Hilltop Blitzkrieg (Private)

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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.

"I see..." Vanilla said and leaned from side to side as she walked. She idly thought of the treasure a legendary bird could be hoarding on top of a mountain and wondered if she would even travel that far for it. Granted she'd have to gather a lot of supplies before hand. And being a guild Pokemon they had easy access to stores and banks. But she had to harvest and steal what she wanted.

"Must be nice..." She murmured. "Anyways, what do you know about Serene Cave?" She asked suddenly and decided to change the topic.

"Well, I know that there are a ton of Zubats, Woobats and Swoobats, Geodudes and Gravelers, Diglets, and I do remember seeing a Charmander once. Little jerk lit me on fire...but enough about that. I know that one of it's entrances leads right to Grassveil Town, but we're heading towards the entrance near Rainfront." Oswald explained, tapping his chin for each type of pokemon he had encountered in his past visits to the Cave.

"I also know that there are some pretty cool things to find there, like Reviver seeds, Scarves, TMs, tons of stuff...you just have to look for them." Oswald smirked, playing off what Vanilla had stated, and how she couldn't see herself climbing a mountain for some potentially non-existant treasure.

Vanilla counted off all the Pokemon he had stated. She tapped her paw pad with her other paw as she said each Pokemon's name. She blinked as he mentioned several different items. "Did you say scarves?" Vanilla asked while looking at him. If there were scarves, she'd take them. They weren't ribbons, but they'd do. And she'd take the ribbons too as well if she could get her paws on them. Her eyes glittere slightly as she imagined all the accessories.

"Yep, I sure did," Oswald replied, knowing all to well about the Minciccno's greed towards ribbons and similar cloth. In actuality, he had only found one scarf in those caves, and even then, it got burned away by a Charmander almost imediately after he had collected it. Still, there might be a few surprises lying in wait for them, so to say that there weren't any scarves there would be an outright lie.

"So, you still want to come along?"

Vanilla nodded at Oswald's question. "You can bet Arceus I am! Besides, I want to see whatever it is you plan to show me too. I will admit, I'm curious. And I'm sure we can handle it between the two of us. Are you sure you want to go exploring with an outlaw though?" She said with an amused voice while she glanced out the side of her eyes at him.

"I don't know, you sure you want to go exploring with a guild member?" Oswald smirked, the same tone of amused voice playing across his muzzle. Sure, it was certainly an odd couple, a guild member and an outlaw, but this was off the record, and it wasn't like the Minciccno would've led him out to the top of Pricklemist Hill just to follow him out to some random cave.

As the duo reached the bottom of the hill, a large tree line seemed to surround them. Oswald sighed, "Another forest, what fun."

Vanilla smiled and shook her head. "You're not scared of a forest now are you? I'm sure I'm the only big, bad Minccino here anyways. And that Oddish is still knocked out... Probably. Anyways you know how to get through here too right?" She said as she walked along side the Mienfoo. "So are the other Pokemon at the guild like you?" She suddenly asked.

Oswald chuckled, remembering how fearless he had been in Pecha Forest, and yet here Vanilla was, saying that he was afraid of the woods. Surely she was kidding, after all, the smile on her muzzle clearly gave it away.

The Mienfoo nodded, "Of course I know how to get through here, would I have gotten up that hill if I had no clue where I was going...well, probably, but it would've taken a lot longer."

The other pokemon at the guild...Oswald had to stop for a moment and think about this, after all, he hadn't really gotten to know too many of the guild members, as he was still fresh around the gills, so to speak. He shook his head, "Most of the guild members I've met are more inclined to aid the pokemon who are less fortunate than them, and generally try to help other guild members. There are also a few who are kinda greedy and want to take all the higher ranking missions for themselves...because they're "more fun" I guess...It's complicated,"

Vanilla looked confused at his last comment. "Greedy? So what, are they not in it to rescue other Pokemon?" She was surprised at the mention of there being greedy Pokemon in the guild to begin with. She supposed there were going to be all kinds though in a guild that large. And they all wouldn't have the same motives. "So you're just in it to rescue those that need rescuing? Do you ever just go exploring to find treasure?"

Oswald was rather surprised by Vanilla's reaction to this knowledge. Sure she must have had run ins with these kinds of guild members, surely! After a moment of confusion, Oswald collected himself and replied, "Sure, I go exploring, but it's not for the sake of treasure. It's for the journey, for the sake of going into an area that hasn't been mapped out yet, going into territory that no pokemon has gone in before. Sure, the treasure is nice, but it's the effort, the thrill that gets me going."

