Red Velvet E6.2.1 (Lit)

The leaves crackled softly under the Rogue party’s feet as it charged through the forest, each Pokémon making an effort to be quiet, although with the sheer size of the group, it was beginning to grow more and more difficult. The purple Kecleon in the lead, PK, leapt from root to root furiously but quietly, followed close behind by a ruffled young Zorua. Neither spoke in fear of being noticed by the Zoroark who they now sought to ambush, but PK’s brows were tightly knitted, and the Zorua seemed to glance around nervously at every step. Tension hung heavy in the air, and mutterings floated about.

“I can’t believe PK’s leading our charge,” whined a Smeargle at the back, loud enough to be heard by those around her, but not by the Merchant up front. “We’re Rogues! What happened to Devonshire and Gunpowder?”

“I can’t believe that Kecleon,” agreed an Eevee with a sharp but graceful nod. “She shouldn’t even have the right!”

“She does have some nerve,” added a Mareep, flipping a lock of wool out of his face. “To take charge of a guild that isn’t even hers!”

“Hey, don’t talk so loud,” rebuked his Snubbull companion uneasily, although his voice was nothing more than a low, inaudible grunt, heard only by his partner, who sighed and eyed him rather distastefully.

“You know what, Palvov, Pokémon like these…”

Perdita looked about nervously at all the gossiping Pokémon, branch after branch cracking under her claws with every reckless step. She didn’t like it here. The bad vibes just…surrounded the impromptu team. In the first place, what the hell did she and Stian have to do with this entire mess? They’d just arrived in Tao fairly recently, and they certainly weren’t attached to it enough to risk their lives in this stupid task. Were there even rewards for it?

…Well, there were a few for her, at least. As assistant to Stian, he’d totally take it against her if she refused to come. The Nidoran glanced over at the Purrloin gracefully sauntering in front of her, his lithe head nonchalantly inclined upwards to observe the sunlight creeping between the foliage of Illusory Woods, like he was just on an ordinary walk. His new Deceiving Brooch glinted proudly under his chin, and a casual smile graced his feline face. He clearly didn’t care about this rescue effort at all. At least he didn’t care about the Merchant head leading the party either, but seriously…what were his motives?

A shadow leapt among the branches above them, but Perdita passed it off as imagination. They said this place was tricky, after all. Yeah. Tricks.

Stian, however, stopped dead in his tracks, and Perdita struggled to end her own inertia. The Pokémon behind her swore and swerved ahead of her; she angrily returned the insult, but her partner swished his thin tail in front of her mouth to silence her. His ears perked up, and he sharply turned his head to his right. Perdita followed his gaze and spotted the shadow again.

“What was that?” she demanded. Stian, along with a number of passersby, shot her a glare as a reminder for silence, and she rolled her eyes, lowering her voice and throwing in a hint of sarcasm: “Oh, dear master, whatever was that shadow?”

“Honey, I appreciate your efforts at formality, but as of now, we have bigger problems. That shadow may have been more than just a fleeting phantom.” Without waiting for a reply, the Purrloin quietly diverged from the rescue party, melting away into the odd darkness of the forest. Frowning and glancing hesitantly back at the advancing Pokémon; Perdita began to step after him, but was stopped by his whirling around to face her.

“And,” he added with a paw outstretched at her, “I expect you to stay here.”

“Why?” Perdita’s natural scowl grew deeper. The party was beginning to get ahead of them.

“Because,” continued Stian impatiently, frequently checking the forest behind him, “we need someone at the actual site of the task, don’t we now, dear? I’ll just be taking a…side route.”

“A side route? But didn’t they say this forest is filled with ill—“

“Don’t you worry about me, sweetie. I’ll be back.” Without waiting for his partner to argue further, Stian turned and leapt into the darkness. Perdita opened her mouth to yell something after him, but eventually shut it and shook her head irritably.

“Gee, what an idiot. Whatever. ‘S not my fault if I find him going nuts somewhere or something.”  With a snort, Perdita whipped around and dashed carelessly after the rest of the Rogues.

~~~

The group was at a stop.

PK had called for it; the Rogues sat in silent ambush as they waited for the Merchant’s signal. The trees were foreboding as they towered over them and cast shadows on the grassy ground; the tension in the air was set so high it felt like it could snap. Perdita looked around tensely; the Pokémon around her all seemed rather impatient at the moment, still mostly distrustful of their impromptu leader. Stian had not returned.

What was taking so long? Not only for the signal, but for Stian, as well. He was usually a very efficient ‘mon, and this disappearance was uncalled for. Perdita worried for a moment that he was in trouble, but quickly ticked the thought as irrelevant. After all, she didn’t really care much for him. His absence itself couldn’t have been the reason for this increasingly dark premonition she had in her gut.

So what was it, then?

The suspicion became too much. Perdita, driven by instinct, carefully broke away from the waiting group and dove into the foliage they had just emerged from.