April Showers part 1

Event 6 - April Showers part 1

Rollie opened her eyes blearily, a dull thudding thumping her head. She blinked a few times, slowly, lifting an ear to listen to an excited voice crying her name.

"Ma! Ma! Mama!" Jacqueline squealed, bouncing on her forehead. "Up now! Now please!"

Rollie rolled over, catching her daughter mid bounce. Jacqueline stuck out her tongue, blowing at the sandslash loudly. Rollie tickled her nose with a smile. "Can I have five more minutes?" she asked sweetly.

"No!" Jacqueline answered, wriggling in her palms. "Up now please!"

Rollie giggled, looking up at the sky with heavy lids. Mid morning. She grimaced inwardly. The koffing was definitely picking up on Piers' early schedule. It looked as though her days of sleeping in were certainly over. Jacqueline squealed again, sucking in air to inflate herself.

"Mama! Down!"

"Where's dada?" Rollie asked, letting the baby roll onto her belly.

"Fly! Fly!" She bounced again, spinning in the air. "Da da da!"

Rollie sat up, causing Jacqueline to roll onto the ground in a giggling fit. Rollie watched her fondly, then looked around at her surroundings curiously. A few days prior, she, Piers and Shemp had gathered their belongings and moved away from Merlot's castle at last. Having retrieved a few key things from their old home - gifts that were slightly stained from Sorbet's rampage - they moved past Tao, through the forest, to settle by Tao lake. Rollie wagged the tip of her tail, looking out over the lakefront not far from their den's entrance. Rollie glanced over her shoulder at their new home. An old, abandoned tunnel that went a short distance into the ground. It still needed some cleaning up, but Rollie and Shemp were working on it as much as possible so as to be able to sleep inside comfortably. Until then, the team spent the warm spring nights outside in the grass, falling asleep to the soft sounds of waves.

Samuel, Aerill, Ingto and Terrence had moved along with them, sleeping nearby all together. Although Rollie had at first been somewhat bothered by the presence of so many strangers, over the weeks since Samuel had first shown up, they had all started to feel like her family away from home. Like a collection of uncles and aunts she had never really had before. Along with Piers, Shemp, and Jacqueline, it was like she was really making a place in the world. Her own little family.

Rameon had taken to living in Tao Village with Shania, however. She wished he could have moved out with her, or at least nearby, but she understood his reasons. He wanted to keep his gadgets and blueprints clean and in proper shape, a difficult feat in the wilderness. Plus, in town, he was much closer to shops and clients who could provide him with what he needed. She had noticed he was making more of an effort to visit her lately, however. A simple action she was grateful for.

"Maaaaa!" Jacqueline cried, bouncing in front of her. "Mama! Dada."

"He'll be back soon," Rollie said, looking to her with a smile. She glanced around again, picking out Shemp's prone form sprawled out in a pile of bushes. She frowned, brow creasing. Walking in his sleep again. She strode closer, taking a second look around for any one else. Ingto and Terrence had likely wandered back to Tao. Those two could scarcely stay still. Piers, Samuel and Aerill would be flying together, of course. Shemp, however, was nearly always there when she awoke. Of course, being new to Tao, he more than likely felt uncomfortable without her or Piers with him. She stood over the sleeping linoone, thinking to herself. He did have an odd habit of moving about in his sleep, however; it was not uncommon to wake up and find him up in a tree, sprawled out in the bushes, or somewhere else equally odd. He shrugged it off on awakening, and Rollie saw no reason to pursue the topic.

Jacqueline bounced around Shemp cheerfully, squealing his name excitedly. "S'emp! Up now please!" she cried, hopping back and forth in front of his face. Shemp mumbled, wrapping his paws over his face. Jacqueline paused in her hopping, looking at him curiously. Rollie chuckled, holding out a hand to her daughter.

"Jackie, Shemp is sleepy. Let's leave him be, okay?"

Jacqueline rolled to her hand, a dissatisfied look on her face. She was not used to being ignored. Rollie picked her up, smiling at her. "Come on, let's go to the lake and play! Does that sound fun?"

The koffing's face lit up immediately. "Yay! Splash splash!" she said cheerfully as Rollie carried the baby away from the den. Rollie sighed inwardly. Her future most definitely involved being very wet.

*****

Ingto stretched out under the shade of his favourite tree on the outskirts of Tao village. He yawned, eyes scanning the nearby pokemon keenly. It was very busy in the village today. He had picked up snippets of conversation from several of the vilagers, all of them talking about places to plant flowers and trees as they worked to clear out the dead and dying plant life. He supposed this was another one of their 'missions', and while it seemed needless, he could not deny the quaintness of it. They all seemed to care so much about this little town.

