Adventures with Sofi

A Pokémon Dark Dungeon Commission

One: The Guild

Sofi the Buizel was young, too young to really be involved in such things, but the life in the dark dungeons of mystery was never an easy place to grow up. Life could be rough and hideous here; you never knew what kind of vicious Pokémon could appear just in front of you darting through the passages and yet Sofi could find it amusing. She was even more amused that today she'd done the one thing her family had hoped her to do for them, get acquired by a guild! Her family assumed it should equate to a decent pay, but the many benefits of being in the guild included being around food she could sneak back home and also objects owned in the guild that might have value. She felt a little bad for thinking she was only going to play the part of a guild member and do various odd jobs that only a sneaky, slinking being like her could do. But there was also something exciting in holding the accepted entrance letter in her paws as she approached the sealed tunnel and looked to the special stones before gently placing a paw to it.

Then the orange coloured being sat back and took a deep breath before producing a sudden spray of water gun onto the doorway. It did the trick, the door shimmered then peeled away as if it had never existed at all and Sofi calmly paced inside the guild building looking smart as she adjusted the little bag slung across her body and marched into the tunnel. Inside this chamber, a bustling community of Pokémon were thriving, busy getting on with everything they needed in order to survive and reading through missions and potential jobs on offer. There was a noticeboard nearby where jobs were being picked up by stronger looking beings, but Sofi had been told to go to the admissions office and present her letter of acceptance so that she could finally be a member.

As she paced around, she kept a little low and as cute as she could manage, some of the Pokémon present were on the boarder of being serious predators and though mostly water types like herself, being a youngster, she could not completely trust them. However, she did not feel their eyes upon her and she was sure she did not need to be nervous. Some smaller Pokémon shuffled past her, even an Espeon strolled by with some young Evee, giving them a tour it seemed of the facility, Sofi could not help but smile to herself. She was also eyeing them up carefully as she swung her tail and knew to try and be the newbie so that others might understand why she was looking around the place, not scoping it out completely. She travelled to the staircase where she found a handsome Vaporeon male in front of her and reading through the current assignments. Her eyes became locked upon him, he seemed to be aiming for higher jobs and the aura about him screamed that he'd reached full potential and was very powerful. She froze for a moment and then whispered softly, getting excited to meet a being that might hold power and be of use later.

"Are you Valerian... the guild leader?" She almost squeaked the words out as the noble face with its soft facial fins turned to face her in fascination before it smiled sweetly. Tenderly it stretched a paw towards the office at the top of the stairs and bowed his head to her. Sofi was slightly taken aback but bowed in response before she gently continued to pace up the stairs and leave the being in peace as she stepped up into the hall and then froze in shock when she thought she saw something worrying slip into the room ahead of her.

Had she just seen something shadowy or was this all just her initial anxiety? She shook her head gently, it was easy to be overwhelmed on her first time to the guild but to have been accepted from her preliminary interviews with the Wartortle admin had been rather relieving. She'd been surprised how many water Pokémon were present, but considering there were a good deal of canals through the nearest sections of dungeon, keeping their home area separate from others, it did make sense. As she padded down the hall, she noticed a few bulkier looking Pokémon like the Raichu and Arcanine chuckling with each other in a nearby corner with beaded curtains where they were laughing haughtily. They barely turned to notice her, which made her feel oddly relieved, but she eyed some of the adornments on these beings with a natural air of 'appreciation' at the sight.

All the same, she stepped to the door of the office marked as 'Head Office', she sighed in relief as she lifted her paw to knock on it before she froze and noticed a cheeky sign underneath that looked like some kind of joke they must have about their boss. She crouched a little to read it, it stated firmly 'no need to knock, ladies' and Sofi tilted her head to the side in amusement. Maybe this guy was the naughty sort, she was young though, surely he'd assume that and he was probably some aged being anyway. Sofi sighed and then wrapped her knuckle against the door where she heard a curiously seductive voice almost echo within her head and beckon her to come in.

