[PKMN FULL] Cornered On The Market! [T](IC)

[Foxrally]

Status: Stylist

Click here to view Errol's application!

Held Item: Pair of earrings

Errol the Qwilfish​

Seeing the way Errol was so quick to dash his boss' fashion suggestion and substitute it for his own, Castiel was about to counter with something he presumed witty when Blair cut in.

"I am not just gonna ditch the cape, Errol. It means a lot to me. It's been the attire I've always worn for magic."

"I..." Errol hesitated briefly before shaking his head vehemently. "No, no no. We can't have sentimentalism in fashion!" he said, puffing up slightly. "Or at least, that's what miss Nellie always says. Trust me on this one - I've done this a lot."

The Mismagius nearly did a doubletake at Errol's mention of the town seamstress. He would have asked how a limbless fish had any business at a tailor's, or about how uncharacteristic that quote sounded, but Blair wasn't having it.

"What's so wrong with this cape? I wanna be able to get into the role, and this cape helps me do that with all the memories I have had with it. Good times..." She looked wistfully briefly before returning to face Errol, obviously not willing to give it up so easily.

Errol tilted his body in confusion. "Yeah, but..." the Qwilfish mumbled. He had been aware that Blair was a magic performer before - he just hadn't gotten the chance to know any more than that. "I mean... I guess you could accommodate it in the design... if it means so much to you..."

He hopped off the desk, rolling around to take a good look at the cape. "I-it's very pretty though! Where did you get it? I imagine it would've come from Miss Nellie from the tailor's."

"Nah, I got this a long time ago. Way before I even lived in Jubilee. I'd say before it went to crap, but that'd be a lie."

Errol gasped at the mention of the word 'crap', his eyes darting nervously towards Castiel. Castiel locked eyes with Errol and gave a knowing nod. Errol, in turn, nodded just as affirmingly. They came to a consensus that indeed, words were spoken.

Ignoring Errol's reaction, she continued. "Anyways, it was a birthday present from my mother, one of the more scarce happy memories I have of the old woman. Had it not been for her being her, and better circumstances, I may have got along better with her. So, she gives me the cape, since magic runs in the family, herself included, and it's nothing too fancy but it was pretty. With some help from mom when she was around..." She narrowed her eyes, indicating some animosity about how her mother wasn't the most reliable of people. She continued, "...and some other acquaintances of my mother's, I grew to like magic because of how cool it looked, what they could do with it and most importantly, the reactions they got out of people."

"Whoa..." Errol muttered, amazed at how a piece of clothing had withstood the passage of time so well. "But then... where's your mom now? I'm sure my mom knows her. My mom knows a lot of people." he asked.

"Last time we talked, she still lived in my hometown, a Pokemon city east of here. That was several years ago, so I wouldn't know if she's still there now, nor would I care."

"Oh..." The concept of a mother abandoning her child - or not being present - was almost completely foreign to Errol. He wasn't sure if Blair had been the one to leave, or the opposite had happened; but all he knew was that the two weren't on the same page.

"But, like... she's your mother, right? You must care at least a little." he said optimistically, as Castiel looked on with a reserved curiosity.

"I suppose..." It was clear she was conflicted on some level, and so she dropped it and left it at that. "But enough with that, I'd like to talk about something else. Or nothing at all."

Errol blushed. "Oh, r-right! Sorry..." he reminded himself of what his mother had told him about politeness and not asking too many questions. "Well, if we're going to be keeping the cape, we should spiff it up with something, or at least another piece of clothing to make it stand out. That would need a tailor's help though..." he mused. "We can think of something else in the meantime! What about..."

He looked around the room, scanning for anything that could prove useful. His gaze suddenly fell on the box of jewelry near the shelf. "What about earrings? You've got your ears pierced, right?"

Castiel, still the background character in the foreground scene, raised a brow. He had never noticed the Braixen had had her ears pierced. He was more surprised at how much more observant Errol was for these things. He presumed because Errol was just a fish in a bowl most any other time.

Blair nodded her head, "Yeah, I have pierced ears. Ya found some earrings, huh? I wish I still had some..."

"Oh? What happened to yours?" Errol asked, rolling over to the box and snagging a large pair of earrings with his tail.

She sighed as she told the Qwilfish, "I was robbed. Y'may have heard that already, about someone I knew who betrayed my trust and robbed me. Here, let me see those." She picked up the earrings and asked, "See anything I could use for a mirror around here?"

"Uh..." Errol looked around the room. He was fairly confident he had seen a shiny surface when coming into the room. He scanned the walls, when suddenly the glint of a mirror in the corner of the room caught his eye. It was a little difficult to notice it next to the masks, especially with the layer of dust covering the glass, but it was quite tall.

"It's right behind you, actually!" the Qwilfish pointed out. "Mister Castiel, your office is very nice. Although a little cramped."

"Why thank you. I suppose this should feel like home to you, Errol," the Ghost replied cheekily, a subtle quip about the fish's typically undersized bowl he so often steeped in on the counter.

Blair looked back, and indeed, there was a very tall mirror. She took the fairly large earrings and fumbled with them, adjusting them to put them on. She liked how they looked, but she had to see how they would look on her outfit, which she had yet to try on. She went back to go ahead and try it on, confident that she could incorporate the cape into some sort of flowing, magical looking design that she had envisioned.

"Put the jewelry on afterwards," Castiel urged the finagling fox. The levitating colonial-style top shook itself in front of her, insisting to be noticed. "Try on this blouse on first. That's more important than accessories right now."

She had been so preoccupied thinking about old memories and sharing a few with Errol that Blair didn't realize that she forgot to try on the blouse. She took it from Castiel and nonchalantly began to change in front of the two.

Errol gasped, promptly turning around and averting his eyes. Blushing, he glanced over at Castiel, timidly urging the Mismagius to turn around as well. W-why is she changing in the middle of the room?! he thought, horrified as to what his mother's reaction would have been had she been here.

Castiel leered out of the corner of his eye to Errol. Holding his tongue for now, the Ghost tried to communicate how completely ridiculous Errol was being on the matter, which amounted to nothing more but a silent, intense stare.

Confused at what got Errol all worked up, she asked, "What? I'm just trying it on." She sighed before realizing, "Oh. Sorry I guess." Blair rolled her eyes, not getting how the Qwilfish could be uncomfortable with this. She was just trying on clothes after all.

"Are you done, though?" the fish croaked weakly, refusing to turn back around.

"Errol, please," Castiel sighed, the breath of a chortle latching on at the end, "The only thing she ever wears is a cape. If anything, she's putting on more clothes."

After getting the blouse on over herself, she exclaimed, "There. Got it on." She turned to face Errol and Castiel, awaiting apprasial while asking, "So, it's a little slim, but I like how it fits. What do you guys think?"

Cautiously peeking first before turning around, Errol rolled in a semi-circle arond Blair, looking over her new attire. "It suits you very well, Blair!" he exclaimed happily. "The colors match you very nicely. They even work with your cloak!"

Castiel gave Blair a once over, canting his head from one side to the other to get a preliminary check. "Well, it looks like my dress shirt fits you well enough, yes." He gave a satisfactory nod before drifting around behind her for a more comprehensive overview. "The... shoulders are certainly too broad, but there's almost a style to how it slumps off into the puffed sleeves. If you wear your cape, you'll be fine in hiding it as well." He returned to his position hailing before Blair. "And you'll want to keep your hands up and active, otherwise the sleeves will just swallow up your little paws and you'll look less like our mysterious teller and more like a captive double amputee." He couldn't help but chuckle at his black humor for a moment. "Anyway, do you like this? Would you like to try on the quilted cloak I have as well, or are you fine with just this?"

