[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Pirate Tale (OOC)

but you can just call me "Anton"

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From the very first glance, anyone can see that Anton positively drips with charm. He always holds his head high and carries himself with an air of confidence. His right ear is pierced near the top, with three golden rings glimmering against the dark fur, and the "mask" on his face is meticulously kept soft and gleaming. His gaze holds a strange, often piercing quality to it, in no small part due to his heterochromia, with his right iris being a dazzling emerald green and his left a deep ocean blue.

He frequently rotates between a large repertoire of clothing and accessories, though often foregoing any clothing at all. One accessory he can be reliably seen with, however, is a small knapsack in which he keeps an array of tiny instruments, namely his ukulele, flute, harmonica, ocarina, a hand harp, and a small set of drums. Additionally, he enjoys crafting various dyes out of berries and other materials in order to change up the hue of his fur for various occasions.

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The three main descriptors for Anton would probably have to be charismatic, devious, and lascivious. From his upbringing in high society to his delving into its murky depths, he's learned tricks to charm just about anyone he comes across. He has a tongue of silver and an eye for gold, and there's very little he won't do to get his way.

In general, his primary setting seems to be "friendly," but it doesn't take much to realize that he rather ubiquitously carries with him ulterior motives, ranging from relatively benign to downright insidious. When going around in his Nightingale persona, he moves with a lithe pep in his step and an often sensually cheerful demeanor, keeping everyone around him in high morale, filled with a different kind of spirit, and eventually off their guard, though the latter aspect is used to a lesser extent in regards to his companions and crewmates.

Outside of being a bard, Anton is a sly fox indeed. He can easily give the impression that he has the ability to smell nearby treasure, no matter how well hidden it is. His modus operandi is to charm people off their guard and then move in to deftly rob them blind before they ever have a chance to notice, masterfully deflecting the blame onto some other unsuspecting culprit.

While his ultimate loyalty is only to himself, he prides himself in being a fiercely dependable ally. Who his true allies are, however, is a far less discernible matter. Even so, he's willing to lend his talents and assistance to most anyone who asks, who isn't already a mark of his own, at least.

While his charisma proves to be his greatest strength, perhaps his most egregious flaw is his pride, which rapidly morphs into jealousy and envy when he's faced with someone of equal or greater talent in any area, or when his plans are interrupted by pests and nuisances. Obstacles that he deems overly irksome will be subverted or removed at any cost, but if he finds himself in a loop of frustration, such obstacles can easily cause his typically calm mind and meticulous plots to break down into a garbled mess. Past instances like those are what have driven him further to hone his own skills, until one day he can no longer find anyone or anything capable of standing in his way.

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Anton was born to a noble Thievul clan in the city of Orania, coming into the world as the youngest of seven children. Due to this, he always felt as if he was living in the looming shadows of his elder siblings, and so from a very young age felt a drive to set himself apart from the rest.

It began with his playful childhood spirit, constantly attempting to drag his older brothers and sisters into his shenanigans. For a time it worked with his youngest sister, Lena, with the two becoming quite the mischievous pair, pulling pranks on the rest of their family and random passersby in the city. They would trick tourists into thinking some inane location was a sacred landmark of Orania, or dare one another to steal some fruit from a local market stand. When he was seven years of age and his sister was nine, one particular prank went a bit too far, however, causing a ceremony spearheaded by their eldest brother, Faustus, to go terribly awry. The subsequent berating from Faustus and severe scolding from their parents was the catalyst in Lena and Anton's close ties being broken, and from then on Anton was on his own with his shenanigans. For a time, he tried his hardest to maintain a facade of normalcy, but being left on his own and often shunned by his older siblings soon dropped him into a depression, which later morphed his innocently playful spirit into bitterly deceitful one.

By the age of ten, Anton had moved onto petty larceny, stealing jewels and baubles from local merchants and high class individuals. He used his youth to his advantage, weaponizing it into a tool to disarm people, sweet talking them into letting down their guard, all the while he would practice and perfect his deft sleight of hand. He was caught a small handful of times in the early days, drawing extreme ire from his parents and eldest siblings, who all had appearances to maintain. This only fueled him to go further and dare to be grander in his plans, lashing out against his prim and proper family that seemed only too happy to ignore him at any other time.

As his antics grew, so did the whispers surrounding him. The city folk knew he was the black sheep of the family, and rumors and gossip would often precede him, sometimes growing to unrealistic proportions. This increased the stress on his family, but only encouraged him, determined to live up to even the wildest of accusations held against him. When he was thirteen, he set into motion his most audacious heist yet: robbing the richest family in Orania of their prized Shaymin statue, a small thing carved entirely out of one grand emerald. It was a symbol of their wealth and prosperity, and formed a centerpiece in their household that would surely have its absence noticed within mere moments of its abduction. So how could a thirteen year old Nickit even dream of obtaining it and getting away with it? That's where his first true experience with seasoned rogues came into play.

A few days before he enacted his plan, an odd band of pokémon made land at the Orania docks, and Anton just so happened to cross paths with him as he was fleeing from his latest strike at a local fish market that made its home on those same docks. He swiftly veered around a corner, managing to slam head first into a Gallade, who he would later come to know as the leader of this strange group of foreigners. He immediately panicked: Gallade being renowned as paragons of virtue and justice instantly convincing him that he'd been caught. Much to his shock, the Gallade simply moved aside with a smile and allowed him to continue his flight away from the scene of the crime.