"Yes sir..." Sofi gulped, something about that had made her skin shiver in excitement and she opened the door and gently slid inside the room. She brandished the paper in front of her face, turning about to notice the neat room with the big desk but there was no being there! Instead, she looked across to a hammock above a pile of scrolls, chests and well, things that could be considered magical items or maybe treasure. The hammock bore the shadowy being she'd seen earlier, Sofi stared in fascination... it was a Zoroark! The greyish being was lounging in his hammock and beaming at her as she gulped and then realised the note on the door... there were not many females known in this species and certainly, the males could be dangerously flirtatious and Sofi blushed. "I'm Sofi... just joined..."

"Ah! The Buizel of course! I was told by Tilda that you were on your way, my name is Valerian, I'm the Zoroark in charge of the Stealth Sliders Guild... they always say it's a naughty name but, we focus on adventures and quests suitable for a mix of water abilities and stealth... after-all our region of the dungeons is in the centre of the water-filled area and we certainly get a lot of jobs where water is our only escape point. Have you ever had to outrun a furious Charizard flying down a tunnel where only a sewer pipe offers you some kind of escape?" Valerian seemed very talkative and very friendly, a little extravagant even, but it was making a good impression on Sofi as she smiled at him. But the foxy creature was suddenly out of the hammock and right to her side, his big paws on her shoulders, rubbing them to make her shudder in surprise as he beamed at her. "But you look so anxious, don't be... today is all about getting you introduced to our lovely family, and I consider everyone in this guild family and would protect them with my life... so don't be fearful."

His paws roved over her shoulders, soothing the tightened muscles and making her shudder again in pleasure as his nose twitched gently around her neck as he drank in her scent. She was a little anxious, but she knew he was likely double-checking if she were hiding anything as his kind were always just a tad suspicious of newcomers. However, Valerian then gently pushed Sofi onto a nearby sofa that seemed to appear from nowhere before he lounged lovingly on it. Sofi jolted in surprise, she was startled by this sudden motion as Valerian's tail wiggled and Sofi had to look at his thick mane properly with its red highlights to make sure there were no babies within.

"So little sweetie... what do you think of our guild from first glance? You told the old battle-axe reptile that you were eager to use your skills for something amazing! This place can be really amazing!" Valerian grinned, his paw sitting upon her shoulder and gently rubbing at her, his paw roving over her shoulder blade and then forward just to where the slight mound of her chest began. Sofi was not quite sure she liked the way he was touching her, but he was so friendly and endearing as he beamed about the place that she felt a little more confident about the situation. She looked around the room with a playful blush, her eyes casually spotting a very interesting looking box above a dungeon map that clearly held a Water Stone inside it... a rare treat to see indeed. "Well, Sofi?"

"I'm not sure... I saw a few beings around that looked like they were friendly but... in general I don't know what to expect. I want to be a useful and important member of the guild and use my skills to help out so... well, I suppose it's a little embarrassing to try and explain how important it was for me to be accepted but, it's all so new." Sofi blushed, feeling awkward for being asked this kind of question when in truth, she'd only just walked through the front door and had not looked anywhere yet. This the foxy creature seemed to understand, lifting up a paw and clicking his digits in amusement and ensuring that Sofi stood up and followed him on to go and look around with him. She nodded her head nervously, eager to be shown around by her new guild master as he pushed her off the sofa, rubbing her back and even giving her backside a little pat as she jumped in surprise and he just grinned at her.

"Come on, let's get going!" Valerian beamed, opening the door of his office and then widening his arms out to introduce her to the entrance hall she'd been through. It was not looking as busy now, but he swiftly pointed towards the massive corkboard upon the wall to their right where jobs that had been approved by himself and Tilda, the administration Wartortle, were placed for guild members to take. There was a clear system of stars to show off the extreme level and the price of these items with deposits already made to the guild for advertising the job and that deposit stayed with the guild, not with the questers. Sofi nodded her head at this, it made enough sense to her, before he then pointed to the doors around this board, they belonged to the four other important members of the guild. "As admin, door number two from mine belongs to Tilda's office, next along belongs to our Treasurer, a Golduck named Percival. Then we move to the next door belonging to our main medical Chancy, Annabelle who deals with any issue that turns up around here and then furthest is our personal security Arcanine named Domin. Never get on their bad sides but if you ever managed to get on Annabelle's bad side though, I'd be shocked."

