Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Namohysip]

The northwestern portion of Destiny Village was dedicated largely to restricted-access residential areas and environments. High-ranking international guild officials, mortal and immortal alike, lived here, and that included God Squad. They all lived on the same road as neighbors to one another, some of them roommates, others less so. The buildings were all similar in appearance but vastly different in size.

Maple lived with Potluck in one home that had a nicely tended garden, a quaint front door of tanned wood, and a few closed windows. The house was one of the largest in the neighborhood, even taking into consideration Potluck's size. It was far too large for anyone, and there were rumors that a strange monster lived there...

Truffle and Leg, too, shared a home, though Truffle rarely stated there. That left Leg to live in the smallest home of God Squad, a modestly sized garden, and a constantly foreboding atmosphere radiating out of the windows and the cracks in the door. Rumors suggest that kids used to enter that home, but never came out, and there was a new doll left within Leg's room...

Soda and Flesh lived in the largest house on the block. It looked more like a sinister citadel than anything, with horned, black rooftops and no real garden in the front, only packed dirt and a few feeble berry plants that didn't look well-cared for. At night, occasionally loud groans, like a titan's snore, could be heard...

<><><>​

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian had quietly separated himself from the others and wandered aimlessly around Destiny Village.

He would sometimes sigh as he walked. Going to Cibus' Shaymin Village left him feeling a weird sense of homesickness, and that Shadow machine taking a toll on his mind didn't exactly help either.

His walk brought him in front of a house, the smallest of the ones on the street. Some of the other houses were... who'd live in a house that huge? Some wealthy noble flaunting their status perhaps? Though Legendary pokemon lived in Destiny Village... did they have differences in societal status too?

Cynthian absentmindedly walked to the small house, though he went straight to the garden. The earthly smell of soil and the fragrance of the greenery had an almost therapeutic effect on him. It reminded him of his garden back at home. He wondered who lived in the house anyway.

"Would it be trespassing if I just help water these plants for them?" Cynthian thought about it briefly and shrugged. He grabbed the watering can and hummed to himself while he showered the plants to help keep them healthy and in high spirits.

 

[Namohysip]

While gardening, Cynthian would likely get the vague sensation that he was being watched, somehow. Little, subtle noises came from the house, though it didn't seem like anybody was inside...

 

[Adamhuarts]

The feeling that he was being watched instinctively made Cynthian stiffen, and he got up and looked around him to find no obvious onlookers. Maybe it was just his imagination...

Except it absolutely wasn't! Just as he turned to water the plants again, he heard faint noises coming from the house. Were the owners of the garden watching him.

"Is anyone there? I'm sorry for trespassing onto your lawn like that. I just... really like your garden!" Cynthian said nervously while raising the watering can a bit too quickly. He ended up pouring the rest of the water onto himself. There goes his first impression...

 

[Namohysip]

The shuffling eventually stopped, and the door creaked open, revealing nothing but darkness and two pinpricks of light, like eyes, staring at Cynthian. Then, those lights faded, but the door remained open...

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian tilted his head with an uncertain look on his face. He'd expected the mon in the house to come barging out shooing him away, and yet all they did was open a door and leave it open... were they inviting him inside?

Something told him going inside was a bad idea... what if he just took a quick peek inside and left? They wouldn't have opened the door if they didn't want him going on, and besides he could probably fight his way out if things got dangerous. Maybe it was even Darkwhite pulling off another prank.

Yeah, sure, he'd play along if it's her.

Cynthian cautiously walked to the door and peeked inside a bit. It was like staring into the abyss and he couldn't see anything inside.

"Excuse me for coming in. It's really dark in here... Are the lights broken?" Cynthian asked as he walked the rest of the way into the house, glancing around to find a light switch of any sort. How funny, his old self would've been half way across the street in retreat by now...

 

[Namohysip]

Perhaps it was a trick of the eye, but there was another pair of pinpricks just ahead, only for a moment, like it blinked. The door creaked shut behind Cynthian, and something shuffled around ahead...

A little while later, it seemed to get a little brighter. The windows were all covered, but something pushed one of the coverings away a sliver, allowing the smallest bit of light to crack through.

It was a Mimikyu, though the surroundings of this small room were too difficult to see. There seemed to be a lot of stuff all around the back room...

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Okay you know what? Maybe I should get going..." Cynthian said, perhaps due to the growing uneasiness of the darkness of the house and also because the pinpricks of light just then sent a chill down his spine. And then the door closed shut on his own.

Alarm bells blared in Cynthian's mind and his body grew stiff and rigid. His instincts were telling him to flee and also to pretend to be a flower sprout at the same time. Ultimately, the latter instinct won out, and Cynthian stood motionless, waiting to meet his fate.

When the room got slightly brighter, Cynthian saw the... costumed pokemon. Strange, he could've sworn he'd seen them befo—

"Leg?" Cynthian asked, though a bit uncertain whether he remembered her name right or not. "It's you, right?"

A wave of relief washed over him, and Cynthian's body visibly loosened up. He raised a flower to his chest and huffed. "You gave me a fright back there. Is this your house?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Khhh..." Leg approached in the dim light and circled around Cynthian a few times, looking him over with her usual curiosity. Then, satisfied, she slid to the back of the room and settled there. "...Home... yes..."

A particularly strong breeze pushed further the covering on the window that had been loosened. Now, there was enough light to see at least somewhat clearly what Leg's room looked like.

Dolls.