After scarfing down the evidence of what he'd done, he returned to the docks to investigate the Gallade and his crew. He thought he was being slick about it, sticking to the shadows and out of sight so that he could spy on them. He witnessed some sort of shady deal go down between the Gallade and a Mr. Rime who was accompanied by a Mienshao. He wasn't sure what it was about, but he could sense the legality of the situation was grey at best. To his surprise once more, after the Mr. Rime and Mienshao had departed, the Gallade immediately turned to look at the spot where Anton was hiding, a calm, pleasant expression adorning his face. The Gallade finally introduced himself as Hartley, captain of the Emerald Seeker: a pirate vessel. He'd taken notice of the precocious young vagabond before him, and asked if Anton might be able to assist him in a task he'd come to Orania for.

When Hartley told him that he sought out the Emerald Shaymin statue, Anton's first response was to ask if that wasn't a bit on the nose, considering the name of his ship. Hartley laughed at that, patting Anton on the head and agreeing with him, then telling him that the thematic nature of the ordeal was part of his interest in the item. It would be a perfect prize for his crew. He inquired as to whether Anton had heard of the object. Anton hesitated for a moment, before deciding that this bit of trouble could be the fun he was looking for, and told Hartley that he did indeed know of the statue, as well as the house where it dwelled.

Shortly thereafter, Hartley introduced Anton to his crew, and they began plotting on how to take the statue. Three days later, Anton found himself in a mad dash out of the home where the statue belonged, a small bag clasped in his mouth with his prize, several of the Seeker's crew members covering his escape. It was the most positively exhilarating experience of his young life, and once he found himself safely back in the company of Hartley, he was absolutely craving more. When he asked the pirate captain if he could join them in their departure, however, the Gallade gave him a smirk, which slowly gave way into a saddened expression. He told Anton that the fox was simply too young to join them, and to, despite their differences, enjoy his time with his family before adulthood swept him away. Anton protested this, but Hartley was steadfast in his decision.

As they readied themselves to weigh anchor, Hartley turned back to Anton and made him a promise: if his heart was still set on joining them in a few years time, he could seek out the Seekers, and they would gladly take him aboard.

Anton would keep that promise in his mind every day for the rest of his youth.

Not all was smooth sailing from then on out, however; the very next year, having duped himself into believing he could be a great rogue in his own right at the young age of fourteen, he threw caution to the wind when it came to "smaller" marks, and found himself caught red handed during an attempt to pickpocket the headmaster of the local Bards College. Rather than castigate the young man, the headmaster made him a surprising offer: come join him and train at the college, and he would forgive the transgression. Anton was thoroughly confused; why would the man he'd just attempted to rob make him such an offer? As it turned out, part of it was due to his lineage. The headmaster knew who the boy was, had seen him at various gatherings in the city over the years, and had taken a keen interest in his talents. He thought the boy would make an excellent bard if he applied himself to it, and his mischievous and fun loving ways would lend themselves well to the persona of an entertainer.

Anton, though a bit conflicted, accepted the offer. Over the course of the next four years, he focused himself on learning how to carry a tune, master various instruments, and to apply his well honed, roguish charms into a charismatic persona. His two paths complemented one another well, with his talents as a songster gaining him access to people and locations that he once would have fought in the shadows to come near, and his talents in deceit and sleight of hand giving him a leg up in wooing his clients. As an added benefit, his family saw this transformation as him turning over a new leaf, and he began to live an incredibly efficient double life.

It also gave him a wonderful excuse when he was eighteen years of age, to travel the world and sharpen his talents and wit as a performer, while quietly seeking out the crew of the Emerald Seeker.

When he was twenty, it happened: he saw the vibrant, verdant vessel docked at a port city far from his own home. Instantly he ran towards it, only to be stopped in his tracks by the Seeker's muscle, a Feraligatr known as Dret. Having been nearly seven years since his last encounter with the crew, Anton was now a much larger, more refined Thievul, as opposed to the spry little Nickit he once was, and surely unrecognizable to the crew he'd once met. But he knew them all instantly, with their last encounter having been an incredibly formative memory to him.

Dret was imposing, and immediately bared his teeth at the fox, clearly indicating that he was not welcome near the Emerald Seeker. The teeth were quickly stowed away, covered by a look of bewilderment, as Anton stated the large reptile's name to him. After a pause in which Dret studied Anton from head to toe, the Feraligatr posed the question: do I know you? Anton was quick to respond, introducing himself as the young Nickit that once helped to retrieve a valuable artifact from the city of Orania. Another moment passed, and then realization dawned on Dret, and the terrifying creature smiled, before turning to bring Anton on board to speak, at long last, to Hartley.

The Gallade was true to his word: having sought them out as an adult, Anton was welcomed with open arms into the crew of the Emerald Seeker, and the ship set sail once more, with the Thievul bard finally on its deck. He spent the next seven years with them, with each member of the Seekers becoming a member of his new family. They were a close knit bunch, and loyal to a fault.

After many adventures with them, a new challenge arose that Hartley came to Anton with. In the race to find the legendary Wishmaker, there were many players, but the Seekers were determined to be the ones to get there first. But this did require some creative thinking on their part. While the Seeker did have a strong allegiance with other vessels—one such belonging to the Mienshao Anton had witnessed on the docks all those years ago—there were others that were nothing more than rivals to the seekers, and Anton was to infiltrate one of those vessels to discern their knowledge of the Wishmaker and to report any new discoveries back to Hartley, all while steering them just far enough away to keep them on the right track, yet three steps behind the Seekers.

And that's when Anton was introduced to the Frozen Roses, nearly two years ago now. He'd spent a long time building his cover and rapport with them, and he knew they suspected naught of his true intentions.

Cubism#6972