"Does Domin end up doing a lot?" Sofi questioned, being surprisingly quick to mentally check that the Arcanine in the guild was one to avoid or perhaps make good friends with to ensure that she would not be in some kind of trouble with it. But Valerian suddenly leant against the banister across the hallway, grinning towards the cute little orange beast as he flashed his wicked teeth and then gave a little snort of amusement before wagging his tail and asking if she was planning on being a naughty girl? Sofi though gave a blush and shook her head swiftly, she was very nervous that maybe something bad had happened, but then the cute little thing lowered her head and swung her foot about a bit. "Well, I... I was hoping that this was not the kind of guild where... unruly things happened... I've heard things about other guilds and bullying..."

"Puh! Domin makes sure it never happens, he looks after everyone, he always makes sure that our guild members get full understanding if they feel bullied, pushed around, undermined or for simple things like theft or underpayment. If you have a problem, you just have to give a whistle and he'll turn up, like this!" Valerian chuckled in amusement before bringing his paw to his lips and giving a rather pathetic whistle that made Sofi grin in amusement before the door opened and the large tiger-like canine beast came trotting around to their side. His nose was soon snuffling the air and he was quick to give Sofi a gentle sniff before sitting back down and introducing himself with a smile before Valerian grasped his cheeks and squished his face. "See... cuddly to the core, never be afraid to ask him questions."

"Surely, that's my line, isn't it?" The Arcanine groaned, his voice deep and gravely and Sofi gave a soft gulp before nodding her head. She was a little unsure of this being, especially because he was so huge and as his name may suggest dominated the room staircase completely. He held out his paw to shake with her though and Sofi automatically fluttered her lashes to look coy as she shook his paw. She knew very well to look even more innocent and cute around the guy in charge of security as this was the being she'd have the most trouble with. But no sooner had they greeted each other than Valerian's paw was to her lower back, stroking her and then steering her right around out of the way as the fire beast shook his head, leaving her to go.

"Now to show you the premier greeting rooms... these are the places where you just sit down and hang out with your peers. It's a little quiet up here now but we have some drinks up here usually in the evening and it's a good way to mingle and find beasts to make friends with or even to make work alliances with. Try to meet as many as you can and hang out, so it's very good to try and come here in the evening and enjoy yourself. It's like a party all the time so, always fun!" Valerian beamed in delight, still curiously rubbing the top of her hips in a strangely interesting way. It made Sofi's skin ripple in surprise, but she continued to walk alongside him as he steered her through the massive lounge towards another corridor to the left that actually climbed into a different pipe into a newer set of dungeons. He rubbed her shoulders suddenly with a grin of amusement as she looked to him curiously. "Those are the private rooms for guild members living on site. If you're interested, you can take a room here you know..."

"That's nice, I do appreciate that, but I'm important for keeping my family afloat... I have to return home when I can... besides I wouldn't have the payment on hand and couldn't risk a trade." Sofi stated with her head lowered, her soft little nose twitching slightly in anxiety as she felt the paws of the other being still stroke up and down as he gave a soft sound of fascination before then gently holding her shoulders again. His softy foxy muzzle was near her face, snuffling at her in fascination and it made her hair start to rise with anxiety before suddenly, a playful looking Furret bounced happily out of the corridor and then lifted its tail, dusting the corners before pausing and staring towards Sofi who was a little startled to see it.