Blair considered it for a moment. Did she want to stick with just the blouse or give that cloak a shot? "Nah, I'll be good with just this. It's just the thing I'm looking for." She gave a gesture of approval with a sweeping flourish of her hand, ruffling her blouse sleeves. Had it been any other kind of dress up, Blair would not be so cooperative and more like her usual, salty self. But if it was for the purpose of magic, it certainly warranted more enthusiasm and attention.

Blair went back to the mirror to put the earrings on, completing the look alongside some bangles to adorn her arms. She walked out of the office, dressed and ready for the part that was to follow. Blair paid no mind to her coworkers as she walked over to the stand, sizing up the role and containing the childlike joy she got from doing this after so long.

Following behind her and both on air was Castiel and an escorted, purple-tinged Errol. The Ghost spoke up as he swept over the Checkout counter, plopping Errol back into his fish bowl. "Well now everybody," he presented with a grand, hyperbolic tone, "Take a look at Blair and see just what Errol and I so meticulously crafted from two great minds!"

A joint post of Foxrally, Fen-Kun and Jauntier​

 

[dud190]

Location: "Into the office and out of the office."
Status: "My perspective has... Changed."
Additional Info:
[/COLOR]​

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Benicle the Ninjask​

​

While Benicle had enjoyed the pleasure of seeing Rina in pain, the situation was getting worse very fast. The Chimecho had started to get paler and paler, and the air seemed tense. The situation was becoming very awkward for Benicle, and he just wanted the situation to be over with. However, that was not to be, as his boss called out to him from the side.
"Into my office, in the cupboard on the middle shelf, there's a basket. Dig for her medicine, bring it to me. GO!" demanded the fairy type to Benicle.
Well, he did say that he would helped if anyone needed it. Sighing, Benicle scanned the room for the office. He quickly found it and zoomed towards it.
As he entered the door, Benicle quickly discovered the area to be a mess. The Furret whom mentioned Farlance to Amaryllis was sprawled out on the ground, with a whole bunch of pellets sprawled out around him.
"These little pellets... They aren't the medicine that Rina needs, is it?" he asked to the pokemon. But Benicle realized as it was a stupid question, as it was the only thing in the room that looked remotely like medicine. So very casually, he started picking up the pellets one by one using his little claws and putting them in a pile. But at the third indiviudal pellet, his mind began to wander. By the time about a quarter of the pellets were picked up, Benicle came to a realization.

What am I doing? This pokemon could possibly die right here, and all because of a little grudge! I came to Jubilee to be friendly, to prepare me to go back to Farlance. Yes, Rina does aggravate me based on what she has done today, and probably more after this. But if I take too long and she dies, that'll weigh heavily on me and I'll feel like a criminal all over again. It's also the right thing to do!

With a new mindset, Benicle focused, and created a substitute of himself, and together the two Benicles started picking up the medicine pellets. The two managed to quickly to gather the pellets into two piles. When that was done, each Benicle very carefully picked up each pile. Then Benicle looked at the Furret.
"Sorry, I know you're in a little pickle there, but I gotta go. Hope you're fine." Benicle said to the Furret. Benicle then flew out of the door at a pretty fast pace, with the substitute following closely behind.
A few pellets dropped from the two Benicle's claws as the pokemon made a speedy enterance to the location of Amaryllis and Rina. Benicle spilled out the medicine pellets in front of Amaryllis, and his clone followed suit as well.
"Here you go, Amaryllis. I hope I didn't take that long. I hope Rina feels better." Benicle said, waiting patiently to see the outcome of Rina.

​

 

[Jauntier]

The Boulevard
7:33 AM | Spirited Away side alley

Standing in front of Gabriel was a little Munchlax. In his hand was a quarter-eaten, triple-stacked hoagie sandwich, crumbs dusted all over his mouth and the front of his chest. The two little underbite fangs that his species usually had had not appear to have grown in yet.

The furry creature took a big bite out of his sandwich and up at the muscled Sneasel for a few seconds before presenting through a mouthful:

"Hi."

As he stood there and continued to chew, one couldn't help but look out into the street and wonder where this little one came from as the boulevard was currently clear-dead silent.

Swallowing, he continued, I'm Milton. Sometimes I look at a sandwich and wonder how many layers do I have?" After that seemingly nonsensical muse, he took another bite of his sandwich and stared off into the distance at something or other, the expression on his face almost ever-vacant.


When those pinpointed pupils returned to Gabriel, Milton got straight to the point. "Can you help me? My new friend says I'd better run, but I'm not the best runner." Moving as if he lead-footed, he stuck a foot out, toes to the ground as if to graciously show off his stout. jungle-hair leg. "I think it's 'cause I'm short."

He shoved down another bite of pre-breakfast lunch.​

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Spirited Away
7:36 AM | Manager's Office

It seems Castiel's loud presentation had stirred a clump of white fur that had bundled itself up against the front of the Checkout counter. As it groaned, Castiel turned his attention to it, floating down to address the pile of hair Druag seemed to miss in sweeping. Not to his surprise did he recall that it was Silver, the miniature Absol.

"Silver, is something the matter?" Castiel asked, his tone a little firmer than it needed to be, as inwardly he was steeling himself up for an undesirable response. The little Absol raised her head and groaned.

"N-No..." she croaked. Castiel sighed. It was evident to him that something else had afflicted Silver, he was certain that she had recovered from her Confusion quite some time ago.

"Silver, be honest with me." His tone now took a decidedly paternal note as he glanced his eye at the wall, checking the time. It was about twenty minutes until the shop was due to open, and already this was happening.

Silver relented and moaned honestly. "Something I ate didn't agree with me... Oooh..."

Castiel shut his eyes and thought for a second. Whatever it was, it certainly couldn't have been his breakfast, because his breakfast was absolutely delicious. That, and no one else had gotten an adverse reaction from it. He surmised that, perhaps, she was reacting poorly to the herbal medicine she was given for her Confusion. If that was the case--as he was certain it was--he knew from observing similar experiences that this ache and nausea would last for some hours. These were all hours he could not afford to have a sickly employee lounging about to get better.

"Silver, you're not going to like what I have to tell you," he began, "But this is what I''m going to say. Silver, go home for today. You can call back if you feel better, and if we are short one person, you may return."

Castiel was met with a few meek objections, but as it proved to the both of them, she just could not keep it up. Dejected, but internally determined to get better for her own sake, she picked up her signature red scarf, gagged out a couple goodbyes to her colleagues, and shuffled her way out the front door.

The second he heard that tumbler click in place, Castiel sighed, turning around to brush himself over the counter as he racked his brain of available replacements.

Of course this happens to me of all times. What guillible no-life is going to fill in on such short notice today, of all days?

Now behind a register, under the counter sat a rotary phone, the classic handset lifting itself off of the receiver and to the side of Castiel's head. Clicking and clacking was heard as the phone dialed itself the number to The Jubilee Inn.