So many dolls covered the floor, lined the walls, and were piled in the corners, several of them looking worn and used and tattered. Some were newer, some were older, and da lot of them looked oddly familiar. Different species, some slightly different colors, too. There was one of Arceus, one of Groudon, and there were even a few for God Squad. Truffle's in particular looked like it was cleaned and maintained very often.

There was even a pile of newly made dolls. The Pokemon seemed oddly... familiar. There was even one of a Roselia, no larger than an Oran, sitting up against the wall.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"...Home... yes..."

"Oh, is it? It's certainly..." Cynthian didn't really know what to say because it was still too dark for him to make anything out all that much. It'd be rude to just say he couldn't see anything and leave it at that, right?

The strong breeze that blew made him flinch. When he opened his eyes again, he didn't expect what he saw. There were dolls everywhere in the room. Immediately, Cynthian's eyes lit up.

"Whoa, there's so many!" Cynthian walked forward and scanned the dolls scattered everywhere.

"I'm amazed. Did you buy all of these? I wouldn't have guessed you were a collector, and quite a treasure trove these are!" Cynthian said, picking the Arceus one tenderly and examining it in awe. The stitches were very tight woven and even the fabric material was of decent cotton.

"Did you collect these while going around the continents?" Cynthian asked as he kept the Arceus doll back to its place. His eyes fell on the small roselia doll by the wall and he immediately gravitated towards it.

"Oooooh, I quite like this one. It kinda looks like me..." Cynthian paused and tilted his head slightly. The Roselia doll... had the same colored roses as his own. His floral palette was rare even among abnormal roselia, which only heightened Cynthian's curiosity further. He glanced back at Leg with starry eyes. "Wow, I love this one! Where did you get it?"

 

[Namohysip]

Leg seemed flustered beneath her disguise, shrinking back until she was practically halfway into a pile of miscellaneous dolls. "Khhh... hhh... hhh..." This sort of attention wasn't normal. People usually went on by and didn't look at her, and she preferred it that way. Nobody would be this energetic or bombastic with her except for Truffle, and Truffle was allowed to do that because he was Truffle. Why was this Roselia being the same way?

She had to be polite. Truffle said so. "Khh... I... made it... made them..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian's curiosity was replaced with pure awe. He walked around in a circle, staring wide eyed at all the dolls around him.

"You made all of these?! That's incredible! You're very good at your craft, absolutely! How long have you been making... these?" When Cynthian Leg all shrunk back into the doll pile, he realized what was going on right away. Leg was a shy individual, and he was probably acting a bit overbearing.

"My apologies, I got a little bit excited just now," Cynthian said with a lowered voice. He rubbed his cheek nervously while still holding onto his lookalike doll in his other rose.

"I do mean it when I say you're gifted with a special talent. I'd love to able to make dolls like these for a living, though I already help Mama Zahra with our flower shop."

 

[Namohysip]

Leg listened, but did not reply immediately. She trembled at the compliment and made some kind of whooshing sound, and then wrapped a dark tendril around the nearest doll to groom it and comb at the false fur.

...No, no that seemed to be real fur...

"Khh... thank you..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile.

Cynthian held his lookalike doll tenderly and admired the details on it once more. Since Leg said she made all the dolls in the room, did that mean...

"Did you model this one after me? Is it okay if I keep it?"

 

[Namohysip]

Leg looked hesitant at that, looking at the doll, then at Cynthian. She seemed unsure, perhaps because she liked to collect her dolls, or perhaps because she didn't know how to take such a request. But eventually, she did nod, sinking further into the pile.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Thanks, Leg! I will cherish it!" Cynthian said while hugging the doll. He began to wonder whether he should keep the doll in his room, hang it on his bag... no, that'd wear it down if it's exposed to the elements like that. In any case, he radiated gratitude thanks to his little gift.

 

[Namohysip]

"Good..." Leg shuffled into the pile until there was nothing left of her. A few dolls fell away and a little, dark hole in the pile appeared where two pinpricks of light stared at Cynthian.

 

[Adamhuarts]

While putting the doll into his bag, Cynthian wondered whether he could ask Leg to make a florges doll as well. He gasped from a realization. Even if she made another for him, he couldn't possibly take it back to his world. He wouldn't even be able to take his either.

Cynthian brought his flower to his chin and hummed, then he turned his face towards her and blinked. If it weren't for the pinpricks of light staring back at him from the abyss, he'd have thought she left the room at some point. She really must not be used to having others around, even still...

Cynthian walked to Leg in her doll pile and leaned forward. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to visit again every now and then. I won't be able to take your doll with me once our mission is done, so I want you to show me how to make them. It's not a bad hobby to pick up, and I want to make one for my mother. She'd love it!"

 

[Namohysip]

"Khhh..." The Mimikyu shifted around inside the pile again, looking at Cynthian with a quiet hiss, though it didn't sound like a warning. Perhaps it was pleased? It was difficult to get a read on her...

"Okay," she eventually agreed, and another gust of wind blew through the home. The coverings shifted, and the room became dark again.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian had waited with bated breath for her answer, and his chest relaxed from her positive response.

When the wind gust brought darkness back to the room, Cynthian had a vague idea of what that meant. It was probably time for him to leave. He wasn't upset by that, and was glad he could hang around at all to begin with. Cynthian smiled, though he wasn't sure if she'd see.

"I'll be heading back now. I look forward to seeing you again, Leg," Cynthian said. He walked in the direction he thought the door would be, only for him to hit his face against a wall with a loud bonk.

"... I can't find the door."