Hilltop Blitzkrieg (Private)

The heavy, misty fog that surrounded the hill of Pricklemist was almost blinding, and it was almost obvious why there was a request for someone of the guild to come and deliver a Blast Seed and Blue Ribbon to the location. And, while Oswald had obtained a Blue Ribbon earlier on from his client, it was still strange for the customer to ask for two completely unrelated items, and to have them be delivered to a place like this was even more puzzling. Still, it wasn't Oswald's job to ask questions, he just needed to get there and deliver the items, that was all.

Still, with this blue ribbon he was carrying, he was almost positive that a certain thief would pop around and try to take it. Oswald would just have to make sure to stay on his guard, to make sure that he wouldn't be taking the first blow.

The fog shrouded the mysterious Pokemon quietly watching from afar. She watched the shape of the Mienfoo moving through the fog with a Blue Ribbon in hand. Vanilla had sent a Pokemon she had met earlier who had no connections to any outlaws to post a help sign on the request board. It had been very specific in the request and she had explained that a certain Pokemon was expected to pick it up.

She continued to watch quietly, moving bit by bit to keep just within range to see the Mienfoo before he disappeared into the fog. I'm guessing he'll have a clue already that I might be around... But I'll take my time and watch him for the perfect moment. She thought with a devilish grin.

Oswald sighed lightly, finally reaching the old, decrepit shack up at the very top of the hill, pleasantly surprised that no pokemon had attacked him during his trip up there. Then again, it certainly was an oddity for such an occurance, considering the current circumstances. Still, it wasn't Oswald's job to complain, nor was it his job to argue with the client. Thus, all he could do at this point was sit around and wait for the recipient of the delivery to arrive, and if they did not arrive, then Oswald was simply obligated to leave.

Vanilla crept up to the shack, laying low against the ground as she watched Oswald's progress. She wiggled closer and was about to make her move when she stopped at the sound of something rustling behind her. Vanilla turned to look and see what was lurking behind her. A very angry Oddish stared at her. "Huh?" She blurted out at the Weed Pokemon's appearance.

The Oddish started to shake it's leaves and a golden dust appeared. "Oh no!" Vanilla said and scrambled away from the Oddish. Her first movement sent her running up the hill on all fours as the Oddish shouted from further back.

Oswald's ears perked up, and he turned to watch Vanilla running towards him. Almost immediately, Oswald got into a battle ready stance, only to blink in shock when Vanilla ran past him, an Oddish coming into view in front of him.

"Wha...ugh. Hey, you, Oddish. Are you the recipient of this delivery? If not, then I will have to detain and report you for the assault." Oswald stated loud and clear, retaining his battle stance and meditating silently as he did so.

Vanilla had dashed past Oswald, but she hadn't forgotten the reason she'd lured him out there in the first place. She had still managed to slip past him and obtain exactly what she had wanted. Vanilla skidded to a halt on the heels of her paws and turned to glance back for the Oddish which was staring at the Mienfoo with an angry expression.

"Hey Oswald, it's not exactly friendly so you'd better watch out! By the way, thanks for delivering the item I wanted!" She waved with a smirk on her face. The Oddish had been an unexpected guest in her plan, but it had worked out in the end as she turned and waltzed away with the Blue Ribbon in hand.

Oswald growled, and watched as the Oddish tried striking at the Mienfoo with a vine whip, only for it to be caught by the Mienfoo, and ultimately used against the Oddish, as Oswald pulled the Oddish off it's feet and tossed it over his shoulder, the little shrub like pokemon landing head first on the ground right in front of Vanilla.

"Don't think you're getting away that easily Vanilla. Did you really think I'd carry the real ribbon around in my hand the whole time?" Oswald smirked, returning to a battle stance as the Oddish slowly recovered, infuriated by the toss, and hurled a razor leaf at both Vanilla and Oswald.

Vanilla hit the Razor leaf with another tail slap. "Hmph! Well then what is this I have here? Either way you're still stuck with this Oddish here! Because I'll be taking my leave! If this isn't the real ribbon I guess you don't really have a reason to chase me though huh?" She said and stuck her tongue out and she turned to run off as the Oddish shook itself after a rebounded Razor Leaf had smacked it dead in the face. Vanilla cackled as she dashed down the hill, attempting to get away from the two.