"Yes, hello," Castiel answered quietly, speaking to the caller on the other end, his eyes drifting idly across the room. He saw Druag reading a book, which, for some reason, amused him. "Yes, I'm calling for a Leila? Do you have her on your roster? ... No, with an 'I'. ... Well, she's a pink little-- Yes, that's the one. What is her extension so that I may call her directly? ... Oh yes, please do, but I still would like to know for the fu-- What? Is that a new rule, that I can't just call her directly? ... Two weeks ago? Well, I guess I can't blame them ever since that Voltorb incident in that other town. When will the violence end? ... Haha, yes, certainly, I'll wait."

A few seconds later, Castiel was finally met with the voice he had asked for.

"Hello, Leila! Yes, it's me, Castiel. How do you feel about walking over to the store in less than twenty minutes and working all day today?"​

__________________________________________

Forget-Me-Not
7:36 AM | Manager's Office

At the word "Ma," Amaryllis' eyes widened as the cold body in her arms began to thrash with that much more life. Pelting through her shock like rain in a shower, the sound of the medicine being spilled all over the carpet in front of her brought Amaryllis' attention back to the immediate. She flicked her head up to see Benicle had delivered--in his true way of his. In the glossy ruby orbs that was the Ninjask's eyes, she saw herself reflected in the compounds, and she could see the tears streaming down her face.

She turned her head to stare back at the Bidoof, trembling and yet at the ready to the counter, the classic phone's handset shoved in his mouth though he was of purely good intentions.

"Oh, my Lord..." she croaked, leaning forward to grab through her wet, twisted vision a pill from before her. "Oh, thank you..."

Benicle and Samuel each earned +3 Favor!
Amaryllis is overwhelmed with gratitude!​

"Rina..." Amaryllis' wavering voice began to crack as hot streams trickled down her cheek to collect at her chin. "Take it anyway. You feel cold... You look pale... J-Just..." She hiccuped, still trying to keep her shattered composure to some structure of shape. She was trembling now as petals began to fall from her mane, her flowers losing the form she so meticulously crafted for the day. Tears like dew fell on the pallid Chimecho's face, staining like glistening freckles.

"Just take it... In case... "​

 

[Greiger]

Schoolyard Bullies​

Gabriel was rather speechless at the sight of the smaller mon. He must have been losing his touch if this guy managed to sneak up on him. He watched silently for a few moments as the mon continued his meal and explained that he… needed help running? "Er… I'm not sure if I can help you there, um, Milton. Why are you asking me for help? Do I know you from somewhere? I'm pretty sure that I haven't met you before." Gabriel stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nope," came the muffled reply from the Munchlax, bits of hoagie bread flinging from his mouth as he tried to talk. "But that's okay." He then fell plumb on his rear end, the half-eaten sub barely fitting in his little hands. "I can sit better than I run."

Milton sat there and did not move from his spot on the sidewalk, staring at Gabriel as he took another loaded bite.

Gabriel had to glance about, wondering if anyone else was watching them. He had heard of things called pranks where other mon would try to make certain individuals look stupid. After seeing no one he couldn't help but stare back at Milton, "... Um…. look, Milton, it's going to be busy around these parts soon. I doubt you want to be trampled by eager customers. Howabout you take your food to a bench or somewhere?" Yeah, that would be the headline of the day. Ghost store allows customer to die outside store due to stampede of eager buyers.

Gabriel shook the thought of his head, "So, your friend sent you here? If you want to run shouldn't you try a gym? Or something like that? I'm pretty sure some fighting types have such things set up around town." He suggested.

Milton had a vacant look for a couple of seconds. His ear twitched, and his chewing slowed to a stop. He went completely still before lifting up a hand and wiggling his fingers, saying, "Oh hi, Todd."

Stalking out from around the corner of the store was a Charmeleon with a nasty look in his eye, arms out and claws pointed as if ready to swipe whatever tread close enough. The tip of his tail blazed almost as red as his baseball cap. When Milton called out to him, his head snapped to that direction and he glowered at him, and then at the Weavile in front of him.

"I told you to run," jeered the older kid, approaching now with purposeful stomps. "But I guess you're just too fat and too dumb! And who's this butt muncher?" Todd pointed a ridiculing claw at Gabriel as he spat, "You think you can hide behind this guy? Well, now I'm gonna beat both of you up!"

Milton looked up at Gabriel and whispered behind the shield of his hoagie, "That's Todd. He told me to run." Then he took another, unalarmed bite.

Gabriel stared back at Todd, a smirk lining his face as he put his hands on his hips, "Uh huh, you think you can just beat me up? You realize festival guards are around these parts? Right? You act up just once and they are going to lock you up. Buuuuuuut, if you really want to try it, go ahead. Blow some smoke out of your rear. I've met far more dangerous mon than you. So either make good on your threats and do something about it or get out of here. I have work to be doing." Gabriel stated quite confidentially.

Todd crossed his arms indignantly over his chest, though he shot the employee just as snotty a look. "Yeah right, I'm not dumb. Kids don't get locked up. I can do whatever I want since that fatso stepped on my tail and acted like he didn't do nothin'! And you can go suck on an Egg, Mister! I'm gonna melt you into a big, dumb puddle!" Todd then stuck out his tongue as he pulled down the skin under his eye, mocking Gabriel before sucking in a deep breath, smoke puffing from his nostrils for a second before he spat out a little flaming ball of Ember in Gabriel's direction.

Gabriel had seen many things in his time. He had seen ghosts that stalked mortals, mob bosses that would kill their own lackeys for the simplest mess up. In this case, he saw that Todd's technique was drooling in novice use. Gabriel quickly leaned to the side, the flames missing him completely. In a flash the Weavile used a Quick Attack to get up close and personal to Todd. He pressed against the reptile's side as a single clawed hand shot up under his chin to press against his throat, "... You know what a jugular is, don't you?" He asked curiously, "At least, that's what human textbooks call it. Funny thing, no matter what species you are, EVERYONE has a jugular. It's quite a phenomenon, wouldn't you agree?" He asked calmly.

Todd's blue eyes widened, peering up at the Weavile who so quickly dashed in front of him. Todd was too young and untrained to follow the masterful speed of Gabriel's Quick Attack, so to him it was as if the Ice-type had managed to just Teleport. With such big words as jugular and phenomenon going over Todd's head, he was caught off guard and stood there almost stunned for a moment. Then he coughed up a big, sooty puff of Smokescreen right in Gabriel's face.

Gabriel's eyes scrunched shut as he backed away, making sure to not breathe any smoke into his lungs. Once he started coughing then he would be easier to find. He had to get out of this cloud first. First off, sounds. If this reptile was a true rookie he would more than likely be pounding his feet on the pavement, or even scraping his toe claws along it. He would make his move then.

"Bless you," Milton called from beyond the smog to Todd, watching interestedly as he chomped with a little more vigor, the fight appearing to pump him up for the action. In that moment, a little missile of flames cut through the smog just on the corner of Gabriel's sight, as it was headed straight for him.

Gabriel could only hold his arms up as the fire singed his forearms. He, in turn, took in a deep breath and blew out an Icy Wind into the smog from whence the fire came. The gust of wind dispersed the Smokescreen, leaving a sniffling Todd in the clearing, shuddering and knock-kneed in plain sight. Gabriel put his hands on his hips and shook his head at the sight, "Kid, get out of here while you have a chance. I don't want to have to make you faint."

"G-Go ahead," Todd uttered through chattering teeth. "B-Beat up a k-kid! I'll g-get my d-dad on you! He's a g-guard!"

