Frontier Town Sun Stone Saloon

[Jackie Cat]

While many might seek out saloons to sate less-than-savoury vices, those searching for a more upmarket experience should set their sights on Sun Stone Saloon.

Revered as the town's "distinguished" watering hole, it was the go-to destination for any 'mon craving a touch of glitz, a dash of glamour, and a whole lot of good eats and entertainment. If a moneyed visitor to town found the Haus not quite distinguished enough for their tastes, they might consider taking up room and board here instead – only, it might cost a pretty penny.

Nestled in prime location with its front doors opening onto Founder's Square, the venue was in the company of Frontier Hall, the town Bank, and the Sanctum. A stock joke at the bar was that the bartender had equal standing with the mayor, the moneylenders, and the Wishing-Star herself. Sun Stone Saloon boasted an elegant interior spacious enough to host even the grandest social gatherings, with modern decor just like they had in the Commonwealth cities. Whether one prefered to grace the ballroom floor or relax high on the mezzanine, they could always enjoy plentiful natural light through the venue's panoramic windows and skylights. Sun Stone prided itself on employing the best performers to serenade and entertain on its indoor stage, so patrons could rest assured that a good time was always on the agenda. Besides the dedication to quality – extending from the ice-type-chilled wine cooler in the cellar, to the balconies on the top floor, it was otherwise an archetypal Soja' frontier saloon.

However, those looking for a place to duke it out knew to keep any fights, however civilised, off the premises. Sun Stone’s proprietor, the no-nonsense Whimsicott Greasewood, employed a strict “no duelling” policy. If you decided to throw hands, you would subsequently be thrown out, with slender chance of ever being invited back in. Regulars knew well that only a moron would try to pull a fast one on him – Greasewood's chlorophyll ability thrived under the Soja' sun. As far as he was concerned, his habit of appearing at patrons' tables in a seeming instant was warning enough.

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Many thanks to @Sinderella for assisting with the writeup.

 

[Sinderella]

"Thank you, thank you so much, Greasewood. You won't regret it."

But, as Odette sat at the bar, sipping at the celebratory wine she'd been handed to commend her successful audition, the slightest bit of doubt began to creep up her back. She'd seen a saloon; she'd seen the stage; she'd figured she had enough talents to offer to make a living. But, now that she was sitting at the bar, trying to conjure a setlist, she realized two things: one, that this wasn't going to be as simple as playing a backing track to songs she knew, and two, she was completely unfamiliar with the local songs everyone here might have already known. How the hell was she going to pull off a good show without the music for her own repertoire or the knowledge of what was liked in the community? Would anyone here even like songs from her own world?

With a few sips of wine, she eventually calmed down. Where there was a will, there was a way. While it wasn't Hau's stash, the alcohol was a much-needed nerve diluter. With a light buzz on the mind and nothing else to think about but her will to make some coin, she requested a pen, paper, and some songbooks. Sight-reading and memorization would be her friends here.

After flipping through the books and writing down a few songs that caught her eye, she turned and eyed the stage. Of course, there was a piano nearby to provide the backing music, which would probably be just enough for her to work with. If she could get her hands on it, or just one in general, she might be able to come up with the skeletons of some songs she already knew. However, she was silently cursing herself for not being a more versed musician. She could sing, she could compose, she knew rhythms and harmonies and theories, and she had an ear. But she'd never grasped guitar playing or more advanced piano skills. Either would have undoubtedly come in handy here.

Relax. This isn't anything new. You know how to do this.

Worst case scenario, a capella was always an option. Or she could hope and pray whoever accompanied her on the music was talented enough to play off her rhythm. She wasn't sure if she could put that kind of trust in someone without getting to know them first, but she jotted it down as an idea, alongside songs and artists from her own world that might be worth transcribing into aesthetically-approproate tunes to sing here. Luckily, her genre of choice meshed well with the fact that this was literally the Old West. So, she at least had that going for her.