"Ah... this is Mona... Mona, Sofi's the newbie here, how about you show her around the board and about the lower sections?" Valerian beamed, still stroking Sofi's back before the Furret sat up, gently rubbed her nose to take some dirt off before beaming and insisting she would. With that, the dark creature gently patted at Sofi's shoulders before stepping away with a soft chuckle. "If you ever need anything, come straight to my room... you're welcome no matter the time of day or night!"

"Thank you, sir." Sofi waved him off with a slight shudder of surprise before she felt the Furret hop to her side, wave too and then shake her head firmly. Sofi turned to look at the figure and noticed the way this being was looking a little disquieted and perhaps even a little angry with the departing Zoroark. However, Mona turned to look at Sofi and beckoned with a paw for her to follow afterwards and Sofi hopped along behind her. They padded on to another tunnel that then sloped downwards to reveal little circle-shaped doors that Mona pointed to and insisted were emergency passages out of this set of the dungeons and on to the floating city where supplies could be bought. She then led Sofi across to another large set of doors that were pointed out to her as the storeroom. "Do we all give a hand in moving items in there when they're dropped down?"

"Yes... senior members of the guild's admin of caretaker staff, like myself, go out to buy the supplies but juniors like you are likely to be held back to assist in the day-to-day maintenance whilst you get to know the guild. We will send you on brief trips with other members out into the tunnels so you can get to know the escape routes. It can be a lengthy process but it's good to know and also means you get to meet the other members of the guild." Mona stated, her striped tail gently lifting and clearing a bit of dust she spotted before she gave a giggle. She beckoned Sofi to follow more and they climbed down the back of the passage until the smell of strong cooking reached her nose to make it twitch before Mona paused and lifted a paw. As Sofi halted and looked awkward, the smaller being stared at her very firmly and with a slightly mean expression. "I'm going to give you a simple warning and you need to listen, or we can't go further."

"Is it..." Sofi stammered in anxiety, her stomach was already starting to groan and growl with her hunger and she was aware the Furret must know this. However, it was clear to Sofi that the smaller Pokémon was giving the miffed sort of expression that some of the older females gave when they were trying to teach her to be a proper female. For a moment she feared the thought of being told she could not be trusted around the food, or that she was going to be put under tight supervision, which would make her feel almost like a prisoner. What if these beings had an idea of the kind of things her family did and this was actually some kind of trap? But she was almost relieved by the creature's response.

"Your kind use charm and as a female... it can be exceptionally powerful so from this point on, you must swear never to use it except in the utmost dangerous circumstance or if you have been ordered to. It's very important, some of the members of this place are not very 'strong', against certain things. You might have noticed overly friendly beings like our guild master might be... affected." Mona stated with a firm wag of her tail and an expression that warned of grave consequences. However, it made Sofi give a soft hiccup in relief before she shook her head firmly, even blushing as Mona stared at her in fascination.

"Do not fear Mona, I would never do such a thing, I've never even learnt to use it in my life." Sofi stated, rather startled to be talking about one of her techniques like this but knowing it was something she'd never actually used before. But it was interesting to hear this kind of information and Mona just gave a soft sigh of relief before beckoning Sofi to follow her on down into the kitchen. Sofi's stomach groaned loudly; she was curious that this figure was making sure to steer her away from anything that might be... interesting. Perhaps it was because they did not trust her yet, but she was content with taking her time and when they met the collection of beings enjoying a pleasant stew, Mona hopped onto a seat and patted the one next to her for Sofi.

"Come along, you better eat something before your stomach growling lures in a Charizard!" The Furret snorted in amusement and Sofi gave a little blush before she hopped up just a little to sit in front of a large bar where food was being served. There was a rather large looking Skunktank grinning as it poured out food that thankfully overpowered its own scent. Immediately Sofi was anxious about this being, thinking to grasp at her nose in case she might smell its foulness, but the scent of the food was just so strong as the being passed it over with a curious grin upon its face that Sofi could not help herself but grasp the bowl.

