Better Prepared! (Azar/Vash)

He couldn’t help but be amused at how both Cerin and Azar seemed disappointed by the berries. “Likely,” he said in response to Cerin, “this is only the first encounter, after all. The deeper we go into the forest, the bigger the enemies and the boon.” The forest around them was eerily silent and when paired with the fog, there really was this strong feeling of mystery. Vashni almost looked over his shoulder at the thought. He would not be surprised if something was tailing them in this labyrinth, waiting beyond the mist for the opportune moment to shred them all to pieces.

Speaking of which, Azar just denied taking the berry. “As you wish, your highness,” hummed the Mawile as he stowed both his and the Growlithe’s share in his bag. It was still funny, playing the whole ‘medieval steward’ role for this spoiled pup. The guy knew how to play the disgruntled king, almost too much, really. “Perhaps I should get a bigger bag if I’m going to start being the team packmule,” he mulled it over jokingly.

He found his interest once again piqued by ‘Pain’ as she took the most time accepting the offered reward. “Something the matter?” He inquired, tilting his head. A ghost of a smile began forming on his face. “You looked a little… crossed.” His eyes wandered back to the disposed Oranguru, left to slumber with its face against the forest floor. Very undignified. “Did you know this one?” No, she likely didn’t. He moved on to his next question. “Or was I being too rough? I didn’t kill him, at least. He may have some scarring from the bite mark, but with all that hair, no one would be able to tell the difference.”

“Honestly, it’s impressive you even care, considering what they did to you during your last dungeon. Not a lot of pokemon do.” He shrugged, still smiling as the Scraggy took her share. “Funny how we put up such a ruckus when we fight other ‘civilians’, but never the ferals we meet in dungeons like these. We fight them and leave them for dead without a single thought.” The edges of his eyes crinkled in an unnerving expression. “Funny how even the guild does it too.”

He returned to his usual lax, slightly smirking expression soon after. “Just food for thought. We should move on.” He turned around and waited until the next move was decided, by Azar of course, and took his usual pace after the Growlithe. The fog was thick and he didn’t have a canine’s sense of smell to tell why his boss had taken to this path, but he felt safe in his direction. Safe enough to switch to enjoying the sounds as they travelled; the occasional rustle of leaves, the methodical sounds of footsteps, and in no time at all they would find the next staircase emerging from the fog.

“You’re like a good luck charm,” commented Vashni as he followed his leader up the stairs. “Or your senses are just that sharp. The stairs practically come traipsing your way.” If nothing else, he did enjoy the convenience of following the Growlithe. Twice had adventuring with him led to stairs appearing the moment they entered the dungeon.

He emerged onto the next floor and found it wasn’t all that different from the previous. He stretched his arms above his head and sighed. “This dungeon is apparently notorious, but we’ve already gone this deep with barely anything happening. It shouldn’t be long until we’ve reached the end.” His gaze locked onto Azar, the look in his eyes trying to say something. “What would you like to do, your highness?” If they were going to try anything with these two, it was now or never.

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