Gabriel frowned, "If you wish. Kid, you don't want to go down that path. Trust me. It's one I know too well. The moment you head down there, it's hard to back up." He looked back at the shop, "Anyways, I'm done here. Have fun at the festival you two." He made his way back to the door he had exited but moments before.

Milton, having been distracted by an interesting crack in the pavement, only then returned his attention to the scene before him. "Yeah, okay," he said obliviously to Gabriel, lifting up what was left of his giant sandwich, before making a yelp as he felt an intense heat near his hand. The sandwich had caught aflame, and Milton quickly cast it aside on the street with a panic, eyes wide as he gasped for breath.

Todd wasn't done yet, his mouth smoking from the freshly-fired shot of Ember as he began to stomp forward once more, his annoyance grown deeper.

"You and I got unfinished business, fatso," Todd ordered.

"We do?" Milton genuinely asked, his hand to his mouth in ponderance. He turned his head over to Gabriel, clearly signalling for assistance.

Gabriel sucked in a deep breath through his teeth and turned about, holding out a hand toward Milton, "We don't open for a bit… but I'm sure you could chill inside." He said as he pointedly ignored Todd.

Milton observed Gabriel's hand for a moment, and as he thought to put out his own, he was Tackled to the ground and promptly had his chubby cheeks slapped around by an enraged, mounted Todd, who cried "BABY BUTT FACE, BABY BUTT FACE" as he accosted a dazed and confused child.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes and his hand balled into a fist. A Power-Up Punch hit right into Todd's side, flinging the Charmeleon right off of his victim and rolling him a good few strides down the street. Ignoring the groaning and soft sobbing as the schoolyard bully gripped at his side, Gabriel returned his attention back to a floored Milton. ".... How about we get inside? I can get a make up sandwich up there… maybe." Gabriel said to Milton, "I'm sure my boss won't mind. Now, let's get ya up, easy."

Milton only uttered moans from the stinging pain on his cheeks, his little stubby fingers patting at them as if it would ease the pain any better. He was dizzy from having what felt like his eyes rattle around in his head, and all he managed to croak was, "My cheeks feel like old cheese, but less stinky…"

 

[Orx of Twinleaf]

Druag
Castiel and Errol had emerged from the manager's office announcing their finished Braixen product, and Druag turned to observe her for a moment. She certainly looked the part anyway: Druag had come across one or two "fortune-tellers" before and from what he could tell Blair looked similar to them. Of course, he could only be so accurate in that comparison: the ones Druag had seen had been a Cofagrigus and then a Girafarig and there wasn't much to be done comparing the curious attire their respective body types had donned. Druag remembered that the latter at least had had earrings very much akin to those Blair now had on, so that was something. "It looks very good, Ms. Blair, the customers are sure to eat it up."

He busied himself with pretending to adjust the things on the shelves as Castiel dismissed Silver for her stomachache. She left out the door and Druag nodded a goodbye to her as she went. Druag was happy he wouldn't have to try and be civil for Silver: she seemed too nice to be able to be deflected with platitudes. Druag was still a little nervous about Blair, too from their earlier conversation, and he hoped he wouldn't have to work too closely to her today either. Well if one didn't know any better they'd think you were a natural carrier of Run Away, you butt muncher, you.

Druag snorted in confusion. Of all the things the voice in his head called him, "butt muncher" was not one of them. He realized he had heard a muffled voice outside: probably some kids going by or something. Druag glanced at the storefront window and realized the curtains were still drawn and it was very close to opening time.

Druag limped over to the window at a leisurely pace. Castiel got on the phone and everyone generally took up their stations as Druag pulled the curtains back in time to see Gabriel outside with two children on the ground before him.

Druag felt a rise in temper. And he had only just started thinking more highly of Gabriel, too. But a Dark is a Dark, right Druag? Druag stomped over to the door and opened it, stepping out and looming in all his furious size. He cast an angry one-eyed gaze on the three Pokémon before him.

He bared his teeth and said low in a deep, thrumming growl, "What is going on out here?"

 

[Solar Snivy]

Leila jogged down the road as she headed for Spirited Away, her Sunny Charm keeping her in Sunshine Form even though the sun wasn't quite bright enough. She would have been running there in her haste to be on time, but Cherrim were not really built for running, or, at least, Leila wasn't.

It was nearing eight, which Leila knew was when many of the stores opened, so it wasn't a surprise to find other pokémon on the streets. Though there were more than a few, Leila could assume that it would be packed as the Festival got under way. That's how it had always been in the Village of Sun, anyway.

She glanced at the sky, mentally checking the time. The Jubilee Inn wasn't that far from Spirited Away, in Leila's opinion at least. And it helped that she had been ready to go out anyway, wanting to enjoy the Summer Festival from the morning until it ended. Not that she minded working, really. It was a good chance to impress her boss, especially if she arrived earlier than he expected, and she wasn't sure exactly what he expected.

Reaching the corner, Leila turned and spotted the shop she had been looking for. It seemed dark and gloomy in comparison to the shop across the street, but Leila paid that no mind, distracted by the scene in front of the store.

A wingless Druddigon stood menacingly in front of a Weavile, baring his teeth ferociously. On the ground beside the Weavile were two small pokemon - a Munchlax and a Charmeleon. Leila let out a gasp, staring nervously at the four.

What should I do? she thought. She didn't want to get caught up in what was obviously a fight, but if she waited here, then wouldn't Castiel be disappointed that she was taking so long? She supposed that she could try to sneak past them, but even if the Druddigon, who had something over one of his eyes, didn't notice her, she could be sure that the Weavile would.

Still, she realized she should at least try. If she could sneak to the building, she might be able to walk along the walls without them noticing her. She didn't look threatening, so if she just went to go in the door, they might leave her alone. She took a small step forward, averting her eyes from the scene.

 

[Junier]

​

Where in the Realm is my water!?

Here's the deets:
⇠ ㉖ ⇢
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Location: Forget-Me-Not; the project area.
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Mentions:
Amaryllis, "Barnacle", Samuel
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Held Item(s): Teenage Chimecho Body, Secret Potion
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Status: "Semi-life"! +Steady Consciousness -Tangibility
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⬈