Oswald, running after the Minciccno who had stolen the fake ribbon, ran forward, taking a razor leaf to the right arm before pouncing on the Oddish and riding it like a surfboard down the hilltop, delivering a pound to it's forehead to knock it unconscious. The wind rushed past the Mienfoo's body, the air whistling through his ears as he rode the Oddish towards Vanilla, eventually hopping off of it and landing right in front of the outlaw.

"You still tried to get in the way of my mission, and I don't take such an action very kindly," Oswald replied, returning to his fighting stance as he was more than ready to fight the Minciccno once again, like he had done back in Pecha Forest.

"Oh Oswald, there is no mission. It was a setup! And I'm surprised you even traveled this far!" She smirked. "I still got you to come as far as I had hoped, and that's all I wanted out of the mission. Technically, you're done with the mission as far as I see, since I am the client after all." She pointed out. "I'm not going to fight you, considering I was hoping for a pleasant conversation without Rayo around."

Oswald just looked blankly at Vanilla, obviously confused by what she was speaking of. "Wha...if you wanted to talk to me, then why'd you try and steal the ribbon. And for that matter...Oh nevermind."

Oswald, still bound to the "mission objectives", handed over the real blue ribbon, which was made of a nice, silky material and was an azure color, with the blast seed placed on top of the ribbon. After all, he could't just leave a mission uncleared.

"So, what did you want to talk about then?" Oswald asked, taking a seat on the hill as he awaited Vanilla's response to his query.

Vanilla rubbed her tail, which stung from the impact of the razor leaf. "You of course. You're pretty tough for a beginning Rescue team Pokemon. My question is, where's the rest of your team hm? I've always seen you alone. Even my buddy I sent into town reported that." Vanilla realized she was getting off topic from what she really wanted to ask, but went along with it anyways

"Oh. Well, I usually work alone because I don't have any partners. Haven't really been looking for any either," Oswald replied, laying back onto the dew covered grass, staring up at the cool blue sky that reached past the deep mist that surrounded the duo. Oswald didn't really seem all that bothered by not having any partners to help him on his adventures. After all, he had made it all the way up here by himself, hadn't he?

"I can't get stronger if I have someone helping me the whole way. I certainly wouldn't mind the help, but I feel that it would just take away from the feeling of accomplishment I get when I successfully complete a mission." Oswald said, crossing his legs as he rested his paws behind his head and gazed at the sky.

Vanilla plopped down in the grass and looked up at the sky. "But isn't that the point of having a team? To work together? Is the guild okay with Pokemon going on solo missions?" She asked. Vanilla didn't quite understand the point of being in a guild if you weren't going to be a team. She tilted her head to one side.

Oswald paused, as if he were trying to remember if he had ever been denied the ability to attend missions due to his lack of a partner. He shook his head, "Yeah, the guild let's me go on solo missions, and they keep telling me that it'll just take time to find the right partner, but I don't know..."

Oswald sighed, turning his gaze over to Vanilla, probably the last Pokemon he thought would care about such a subject. After all, their first impressions of each other hadn't been as stellar as one might have hoped.

"Besides, members from other guilds come in to help me from time to time. And sometimes I help them. They're not officially members of my team, but we still work together from time to time. Though, most of the time they're leagues ahead of me, so I hardly get any experience out of the mission." Oswald explained, personally irritated by the fact that he had yet to learn a single offensive fighting type move yet. Heck, by this point, most pokemon would've evolved, but Oswald was different. He wouldn't evolve for a while yet, that was for sure.

Vanilla shrugged. "If that's what you wanna do. I personally prefer someone's company over travelling by myself. That's why I have Rayo. Friends are a good thing. And he can certainly cook a berry, even if it's by accident." She smirked as she remembered eating the cooked Oran berry.

"If you can just help other people to begin with why does the Guild even make a team? Out here you stick together in a team or fend for yourself. Outlaws don't really lend a paw to each other often. Not that it bothers me when I already have an ally that is." She stroked the silky ribbon, admiring the material used for the azure colored object.

