Foothill Forest - Route 30: Edge of the Woods
Large trees fill the northern area, greatly limiting visibility to the north. The dirt path winds around a very tall, sharp-rising hill. Beds of dried brown leaves that lie on the path crunch under travellers' feet (or vehicles wheels) as they head to and from the nearby Neon Town. While the land to the west and north looks dark and a bit dismal, the area to the east looks sunny and well lit. A fallen tree lays over the original path, but it looks as if the occasional passer-by has begun to ground a new path around the newfound barrier.
Obvious exits:
Northeast <NE> leads to Forest Depths - Route 30: Jigglypuff's Glen.
East <E> leads to Neon Town: Hills Overlooking Neon.
+weather
Heavy rain pours from dark grey clouds, propelled by a furious east wind. In the forest, gusts of wind tear through the tree limbs and howl around rocks. While at the coast, the grey ocean lashes at the coast angrily as the summer storm pelts the waves.
The forest is not a very pleasant place to be during a storm, but for some pokemon it's better than being out in the open. The wind ravages through the trees with an awful sound, and the rain splatters insistently on the ground, creating a squishy mud that is unpleasant to travel through. Currently, most pokemon have scattered to their respective shelters, and no wild ones seem to be visible. However, if one were to look closely, they would see a patch of foliage on the side of the path rustle a bit, and not from the wind. Two stick-like objects poke out from this patch of foliage, looking very out of place. One of the stick-like objects rises, followed by the other, and suddenly two Doduo heads poke up from the foliage, looking very frustrated. <Stupid!> The Doduo shouts at itself, causing the other head to cower. <It's raining... And we're wet! You are so stupid!> The Doduo continues to shout insults and accusations at itself, staying within the partial shelter of the foliage.
The wind howls and tugs at Xander's bright orange poncho as he moves through the forest. He is not as wet as some were, the large trees catching some of the rain water. He has one pokemon out now, an Abra who floats beside him. His Geodude, who would normally accompany him, has retreated into the pokeball due to the rain. Mischief, the Abra, teleports to an area over cover, then to another further up the path as Xander moves farther ahead. <Where's the next town!?> Xander looks over at Mischief and points east, to a glow which can be seen through the storm. "There! We're almost there!."
<Don't try to argue with-- down! There's a human coming!> The seemingly dominant Doduo head cries, and the whole bird sinks lower into the foliage, peering at the approaching boy. <He's very bright,> remarks the other head upon seeing Xander's poncho. <Suppose we could offer to deliver something. Business is business, after all!> The two heads nod in unison and slowly, the Doduo creeps out of the bushes, onto the path in front of Xander. Whether or not the boy notices him, and it's rather hard not to, the Doduo will shout, <You, boy! Need a message delivered? I'm your bird!>
Xander looks startled as the large bird hops out in front of him. He moves back quick, nearly tripping over a hole in the ground made by the splattering of water from a large frond nearby. "Uh! Wah!" The voices of the Doduo ring unclear in his head for a moment, before his Abra is able to mentally become the translator, the bird babble becoming clear english soon enough. "A message? What?" He peers throu the rain, Mischief pooking near his shoulder. "A Doduo! Hey, cool."
The Doduo heads do a bird equivalent of rolling their eyes, and the loud one says, <Yes, a message.> He doesn't bother explaining any more, and he peers at the boy while the other head bends his neck around to clean some of his feathers. <Soot's the name! I've met a lot of nasty humans, but I've got to talk to them to keep my business running.> The other head rotates back around, adding, <I deliver messages, if you hadn't already guessed.> Soot stands proudly straight, puffing out his feathery chest. He clearly expects Xander to order a letter delivered, and boths heads peer at the boy through the rain. The bird's feathers glisten from being wet, and one might notice a lot of those feathers range in color from gray to black.
Xander blinks his eyes a few times, looking over the Doduo. He looked a bit different from the Doduo he had seen, but he supposed that wasnt too rare. "Well...I don't really havea message to be delivered right now..." Mischief rolls his slitted eyes. <Oh please.> Xander glares at the Abra and turns back to Soot. "But it's nice to meet you Soot. I'm Xander and this is my Abra, MIschief."
At Xander's refusal, the Doduo lowers his head slightly and looks at the ground, disappointed. However, one of the heads nudges the other and both heads pop right back up again, this time looking more cheerful. <Hello, there, Xander and Mischief!> they both exclaim at once. <If you have any friends, any at all, I encourage you greatly to tell them about my services. I travel faster than any trainer, and can cover great distances in a short amount of time!> The Doduo seems to be speaking pretty well for a pokemon, which may seem a little strange to the boy. After the one head stops speaking, the other chimes in, <And I'm really quite hungry. You wouldn't happen to have a bit of food, would you?>
Xander nods his head. "I sure will." Mischief brushes some water off of his head and looks around. "Oh, food? Yeah I have some." He reaches into his poncho's pocket and pulls out a granola bar, unwrapping it and handing it to the head who asked for it. Did that matter. "Enjoy, it's my last one till we reach the next town.
<Wunnuhful!> says the head holding the granola bar in its beak. The other one looks slightly miffed and seizes this opportunity to clamp his beak over one end of the bar. The two heads glare at each other and proceed to squabble over who gets the snack; in the end, the bar ends up breaking in half and the both heads are satisfied. Soot crunches noisily, snapping his beaks for a few moments after he downed the granola bar. <That was good, thank you,> he says politely. <I feel the need to repay you somehow.> Both pairs of eyes narrow, pondering what the Doduo could possibly to do repay the human, aside from delivering a message.
Xander watches the two heads argue over the food, smiling and finding it very funny. Mischief does not find it funny, but instead just plain silly. He crosses his arms, not usually so glum. It oculd simply be from the weather. Xander raises his hands in the air and shakes his head. "No need to give me anything, it's really ok." He smiles wider. "Just happy I could be of some help."
<Are you sure?> The Doduo asks, one of his heads remarkably close to Xander's face while the other hangs back. For a few moments, Soot just inspects the trainer with his black eyes, then nods officially and straightens. <Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off.> Soot shakes his feathers a bit to try and get some of the water off, while the other head adds, <Yes, I need to meet a friend.> The Doduo looks ready to leave, but he stays still for another moment in case Xander wanted to say something to him.
Xander nods his head. "Of course I'm sure, no need to do anything for me." He watches as you turn to leave soon after, frowning. "Uh, wait!" He moves forward a bit, closer to you. "Maybe I do have a message, although I can't write it out here in the storm..." He frowns, thinking of a way to be able to do this, so he can see more of the interesting bird.
One foot was in the air, ready to turn right around and sprint off, but as Xander mentions the message it freezes in place, then slowly sets itself back down as Soot turns back to face the boy, looking cheerful again. <A message, you say?> The bird chuckles as Xander puzzles over a way he might be able to write a letter. <No need for paper, sir, I have a wonderful memory!> The two heads nod simultaneously and Soot steps closer to Xander. <Just tell me who you want to contact, a brief description of what they look like, and where they might be, and I'll be sure to find them!> He looks very confident of himself, as if years in the business of delivering have made him an expert at finding people.
Unfinished as Xander mysteriously disappeared!