Delta, Florence, some Marling, Civil Wars....I don't fucking know, Heart? I could dumb down some Heart, maybe...Elton? she thought as she wrote.

She shot a look at the piano again.

Definitely Elton.

She stopped for a moment to sip more of the wine, trying to do more to enjoy the sudden downtime she'd been entrusted with. Nobody to mingle with, nobody to bother her, just her and her thoughts about singing. She was in a Pokemon's body, and gods knew how far away from home, but...it managed to be quite nice.

Though she probably should get out and speak to the others who were like her, dropped here from out of nowhere. She was undoubtedly going to need some allies during this time. Something to do after work, though.

@Hap

 

[Hap]

Ridley entered the Sun Stone Saloon without much expectation of finding anything there. Even if people didn't take one look at him and assume he was a child, this didn't seem like the sort of place which would be too pleased to have a penniless vagrant sitting around not buying anything - and honestly, even if he had money, the Sun Stone Saloon wasn't likely to be his first choice of drinking venue.

The local newspaper indicated that other people from the strange dream world had indeed made it here, but while all the townsfolk Ridley had asked seemed happy enough to talk about them, nobody seemed to know much in the way of specifics. So far the most promising lead that Ridley's cunning scheme of "ask people if they've seen any absolute weirdos running around" had turned up was the presence of a mawile with her secondary jaws chained shut at the Sun Stone Saloon, and at that point Ridley had figured, well, why not? If nothing else the Saloon was located right by the bustling town square, and there was a chance someone inside might've seen something.

Maybe if he was lucky he could convince someone inside to buy him a drink or two, and if he was really lucky he could make his escape before his new friend started expecting this poor penniless hero from another world to return the favour.

...he should probably work out how to make some money here, huh?

Anyway - there was the mawile he'd been told about, sitting at the bar drinking wine and with a little pile of papers in front of her.

"Hi!" Ridley said to her cheerfully, climbing onto one of the bar stools nearby. "I'm new in town and trying to find some friends I think are around here - have you heard of anyone claiming to be from another world?"

 

[Sinderella]

"Hi!" Ridley said to her cheerfully, climbing onto one of the bar stools nearby. "I'm new in town and trying to find some friends I think are around here - have you heard of anyone claiming to be from another world?"

Odette visibly started when she was spoken to. She'd been so absorbed in her setlist planning that when the strange new presence suddenly appeared to occupy the barstool beside her, she nearly dropped her pen from surprise. Annoyance flooded into her tiny body, and she felt her jaws shift with the desire to let loose some snide comment. Luckily, the locked chains kept them in place, and she couldn't help but smirk at her own personal victory against them.

She kept her expression neutral as she looked at Ridley. A cleffa, how--no. Not a cleffa. There was an unmistakable appearance of shoddily stitched-together fabric and a pair of stuffed-animal-esque eyes staring back at her. The telltale sign of a shadowy underbelly poked out from under the cloak, and she felt something in her hardened core melt.

She would always have a soft spot for mimikyu.

"Bonjour," she greeted fondly, all traces of annoyance fleeing from her person. "What a coincidence; I'm also new in town. Wasn't expecting to see a mimikyu, though, I'll be honest."

She glanced around cautiously, raising a hand as if to motion Ridley to keep his voice down. "I guess it's not much of a secret; however, I'm not quite here to draw attention to it. But...yeah I would be one of those people." A pause. "Or...'mon."

This killed two birds with one stone. Network with the others who had been dropped here while getting some work done. A perfect turn of events being that everything leading up to it had been so...not perfect.

"I'm Odette," she said. She wasn't sure whether to hold her hand out to shake or lean in for cheek kisses or what. She didn't know where this guy came from or if he was even human to start. "You are?"

 

[Hap]

Ridley watched with interest as the secondary jaws twisted briefly within their chains. Would she have snapped at him if those jaws had been free? Was that why she kept them bound? Ridley maybe should have been more concerned about that than he was, but he'd never been blessed with an overabundance of good sense.

