Micah - "A Journal for the Ages": "So much for peace." (Dungeon)

When Micah arrived in the city, he expected what most oblivious creatures expected. Hundreds of eager Pokémon, exploring the world together in groups and clans. What he actually ended up finding was the monotony of life, despite his troubles. Wesley had shown him the ropes of finding missions, navigating the city, and of course-- the train station in which he arrived. It had been weeks since his last mission, and to be frank, Micah felt locked away from nature in his current abode. It was small, cramped, even for his short stature. He quickly found it demoralizing, like the caves that he crawled through back at home. It had to be a good time for a change, right?

 

Wesley made a deal with him, in order to help his colony, he would let Micah join him on a mission in the forests, along with a new recruit. The new recruit thing didn't bother him, personally. Everyone started somewhere, hell-- he was still small compared to his peers. Although, he felt older and a lot stronger than his fellow rowlets. It was when he arrived at the train station and wheeled his way off to the meadows that he even considered that it might give him trouble. If this was a creature from the mountains, he would find this encounter quite awkward. The mountain people disliked him majorly, after his severe failure to uphold justice. That was a story he didn't wish to recount as of now.

 

He stepped off the train about 1o minutes down the track. He spotted Wesley with ease, but there was an unfamiliar purple shape next to him. Presumably the recruit. He waddled past a few taller creatures, a group of elderly Alcreamie, their swirls done up in nice buns and well smoothed. Each one carried some kind of food item and blanket. A picnic, how cute.

 

“Micah!!!” Wesley called, zipping right up to Micah with no hesitation. Micah reeled back, eyeing up Wesley with a look of disdain for the close contact. Micah had gotten used to the antics of his bee friend, although it didn't stop him from keeping his boundaries well established. Wesley did immediately back off, zipping back to the side of the new recruit. 

“Hi, Wesley. I presume this is the 'recruit' you were speaking about earlier, yes?” Micah inquired, waltzing over to look closer. The purple creature was feathered and round like him, although their brows were much more established. The bird whirled their head around, glowing purple eyes glaring into Micah. That made it clear that this stranger was a very oddly coloured Hoothoot. The eyes creeped him out a bit, and made him ponder if that's how others actually saw him. Micah could note that the fellow looked younger, maybe it was the lack of scars, or the fluffiness of the feathers. Something about him made him look the part of a newbie. The rookie gave him a very confusing look, a mix of narrowed eyes and a mischievous rising of the cheeks. 

 

“Heyyyyyyyyyy…” The rookie's 'hey' carried on for way longer than what Micah would've normally been okay with. “Wassup man, I've heard banger things 'bout you!!” The hoothoot raised a claw, expecting something from him. His claws folded in to create a sort of fist. Micah just responded with a stare.

“… C'monnnnnn, give me a bump!!” The hoothoot insisted.

“What is a… bump.” Micah responded, glaring at the hoothoot as confusion racked his brain.

 

The hoothoot paused, “You, fold your talons in, and bump it against mine!! You see? Yeaaaaaaaa…” The hoothoot lightened up when Micah reluctantly followed the instructions. His eyes darted from the recruit to Wesley. The message was clear, judging by the concern that flashed across Wesley's face. 

“Oh-- Micah, this is Judas. He's lookin' to join the Adventurer's guild, but he needs job experiences. So, this will go on his resume if he does well…”

“Helll yeaaaaah.” Judas nodded. Micah couldn't tell if he enjoyed the laid back energy, or if he hated it. This was serious business, after all. 

“Alright, focus up, guys.” Wesley stated, zipping closer once again. “You're both here to help research the disappearance of several precious flowers. These flowers have kept us, my colony, sustained for years and years. We've noticed a startling uptick in missing flowers. So, we'd want this figured out sooner than later.”

“So, the flowers grow everywhere? Or just a particular place?” Micah chimed in to ask, to which Wesley immediately replied, “In the gardens we made. They're just a small walk away. Come on!!”

It was indeed a very short walk, although they had to poke and duck by some tree branches as they squeezed into the bushes. A beautiful opening in the treeline revealed a serene garden. Rocks surrounded each section, flowers of all colours swayed in the breeze with a cheerful whimsy as the sun beamed down onto them between gaps in the otherwise overcast sky. It was lovely, except for a patch that seemed trampled. Petals scattered everywhere, and the ground torn open to retrieve… something.

