf, "Come on, Blue! Say you'll have me! I'll do anything you want and more!"
"What? But I-" he stammered out, trying to think his way through the current development past the fog of pain that still lingered in his head, "I haven't got nothing to pay you with. Sure, we're taking on jobs, but Star's been doing that out of her own will! We're saving up all we can for something I need. I'm sorry, but there's no way I could take you in."
"Oh, you think I'm in it for the money?" Petal began nervously laughing, the beads of her eyes reflecting a contorted mix of sadness and joy. "If I were interested in making money, I'd stay with her and inherit this god-forsaken family business! We get so much from our monthly sales by themselves, let alone catering events like this! No, money doesn't mean a thing in the end. Not for me! It all doesn't matter when you're gone! I'll join up with you for free!"
"Petal!" cried out her mother as she descended the steps, "you can't be serious! Who would help me in the fields, or delivery?"
"Oh, I don't know, why don't you consult the pile of cash we have and see if it knows anybody you could hire? Maybe somebody with arms?" She turned back to Felix, "Come on, Blue! Let me help you help me help you!"
"I…" Felix looked between Petal and her mother. One stared at him with disbelief, whilst the other gleamed with resolution.
"You wouldn't dare…" breathed out the lilligant. "She's a farmhand! She's never been in any scrape before! She isn't meant to be pursuing criminals!"
"Come on, Blue. I'm begging you." Petal shuffled beside him, boring into his very being with pleading eyes. "Please."
He thought carefully about the choice before him, yet no wonder how deeply he swam in his thoughts, he could not see a reason as to why he should not. He turned his body to face her and crouched down to her level and cleared his throat. Raising his hand to Petal, he pointed a stern finger towards her. "You got one chance for this."
Her eyes widened, and her body began trembling, betraying her uncontainable excitement. "Ooh, thank you, thank you! I promise you, Blue, you won't-"
He pressed his finger against her forehead. "Ease up, now. Nothing concrete for you, yet. We're just going to see how well you fit. Then I'll make the call."
"You can't be serious! She doesn't know how dangerous it is out there!"
"I'm not a kid anymore, mom! Haven't been one for a while! Ignore her, Blue, tell me the plan. What do you want me to do?"
"We'll meet at the square first thing in the morning, then go from there. You think you can handle that?" he asked as he stood back up.
"Of course I can! I'll be there!"
Having heard enough, the lilligant threw out her arm and grabbed a blade of Petal's head. "Petal. We are going to need to talk tonight. But before that, we finish our job like good Petal's and clean what we can. Understood?"
"Yeah, I hear you. I'm not going to let you hang dry tonight, mom, but don't expect me around in the morning." The two began making their way back up the stairs with Felix following behind. At the doorway, Petal's mother pulled open the door and ushered her daughter inside. "Oh!" Petal blurted out from the doorway. "Pay you tomorrow, Blue!"
Petal's mother shooed her in before following inside herself, attempting to close the door as Felix approached. "Hey, wait a second!" Before the heavy wooden doors could shut, he threw his foot out and propped the door partially open. The lilligant peered through the crack, clearly not happy to see him close. "Shouldn't I help?"
"I think it's best if you went on home," she said with venom dripping in her voice. Her thin arm slid through the slight opening and gently pushed him away from the door, then finally shutting the entrance with a resounding thud when he was clear.
Staring at that cold door, he let out a soft sigh.
The amber lights that shone through the windows seemed to be finally dimming, and sensing his expended use at the hall, he turned around and went back down the stairs. A lonesome road awaited him on the path back to the set of stones he called a shelter.
The bitter cold of winter's howl and piercing silver gaze above made for loathsome travel partners through the cruel woodwork. The beacon of the briar ahead could scarcely pierce the unending layers of jagged tree limbs above.
His aching body pulsated dull sensations of pain with every step, recalling his injuries with each heartbeat that he would need to soothe back at his nook.
But for all that surrounded him and permeated within himself, a small revelation illuminated his vision to the future.
Both behind and ahead of him, lay those he knew he could count on for the mission ahead.