[Jaykobell]

In the heart of a small forest, a pair of small Pokemon were traveling together. A ruffled, freckled Charmander led the way, while a smaller than average Riolu nonchalantly followed behind him. The two of them carried bags: after all, they were on their way to accept a job from a client.

"Trev!" the Charmander screeched from a little ways ahead. "Come on, come on! Hurry up!" he insisted, waving frantically for the Riolu to get a move on.

Without hurrying or making any form of expression for a response, Trevor — or Trev, for short — continued to walk onward. "I'm coming, Leon," he assured his partner with a quiet, bland voice.

"We're almost there!" Leon announced, noticing stairs just ahead of them. That seemed to match the description of where they were headed. "Come on, come on! We can't be late to our meeting!"

Trevor blinked as Leon turned around and went on ahead, rushing onward. They couldn't be late to such a thing, but Leon was the type to rush ahead regardless of that. He was just excited to have gotten a job after a little bit of a downtime, Trevor figured. It sounded like a fun little exploration job, too. Despite his face, which was void of any emotion, he was looking forward to it, too.

They went up the stairs, Leon much further ahead while Trevor slowly worked on catching up. While the Charmander was busy running, Trevor was appreciating the scenery. With the world slowly starting to get engulfed in a strange black mist, finding one area that had been left untouched was refreshing.

Eventually, they were both at the front door of an observatory. It matched the destination on the job description to the letter, an imposing building to behold. Trevor found it quite fascinating, a construction much different from the more rustic and ancient homes he'd lived in for the majority of his childhood in the desert.

His thoughts were snapped right out of it when he heard loud banging on the door, of course caused by none other than an impatient Leon. "Hey!" the Charmander called out loudly as he banged. "Hey!! We're the exploration team! Hello!"

[zapdragon555]

The Absol that answered the door opened it slowly, a pair of faded, pinkish eyes blinking from behind mussed white bangs. Asphodel looked as though they'd just woken up from a nap, roused by the knocking from the Charmander.

"Um," their voice, soft with sleep, uttered out the single sound, before they blinked their eyes wide. "Oh!! Oh, you're... ahh... I know what this is, ah... yes! Yes. You're that exploration t--"

"Exploration team!" Syzygy's voice exploded from inside, having run up the stairs from the inner sanctum of the observatory to lean through the doorway, the Riolu's paw on Asphodel's head to see over it. Asphodel grunted as their bangs were fluffed further, unable to see much of anything anymore. "You're here! Oh my gosh, finally, I mean--sorry, that's kinda rude, I didn't mean you were late. I'm just super stoked about this!"


"Syzygy, you're too loud," Copernicus walked up from behind, a third face appearing in the cracked doorway, above the other two. The mewtwo's expression was a bit cautious, eyeing the two explorers with an incredulous expression. They were... smaller, than he expected. Could these two really be trusted with Syzygy's safety...? "Hello, you two... Leon, and... Trevor, I presume?" He didn't mean to sound unimpressed. Perhaps they'd think that was simply his natural demeanor--which, in a way, it was. He'd think on that more critically later.

[Jaykobell]

Unlike the one who had made a ruckus banging on the door, the Pokemon who had opened it looked much quieter. Things quickly picked up, though, as the Riolu and the Mewtwo appeared in the scene.

With such an impressive Pokemon as a Mewtwo on the scene, Leon did his best to look and sound impressive as well. He stood straight and proud, a large, confident grin on his face. "Yes! We're team Firebond!" he confirmed with a small fist to the chest, but with a voice that cracked a little bit, like that of a growing teenager. "I'm Leon, and this is Trevor!"

Trevor's interest had been taken up by the fact this little family included a Riolu in its midst. It was simple curiosity that made him wonder if she came from his own tribe, or if she were from another group of Riolus and Lucarios from elsewhere. He felt a little self-conscious now; the Mewtwo didn't help in making him feel a little bit intimidated. His relatively blank face didn't show it, but he could certainly feel it.

Still, when Leon introduced them, Trevor bowed his head just a little bit. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said, saying it genuinely as all of their auras proved to be friendly. That alone played a large part in putting Trevor at ease with such powerful Pokemon as a Mewtwo and an Absol.

"We're ready and raring to go!" Leon went on to say, putting his hands on his hips. "You need some protection, right? Who's the lucky one?" It couldn't possibly be the Mewtwo, so it had to be the Absol or the Riolu. Leon couldn't imagine a Pokemon like an Absol needing protection, but this one sounded rather timid. "Just say the word, and we're off on an adventure!"

[zapdragon555]

Syzygy's eyes shone at the name of the team--Firebond. So cool! Her eyes darted to the other Riolu, and she gave a small wave and a smile to the more quiet one of the two strangers, before looking back at Leon. Asphodel carefully ducked away from Syzygy's paw and murmured something about going to get something from inside, leaving Syzygy to stand on her own. She was a bit shorter than Trevor, without the Absol to hold her up, and that thought made her a little embarrassed.

It didn't last long, though. Her face lit up at the word 'adventure,' and she grinned as she raised her paw in the air. "That's me!! I'm--well, I don't need protection--" she snorted, wrinkling her nose at the word. "But I'm excited to make some new friends!"

Copernicus made a disdainful face, letting out a small sigh as his tail curled behind him. "Thanks, you two," he said, looking down at Leon and Trevor with a small, placid smile. "I trust nothing bad will happen, while you three are out?" He'd called a rescue team specifically to try to give Syzygy some freedom--it wasn't like he was her father, or anything. He wasn't sure why he'd been so worried, especially when she made her way from her Lucario clan all the way to his observatory on her own. Even so... even so, he'd been picking up sights of strange dark clouds on the edge of the horizon for days, then. Perhaps some sea storm that refused to disperse. Hopefully, it was nothing to worry about.

"Mmf--" the Absol's quiet voice came back, muffled as it was, as Asphodel padded up with a small backpack in their mouth. "Don'th forgeth thith..."

Syzygy blinked and turned, grinning as she took the backpack and shouldered it. "Thanks Asphodel," she chirped, wrapping her paws around their neck in a small hug. Asphodel smiled, the first strong emotion they'd expressed since the Charmander and Riolu came to the door. And with that, Syzygy hurried outside to join them, her tail wagging back and forth, sunlight glinting off the old amber pendant around her neck. "I'm ready! We can set off whenever!"

[Jaykobell]

Trevor certainly noticed the wave, and while he would have returned it, he did not have enough time to react as things started moving along quickly.

Meanwhile, Leon was happy to find out they would be going out on an adventure with so excited a Pokemon. Having another fiery spirit on the team was always great! Those often turned out to be the most exciting adventures.

"Don't worry!" the Charmander assured the Mewtwo with a confident fist to his chest. "We've been places! Wherever we gotta go, we'll bring back your friend in one piece, guaranteed!" After a short pause, he added, "And safe, of course!"

Once the Absol had brought the Riolu's own bag, Leon could truly feel like they were on the verge of starting their adventure. Once their hug was over, the Charmander grinned widely. "We're ready whenever you're ready!" he announced loudly. "Just point us in the direction you wanna go!"

[Event posts end here]