Well, most of them. He turned his gaze to the puffy eevee curled against his belly in deep sleep. Arevee, the silly pokemon who had become attached to him since his arrival in Tao. He did not see why. He deemed himself unapproachable, as he certainly was not friendly or accommodating to visitors, and frankly quite uninterested in making friends. And yet, day after day, he found himself in the company of this young eevee, and nowadays he did not even mind. It was almost pleasant to have someone by his side. Especially one who slept as much as she did.

Quiet steps pulled his eyes back up, and he let out a sigh when he saw the pokemon approaching him. Terrence, that irritating tyrogue, with that fake smile plastered over his face. Ingto shuffled his paws, watching as the fighting type halted a few feet away.

Terrence glanced down at Arevee, then back to Ingto. "Can I speak to you?" he asked politely.

Ingto rolled his eyes. "Certainly," he said, unable to keep a tinge of sarcasm from his tongue. "Speak."

Terrence's eyes flickered to Arevee again. "Privately?" he persisted.

Ingto looked at him in annoyance. "The young lady could sleep through a riot. Either speak now, or go away. I am trying to relax."

Terrence's nostrils wrinkled, but he forced himself to maintain a pleasant expression on his face. "And risk her hearing things she shouldn't?" he said through gritted teeth. "I need to speak with you, and not in the company of others."

"If I were to get up, she would become too hot," Ingto said mildly, looking away to watch the passing guild pokemon. "And I could not have that on my conscience. If that is all..."

"Ingto, for god's sake! -"

"Speak, or begone," Ingto said, his voice commanding. He fixed the tyrogue with a hard stare, brow creased. Terrence clenched his fists, shaking under his eyes. Ingto felt pleased, knowing that despite his attitude, Terrence was truly nothing to a pokemon like himself. A young man who believed that he could order others about, just because of his father's position in the guild. Childish.

"How long are you and Samuel going to hold up this... charade?" Terrence said finally in a low voice. "It's sickening, watching the two of you sleep with the enemy. Literally, in fact."

Ingto smiled. Such a thing would annoy the fellow. "Until we are able to strike," Ingto said passively. "Some jobs are more complicated than others. Right now we're dealing with two pokemon who could easily escape if we were to fail, and one has already vanished from underneath us before. Considering failure will mean death for Samuel, you could understand his hesitation to act callously."

"I don't care about Samuel," Terrence growled. "I care about getting a job done."

"Then you'll be patient," Ingto said curtly. "Your father would be most annoyed if you were to return empty-handed, would he not?" Terrence glared at him. Ingto smiled. "You know you cannot do the job yourself. You need Samuel and I to succeed. But you see, the two of us, we do not need you. So, you will act when we act, and no sooner." Ingto laid his head down on his paws. "And you will stop trying to command us. You are little more than an overeager hatchling trying to impress his daddy. I care not for your ego."

"I don't think you intend to kill them," Terrence pressed, stepping forward. Ingto did not even look up, unimpressed with his attempts to intimidate. "I think you intend to let them escape."

"Yes, certainly I am so eager to throw away my life," Ingto said dryly. "Go away, would you?"

"Why are you sleeping with Samuel?"

Ingto laughed, shaking his head. "Because it is chilly some nights, isn't it?" He flicked his eyes toward the tyrogue. "Sleeping alone... It must be so lonely, so cold, without someone by your side."

"I don't need a fake mate for that," Terrence said angrily. He turned away, crossing his arms. "I don't need anyone."

"Indeed." Ingto yawned, closing his eyes. "Will you leave, now?"

Terrence did not say another word, walking away. Ingto smiled. The young were amusing. Amusing, impatient, and foolish. He lifted his head, looking down to Arevee. He felt a flicker of sadness inside him. He was not sure what she thought of him; did she consider him a friend? Ingto creased his brow. Friends. He was not sure how he would know if he had any, but for the first time in years he felt... guilt. And worry. He let out a slow breath. What would Arevee think of him, when she found out why he had come here? All the pokemon who had come to trust him, Piers' friend teams, who came to visit and talk and play. Why did it bother him now, when he thought of how hurt they would be by his betrayal?

'Penny...'

The thought came to him, unbidden. He wrinkled his nostrils, glaring at the grass. Why should he care what anyone thought of him? They were naive fools, all of them. They thought their lives began and ended in this scrawny village, a place so removed from the every day. They did not even eat meat in this town. What did they know of the outside world? What did they know of...

Ingto shook his head. Angry. Why? He laid his head down, looking to Arevee again. Why did he feel a fondness for her, for the others? It was making his job complicated. What he should have done, at that very moment, was get up, and walk away. Garnering their trust, that was part of his job. He had to divorce himself from all other feelings, all other attachments. And clearly, he was not. He should have, at that time, gotten up, and walked away from the little eevee.