The Mienfoo, after passing through the first row of trees, turned to Vanilla and gave her a quizzical look, "So tell me, aside from the loot, what do you get out of being an outlaw?"

Vanilla nodded in agreement. She kind of understood the thrill of a new adventure, granted it was the treasure that was the truly exciting part for her. It was the reward she always looked forward to. The fact she could walk out with something without fainting was her victory. She looked over at him at his question.

"What do I get? I'm free. I don't have any ties to any one Pokemon. I'm not sworn to work under a guild. Everything I earn is mine to have. Even if I have to split the rewards with Rayo, but what I earn is mine to keep. I don't have to share a bed or room with any Pokemon like I did when I was a sibling. And I'm free to travel where I please on my time. Sure I have to act tough, but that's a small price to pay for this kind of freedom. If I wanted to travel and live in a far off land I could, with no regrets of course." Vanilla said. It sounded simple to her, but she wondered if she could easily drop everything she had in this land. The Pokemon she had met were interesting. Would she forget them all that easily?

The Mienfoo nodded, "Sure, I can see that as a blessing, but I don't see how someone can just leave all those ties behind, just abandon them and live some new life out in another region, with no friends or loved ones to call back too. Don't get me wrong though, being able to do what you want sounds great, but it doesn't sound all that great when you don't have any friends,"

Oswald's thoughts came back to Vermillion, who had told him that she simply needed to go away for a little while, and that she would be back to see him. Yet, she never returned, not even after all of these years had passed. It was a very somber subject for the Mienfoo, to have watched as his teacher just walked out on him in such a way.

Vanilla's expression turned to a slight frown at his comment. "Well... Sooner or later I'll have to leave either way though won't I? Pokemon start to know about an outlaw eventually. I've seen outlaws disappear from the forest after they're apprehended and never heard from again. Some just leave once the bounty gets too large on their head and rescue teams are tearing apart the forest looking for them. So I'm trying not to have any emotional attachments to too many Pokemon. The goodbyes will just be harder some day. Besides I have Rayo... Maybe he'll come with me, or at least travel along the same road long enough to cause some mischief with me before we have to split ways." She said with a slight smile.

There was a feeling of sadness welling up in her at the thought of leaving behind her sparky little friend. She'd even feel sad not having pokemon from the guild to mess around with. She wouldn't forget Oswald, or that Purrloin she'd met. Or the crazy adventures she'd gone on before that easily.

"But that won't be for a long while, right? I mean, it's not like your bounty is all that high." Oswald said, trying to cheer Vanilla up, to try and get her out of this potentially downward spiral of depression. Though, it was odd, feeling sad over an outlaw having to leave the region, saving a number of Pokemon from her thefts and raids. It was like a paradox, feeling sad over an "evil doer" leaving the "innocent" pokemon alone due to her notoriety.

"Besides, there's so much to see around these parts, so you could always just hide out somewhere, right?"

Vanilla shrugged at his comment. "Maybe, but that'll only last for so long. I can imagine they'll have flying types scouting the areas among other measures. Besides, who knows how high it'll get at some point. I do have to take to survive around here. The berries don't just fall off the plants like they used to. Most flying types reach the best one, while bug types eat the ones closest to the middle. And you have to fight tooth and claw for any berries that have fallen or are on the lowest sections." She shrugged again.

It wasn't that the food was hard to fight for, but more of the fact she would be chased from area to area only to have the rescue teams alerted of her newest location on one action. "Granted that's the least of my problems at this moment." She gave him a mock smile. "Look at me, I'm walking to a cave with a guild Pokemon. The other outlaws would be laughing at me right about now I bet."

"Oh yeah, think of all the guild members who are going to give me the queer eye. Not to mention the fact that I should be calling back to tell them that I finished my mission by now." Oswald replied, trying to smile and keep the mood cheery as they continued on through the forest.

After a while though, the two came across the cave, it's cavernous walls glistening with an almost translucent light, and, almost immediately, a horde of Zubats flew out from the mouth of the cave, thankfully paying no attention to either of the two adventurers as they drew closer and closer to the cave mouth.

"You know why they call these Mystery Dungeons, don't you? Well, there is a special thing about this particular cave, as it's seventh floor never changes. Isn't that an oddity, a mystery dungeon floor that never changes? It's phenomenal..." Oswald says, acting like some giddy nerd who's talking about some huge mathematic equation that he can't wait to solve.