+2 Favor

Rina the Chimecho ~ Forget Me Not

as of 7:36 AM:​

-------Through Rina's blurring vision she distinguished the crumpled-over Amaryllis with diamonds in the corners of her eyes. Slipping self-control created a gurgling sensation in her hearing holes as she discerned semi-audible sobbing and buzzing from Barnacle, undeniably. Her socketless eyes were locked in place; nonetheless, she felt his ruby-red eyes scouring her. And, unmistakably, the pitter-patter of a stray pill bouncing from his claw, off the carpet and rolling onto the floor. He'd brought her medicine, hadn't he? Firstly dismayed, she stifled an inward groan as she reconsidered the situation, that Barnacle had brought forth her pills at record speed, and was silenced. Despite everything.
-------The Chimecho was thoroughly touched. Despite everything and anything that had happened within those first few hours, she had two concerned Pokemon at her accompaniment and, as she recalled, yet another right beside the phone. A Bug willing to put animosity aside—a show of kindliness that, from Rina's experience, was near-uncharacteristic for most Bug-types—, a boss who was ready to cry for her… Her senses were clogging up again, to her great irritation, and she put her utmost effort into resurrecting them. There was not a single way or reason why she would ever, ever consider abandoning her family again.
-------"Noo… I am very good, everyone…"
-------Her voice arose as a pitiful whine that wore out halfway through, battered down by Amaryllis' choking insistence. "...take it… In case…"
-------Solicitously and resentfully, Rina determined she had little choice.
-------She settled into her cadaver, expectant for Amaryllis to pass the pill onto her. The glossy, amber-brown sphere shone in her hand. Rina simmered with impatience. In a weak yet annoyance-driven movement, she flicked up her tail to softly bump the ball from the Florges' grip where it landed and rolled to a stop, to her abhorrence, some few inches away.
-------An impulse of paranoia preoccupied her. To stretch forwards even to her medication would prove a serious strain and to pop out, leaving an obviously motionless, obviously deceased body in front of her coworkers would be seriously devastating.
-------So, sluggishly, her tail crept up the carpet and rested by the runaway pill. It extended, making a grab for it, but proved just not long enough and fell down again. This occurred again and for a third time, slowly, ploddingly, Rina giving grunts of effort with each vain reach. Her hard, grating work seemed to have proved worthwhile in the end, after all, as she managed to maneuver a magenta tail tip on top on the ball… only sending it rocketing away as she sought to drag it forwards.
-------Fortunately, that never occurred. Rina obtained the pill successfully, entwined in a firm grip, yet nowhere near her mouth. She refrained from even inspecting the object, allowing it only to rest in the bundle before her—her withdrawn tail—as she stared out into the ceiling lights expressionlessly; the latter was inexorable. To a similar degree of predictability, Rina was, inside, livid, raving. 'Where in the Realm is my water!? Alien be damned! Are the other Pokemon of any cleverness? Have they ever had pills in their cabinets in their homes? Do they wish for me to choke and die for a second time over? Madness is this! I need water to take my pill down!'
-------But then the Chimecho took a moment to consider how she'd imbibe before ingesting, and thus let her tangent slide, as she ultimately concluded it would prove impossible.
-------"It is time for I to take down the pill of mine!" Rina proclaimed at a lusty volume, bringing up her tail in an invigorated movement that ended with the medicine dangling over her gaping mouth. The pill was like a rock. The more she stared, the farther it seemed. The reluctance devastated her and she felt her pores pop, her sense of sound crackling like a faulty radio, her eyes clouding over like they'd be dropped in a freezer.
-------'Alas… Alas…' She strove to recollect a portion of literature in order to properly allude to her present tragedy. Unfortunately, she failed; she simply allowed the pill to fall and land with a thunk on her tongue. It rolled down; she felt the sensation of it slipping down into her throat, and then she lost track of it—relievingly—until it passed through her and out onto the floor again.
-------Rina promptly flattened herself out onto it but the failed concealment led only to her sinking through the floor. She thrust back up onto the surface with a gasp, such which carried over into her form upon reentry.
-------"It is done!" she screamed. They would not see it, they could not. "IT IS DONE! I DID IT! GREAT JOY, HOORAY! MAY CELEBRITY REJOICE NOW!"

 

[Solar Snivy]

Leila hesitated before taking another step. She glanced back at the potential fight. She wasn't all that close - perhaps a block away, she didn't know - so maybe they wouldn't notice her. But if she went walking straight across the street, and then towards them, wouldn't she be really obvious to them? She was rather bright, being yellow and pink, and that was sure to draw attention on an almost-empty street.

Maybe she should wait for them to resolve the fight. Surely Castiel would be okay with her being late if she explained the situation. Anyway, she reasoned, he wouldn't want a second employee incapacitated, since it was probably unlikely that he had another back-up.

Still, she hesitated. She didn't like being late at all, and being only ten minutes early made her feel rushed too. But there was an Ice-type and a Fire-type out there... and her only move that did any damage was Leech Seed, which was pretty tricky to catch someone in. She frowned, and retreated back against the wall of a random building. She could sneak a little closer slowly... and then wait until the fight resolved itself. The Druddigon looked too powerful for the fight to last very long, seeing as he had already defeated two pokemon, so it was definitely in her best interests to wait.

 

[Who's Kiyo?]

" Excuse me, do you sell any shirts designed to look like a VHS tape case? "

​

♢ Cicaro the Eleventh ♢
- Shiny Furret -- - Level 23
- Forget-Me-Not Employee (+1)

Today's Achievements

Created joint post with Xtrashy!

Internally noted desire to be buried with collection of broken vinyl records!

Frustrated that this is the second time this week something like this has happened!

Voted Spora for "Tumor of the Month" award!

​

-------- " Mountains of soft goop bordering cities of thin, pink skyscrapers. "

----------Spora soon loomed over the Furret, clattering with fripperies and dressed like a mountain aggressively into environmentalism. " Do I even want to know what all this is about? " she huffed, circling a claw around the disaster before her.
----------The ferret slowly turned his head and stared at his co-worker with a mug void of animation, as if his body didn't house intelligent life. A second of contemplation passed before Cicaro plopped his belly down to the floor in a vain attempt to cover up as many of the pills as he could. His eyebrows rose with a nonchalant mien: " I've tripped and am now in a large amount of pain, " he stated robotically, his sight tied to where the Parasect's irises would've been placed. " Everything's probably broken, but I need to check. "
----------Cicaro himself had absolutely no idea what force commanded his voice. He speculated that it was a neglected part of his subconscious: one that was underdeveloped and unconvincing. Its words made his tone sound downright alien … but as it was the only part of his personality that didn't immediately shut down at the sight of Spora's parasite-ridden form, the Furret was prepared to permit its control over him.
----------" Would you be so polite as to stop looking at me as I get up and … assess my condition? " he requested, squinting his eyes at the woman.
----------The Parasect - completely indifferent to Cicaro's spiel - immediately diverted her attention away from the Furret and inquired about the situation outside. Her comment ravaged his nerves as thoroughly as a Thunder Wave, leaving the last few shreds of his being in catatonia. There was absolutely no way to pretend that he had not seen the dire affair transpiring right behind the door; had Spora not seen him peeking, she wouldn't've asked him in the first place. However, he wasn't completely gone from this Earth: there was a small piece of his heart that pumped a cool stream of relief through his arteries. He was grateful that it was just her that caught him this horribly red-handed; had it been anyone aware of Rina's plight, his body would've decided to die then and -
----------It was as if Bounty was cued to enter: his shape burst through the door almost instantly after Spora was finished speaking. He swooped down to the Furret, somehow not noticing the strange position he was in on the floor, and said " these little pellets ... they aren't the medicine that Rina needs, is it? "
----------The Ninjask's question gripped all faucets of Cicaro's physical essence, crushing the vim out as intensely as a killing curse. This lack of feeling caused his head to slump unceremoniously to the ground and all of his muscles to unravel their tension. He had been transformed into an object: his eyes could see, his ears could hear, and his nose detected smells, but he no longer maintained sentience. Babble seemed to pick up on this state of stupor, at least in a latent sense: he didn't bother prying the ferret to answer, and instead busied himself picking up the pills that weren't close enough to be buried underneath the Long Body Pokemon. Being one of the fastest bugs in the known world and aided by a substitute clone, the Ninjask had collected his treasure, murmured something apologetic, and flown out of the office before anyone - legally dead or not - could respond properly to his presence.

