Rei - Solo RP & Special Missions

"Three miles west. First marker. From there, 10 miles south. Second marker." Kopi repeats the same lines from that day what feels like a lifetime ago. Still no more help than before without a starting point.

"O-ho! The human becomes cleverer still!" Kopi may not have lips, but even Rei can tell by the look in his eyes that he's smirking. Piesc doesn't translate directly, instead choosing to only state how Kopi is both complimenting and insulting you at once. At the same time, he insists that he has no problems with acting as a translator when Clay is unavailable (or she doesn't want him involved - though this part is unspoken). He may not be a Master of Aura, but if he can do even this much then he feels infinitely more useful to Rei.

Kopi: "So listen close dog-breath-"

Piesc: "I am not a dog!"

Kopi: "Sure look like one!"

Piesc harrumphs and doesn't rise to Kopi's bait. Kopi merely snickers.

Kopi: "So like I was saying: listen close, dog-breath, cause I'm only gonna say this once. I watched those humans for quite a long time, and they thought they were so sneaky. So clever. So-"

Piesc: "Yes, yes, we know: they're not nearly as clever or sneaky as you are. Do get to the point, if you would." Piesc interjects curtly, earning another snickering laugh from Kopi.

Kopi: "Right, sure. As long as we're clear on that."

Piesc: "So help me, bird, if Lady Rei did not like you, I would tear your wings off."

Kopi: "Whoa, a little hostile there, dog meat?"

Piesc pinches the bridge of his nose. "Just... get to the point already. You watched the not-so-clever, not-so-sneaky humans roam about the forest. Do. You. Know. Where. These. 'Markers'. Are?"

"Nope." Kopi answers bluntly. Just as Piesc is about to declare to Rei that the bird will be absolutely no help at all, Kopi interjects. "But I do know how to find 'em."

Piesc manages to restrain himself from throttling the obnoxious bird here and now, as not only would Rei not appreciate that, it would also be exactly what Kopi wants him to do. To Rei, he first says that there is no reason to translate the conversation, as it was mostly the bird throwing insults like he usually does. He did glean one bit of useful information though: Kopi knows how to find the 'markers' it mentioned before. The bird does not know their exact location, but knows how to look for them; or so he claims.

"Like I said before: don't know where they are. I'll know 'em when I see em, if you know what I mean." Piesc translates, adding that he's not entirely sure what the bird is on about, but supposes it could be some sort of dark-type trick the poachers picked up. If they were trying to be sneaky, certainly having a dark-type Pokemon or two isn't out of the question. Perhaps one of the humans could even perform feats similar to that human from the Guild that everyone is (rightly) afraid of. Either way, Kopi claims that only he can find the markers, but has no real idea where to start looking for them. Which, again, is not very helpful. If you have no idea where to start looking for something, how can you expect to find it? Searching the entire forest seems absurd.

Kopi, having a slight advantage in having spied on the "not-so-sneaky, not-so-clever" humans in the forest before, spies a very tiny mark carved into a tree, right in the crevice where the trunk splits off into branches. This is likely the starting point. The tree itself is only significant in that it is not significant. There is nothing special about it at all. All three Dark-Type Pokemon indicate that there is some sort of quasi-mystical shroud over the mark, making an already difficult-to-spot marking nearly impossible unless you know it is there or know how to detect such "shrouds".

Hiking three miles west, even knowing vaguely what to look for, it still takes nearly two hours before the first "official" marker is found. This one is a different symbol, and was not shrouded like the last. Instead, it was hidden in a much more mundane way: natural wear and tear. Seems it was exposed to the elements over time and the carving on the small rock was worn down.

When Rei returns, Holly still seems to be asleep in the bed. Rei cannot see them, but can sense most of Holly's ghosts milling about; likely guarding her since ghosts don't need to sleep like most Pokemon. Kopi also never sleeps, but Rei may not know why.

After a while, Rei's wondering about Clay. It's starting to get later in the day and they gotta get going while they have light. He must be finishing up by now, right? She turns back to Holly before packing up supplies for a couple days, just in case.

"Holly, wake up. Clay should be ready to go by now."

As Holly gets ready, Rei is finished and looks at her before getting up.

"You were right, Holly."

She can't quite stomach a reply from Holly, so she rushes out of the room, an upset look on her face.

Rei looks around and makes sure they aren't being eavedropped by the guardian before turning to Holly.

"Listen Holly. I know that tone. That's my tone when I say 'I'm fine'. And we both know what that means..."