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Frontier Town Nocwell's General Goods

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"Thank you," Leaf said, smiling gratefully at Purple. She still had no idea what he was actually saying or how anyone else actually did, but it "Glad we were able to help you with at least some of your list! I can try asking around to see if anyone knows anything about any moon stones."

As they watched Purple hop off on his way, she turned to Grave and grinned. "Sure, I could do with a break from all these errands anyway. They have good sandwiches at Nina's if that's up your alley." She tossed her head in the direction of the girafarig's restaraunt. "Catching up sounds like a good time to me!"

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[Ch04] - Full Moon Fallout - Part 1 (Wes and Steven)
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    • Steven slowly browsed the over-filled shelves at Nocwell's, half looking for something, and half doing so out of a desire to distract himself from whatever last night was... all of last night. The Wolf-- no, Seth-- Shadows, Cipher, Powehi.

    He'd woken up feeling less than rested, still scuffed and scraped from the events of the outskirts encounter. His claws grated at the joints from the dust and grime still coating his body. Their edges felt dull, like he'd tried to gouge his way through an entire rock wall. Oh wait. He had. Thankfully, there'd been a dead body to draw attention away from the frenzied claw marks at the back of the alcove he'd hid in like a coward. Still didn't stop him from crushing the foot of the bed in his sleep last night. (A hastily-shoved pillow served as the only means to hide the evidence.)

    No, no. Steven shook his head. This is why he was here at the store. To stop dwelling on things like this. His eye drifted to a section of the shop that hopefully held some polishing supplies, and maybe a decent honing stone if he was lucky...

    He was just tilting up to get a good look at something on a higher shelf when the door of the shop opened with a cheerful bell-chime. Curiosity demanded he take a quick glance at who'd come in.
     
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    • Wes wandered to the store on autopilot, his mind far too preoccupied with a million different things to pay attention to much else. To an outside observer, he probably looked like some kind of robot—or maybe not. He couldn’t tell. He also didn’t care.

    Alejandro and a few other people around town had remarked on his evolution, congratulating him or ooohing over his new form, but all it did was make him feel sick. There was nothing to be celebrated about his evolution. Not if they knew the circumstances behind it.

    He’d been all but useless at Alejandro’s this morning, barely able to focus on anything until the the older mon kindly sent him on an errand trip to Nocwell’s for more supplies. Wes knew full well they weren’t running short on anything and that this was just a thinly-veiled attempt to give him some time with his thoughts, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless. It was better than being cooped up in Drungfield’s for the millionth damn time, and it sure beat spending any time in the Haus lobby where he’d rather avoid eye contact with anybody there.

    Wes pushed into the store almost mechanically, not even sure what exactly to pluck off the shelves to justify this “errand trip.” He dully scanned the place, looking for something that would at least be somewhat helpful, when he caught a flash of metallic blue in the corner of his eye. What—?

    Oh, no. No, no, no. Hell, no.

    He froze in horror for half a second, but that half-second was all it took for Steven to turn and make eye contact with him. Damn it to hell.

    He didn’t need this. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t stomach one more terrified glance or accusatory glare or awkwardly shifting eyes from a fellow teammate.

    Without another word, Wes spun and marched right out the door.
     
    "Oh!" Steven's eye widened ever so slightly. He hadn't expected to recognize the newcomer. It was a familiar face; one that was different than the last time he'd seen them in more ways than one. "Wes, hello-- uh?"

    A familiar face that saw him and promptly turned and left.

    "Wes, wait!"

    Steven turned to follow after him, but in his haste he bumped into a shelf behind him. He winced at the sound of ceramic breaking. Sliding an apologetic look at the Minccino shopkeeper as he slightly-more-carefully maneuvered to the door, he dug into his bag and deposited far too much coin on the table.

    "I'm really sorry, I hope that's enough to cover it!" he said before darting outside, hoping he'd be in time to catch a glimpse of blue fur disappearing around the corner.

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    Ch04: Cats & Dogs (Koa & Felin)
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    • Koa stifled a yawn as he entered the store, wrinkling his nose at all the scents. He wasn't overly fond of the smell of the store, but it was useful. As he wandered inside, he mentally reviewed the list of supplies he planned to collect for traveling, and for his project. Something to focus on. Berries, orbs...

    A flash of green caught his eye. Peering around a shelf he spotted a familiar shape of a feline. Wait, what was her name? Beeline? Fiona? No... Definitely an f though, and it was on the tip of his tongue... "...Heyyy," he called, giving up after realizing he'd probably stared too long. She'd been a good teammate in their few times fighting together. "Stocking up?" he asked amiably, searching for a good topic not fraught with stress.
     
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    • "Hmm?" Felin flicked her ear as she glanced over her shoulder. The blue Elektrike was coming her way. Her eyes pinched to slits and she turned to look him proper.

    "Oh, Koa. Good to see you," she said, a small meow underlying her tone. "A delver's always got to be prepared for anything. I'm just doing my part."
     
    Great, she remembered his name. "Yeah, I'm just picking up supplies too." His gaze roved over the haphazard collection of items and berries.

    "It's pretty weird still. The berries here are just like back home, but these orb things and scarves and stuff are totally new. I can't even remember them all." He felt vaguely sure she wasn't from a world with humans. Was her world like this then?

    "Are you used to all this stuff?" he asked curiously.
     
    "Quite so, though orbs aren't in much use lately in my world. Least not for combat. We used wands," Felin answered, tapping her finger on a luminous orb, found its quality sufficed, and put it back in with the rest.

    A flick rang out from her paw. "I'll throw a guess and say you're one of the humans, yeah? Never hearing of orbs or mystery dungeons before coming here has been a reliable indicator."
     