- Internally noted desire to be buried with
collection of broken vinyl records!​

----------Spora's glower over Cicaro had gripped his metaphorical pull string; she watched as it slowly crawled back to its place on his spine and summoned an orchestra of noises that simulated life. The most audible instrument was his lungs; inhaling unnecessarily large amounts of air and breathing out a sound laden with impatience. During the bridge of the musical piece, in an unpredicted move, his mouth suddenly opened: " I suppose I should be brought to my grave now, " he grumbled to himself.
----------His audience was unmoved by the note, however: " I'd say you've dug yourself a pretty shallow one right here, " his Parasect companion commented, finding herself humorous but not letting up her stagnant frown.
----------The familiar, droll quality of her voice brought the Furret closer to his own sense of self. " I thought your name was Spora, " he sparred, " not Supercilious. "
----------An unamused stare met the quip, capturing all its effectiveness within the murky void of the Parasect's eyes. The bug inched closer to Cicaro and extended her claw. " So ... did you want help up, " she asked, shaking her pincers a little, " or are you content being the world's most antagonist dust mop? "
----------A limp paw met the crusty surface of Spora's hand, which provided enough stability for the begrudging Furret to lift himself up into a respectable stance. Instead of being grateful however, Cicaro focused on his co-worker's bored, judgmental glare and answered with a similar sentiment: " Stop looking at me like I did something wrong, " he calmly demanded.
----------He shook out his fur indignantly and lent a hand to groom certain spots back down. " That little blue thing out there was having - I don't know - an allergic reaction, " he explained, " Amaryllis was kneeling down and crying her eyes out, so I … found Rina's pills, and was opening them when I tripped - "
----------A gooey, sticky sensation met the tips of Cicaro's fingernails. A heavy wave of embarrassment washed over the Furret, who worried it was the aftermath of the pizza roll binge he had in the middle of the night, until he recalled that he deliberately took a long, relaxing bath before he headed out to prevent such a dilemma. He looked downwards in concern and noticed several slightly-melted pellets burrowed within the tufts of fur on his belly. " Oh, " he said flatly, his eyelids slowly sliding up as cold panic flooded his body. " Oh - no, no, no, no, no - I refuse. "

- Frustrated that this is the second time this week
something like this has happened!​

----------" What's the matter? " Spora prodded, taking idle delight in watching the Furret dig himself into a deeper and deeper hole.
----------" Imagine me coming out with hundreds-of-poke-worth of the wind chime's SuperPotion tangled up in my fur, " Cicaro spat, offended by the stupidity of the question.
----------" Sounds like a great way to lose a job, " the Parsect jeered, proverbial tongue in cheek. " But surely they'll understand if you were only trying to help. "
----------Spora's sardonicism finally struck a nerve in the ferret; a powerful vein on his forehead pulsated with pique as he furiously stabbed the bug with a pair of dilated pupils. " Sorry; is there a reason why you're spilling so much salt right now? " he interrogated, " I've been nothing but nice to you. "
----------The Parasect scowled at the comment; "nice" wouldn't be the word she would use to describe their relationship. Though it was true that Cicaro wasn't the most loathsome creature that she ever had to work with, the concepts of "kindness" and "kinship" weren't present within the apathetic coexistence they developed; and she certainly didn't appreciate that the Furret was currently trying to play her like some idiot.
----------" You are covered in someone else's medicine, " she dully pointed out, " and just because you're doing something to someone else doesn't make it any more right - "
----------" Thank you and screw you, Miss. Holier than Thou, " Cicaro snapped, cutting her thought off with a wave of his hand.
----------" … Besides, " she started up again, " have you ever known me not to be a sarcastic lump? "
----------" My doctor's starting to worry that you're malignant. "

- Voted Spora for "Tumor of the Month" award!​

----------The comment was hummed off, Spora not finding the mood to continue the conversation in the direction it was going. Cicaro took the silence as an opportunity to try his luck and rip off a pill: and while the process was relatively painless, a legion of hairs came off with it, and a few strays were picked up by some invisible wind and threatened to scatter on the floor below. The ferret's reflexes spurred to action and he caught them just before they became a mess.
----------The Furret pouted, glossing over the texture of the pellet he plucked from his chest. It almost looked like a planet, in a way: mountains of soft goop bordering cities of thin, pink skyscrapers. There was no way in hell that each one would come out as simply as this one did, and even if his hand did possess the precision to dig them out without much incident, it would be impossible to catch every hair that fell out of him. It wouldn't be much of a victory if he managed to untangle himself from this mess only to be fired for excessively shedding.
----------Nervousness gripped his stomach as he realized what he needed to do. He turned his body towards his company: his head up, but his eyes downcast. He quite loudly cleared his throat and proceeded to struggle against the unpalatable and grainy consistency of his words: " Well - I need help - and … let's be honest, the others? One's an oblivious fly, and the other two can only dish out hot, spicy racism. "
----------" Think on that; we're the only people who can trust eachother here, " he proposed, " we should, you know, be friendlier; so … believe my story, or don't, whatever; can you just … lend me a hand anyway? " He moistened his lips and peered intently at his subject. The end of his sentence showed hints of being the whiny plead it truly was; noting to his listener that his desperation was starting to get the better of him.
----------" You say all that like I'm the one who can't afford to burn this bridge, " Spora said plainly. She gave her claws a quick examination and snapped them a few times before returning her attention to the pills mangled up on Cicaro's torso. " Regardless … come here. I'll help you. "

​

 

[Greiger]

The Wrong Reaction : Featuring Castiel the man and Draug the hallucinator!​

Gabriel glanced over at the deep voice that had suddenly rung out, looking up at the looming dragon. Gabriel kept his lips shut tight, his mind already scrambling to come up with something. Would he go ahead and tell him he straight up attacked a kid? How would that Charmeleon react? Oh screw it. Gabriel pointed a clawed hand out at the Charmeleon, "It's his fault. He was bullying. I dislike bullies, so I punched him. Hard." He crossed his arms, "That's all."

Druag looked down his snout in raw temper at Gabriel's attitude. He leaned in close, growling his words through bared teeth. "Are you a youngling, Mr. Gabriel? Do you think it's appropriate for adults to strike children, Mr. Gabriel? How do you suppose someone might respond if I struck a child? Do you suppose someone might call me a monster?" Druag snorted a hot breath through his maw, his eye a furious beam of rage burning a hole in Gabriel's face. "Do you suppose I ought to treat you as a monster? Do you know what we do to monsters in the wild, Mr. Gabriel?"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes in turn, "If I can help but one life out, then I think it's worth it. Someone taught me that a long time ago. Sometimes you need life to hit you in the face to understand how screwed up you are."

Druag banged his cane threateningly against the ground and puffed out his chest. "Bullies understand one thing, Mr. Gabriel: that the 'mon with more power can do whatever he wants. That being stronger than another gives you the right to do as you please to them. You are doing nothing but reinforcing that belief in both of these children, Mr. Gabriel, and I will be guilty of that too when I tie you in a knot." Druag flexed his claw. "You don't attack children on the doorstep a half-hour before we open."

"I guess we have different way of looking at things." Gabriel muttered. "From my experience, things don't change until someone forces change."

At that, there was the distinct sound of sniffling and sobs in the middle of the street, where lay a young Charmeleon on his side, face obscured by his skewed cap. He was shuddering from the pain to his side and his hiccups, the fire at the tip of his tail waning in size and flickering with his energy.