“Ohhhh damn, they really fucked up your flower patch…” Judas stated the obvious, immediately fluttering over to the rocks beside the trampled patch. Micah followed soon after, tempted to nail Judas for using such crude language. However, he did cuss out Wesley during his first encounter with the bee, so he refrained for the time being. Scanning over the mess, he could find a few things. Marks that looked close to claws. Micah moved his own talons over the dirt, digging through it to try to find evidence. 

 

“Wesley, when did this happen? Do you have that sort of intel?” Micah spoke up, not finding anything right away.

 

Wesley sadly hummed, his wings beating slower as he sunk closer to the ground. “Not particularly. We found it in the morning, completely ruined.”

“So you're saying it could've been during the night that this happened?” Micah asked.

 

“I mean, it could've been early evening too, we don't have an exact timeframe here. Sorry.” Wesley looked upset about the lack of info, his eyes trained on the mess of flowers with a frown.

“No waaaayyy…” Judas noted, poking at the dirt as he pulled something out of the dirt. A singular feather, with a sort of leafy texture. At first, Micah wanted to deny what he saw, but he quickly had to confront the sight. A feather of a rowlet, presumably. Micah felt a rush of blood to his head as his heart began to race. It looked similar to his feathers, except it was a deeper and darker blue. Micah opened and closed his beak as he took the info in.

 

“What the fuck. They came down from the mountains. Oh, the mountain's chill grew too bitter for even them? The bitterness must've driven them down and caused such strife, they had to destroy someone else's hard work and--”

 

“Micah, calm down. It's a blue feather. We could be dealing with anything else other than your mountain friends.” Wesley chimed, “You don't have to start speaking in poems. Please?” 

Micah took a deep breath, but it didn't do anything to calm his temper. He quickly snapped back, “We-- we can't rule out the possibility! Don't you understand, it looks just like the feathers of my people!! The vivid blue hue and the textured appearance are as intricately woven and fibrous as the pine needles on an evergreen tree. I have to delve deeper into this.” Micah was unrelenting, if his people were coming down from the mountaintops, there had to be a reason for it. 

 

“As crazy as this may sound…” Judas muttered, “It could be worth a shot, Wesley. What other leads do we have, man?”

“Ugh-- yeah. I don't have anything else, okay? We'll have to look deeper into this. In the meantime, we need to return to the city. Make note of our observations. I'll try to arrange an appointment with my manager, to see if she can arrange a scouting group to assist you two.” Wesley buzzed, already hurriedly making his way back to the treeline.

“Waitwaitwait, 'you two'?” Micah raised his voice, “You're bringin' the rookie into this?? He could get himself massacred out there, these individuals are dangerous-- Wesley!!”

“He hasn't done enough work to properly fill out his resume!! Just, train him well!!” Wesley shouted back, before flying into the woods. Needless to say, their work here was done for the time being, to Micah's bewilderment.

“Uh, Micah, yea?” Judas' voice was kept low, for Micah's sanity. “If you're going to be instructing me--”

 

“I make the rules on your 'training', pal.” Micah snapped back, “We're not doing this without some ground rules, and a proper schedule. I'll teach you the ropes tomorrow, okay? Go home, and sleep well. I'll meet up with you at the Jolly Bees' service centre tomorrow. Don't be late, get there by eight. On the dot.”

 

Micah sighed, looking over the rookie for the last time before he left. A diminutive creature, something that his companions would perceive as frail. Practically useless in a fight. Many people think of that as a weakling, something to be left in the snow on the mountains to take care of themselves. Now, Micah did also qualify for that title as well, and he was cognizant of that. He was tossed to the curb for other reasons, though. Micah's rebellion against his own authority got him excommunicated. Perhaps he was hasty and unprepared back in those days, but with this recruit, maybe those issues could change. A clean slate, ready to reflect the morals that Micah felt were true and right.

 

Maybe, he'd finally have his revenge on the people who threw him out, with the help of a new recruit.