"I'm Odette," she said. She wasn't sure whether to hold her hand out to shake or lean in for cheek kisses or what. She didn't know where this guy came from or if he was even human to start. "You are?"

Oh, wow, she was another hero? Fantastic! Ridley really hadn't been anticipating this success, but all of a sudden walking into the Sun Stone Saloon had become the best decision he'd made all day.

"I'm Ridley," he said. Following her indication to lower his voice, he added, "And hey, funny story, the mimikyu part is new. I used to be human, right up until I got sent to this world by a talking cloud. I guess that's an experience we share, huh?"

He tried to subtly glance over the papers in front of her in case they were anything interesting. Mostly songbooks, from what he could tell; nothing particularly relevant to Ridley's own interests.

He continued, "I arrived a town or so over with five other people. I know there are at least a few of us here in Frontier Town, but you're the first one I've found. Did you land with a group too, or are you on your own?"

 

[Sinderella]

"I'm Ridley," he said. Following her indication to lower his voice, he added, "And hey, funny story, the mimikyu part is new. I used to be human, right up until I got sent to this world by a talking cloud. I guess that's an experience we share, huh?"

Well, this guy didn't beat around the bush. She decided she appreciated it and sighed in relief. She wasn't sure how prepared she was to talk to a 'mon who wasn't a human previously. "Indeed," she said. "I will say whoever selected your choice of body did a great job," she added with a joking tone. However, she eventually frowned as what she actually said dawned on her.

"That sounded weird. I'm just saying I like your type."

Her frown deepened.

"No, I meant..." she managed between an exasperated breath. She chugged the rest of her wine before forcing a smile.

"I like ghost types. I train ghost types. That's what I was trying to say." She ended up saying the word 'train' a little too loud and hastily covered her mouth. She didn't quite remember how the concept of humans "training" Pokemon was received in those Mystery Dungeon games, so she was best off not mentioning it until she understood the culture better. She was already under quite a bit of scrutiny being part of the "mysterious strangers" who had been dropped on their heads here, so she wasn't looking to give the locals any more reason to eye her closer.

Settling her face in her palm, she huffed to herself. "Fuck me, I'm a mess."

He continued, "I arrived a town or so over with five other people. I know there are at least a few of us here in Frontier Town, but you're the first one I've found. Did you land with a group too, or are you on your own?"

Ah, so it sounded like everyone else had been split up. It explained where their entire group in the Nexus had gone. "Sounds like your experience isn't too far off of mine. I also got here with a group of five." She frowned at the thought of who she'd had the displeasure of landing among. "I broke off from them when we made it to the Travellers Haus, though. So, as of now, I am technically alone. I assume that's where you ended up as well?"

Fumbling with the empty wine glass between her fingers, she smiled bitterly. "Tell me you didn't have the pleasure of falling ass-first into a mine cart, huh?"

 

[Hap]

"That sounded weird. I'm just saying I like your type."
[...]
"I like ghost types. I train ghost types. That's what I was trying to say."

Ridley sniggered. Under normal circumstances he might've riffed off that unfortunate phrasing, but they were both in pokemon bodies and the situation was still so new to him that the idea of saying anything flirtatious, even as a joke, was uncomfortable to him. Was that something he'd adjust to, if he spent enough time here? He waved a hand apologetically and said, "No, no I get it. I like ghost types too!" He hadn't given a huge amount of thought to the logic behind his new body until now, but it made a kind of instinctive sense to him that he'd ended up as a ghost/fairy type.

And hey," he added in an attempt to reassure, "if you can't be a mess after getting dropped into another world with a whole new body to adjust to, then when can you be a mess? It's a weird situation for all of us."

"I broke off from them when we made it to the Travellers Haus, though. So, as of now, I am technically alone. I assume that's where you ended up as well?" [...] "Tell me you didn't have the pleasure of falling ass-first into a mine cart, huh?"