"Yeah, he flew Todd across the street!" Milton declared, somehow having found himself poking out from behind Druag, his hands on his sore cheeks as his eyes looked on at the Weavile with an indescribable stare. "He really popped his corn."

Druag didn't seem to have particularly noticed either Todd's sobbing or Milton's commentary. His vision tunneled on the snide, arrogant Dark in front of him. His back straightened, his shoulders writhing as they tried to rise wings that weren't there. "You think you're helping?" Druag asked low, taking a deliberate step toward Gabriel. "You think you're 'forcing change' for the better?" He leaned in, his head shaking itself to make the crags of his face gyrate with an odd rhythm, his eye glaring out of the pit under his brow. "You think you can beat up someone because they piss you off?" Druag's gaze became unfocused as he talked and he slowly walked past Gabriel, no longer talking at anyone in particular as he shambled into the middle of the street. His voice had gotten lower still, almost a whisper. He was muttering now. "You think you're important? You think anyone wants your help? You think she cares?"

He drifted into the center of the street, his back to Gabriel and the children. He was muttering incoherently now, and had hunched over his cane. He seemed to had forgotten the situation at hand completely. He rubbed at his head weakly as he muttered.

"Is he okay?" Milton deftly asked Gabriel as he turned to face him now. "He looks like he ate too many mud pies."

"Draug…" Gabriel took in a deep breath, "Head back inside, okay? Get Castiel out here. Just… take a load off."

Druag didn't respond in the slightest, except by plumping squarely onto his rump in the street and rubbing his good eye with his claw. His muttering grew weaker, but was still going.

"Speak of the devil," butted a familiar, dry tone. Even in his current state of mind, Druag could still recognize the voice of authority, the voice of his boss. He looked over his shoulder dumbly, with the wrong side; the side of his bandaged face looking blindly toward the doorway. The others, save for Todd who took advantage of the moment to groan louder, looked on to the violet wraith that hanged low before the storefront.

"Now," Castiel continued, his yellow eyes pointed daggers among the crowd, "Can someone explain to me what this little party up front is all about here?"

Without missing a beat, the little red lizard rolled over to face the source of the voice, and as his hat slipped off of his face, it revealed a pitiful, teary-eyed child who wailed, "TH- THE BLACK ONE BEAT ME UP AND IT HURTS B-BAAAAD! Ech," he hiccupped as he fell back into sobbing.

Castiel's eyes held so dense an intensity in that moment, looking over Todd. Slowly, they drifted over and settled their weight onto the supposed culprit: his Dark-type employee.

Gabriel let out a weak sigh amidst the all-out sobbing, "I was taking out the trash and that Charmeleon there was beating up this Munchlax." He gestured over to the still downed Todd, "So, I got him off the Munchlax my own way. And then Druag came out and has gone into another one of his spells. I'm sorry, but when that Charmeleon attacked again… I couldn't just let him do whatever he wanted."

Castiel was silent for what felt like a long moment, his look fiercely unchanging. When he finally spoke, it cut clear through the aether as he slowly wafted forward. "Oh?" His words were hinted with a hiss, almost as if restrained. "So it looks like the both of you have been naughty… I suppose that just means I--"

"I wasn't."

Milton interrupted, hand in the air as the other one was somehow supplied with an overstuffed frosted creme-filled doughnut.

Castiel turned his hard gaze to the universally-oblivious Munchlax. "Milton. Go home."

"Okay," said the child, and he promptly turned around and briskly walked his way down the street.

With that out of the way, Castiel returned to the three at hand, the smooth venom in his voice returning as his eyes seemed to gain an unearthly light behind them. "As I was saying," he continued eyes befalling the now petrified Charmeleon on the ground, "I suppose that just means I'll have to take it from here, now won't I?" Beneath the hem of his raggedy body and cloak, they began to brim with life as if from an unseen wind. Todd's eyes widened in awe, but he fell silent in true fear.

"Druag. Gabriel," he said aloud, his voice sounding almost as if another commanded with him, "Inside. Now."

Gabriel turned and made his way inside, his head lowered a bit at the thought of disappointing Castiel. At least, it sounded that way. Yeah, great way to start off the day. Druag slowly got to his feet as well, his muttering having stopped but his stare still empty. He hobbled mindlessly after Gabriel and closed the door behind them.
​

*New Gabriel pic by the one and only Ech.

 

[Xtrashy]

It wasn't exactly the most, interesting thing she'd ever decided to do, but then again there was a lot of uninteresting things she decided to do and this probably wasn't the least of them in any regard. Manipulating her claw expertly, she reached out and delicately grabbed onto a pill stuck to the Furret's fur. Then she gently pulled it away, getting the pill clean away from his fur with little to no effort really. She repeated this action for a short while, making her away around Cicaro as if she were doing an incredibly slow lap around him, making sure to set the pills aside neatly so they were out of the way and wouldn't be scattered by someone else.

As she went about the task of popping pills she had to wonder just how she got to this moment in time in the first place. There was just so many things happening, it was just a bit of a hassle for her to try and keep up with everything on a daily basis. Not to mention she still wasn't entirely sure she could trust Cicaro's reasoning, sounded fairly odd to her, but then again the other option was that he had stolen medicine to survey some personal goal. A new thought formed in her head, perhaps Cicaro was an addict of some sort? It was just as plausible as her thought that he had taken them with the intent to potentially cause someone's death. Honestly him being addicted sounded like a far more plausible idea than that by a fairly large margin.

 

[Orx of Twinleaf]

Druag
Druag closed the door behind himself and rubbed his face in confusion. He had been outside, talking to Gabriel, when suddenly he was in his cave—his cave—and he had seen the writing on the wall, in misshapen letters of glossy black. He had been so stricken with the weight of the words, surrounding him like the unholy Unown that whisk away the lost and unmissed to that realm that even cave-diggers find too deep and dark, that he had fallen to his rear.

It had been Castiel's voice that had pulled him back to reality, with a sharp order to get back in the store. Druag had forced himself to ignore the surreal effect of seeing his cave while standing in the street and had slowly followed Gabriel indoors before stopping to assess his surroundings again.

Snow everywhere, all over the store, and the restroom door yawned open into a cave entrance as another Druddigon emerged, bigger than Druag and older, and draped with crude, sparkling ores and gems on necklaces and bracelets. Druag knew something was horribly wrong, but was still too taken with the illusions to do more than stand rigidly in the doorway: he could hear the husky, sad voice of his mother coming from the walls, telling him the story of his grandaunt Greylaa, alone on the mountain.

Druag watched in wordless fascination as the bejeweled Druddigon before him heard the plea of a Weavile and her poor, wounded Stunky companion as the mountain grew dark and a storm came in, and she let the Darks into her cave. Druag watched with only minute nervous shifting on his cane as the sun blew across the sky and Greylaa and the Weavile dug herbs and berries from under the snow to heal the Stunky. He winced as his bizarre dream reminded him how that story ended: the Darks ran cackling from the cave, draped with Greylaa's jewels and flinging down a bloodied dagger as Druag's mother's voice boomed from all around:

"You can't trust a Dark. Let one in and you'll never come out."

Druag shook his head worriedly: he wasn't really going mad was he? The store looked normal again; he could even see Gabriel and Errol and Blair, but the shelves were all gone and there were tables everywhere. He felt his eye drift onto the back of Gabriel's head, the Weavile still in front of him from where they had entered the store together.