    Koa nodded. "Yeah where I'm from we have some items I guess, but nothing like these." He skimmed the shelves, locating a protect orb and selecting it. What a convenient idea, an on hand protect without needing to learn the move. "I wonder how they make them," he mused, half out loud, half to himself.

    "You were a... delver? Like an explorer back home?"
     
    "I don't know about this world but the way these are made in mine..." Felin tapped her boot on the ground and jogged her memory around a bit. "Right! The orbs concentrations of dungeon energy, and then they're infused with different properties. You know how stalactites grow in ordinary caves, right? It's like that."

    She threw the flap over her bag and clipped it shut. It bulged like the distended belly of a snorlax.

    "I may have packed a bit too much," she muttered, emptying the bag and setting Weakpoint aside to start afresh. "And yes, I do explore quite a bit, actually." A star glittered in her eye as she winked. Koa wouldn't have seen it because was all in her head. "I don't look it right now, but I'm a Silver ranked delver and still rising to the top."
     
    "Weird," he murmured, considering her explanation of dungeon items. "I guess that makes sense." It was still weird to think that they could somehow be a natural occurrence. He'd thought maybe they were more like TMs.

    "I'm an explorer too," he said, grinning. Something they shared in common. "Not officially or anything, but I love checking out caves and stuff back home, climbing mountains. Going places almost no one has ever been, or seeing places no one has ever seen." For a moment he felt a pang of disappointment that he hadn't been able to spend nearly as much time here doing that. Maybe in another situation he could have...
     
    Koa's revelation that he too was an explorer immediately caused Felin's pupils to widen like plates. She clapped suddenly, ears propped upright as she smiled.

    "Well, well! We're not so different, you and me, Koa." She cocked her head to the side, considering a thought. "You're quite young. I don't know how age works but I don't think I was much older than you when I got my start. I'm impressed."

    She pointed her paw his way and proffered a question, "How does human exploration work? Pokemon can weather and bend the elements just fine, but last I heard humans in the human worlds are... how should I put it." She scrunched her face and hummed. "Plain. Plain and simple."

     
    Koa snorted in amusement and found himself smiling. She was like him then, in that. He wondered for a moment how old she was.

    "I'm... Fourteen I guess? Not sure how that translates, but we're I'm from it's considered old enough to go out alone." Was he almost fifteen now? He'd lost track of time.

    He fiddled with a scarf as he continued. "Usually with a pokemon partner. That's how most humans get by, we have pokemon who help us and protect us and we look out for them. Like my friend back home, Echo. He's a Crobat, and he helps me navigate. Well, that and humans are good at making stuff to get by I guess. Jackets and things."

    Echo would have probably loved to explore a dungeon.
     
    "Ah, I think I get it." Felin folded her arms and nodded. She had gotten an inkling of how the trainer and pokemon relationships worked. Her conclusion? "You act as captains and pokemon are your squadron. How's the pay for the pokemon there?"
     
    "Yeah exac- Wait no," Koa stammered, then laughed awkwardly. "Not exactly." How did he explain it? It seemed like everyones worlds had wildly different ideas of humans. "Pokemon back home aren't like the ones here. They're uhm." He frowned.

    "Most of them don't care about the things pokemon here seem to like, actually. They're more into fighting, kind of like the Escarpa. And its a little more like... us? The Wayfarers I mean. All of us play different roles on the team, and try to use our strengths, but I don't pay them. Except in food I guess," he added with a chuckle.
     
    "That food better be the most delectable gourmet meals in your world else I don't quite see it as a fair trade," Felin admitted, though she supposed that he did explain the pokemon of his world didn't care for much more.

    "Right. I can't judge your way of doing things based on what I've seen and heard in my life." Her bag bulged once again, still too full. No reaction showed on her face as she emptied it once more and started anew. "Entei's fangs. This bag's too small."
     
    Koa winced mentally, feeling briefly annoyed, and confused. Maybe he wasn't explaining it very good. Then again, he couldn't blame her, some of the others worlds sounded equally bizarre. "Er... It's not really about the food. We're friends. I mean none of us got paid to come here, right? It's not like, a job or anything, really. We help each other, like friends on a team. Like uh... Laura watching my back and calling out advice." He'd appreciated the the fight she'd done that, made it so much easier to focus.

    He tipped his head curiusly. "Don't you have teams back home? Like the Rangers or friends you explore with or something? You must have one if you're an explorer, right?" From what he could gather, solo delving into dungeons seemed risky.
     
    "Why not find a new team?" The words came out before he curb himself. He mentally chided himself for prying.

    "I mean. I was wondering, isn't it easier exploring with a group? That way everyone can look out for each other? Or I guess if you're a strong pokemon back home it's not as risky."

    Would he have a team if he was like this back home? Powerful? It was a weird thought, and strangely lonely.
     
    Felin's shoulders shook as she chuckled.

    "I was strong enough back home to stomp everyone on this planet under my boot." She glanced back at him with a smirk. "That's not an exaggeration by the way. Pokemon just have much more to work with where I'm from." She brought her paws together and drew apart. "Our dreams made us powerful. Meanwhile, in Forlas, I feel like I'm walking with a mountains tied to my boots constantly. Not sure if anymon else feels the same way."

    Felin didn't blame Betel. Even though they promised they'd all have their old strengths with time, she didn't think it'd happen.

    She waved her paw over her face, turned around and back to packing she went. "There's always demand for a skilled Delver. So, I lend my help for a time to delving teams that need the extra paw. After a job is done, I'm back drifting on the wind."
     
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