"Weirder for some than others, probably," Ridley admitted. It sounded like there was a story there. "Minecart? No, we dropped right into the middle of a guy's workshop. He was really nice about it considering that we knocked a bunch of his stuff over, gave us advice on where to go and who to talk to. Guess we got lucky with that one. As for the Traveller's Haus, I, uh, haven't been there yet. Is that where the people you landed with are staying?" Gil had mentioned the Haus during their approach to Frontier Town, but Ridley had decided to deal with it after he'd explored the town itself. It was embarrassing to consider that he might have met his fellow heroes-from-another-world much sooner if only he'd had different priorities.

 

[Sinderella]

No, no I get it. I like ghost types too!" He hadn't given a huge amount of thought to the logic behind his new body until now, but it made a kind of instinctive sense to him that he'd ended up as a ghost/fairy type.

And hey," he added in an attempt to reassure, "if you can't be a mess after getting dropped into another world with a whole new body to adjust to, then when can you be a mess? It's a weird situation for all of us."

Well, of course he liked ghost types; he was a goddamn mimikyu. Not to mention, he just looked comfortable in that form (from what she could tell, anyway). Unless he was actually just a really good actor and was silently freaking the fuck out and actually hated the type...where was she going with that line of thought? Maybe drinking at that moment was not a good idea...

Nonetheless, she appreciated his reassuring words. It was sound wisdom, too. "Good point," she agreed. She might have been able to think of a few scenarios, but...this was meant to be a relaxing conversation. There was no need to make it weirder than it already was.

"Minecart? No, we dropped right into the middle of a guy's workshop. He was really nice about it considering that we knocked a bunch of his stuff over, gave us advice on where to go and who to talk to. Guess we got lucky with that one. As for the Traveller's Haus, I, uh, haven't been there yet. Is that where the people you landed with are staying?"

"Oh, that's..." she started to say, "...nice." Making a mess of some poor soul's shop didn't sound particularly fun, but at least the guy had been friendly about it. Some people were just built differently; she couldn't confidently say she wouldn't have had a small tantrum if she were in that guy's shoes. But, she supposed she had no room to talk, being that her group had landed amongst "important" material and ruined it. She still didn't understand why that stuff wasn't behind a safe door or something, but again, she didn't quite know how things really worked here. Maybe that was just the norm.

"Luckier than us. My group--" well, me specifically. Fuck, she thought, "--almost picked a fight with who found us. Not that they weren't a little bitchy, to begin with. But one of them ended up being really cool and got us on a train here. And found us some clothes, thank the gods. As for the Traveller's Haus, yeah. Saw another group checking in there as well, so maybe that's set to become your stomping grounds too. Or all of ours, really."

She started eyeing the array of bottles behind the bar, halfheartedly wondering if she'd be welcome to a free glass every time she came in for work. She should probably talk to Greasewood more about her benefits. Was insurance a thing here? "Surprised you haven't been in there yet, but I see the merit of just dipping right into town. I basically came straight here and found a job, so I'm happy to know I've got money covered for the foreseeable future. Have you had any luck on that front?"

 

[Hap]

"Luckier than us. My group--" well, me specifically. Fuck, she thought, "--almost picked a fight with who found us. Not that they weren't a little bitchy, to begin with. But one of them ended up being really cool and got us on a train here. And found us some clothes, thank the gods. As for the Traveller's Haus, yeah. Saw another group checking in there as well, so maybe that's set to become your stomping grounds too. Or all of ours, really."

"Sounds like you had a much rougher landing than we did," Ridley said.

Possibly Ridley's companions had found the experience more distressing than he had, but Ridley had spent a frankly inadvisable amount of his childhood breaking and entering. Getting yelled at for being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be was old hat for Ridley, and Gare had definitely been one of the calmer and more relaxed people he'd ever met.

He shrugged, and continued, "The person who brought my group here mentioned the place, but I wanted to explore before I checked it out. I, uh, haven't sorted out the money situation yet - hey, speaking of, does the Traveller's Haus have something set up for people who can't pay upfront? Let us run up a tab, or something?