Druag felt a heavy weight on him as something he didn't care to turn around and face perched on his shoulders and spoke into his ear. "Child-punching aunt-killers, child-punching aunt-killers, thieves, thieves, thieves. Are you going to kill him, you stupid beast?" He could see the axe-like tusks in his peripheral and with an effort kept from flinching.

Druag closed his eye and took a deep breath. He admitted he had had times where he could fall into his head, but this was quite distinctly not one of them. He remembered once a few months back he had unfortunately mistaken his mushrooms and eaten something not meant for consumption, to the general amusement of his companions at the time and his own personal horror. He tried to think of something he might have ingested that would cause this, but he'd been eating out of the trash for long enough that he was quite certain Castiel's breakfast, exotic or not, wasn't capable of this.

He opened his eye again and kept his ground, ignoring both the looming thing on his shoulders getting steadily heavier and the nonsensical musical noise emitted by the Ludicolo dancing on the table in front of Blair. If Druag hadn't already decided he was hallucinating, the sheer inattention Blair was paying the gyrating pineapple would have been as much of a giveaway as Errol's apparent ability to support the weight of a fiddling Kricketune on one point on his head.

He slowly leaned back onto his tail so he could bring up his cane and take the cap off, extracting his pill bottle. Druag had taken early doses before and knew most of the bottle's text by heart, but he recalled now something in the "side effects" section warning against "excitement" in the event of "early or supplemental dosages." Indeed, he had never had to deal with a Gabriel-grade mishap so close on an early dose before. While Druag couldn't quite remember what the bottle said would happen, he had a very good guess by now.

Druag only at the last second kept himself from swatting at the jeering voice at his cheek: a gesture that would have likely translated to him striking himself in his good eye and falling backwards into the door. He realized he didn't know the store well enough to walk through it now that it was a room in an industrial butcher barn, sides of meat hanging from hooks. Druag privately was happy for all the nightmares he had had about the place already: at this point it just made him mildly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he couldn't trust the lowing half-Tauros hanging by Blair as an accurate representation of where the counter started.

He really didn't like the idea of asking the others for assistance so close to opening, but he couldn't stand around in the doorway either when this would probably last for an hour, or maybe even all day with his kind of luck. He quickly shot down the possibility of telling Castiel about it: he'd be in no mood after having to deal with scuffles on his doorstep almost immediately on having to send an employee home. "He might even be angry enough to just fire you straight up to blow off steam, you simple oaf."

"Shut up," Druag answered the crouching Dragon talking into his head. Druag immediately clapped his mouth shut when he realized he'd said that out loud. "Ahem," he amended, "I mean can someone maybe check what this bottle says I'm supposed to do if I start seeing things?"

He turned to address Gabriel, as he was the closest, but recoiled visibly when he saw his coworker was tricked out in necklaces and bracelets of crude, sparkling ores and gemstones. You can't trust a Dark. Druag stared dumbly for a moment before forcibly directing his attention towards Blair instead, and flinched as he saw a small Druddigon standing behind her.

Druag cleared his throat, his eye bulging, and, coughing, addressed Errol in an exasperated voice: the crown of flames erupting from the Qwilfish's brows was far less unmanning than the phantoms hanging around the other two. "I don't suppose Mr. Castiel has something to take to stop visions?" He clawed into his cane and pulled out his handful of change: so much for lunch. "I'll pay for it, but do you think you can find something to calm a troubled mind?"

 

[Foxrally]

Status: Mystified

Click here to view Errol's application!

Held Item: None

Errol the Qwilfish​

When Blair stepped out from the dressing room, she was promptly complimented by Druag. The fox herself returned it with a little self-satisfied smile. Maybe it was a little smug to do that, but hey, Blair needed something to boost her morale. The other dragon went on his way, out of her mind as the dressed fortuneteller prepared for her big act. Nevermind what they are up to, it's show time. She sat at the tables, with her supplies laid out in front of her, mentally playing back some of her lines to say.

Errol hummed quietly to himself, extremely happy with how the little fashion session with Castiel and Blair had gone and his spherical form bubbling with pride. Taking a deep breath - did it count as a breath? - of water, he looked at Blair as she readied herself for her little act. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"H-hey Blair!" the little Qwilfish called out.

Blair looked down at the fish, grunting a "Hm?"

"Do you think you could, uh..." Errol looked down timidly. "...read my... fortune, maybe? As... practice..?" he asked hopefully.

The fox sighed, not out of exasperation, but rather as a byproduct of thought, "Sure. C'mon up, if you dare." She gestured to a seat, before realizing that he couldn't get up there by him. Awkwardly, she picked him up onto the seat, and continued her routine from there.

"Oh, thank you!" he squealed happily, slightly hopping in place in excitement. This was so thrilling! He'd seen his mother go to places like this many times before - but he had never had been part of it; the prices were supposedly 'too high' for two people. He wondered what his mother would say if she knew he was finally getting a real one for free - and from someone as talented as Blair, too.

"So... uh... what should I do?" Errol asked, suddenly aware of his lack of hands for his fortune to be read on.

"Be still and calm, young handless one. Simply close your eyes and let me touch your tail."

"Ooh, okay!" the little fish nodded. Carefully turning around on the spot on his seat, he slowly raised his dotted, spiky tail to the fortune teller, eager to finally know what destiny had written for him.

"Here you go! Eyes are closed!" he added, shutting his eye.

Blair hummed some arcane gypsy tune, one that was taught to her and her mother by an actual gypsy and took a deep breath as she gently rubbed his tail and proceeded to, as it were, 'harness the spiritual energy' with a ritual of the humming and focusing on the crystal ball. Errol stayed silent, his puffy body bouncing ever so slightly in anticipation. In an entrancing voice she proclaimed to Errol, "Yes, yes, I see it now. You have had an uneventful life, young one. But do not let that discourage you, for I sense a force. Hmmm..." She hummed as she continued got her mind into a zone of sorts, closing her eyes and bringing herself into her art. Blair opened her eyes in a sort of far off stare as she lulled the impressionable fish with her voice, "I sense...that you will face many challenges with your old life, and a new life of intrigue. This intrigue comes from meeting a certain Pokemon in your life. You will find her hiding in plain sight." She looked at Errol, awaiting his reaction.

The Qwilfish turned around, and stayed silent for a few moments, blankly staring back at Blair in amazement and awe. "Hiding in... plain sight?" he echoed, his eyes wide open. "...she...?" His mind raced, his eyes growing wider and his puffy form puffing up even more. He hadn't even been to a fortune teller before - but he knew that this was going to be his destiny. There, in the dark blue spots and purple-tinged spikes on his tail, Blair had seen his future - his very place in the upcoming and ever-expanding universe. But he wanted to know more. There was no way he would leave with so little, having an infinite source of knowledge at his very hands! (or rather, tail).

"C-can you tell me... more? Who is this Pokemon? When am I going to face these challenges...?" Errol asked, anxious for the Braixen to reveal more.

"Well... I can tell you that this Pokemon is someone you already know. With that, you will be facing these challenges in the near future, sooner than you may think. Do not fret, for I see a brighter path." Getting back to her normal self, she asked, "So, how was that?"

Errol stayed silent for a few moments, staring at the ground in awe. "That... was... amazing!! Thank you so much, Blair!" he piped excitedly, hopping up and down on his seat before rolling off. This is so great! A life of intrigue... A bright path... I can't wait!

A joint post of Foxrally and Fen-Kun​