"Eat up kiddo, there's plenty to go around." That strange feline-like beast growled with a curious accent that made him sound jovial. He was a bit of an older beast than Sofi expected, but she nodded her head and quickly pressed her face to the warm bowl. Her tongue soon tapped the liquid and then she was sighing in relief at the hefty and enjoyable taste. She lifted it up and then began to chug it down in relief before laying it down, empty and then having another ladleful poured in. "Not much food around you?"

"Uh... big family... not always enough to fill you up but enough so you won't be hungry." Sofi stated, only to feel awkward as if she might have let something slip out. Mona did not seem to care and was eating away at her bowl of stew in relief, but the Skunktank nodded his purple head in seeming understanding and then looked about before ducking down and grasping a bag of rolls that looked like they might be going stale already. Sofi eyed them up and even Mona lifted her head to give a scowl to the big male as he passed them over to the little being. "Th... thank you."

"You're a soft old being, Oswald, but as long as that's the old stuff we needed to clear out. Consider it a welcome present for you, but we don't dish out freebies to the members or they'd assume we were a charity." Mona hissed, her fur ruffling in fury and irritation towards the large Pokémon that just gave a pathetic sort of expression before looking towards Sofi with a suddenly playful wink. It looked like being youthful was definitely an advantage in this matter and something Sofi would think about for later in how to deal with things like this. She continued to eat the stew before she gently placed the bowl back with a cute smile.

"Thank you so much, it was so tasty!" Sofi beamed happily and then Mona shook her head in disbelief before beckoning the young Buizel to follow after her. Sofi turned away from the situation and padded with the Furret through the hall where other beasts were drinking and eating away before she led her over to an archway that led into a small chamber filled with books. This Mona quickly informed her was the library where she could find all the information she needed on the tunnels and the maps too. It was an interesting place, but more for the rarity of some of the books that were even chained up and Mona did not want to talk about as she hopped back out through a small passage and beckoned Sofi to follow.

Sofi followed, feeling a little awkward around Mona now, wondering if the being was under the impression that she'd done something wrong. All the same, Mona led her to the small stepladder near the massive board that she clambered up and pointed towards. She made a point of the fact the smaller scraps were smaller jobs for lower level members, like Sofi, and then got higher up depending on the size of the Pokémon that could probably deal with it. She then pointed out the large collection of pictures nearby that stated guild members at the highest rank with the highest score and then she turned and looked at Sofi with an almost callous expression that rather worried the youngster.

"You'll have your face added to the official members list as soon as you perform your first quest. But, it might be a little while, you're still young and need to make a show of your devotion to being in the guild before we even consider letting you work!" The Furret stated, acting almost as if she was more in charge than any of the other beings that Valerian had pointed out. It made Sofi uncomfortable and unsure of herself, but she nodded her head and agreed to it as Mona then gave a soft grunt of relief. "And that's us done for today... you can go home now, share the food - but bright and early here tomorrow because I'm going to have you learn the tunnels and the work done to get the food you're being given so freely."

"Of course... I look forward to being an invaluable member of this guild." Sofi stated with a smile, only to feel even more anxious over this whole situation and the kind of threat that Mona seemed to have for her. But she turned around to depart and Sofi gave a sigh of frustration as she watched the Furret go and looked towards her food. She then made a faint to look at the board as if she longed to be one of them, but instead she was checking out just who did dangerous things and who was likely to be a sap. But as she stood there, she almost jumped in shock when the familiar form of the Vaporeon appeared beside her with a gentle smile and Sofi blushed. She'd made a mistake earlier and at looking to the board of pictures, this Pokémon was quite high up on the list of top members of the guild and quickly she knew to apologise and be cautious. "I'm sorry for my earlier mistake... it just seemed that with everyone in here being mainly water types..."

"No need to apologise, actually it was very flattering to be thought of so highly. My name is Marcien, I've been here for quite a while so, if you ever need to ask a question, you're more than welcome to ask me anything and I will help you in any way I can." The Vaporeon stated with a soft smile upon his face before he bobbed his head and Sofi could not help but blush. He turned and departed and she watched him go, still clutching the rolls to her body as she stared after him with a slight fluttering in her chest to say that he was definitely of interest to her. But then Sofi turned to the exit and bounded off on her way towards home.

