Odd Little Happenings With Odd Little People: Fishe And Hornse Encounter

Today, Rosemary’s paws found xyr somewhere nice. Somewhere not crowded, somewhere Rosemary found incredibly familiar. Though there was still a bird on her back, squinting and asking about where they were going, it was one of the nicest days in a while.

 

“I recognize this area – right where a lot of the Dungeons tend to be. But why are we here?” They prod, asking again. Rosemary finally decides to answer, as xe’s in a good mood today.

“Visiting an old friend.”

“Oh,” Danver says, clearly not expecting a solid answer or an answer that implied that Rosemary had friends. “Who?”

 

Rosemary’s paws stopped walking as they came across a thick, large root running through the wild-flower dotted meadow. Above her head, quite far up, was a treehouse. One of few trees around in the meadow, Danver noticed – an old Oran-berry tree that blooms despite the cloudier weather. 

White flowers dotted the grass under the tree, positively pelting the wooden slope leading up to the treehouse’s entrance.

Two wooden signs were hung up at the bottom of the slope and on the door itself. They, both in smoothly-carved Braille and Japanese, read:

WALKINS WELCOME

YELL IF ASSISTANCE 

NEEDED UP ENTRANCE

STAY SAFE !

“You know doctors?” Danver asks curiously.

Rosemary lets out a flat hum in reply that Danver had no idea how to interpret. 

Xe climbed up the leading slope as the Squakabilly on her back squinted into the window. It was open, curtains visibly parted to the side, showing the inside. It seemed almost like a clinic, although positively tiny. Danver wondered how anything could get done with so little space, but they assumed they’d know once they went inside. Rosemary opened the door – unlocked – and dipped right in

 

The air was warm inside the little treehouse. It smelled surprisingly nice and not horrifically sterile – more like a floral perfume. The front desk was littered with stacks and stacks of paperwork, along with multiple vases stuffed with flowers. Nobody sat in the chair, and Danver almost clocked the building as empty before their internal ears picked up on soft chatter coming from the hallway.

 

“...I’m not going to be your chaperone with you on your visit the doctors, Rosemary.”

Rosemary chortled, sweeping her tail across the floor as they both patiently waited.

 

A few brief moments later, one of the doors in the hallway pushed open, and two Pokemon came out. A fluttering Finneon – darkly colored with hot-pink-and-salmon-red markings, and a Ponyta with a thick, billowing flame of hair that smoked off into nothing. One of their legs was shaved, and a splint was strapped to both their upper body and part of their neck, keeping the front-leg stable. Their face was hardened, but not unfriendly.

 

The Finneon recognized Rosemary immediately and gasped. “Oh! Oh my, I-I’m sorry, give me a moment, I’ve got to check out Mr. Fennel here, hold on…”

They rushed, fluttering back behind the desk. Opening the laptop, they used minor amounts of magic to type quick sentences out on it. Then, they leaned over and signed something on a piece of paper, and handed it to the Ponyta. They took it, skimming over the contents briefly.

 

The Finneon rattled off happily, “everything should be good with you, Fennel! The bruises should clear up in a few days, and the fracture in your leg is fairly minor – lucky you! – it’ll take just a few weeks with the medication. Berries are one hell of a resource in the medical field, wahaha.”

 

“A few weeks?” Fennel groaned, looking distraught. “Lotus, I’m supposed to be an adventurer. I can’t sit around all day, I’ll lose my mind!”

Rosemary’s ears perked up, briefly catching the attention of Danver, who squinted.

 

The doctor looked at their patient, tutting. “You are very lucky that the falling rocks did so little to you! Be thankful, my friend, and maybe think of it as a vacation. Stop by the library, have a good read! Train your mind instead of your muscles!”

 

Fennel groans even louder, hanging their head. Rosemary, seeing an opportunity, slid in.

“You are an adventurer?”

Danver let out a minor, surprised noise, realizing what xe was about to do.

The Ponyta mumbles, looking as if their entire life had fallen apart. Danver could relate. “Was.”

“Then you should join my party. We need someone with such expertise.”

 

“Oh good lord in Arceus’ heaven – Rosemary, my sister in arms, what are you doing?”

Danver almost sighed in relief. Oh, fantastic, someone else with sense. 

Lotus rushed over, giving Rosemary’s forehead a good whack with a rolled up sheet of paper. Rosemary huffs, scrunching her face up. “What’s this about!?”

“My offer extends to you too, Lotus.”

The Finneon squints. Danver tilts their head, confused. What a weird name. Lotus continues, “My dear, please answer my question, what are you trying to entice me and my patient into?”