He guessed it maybe did, if other visitors from the multiverse were staying there. They couldn't all have found jobs already, right?

That just left the question of employment. Most of Ridley's useful skills could be boiled down to "fucking around and finding out", and while in his world the maxim that the only difference between science and fucking around was whether or not you wrote it down held true, in this world he was still going to have to figure out a way to pay rent. If worst came to worst Ridley still had his bedroll; as long as he could find a place to shelter from any inclement weather he'd probably be okay.

 

[Sinderella]

"The person who brought my group here mentioned the place, but I wanted to explore before I checked it out. I, uh, haven't sorted out the money situation yet - hey, speaking of, does the Traveller's Haus have something set up for people who can't pay upfront? Let us run up a tab, or something?

Odette tapped the bar top pensively. "Something, something they don't accept payment upfront. So I believe as long as you get yourself sorted sooner rather than later, you should be okay. I don't actually know if anyone else has sorted out their own money issues yet, but I didn't have much problem finding a job..." She eyed the stack of papers again before exhaling sharply. "However, the new debacle is ensuring I keep it, of course."

Shaking her head, she regarded Ridley's adorably painted on face again. "Any idea where your skills might see use? Mimikyu from my world are usually good with blending with shadows. If it's a feasible line of profit and the locals would trust a mysterious world-hopping stranger with their personal baggage, perhaps you could be a PI?" she suggested half-jokingly.

 

[Hap]

Well, not having to pay up front for a place to stay was at least one worry... not taken care of, exactly, but shunted down the line to a point where it could be Future Ridley's problem.

"Any idea where your skills might see use? Mimikyu from my world are usually good with blending with shadows. If it's a feasible line of profit and the locals would trust a mysterious world-hopping stranger with their personal baggage, perhaps you could be a PI?" she suggested half-jokingly.

Ridley laughed. "Yeah, maybe," he agreed. "I stick my nose into other people's business all the time anyway, so I might as well see if I can get paid for it. Asking questions and poking around for answers is my major job skill, anyway, although most of the time I get less in the way of answers and more in the way of additional questions."

He was mostly joking, but the idea of being a private investigator wasn't completely impossible. He'd have to learn a lot more about the culture here to make it plausible, though; if Ridley's childhood misadventures had taught him anything, it was that the most important part of sneaking around was knowing what sort of lies you could spin to avoid trouble if you got caught. Maybe he could start with some recreational eavesdropping and go from there.

"More practically, maybe there's a place here where people post bulletins for temporary work or paid errands they want to get done," he added thoughtfully. "Probably wouldn't pay great, but at this point it'd be nice to have any money at all. You did great finding a job so early! What is it that you do?" He gestured at the pile of papers and songbooks in front of her. "I'm guessing you're some sort of musician?"

 

[Sinderella]

Ridley laughed. "Yeah, maybe," he agreed. "I stick my nose into other people's business all the time anyway, so I might as well see if I can get paid for it. Asking questions and poking around for answers is my major job skill, anyway, although most of the time I get less in the way of answers and more in the way of additional questions."

Odette had to check herself before responding at first. "Yeah. I certainly know a thing or two about putting my nose where it doesn't belong." A whole lot of good it ended up doing her, both times around. "Getting paid might have made it a little more palatable." All she got was additional trauma, physical and not, a sense of guilt, and an inability to contact the people she wanted to talk to the most.

"More practically, maybe there's a place here where people post bulletins for temporary work or paid errands they want to get done," he added thoughtfully. "Probably wouldn't pay great, but at this point it'd be nice to have any money at all. You did great finding a job so early? What is it that you do?" He gestured at the pile of papers and songbooks in front of her. "I'm guessing you're some sort of musician?"

"I think I heard some others whispering about something like that. Couldn't hurt to look into it." If it was anything like those games, there would be little odd exploration jobs going up every other day or so promising small rewards for completion. It might do her some good to look into it herself, despite the fact she could go another ten years without having to do any more sleuthing. In fact, there was a small part of her utterly repulsed by the idea. But, the urge to solve a good mystery was forever engrained into her reckless little body.