The dungeons were filled with various passages flooded in water that would make the food on hand go bad, but thankfully there was always something on hand to float along that Sofi could grasp near the surface. She swam through the deep waters on her back, completely covered in water with her twin tails whipping and spiralling behind her so that she could move with speed towards the hidden underwater entrance to her holt. She always kept listening out for danger, her body trembling in anxiety over any strong vibrations in the water that were unusual. Some of the passages had been breeding Magikarp and where those creatures swarmed there was always the risk of an over-protective Garydos that would have no fear in snapping Sofi up! But she continued unabated towards an old broken ship, turned on its side with mud and sticks forming a firm attachment between the bobbing ship and the roof of the rounded dungeon.

Here, Sofi pulled the food into her arms, glad it was bagged and made sure it was secured and tightened before she ducked down into the water with it. The hull of the boat was home to a few Kloister, but they closed up as the Buizel swam past, just in case she might consider having a snack of one of them. Sofi then stepped to a small hole in the vessel, pushed the food through and squeezed her way inside before standing up in the bottom of the empty ship. Once here, she shook her body for a second then lifted the bag and clambered up the skeleton-like portions of the ship till she reached the trapdoor and clambered up to where two of her cousins were lounging and looking bored, only to squeak in interest when they spotted her.

"What have you got there Sofi? That food? Wow... you're the first one back to holt with anything!" These two were twins, older than her and alongside her brother had grown up bullying her. Their eyes were fixed upon the food and she knew they would really bully her for it and get anything they could. But Sofi just barged between them, slapping them both with her tails as they swore at her before the youngster pulled herself up into the little tunnel up into the main passage above, pulling herself out of a culvert and thankfully to her brother.

"You alright Sofi? How'd it go with the guild? They didn't kick you out, right?" Sofi smiled up at her brother as she lifted up the food and he put the bag aside instead to reach down for his younger sister and yank her right up. Her brother was a little bit older, not really ready to evolve just yet but more mature than her for sure, despite the fact she'd just reached adulthood. He was very doting to his little sister, protective and for him to pull her up ahead of the food was appreciated as she hugged him and then he ruffled her fur before swinging his bag over his shoulder and opening it up. He yanked out a curious looking and abandoned shell from what looked like a Shellder and clearly was worth a bit of money as her brother grinned. "Something that a lot of Slowpokes would trade for!"

Her brother grinned in amusement as he showed it off to her again before she giggled and grasped it from him, taking a good look before she suddenly lifted it up to put it on his head. He gave a sudden funny face then dropped his expression to look more like a Slowpoke as Sofi giggled at him and he wandered about the dungeon filled with bed bunks that was the main place where the youngsters slept. Sofi chuckled at him in amusement for a while until she heard the firm slapping of big feet and then, in the doorway, her father was standing there, a big old Floatzel with his darker orange fur, scarred up muzzle and one-fanged grin. Her father always looked like a pirate and Sofi beamed as she hurried over to him for a hug as he patted her back only to give his son a scowl for acting the fool.

"I did well father, I'll have to do more to get them to trust me more but, there's lots of interesting things there and beings. Already I got us food too!" Sofi beamed, bounding back to the rolls and bringing them over as her father cackled in amusement, patting her back and then nuzzling noses as her brother scoffed for no longer being able to be so cute with his little sister. But then the captain of their holt straightened up and pointed his paw towards their galley.

"You did well, my little Pearl... stow the food in the galley and then let's talk all about what you learnt today and what you will learn tomorrow." The being growled in pleasure, stomping off with Sofi beaming at his side and glad that her father clearly appreciated her work. However, her brother just scowled as he put his Shellder shell back in the pack and hollered out he was going to float down the passage to the trading market. His dad didn't seem to react, but Sofi waved him off and he bounded down the culvert, only to land on the grumbling twins below.