They must know each other well enough for them to refer to Rosemary like that, Danver thought, eyeing Rosemary and Lotus with curiosity. There is so much I do not know about her…

 

“Well.” Rosemary starts. “I have been put on a journey by fate itself. So, I have been searching the Grass Continent for those who must join alongside me. I would love to have both of you accompany me.” Xe gave a sharp nod to the Finneon and then Fennel, who looked over confusedly. “You have the knowledge of a cleric, and you have the knowledge of a seasoned adventurer. Both must be required for such a journey.”

“I mean,” Fennel butted in weakly, looking between everyone. They looked flattered, but still terribly confused. “I wouldn’t say I’m seasoned? But thank you. I am a good adventurer, thank you for recognizing that.”

 

Lotus suddenly looked pensive, ignoring Fennels mumbles. “Ah… you know, I would really love to. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each-other, and I would love to hear about your new magicks, but…” The Finneon twisted their body to gesture around the dimly-lit treehouse with her fins. “I’m barely keeping this clinic afloat. I had to let go of my other doctors – the town’s funding helps with the medication costs, but I’m paying out of my own pocket for– for everything else!”

 

Lotus leans against the creaking front-desk. The cheerful, happy expression on her face melts away to just exhaustion. “I’m already charging insane amounts of money for my patient’s visits, which I’m frankly extremely uncomfortable doing. I can’t spread myself any thinner – without me, nobody’s gonna run the clinic, and all the patients who need immediate care won’t get what they need.” They shake their head. “I’m very sorry.”

 

A somber silence swallows the room. The hanging light fixture, squarely on the middle of the ceiling, blinks in quick succession as if to punctuate her words. Fennel shuffles uncomfortably, unsure if they should leave with their paperwork or not, and the wood beneath their heated hooves creaks in complaint.

 

“Ah,” Rosemary responds thoughtfully, pausing again to think. “Well, I have money, and I think it is useless. You will take it, and you will hire Roseanne and Citrine again. They will watch over your clinic while you are gone.”

Xe reaches a blue paw into her scarf, fishing out a fat pouch that clicked and jingled. Danver openly gaped as xe threw it over onto the desk. Judging by how tightly packed in the coins inside were, there had to be quite a bit of money in there. 

How??? Is she getting this much money??? Where is it coming from??? We’ve only done a few missions and that didn’t even give us 100 Poke??? The bewildered Danver thought, flying off of Rosemary’s back to land on the desk, ogling the money.

“Holy hell,” Fennel added, eyes wide. 

The pouch slid right in between Lotus’ fins. They stared at it aghast. “This is… Rosemary, I cannot accept this.”

“I will not be taking it back.”

 “I— okay. Okay. Well, thank you, dear. It’s going to… take me a while to rehire those two and set things up, so I can’t join you immediately. Maybe in a few weeks, give or take? But you’re always, always welcome to stop by if you’d like to chat, or if you need medical assistance.” 

 

Then, as if realizing Danver was there, Lotus leaps out of their skin. “Oh gods, I forgot to introduce myself to you! My sincerest apologies,” they bow low – curving their entire body downward before blinking up at them with hot-pink eyes. “My name is Lotus The Malignant and I run this clinic. It’s fantastic to meet you.”

Baffled, Danver replied, “yes. You can call me Danver – uh, I don’t have a title. How do I refer to you?”

“Ze/hir, please. And you?”
“Uh,” they waffled, “just neutrally please. How do you and Rosemary know each-other?”

 

Rosemary groomed herself silently as Fennel hesitantly slipped out of the room. Lotus grinned, ze eyes glowing out of hir orange-tinted glasses. “Oh, we grew up together. Same village, same primary school! I was briefly a Witch before I decided it wasn’t for me.”

“What?”

“You couldn’t tell from my title?”
“I don’t– why do I keep meeting Witches?? What do you mean?”

 

Lotus waves a fin. “It’s a very long, exhaustive story. You should come back later, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Ze grins cheesily,
“But seriously, each Witch gets a symbolic title, and mine is The Malignant. I was interested in researching the use of darker, harmful magicks used against other Pokemon, so that’s what I chose! Rosemary’s is The Righteous – as she follows her heart and does what she believes is correct.”

 

Hir gaze points to the Shinx, still grooming. “That’s why you’re on this quest.”

Rosemary looks up briefly, eyeing them both before shrugging. “I know very little as to what my goal is, but I know that it is correct.”

“Huh. Interesting,” Danver murmured as Rosemary rose from her position on the ground.