Gesturing to her papers, she huffed. "Yeah, more or less. Singer, dancer," she said. "My only trades aside from knowing a thing or two about how to crack a case. And I imagine training Pokemon is off the table here, so that's quite obviously out." She shrugged. "I figured I had nothing to lose by singing a few bars for the owner here, and he was into it. Now it's just a matter of what the hell am I going to sing for a crowd? Not like anyone here is going to know and sing along to any of the early-to-mid 2000's club classics. Unless I can find a way to tailor any given Gaga song to a country genre..."

Pursing her lips, she quickly shook her head. "I don't expect you to have the slightest clue what I'm going on about. The short answer is, yes, I sing."

 

[Hap]

Pursing her lips, she quickly shook her head. "I don't expect you to have the slightest clue what I'm going on about. The short answer is, yes, I sing."

"I don't know much about music," Ridley admitted. "I'm one of those guys who can only say 'I like what I like' and can't talk about it much beyond that. But you could always try mixing some other genres in alongside the country stuff and see how it lands? If you get known for doing something no-one else here is doing that might be a draw." Or maybe not; what did Ridley know about music? He shrugged. "But like I said, I don't know much about the topic. Maybe I'm talking nonsense here."

He said, "I should probably leave you to focus on your work, huh? But thanks for talking with me. You're the first fellow-traveller I've met here and I'm grateful you've taken the time to help me out."

 

[Sinderella]

"I'm one of those guys who can only say 'I like what I like' and can't talk about it much beyond that. But you could always try mixing some other genres in alongside the country stuff and see how it lands? If you get known for doing something no-one else here is doing that might be a draw." Or maybe not; what did Ridley know about music? He shrugged. "But like I said, I don't know much about the topic. Maybe I'm talking nonsense here."

Nodding in agreement, Odette took to scribbling a few more things down. “I think that’s the plan. It’s just a matter of getting that sheet music. Nobody here is gonna have a songbook of Elton John or, like, Rihanna songs here, you know? Or anything else I’m familiar with for that matter. But, I’ll figure it out. Maybe they could use some new sounds out here.”

He said, "I should probably leave you to focus on your work, huh? But thanks for talking with me. You're the first fellow-traveller I've met here and I'm grateful you've taken the time to help me out."

“You’re welcome,” she said. “We’ll certainly be in touch, and good luck on the job hunt. Let me know if you need a reference,” she added jokingly.

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[SparklingEspeon]

Espurr figured that if she was going to have to find work here in town, then the best place for a kid like herself would be at one of those big cafe-type places that were always bustling with other 'mon. Surely they had to be hiring, right?

But after learning that the Traveller's Haus was in fact a Mouse House, and therefore probably wasn't open to hiring a cat, her option list had been cruelly sliced in half. However, good luck always prevailed, and the other place was both closer to everything else, and like, way more fancy. Like, serve-three-century-old-stinky-cheese-on-a-platter fancy. But they also had a bar, and a stage. It clashed harder than a jogging elephant in lipstick and high heels.

All the glamour probably meant they paid craploads, though.

Espurr walked in, reading all the heads in the room and trying to walk like yes, she did indeed own thirteen different gowns and was just too posh for all of them, and then seated herself at the bar. Man, she hoped she looked old enough to be seated at the bar. It probably didn't matter as long as she didn't order the rotten grape drink. The bartender was busy right now, but when they came around she'd ask if their fine establishment was hiring and that she wasn't picky about what it was. Nothing could go wrong with this, right?

 

[Phoenixsong]

The Sun Stone Saloon was a lot ritzier than Leaf had expected; not too many folks here wearing hand-me-down scarves, or looking like they had to shake off the dust of the road before entering (or just inside the saloon doors because it might not have occurred to her until then, yadda yadda, whichever). At least it meant the food had to be good, though, right? She deserved a decent meal after that nothingburger of a scouting run from the Definitely Mundane Job Listing. Best she could say for it was it had given her ample opportunity to practice running, because there sure as hell hadn't been anything interesting to scout out there at the moment.