He did not. He closed his eyes, letting out another sigh, and tried to decide if he felt better or worse about his decision to stay.

*****

"Why are we running the stand today of all days, Rameon?" Shania complained, arms slumped over the wooden counter. Rameon did not bother answering her, focusing on refilling the crates of berries on the shelves behind them. Shania rubbed her cheek on the wood, tapping her fingers irritably. Pokemon were hurrying back and forth, heaving piles of dead plant matter or dragging entire tree trunks to specialised land sites to be disposed of. And here she was, stuck running the merchant stand. And it was busy; so many working pokemon meant a lot of business from hungry and thirsty customers.

"Rameon," Shania pressed. "This sucks."

"We could use the extra money, Shania," Rameon answered finally, pulling himself into his chair. "We have to pay rent on our home, buy our own food, and, ahh... I destroyed my prototype light a little while ago." Rameon made a face. "I need to save up to buy the materials necessary to build it again."

"This sounds an awful lot like you need the extra money, not me," Shania complained, rolling her head back and forth as she struggled not to fall asleep. Rameon chuckled at her, rummaging under the counter.

"If you weren't working here, you'd be lifting and carrying all day," Rameon pointed out, flipping through a stack of paper he had brought with him. "At least here, you get to sit and do nothing while I handle all the customers."

"Yeah, but if I were out there, I could slip off and sneak a nap," Shania pointed out. "Here, I have to stay awake and pretend to care when pokemon come to the booth."

"Your life is so hard," Rameon said gravely. He slapped a paw down on the papers. "Damn. I forgot some of my blueprints back home." He looked to Shania, giving the abra a sheepish smile. "Do you think you could watch the stand while I?..."

Shania gave a long, loud groan that drew a few curious eyes from passing pokemon. "I don't wanna!"

Rameon rolled his eyes, hopping off the chair. "I'll be ten minutes. Just ten. All you have to do is take money, give out what they want, and not sleep. Think you can handle it?"

"You owe me," Shania called out.

"No, I don't!" he retorted as he trotted out of the booth, heading home. Shania watched him go, rattling her fingers on the counter. She glanced about for any nearby pokemon who seemed to be approaching, but thankfully saw none. Customers were annoying. Talking. Pointing. Wanting things. How did anyone stand such a thing? She laid her head on the counter, letting her mind drift. Just a quick five minute nap. No one would even notice.

"I can see the merchants have falling standards," a voice said suddenly, pulling Shania from her sleep. A finger thudded the counter. "Hey! Can I get some service, if its not too much trouble?"

Shania lifted her head, yawning widely. She paused, cocking her head when she saw her customer; a pretty looking scrafty woman. Well well; maybe this day was salvageable after all. Shania smiled suavely, leaning an arm on the wood before her. "Well, I must still be dreaming, if you're my customer."

The scrafty looked at her curiously, then smirked back, drumming her fingers on the counter. "Oh? Were you dreaming of me?"

Shania leaned her head back, as though thinking. "Someone one remarkably similar! She came up to my stall, and leaned against it. She was almost as gorgeous as you, in fact."

The fighting type chuckled, leaning both arms on the counter. "So what happened in this dream?"

"Well, you woke me up before it could end," Shania said, waving a hand. "Although, I was going to ask her to have a drink with me at the cafe. After the sun sets, and all the teams are off work."

She grinned, then straightened up, turning away. "Well, I don't usually believe in prophetic dreams, but I have a feeling this one may come true. Good afternoon."

Shania smiled, leaning forward on the counter to watch the scrafty walk away, trying to resist the urge to gloat her success. 'Man, I didn't even catch her name. Hang on, she didn't even buy anything.' She leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on the counter. 'Maybe she just came to see me, then.' Shania smirked, clasping her hands together. She was such a lady killer.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to actually be awake when I returned," Rameon said as he pulled himself into his chair, placing down a bundle of papers. He tapped the stack of blueprints into place, waiting for Shania's retort. When she said nothing, he looked up to her curiously. "What are you so pleased about?"

Shania flicked her eyes toward him. "I just got myself a date," she answered, snickering.

*****

Lyn Storytelling - Team Rush: [link] Team Slumber: [link]
Are Doodles - Team Bayou: [link] Team Brodacious: [link]

Event Objectives: [link]
Time Period: A few days for cleaning and planting
Planting: Fruit trees and Flowers

Next: [link]

AND SO IT BEGINS. The first part of my and Are's awesome collaboration! I've been so antsy to get this up. Just ask Are. I almost feel bad, constantly asking to see what she's been drawing.

I really do like this event, if I do say so myself. And I always love working with Are! She's such an awesome partner!