Oswald chuckled, "Just because I'm a little anxious about getting a partner doesn't mean I don't want friends. And besides, the guild makes teams to protect less fortunate pokemon from those who would hurt them, save pokemon who are having trouble in a dungeon, or just help them out by delivering supplies to other teams or explorers. And in exchange we get rewarded for our hard work."

Oswald smiled slightly when he saw her fiddling with the ribbon he had "delivered" to her. "You like it? I found it on a rabid Furret on my way up. It was quite a brawl, to be honest. But hey, anything for my clients."

"Huh.." Vanilla said in quiet response. At his question her head lifted up to meet his eyes for a brief moment. "It's.. Alright." She responded and held it up to frame against the sky above.

"Well that Furret was right to pick this one. It's the color of the sky. At least... Sometimes it is. But the sky can change. I guess that's what makes it so appealing. It's always changing, meanwhile this ribbon has to stay the same. It'll always be the same color. It may not be everyone's favorite color but..." She tilted it this way and that as if trying to see it differently.

"But it's still kind of pretty sometimes. At least I think so." She finally finished off and set it down in the grass near her feet.

"Yeah. But the sky isn't always beautiful, is it. Sometimes it becomes gray and muggy, other times you can barely see it through the clouds and bad weather. But you're right, the sky is beautiful...Sometimes I wish I had wings, so that I could see what's up there, ya know?" Oswald mused, standing up on his paws and looking out across the misty landscape.

He smiled that innocent smile of his, and asked the Minciccno, "Hey, you wanna see something beautiful? It won't take long to get there, I swear,"

"This is true..." She said as she thought about the rainy days and bad weather that happened on occasion. "Something beautiful? Where is it?" She was curious at the sudden offer from Oswald. And the fact she'd never really seen Oswald smile all the much, let alone had she had a chance to sit down with him up until now.

"It's in Serene Cave, specifically the fifth floor. I'm sure you'll love it," Oswald said, stepping down towards the bottom of the hill, motioning for Vanilla to follow him on his trek. It wouldn't take too long to get to Serene Cave from where they were, and it wasn't like they couldn't fight off whatever could attack them down there.

Besides, Oswald knew that this wasn't something Vanilla would want to miss out on, and even if they did happen to get into a brawl with a rock type, Oswald knew that he had it covered. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Serene Cave..." She said while getting up. She'd heard of it, but never went into it before. Caves weren't exactly her favorite place to be and she wasn't expecting Rayo to enter one for any one reason.

"Yeah I'm ready. As long as you can lead us there I'll go." She replied while dusting herself off. "So you've been there before then?"

"Oh, I been tons of places. Being a part of an Exploration guild, you get to go to a ton of different places. Sure, it has its share of danger, but being able to say that you were one of the few Pokemon to reach the top of some massive mountain is just...well, brilliant!" Oswald replied, slowing himself down so that Vanilla could catch up to him. After all, he had continued to walk, even as she was getting up and getting ready to go.

"Of course, I've never been on the other side of the cave before. There were too many rock pokemon down past the eighth floor, and with my lack of actual martial arts moves, I couldn't really defend myself effectively. But I'm sure that'll change once I get stronger." Oswald stated, ever the optimist as he simply waited for Vanilla to catch up to him.

Vanilla walked over to his side with a puzzled look. "Why would you want to go climbing the top of a mountain that big? What are you gonna get all the way up there? I doubt anyone would hide their treasure that high." The thought of climbing a mountain that big was making her feel somewhat tired just thinking about it.

"So you don't know any martial arts moves yet huh? Why didn't you get help from a fighting or water type then?" She knew there were others he could have called upon as well, but decided not to list them.

"But how do you know? Maybe a legendary bird decided to hide their treasure where no pokemon would think to look for it. It's the mystery that drives me, the what ifs that I look forward to figuring out, and the discovery that gives me a sense of accomplishment and joy. Not to mention the fact that you find a ton of cool places." Oswald replied, continuing his trek when Vanilla walked along beside him.

"Well, you can't just teach a Pokemon a move...If the body isn't ready for it, then the knowledge is useless. And, like you said, no pokemon worth their salt is gonna baby-sit a new leader through Serene Cave." Oswald added, scratching the back of his head with his left paw anxiously.