So: hot, dusty, tired, bored: all the more reason to treat herself to something nice. Something small, most likely, given what the price tags probably looked like in a joint like this, but still! She made her way toward the bar, hoping to spot a menu, and saw something even better—a familiar face in the sea of stuffy people.

"Oh, hey, Espurr! Haven't seen much of you since we got here," she said, trotting over with a smile. "They got anything good here?"

 

[SparklingEspeon]

"Oh, hi!" said Espurr, scooting over on the bench. Could horses sit on benches? She wasn't sure, but now was as good a time to learn as any. "Wanna seat? I haven't looked at anything here yet."

A quick glance at the menu in front of her on the table, with writing so loopy it almost looped back to being chicken scratch. She didn't know numbers could go that high... and that was just for the wine section?

....How many pages was the wine section?

"Wow, it looks grim," she said, flipping through the sixth page of nothing but cocktails.

 

[Phoenixsong]

...Sitting...? Huh. Mildly creepy extra-bendy legs or no, that one was a little hard to wrap her imagination around. Ultimately Leaf settled for just lying down on the bench, legs tucked under and out of the way; at least she was just about tall enough to see above the table. And hey, what else was her fancy new telekinesis for, right?

Well, not for finding anything that looked remotely affordable on this menu, at least. "Yeah, yikes," she said, whistling low. "These definitely look like more than one-job sorta drinks..."

(They also looked like the sorts of drinks she was absolutely not allowed to have. Not that there was anyone here to stop her, of course—whoever thought these prices were anything resembling reasonable aside—but right now "something cold" was a little higher priority than "something fun and/or ordered entirely out of spite".)

A second or so's worth of concentration and visualizing turn to the part where they usually keep the lighter stuff managed to flip the menu over to the back. "What've you been up to?" Leaf asked. "Anything interesting? I've been trying my hand at the jobs on that weird bulletin board outside of town. The bigger pokémon take most of the fun jobs before I get there, but it's decent enough practice for getting used to, well, all this." She gave one hoof a little wave.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Espurr could relate. She gave Leaf a sympathetic smile. "You're getting the hang of it pretty quick, when it happened to me I tripped on my tail for weeks."

She adjusted herself on the bench to face Leaf better.

"I've been looking for jobs too," she said. "I went around town asking if anymon was hiring, but so far it's just that one old 'mon who wanted help pickling rats in his basement. Which is weird and creepy and murderific, but it was one afternoon and he was paying a lot and while I was there I found a cellar rat who likes chess. Hey, what kinda jobs do you get up to? Any fun ones?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Absolutely riveting," Leaf said airily. "Someone thought a bunch of wild diglett might be trying to tunnel into a storehouse, and were in desperate need of a hero to stare at the dirt just outside town and uncover any nefarious molehills. It took the noble, bloody sacrifice of hours out in the sun and nearly all of my ability to care, but I was just about able to stagger back from the front lines with the news that there's absolutely friggin' nothing. A divot from someone dropping something heavy, maybe. I'm sure the Ranger HQ'll be tripping over themselves to recruit me aaaaaany moment now."

She made a little mock swoon, then snorted. "I'd have taken creepy rat chess in a heartbeat, though at least imaginary-diglett–watching probably came with a prettier view... well, whatever. One of these days I'll get a good enough spot in line to get one of the jobs in those 'dungeons'. Now those sound like a ride."

Leaf gave the back of the menu a once-over. No mention of water, not even (over)charging for it. Didn't seem too farfetched that this place might toss out somebody so passé as to ask for that alone, honestly. "Don't suppose you've learned anything new about why we're actually supposed to be here, have you?" A quick look around to make sure there were no obvious snoops, and then, in a conspiratorial whisper: "I've heard around the Haus we're not supposed to tell people some of us're human, but not really why, and I dunno if that's relevant or not?"