Vanilla watched the Zubats fly overhead, amazed at how they all flew in a group together when something triggered their desire to fly off from their haven. She looked at Oswald and shrugged. "Maybe the last floor is meant to stay the same. That way you know where you are at least one point in the dungeon." She commented. "For all we Pokemon know the dungeon itself could be alive and changing all the time."

She stared at the entrance to the cave that hard an alluring gleam to it. Her large eyes glittered with the prospects of treasures to keep all to herself. She snapped herself out of her momentary daydreaming and nodded at Oswald. "I'm ready when you are."

The Mienfoo nodded, "Alright then, let's get going."

With that, Oswald cautiously walked into the cave, making soft tapping noise as his paw pads treaded lightly against the moist, smooth rocky floor. Caves were much more streamlined than forests, sure. There was no chance of the duo getting surrounded on all sides, but it would be incredibly easy for them to be bottle necked and corned into a dead end, so if anything, they had to pray that they wouldn't make the wrong turn in these labyrinthian caverns.

As the duo approached a trio of branching paths, one leading straight ahead while the other two turned to the left and right, Oswald turned to his "partner" and couldn't help but ask, "You wouldn't happen to have any orbs, would you? The last thing we'd need is to land on a trap right from the start."

Vanilla had started looking around the cave. The walls felt more enclosed than anything. The tunnels went on straight, with no way for a Pokemon to get away if they were in a pinch, unless they could dig their way out. She touched one of the cave walls as they walked by. The smooth walls felt strange to touch she she quickly withdrew her hand with a weird look on her face.

"Orbs? I only have one on me, but it only shows the location of items. Though I did learn a trick that if you stick to the side walls of a dungeon there tend to be less traps instead of walking straight down the middle. If you get what I mean." Vanilla said while she wiped her paw off. The textures of the walls were somewhat foreign to her, and she didn't like it, but she wouldn't admit that to Oswald.

Oswald chuckled, already on the left side of the cave as he replied, "Oh, I now that all too well. Trust me, they teach about that real quick in the guild."

He looked down the left path and watched as a Geodude seemed to bounce past, disappearing into another corridor further down the tunnel. Oswald turned to the Minciccno and quickly shook his head, hopping over to where she stood and nearly pinning her to the wall accidentally.

Their muzzles practically touched, and Oswald's cheeks were burning red at how close the two were at this point. "Um, sorry..."

Vanilla blushed in surprise at the sudden actions of Oswald. She wondered why he had jumped so suddenly, but her thoughts were cut short at how close there were. "Oh! Uh.. It's okay." She felt somewhat awkward being so close to the Mienfoo so suddenly and blinked. "Um... I don't think any Pokemon are coming Oswald...." She finally said.

"Y-yeah. I saw a Geodude on the left...so let's go to the right." Oswald stated, sliding to the right of Vanilla and peering down the right tunnel. Thankfully, it was clear, but before they continued, Oswald turned to the Minciccno, and added, "By the way, I didn't want to activate a trap while walking over to you, so I just jumped."

After that, Oswald snuck around the corner, glancing left and right as he stayed close to the right side of the tunnel, hoping that the geodude from the left tunnel wouldn't spot them and attack from behind.

Vanilla idly checked her pack to make sure everything was in order. "Uh-huh." Was the only response from the Minccino. She followed after Oswald wondering which direction the Geodude was going in while she tried to take her mind off the event that had just occurred. She stuck as close to the wall as she could, granted the slimy feeling of the smooth surface made her shudder. It was a weird texture to her, and she didn't exactly enjoy staying as close to the wall as possible.

The passage continued for a short distance, before coming to a fork once more, the passage diverging to the left or right. Oswald paused, wondering if they should take either the left or the right, but was quick to come up with an answer.

"Let's take the left path. We might end up going around in a circle if we go to the right." Oswald explained, jumping over to the other side of the cave wall before sneaking around the corner, spotting a Paras slowly skittering down the cave.

"Okay, we can take care of that Paras over there if we go and attack it at the same time. You run up and Tail Swipe it on the legs, then I'll come in and strike it on the head with a Pound. Sound good?"

Vanilla jumped over the space between the walls and followed after him. She noted the Paras crawling across the ground and nodded as his decision on what to do. The unsuspecting orange creature skittered a little bit further as Vanilla made a quick dash towards it only to whip around and slap it three times across the legs.

It cringed in pain from the hits and it's neutral face changed to a state of anger. The Paras shook its mushrooms to release several white spores into the air. Vanilla stepped back to avoid them, but she wasn't exactly sure which kind of spores they were to begin with. It's not poison, and it's not paralyzing, what is it? She had completely overlooked the fact it knew status ailments as she stumbled backwards.