 

“We will catch up later.” xe declared, “but I need to go find that Ponyta. Thank you for having us.”

“Of course!” Lotus cries, levitating up and in the air to give Rosemary a brief hug. “Come back safe, else I’ll have a fit. I’ll update you about the clinic whenever I can.”

 

They embraced, and then Rosemary carefully walked out of the door. Danver followed suit after saying goodbye to the odd Finneon.

Danver perched back on Rosemary’s back as xe padded through long, soft undergrowth. The Squakabilly peeked down at her, curious. “Do you know which direction Fennel went?”

The Shinx shook xyr head, speeding up. The blades of the meadowgrass began to get longer and thicker, with the surrounding wildflowers becoming bigger and competitive with the wild turf. It was beginning to “Not exactly, but I can loosely smell the scent of them. 

 

“We will probably have to enter the Breezy Meadow dungeon,” Rosemary added like an afterthought, as if it was unimportant. The poor bird on her back squawked. They began fishing through their bags strapped to their chest and shoulders, reassuring themself that their supplies were still on hand. 

 

“You’re very lucky I have all this on me.” Danver muttered, relaxing slightly at the sight of a roll of gauze in their handbag. “Okay, okay. Have you been in a Dungeon before?”

“No.” 

 

A breeze ran through the meadow suddenly and out of nowhere, making both Pokemon flinch. Then, it intensified, and suddenly firm winds were rushing through Rosemary’s fur and Danver’s thick down. The air felt uncomfortably different. 

The familiarity Danver felt for the area suddenly disappeared, dropping Danver’s poor heart in their chest – the scenery seemed to change and warp. 

Then, they were submerged in the Dungeon, like a drop of water falling into a cup.

 

“You’re gonna have to get off my back,” Rosemary muttered. “But stay close. Don’t get lost.”
“This is a fairly low-risk area, isn’t it? We don’t have to worry about that,” Danver called, swooping up and off of xyr back regardless.

“People know so little about Dungeons,” xe shouted,  “I don’t believe one rating.”

 

They nodded, moving through the hard breeze and following behind Rosemary as she began leaping and running through the grass. The air didn’t feel like air, but thick uncomfortable water that felt like it was trying to suck Danver into itself. They desperately wanted to turn around and get out, but leaving behind Rosemary was downright criminal, even here.

 

“The scent is getting stronger,” Rosemary shouted, even some alarm leaking into her usually flat tone. “It smells distressed!” 

The sunshine touching the field made the black in xyr fur shine brightly, almost like a reflective wagon-sign at night. Then, Danver spotted – down below in a heap of smoking heatless flame and tangles was the Ponyta, tangled in a mat of grasses that refused to let go of their bad leg.

 

The two rushed forward, Danver landing to Fennel’s side as Rosemary began handling the brambles.
“Are you okay? Can you move?” Danver asked swiftly. They cut the few blades of almost tendril-like grass that weren’t part of the huge tangle with a sharp talon.
Fennel groaned, voice raspy but appreciative, “No– no, I’m fine. It’s just messing with my injury — ow.”

 

“Sit still. I’m going to try something.”
Fennel nods, trying their best to stay still even when the pseudo-alive grass mat tightens around their leg.

Rosemary used Bite!
It’s super-effective!

Danver watched, surprised as Rosemary’s teeth snatched the tendril and began ferociously ripping the brambles apart. It was an incredibly messy job, but it worked, and Fennel loosened their leg and ripped themself free. They leap back, their flames suddenly back in a woosh of warm air.
“Thank god!” they cry, “You’re the two that were looking for team members, right? Let me join! C’mon, I owe you the least!”

Suddenly gaining a burst of energy, they leap and gallop around the pair theatrically while putting as little pressure on their hot-pink splint as possible.
They whinny, “I have many skills, trust me. You absolutely will not find another Pokemon like me — never! Have you ever seen somebody fight TWO Sevipers at once? I have! Multiple times!”

“Did you win?” Danver asks, genuinely curious.

They paused sharply, before leaping over their heads in a surprisingly agile show of carefulness. Fire storms over their heads, warming Rosemary’s ears briefly. “Maybe!” They vaguely cry.

 

Danver makes an unsure noise, casting a pensive glance over to Rosemary. The former was staring at them intently.

“I accept!” xe cries back, matching the sudden triumphant energy. “Come on. We’re going to stop by the clinic again and make sure your fracture didn’t worsen. Then we’re getting you officiated.”

“Yippee!” they screech, bounding forward and through the meadow, far faster than either of them could go. Rosemary raced after without waiting, and Danver sighed – flying after xyr shiny tail.