ToT: Lost and Found

“M-miss!” Sophie piped nervously “Is this the purse you couldn't find the f-first time we met you?”

The Nidoqueen, who stood near a half foot taller than Artemis, leaned from her doorway. She dipped her head down lower, trying to get a better view of the decorative bag atop the little plant type’s leaves. While the curious little eyes of the Nidoran child upon her shoulder studied the faces of the strange people before them, a wide smile quickly spread across the Nidoqueen’s face.

“Well I’ll be!” She exclaimed, clapping her heavy hands against her hips before plucking the bag up in her claws. “Where'd you find it? I was sure we’d lost this money for good!”

“A-Art found- … Artemis, he, ah-...” Sophie began, floundering in a panic of what to say.

“I found it in a hollowed out tree trunk just outside of Mosswood.” Art stated after a quick glance down at the little Cherubi in his palm. She looked almost ashamed, one of her leaves beginning to curled gently around her nutrient ball.

“Oh-ho ho.” The Nidoqueen lazily tilted her head from side to side, a deadpan but knowing look on her face. “Same as before then I s’pose, hmph.” Her expression suddenly shifted back to the wide smile she’d had before. “Ah! But why don’t you two come on in?”

“Pardon?” Artemis blinked, not expecting the sudden invitation.

“Yeah, yeah!” The Nidoqueen said as she shifted to return into the house, beckoning both strangers with a jerk of her huge wrists. “Gotta be some way I can be thankin’ you two after ya helped us out twice now!”

As the Nidoqueen disappeared around the door, Sophie tentative released her nutrient ball. Looking up, her eyes met with Art’s, who was waiting patiently for a signal of some sort from his small partner. A small smile creased her mouth while she fought away the sheepish expression that tugged at her tiny brow. Artemis returned the main expression, taking that as his cue to follow after their welcoming host.

~~~~

It was cozy. Golden afternoon light spilled in from the numerous windows that lined the walls of the wood and stone interior of the building. The High ceilings and wide door frames, while likely designed for the convenience of much taller Pokemon, left the house with a very open and inviting feel to it. Simple furniture and plants dotted the rooms visible through the doorways, the floors around them littered with many children’s playthings. Having been led to the kitchen, the duo were seated at a large oak table, observing their surroundings as their host busied herself. Something enticing wafted through the air from the nearby brick oven, reminding them of vague hunger pangs while leaving the house warm on the otherwise cool autumn day.

“So, yer Artemis from what the little miss said.” The Nidoqueen recalled, addressing Art as she set down two drastically different sized mugs in front of her guests. “Buuuut-”

“O-oh!” The little Cherubi jolted as the poison type’s attention shifted to her, remembering that she had never said her own name. “I-... My name is S-Sophie, ma’am.”

“Oh golly, ha ha!” The large Nidoqueen let out a hearty laugh, obscuring her face for a moment with one of her clawed hands while the other clutched the back of a chair. “Please, please, call me Tanis! Ma’am makes me feel all old!”

“Ah-!” Sophie jumped once more, nearly bumping the tiny mug of berry sweetened milk she’d been given. “I-it’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Tanis.”

“Lovely ta finally be making yours, Sophie!” Tanis replied as she pulled out her chair, scooping up her little Nidoran child from the floor before seating herself. “An’ yours as well, Artemis!” She continued, offering her free hand out to the Sawk.

“A pleasure, Tanis.” Art agreed with a small nod as he took the Nidoqueen’s hand in a brief shake. “And, who is this here?”

“Oh!” Tanis exclaimed in following Art’s gaze. “This here’s Ridley!” She informed, withdrawing her hand from the shake and using her free claws to caress the child’s ears tenderly. “Little one was just hatched here not ah few months ago now. My youngest! Yer lucky the other three are all pooped from playing all day, else we probably wouldn’t be able to hear ourselves talk, ha ha!”

“Sounds like m-my own family” Sophie reminisced.

“Sounds like a lot to take care of.” Art said with a small smirk as he enjoyed a bit of his drink.

“Speakin’ of being taken care of-” Tanis added. “Is there anything I can do fer you lovely folks? I know there’s been an influx of all these new adventurers comin’ inta town and helping out, but us happening ta meet twice for the same thing’s gotta be a sign!”

“Uh-... aah-” Sophie stammered.

The dull clunk of the larger mug setting back on the wooden table distracted the little Cherubi away from her own thoughts, her attention shifting up to Artemis.

“Actually-” Art began, folding his three fingered hands loosely on the tabletop. “We’ve been staying at the inn for a while now. Though with the number of new people coming into town, it’s been a bit of a race to get rooms and it’s not terribly cost effective. We haven’t really been too successful finding a place to rent that hasn’t been snatched up already either. Would you happen to know anyone willing to rent a space out in the area?”

“Well now!” Tanis remarked with an amused smirk, propping her arm on the table and resting her chin on its palm. “S’pose it was a sign then!”

~~~~

“Here we are!”

Tanis pushed at the door, opening it into a darkened room filled with an assortment of boxes with varying amounts of dust settled on them. The air was vaguely musty and the drawn curtains left the space chilly compared to the warmth of the rest of the house. Making her way around a box pile, Tanis gave the drapes a tug, letting in the outside light . Squinting to readjust their vision, Artemis and Sophie took another look about the room, which actually seemed fairly sized now with the Nidoqueen to compare it to.

“Used ta have a bunch more boxes sitting in here.” Tanis said as she shifted around a stack of boxes to get to another window. “But we’ve been downsizin’ a bunch since we’re not needing a lot of this stuff anymore. Used ta be a den in here, but we stopped using it after we knocked out some walls and added in my kid’s new rooms! Even has a little stove buried in there somewhere for heat an’ boiling water, ha ha!”

Ridley, who still stared fixated from his mom’s shoulder at the new faces, suddenly gave a powerful little sneeze. Reaching a hand to steady the small Nidoran, Tanis let out chuckle of amusement at the situation.

“Little too dusty in here for ya, mh?” She questioned fondly as she lifted Ridley from her shoulder and brought him to her snout.

Watching as the two poison types shared a quick nose nuzzle, Sophie gave a happy and nostalgic sigh, prompting a small smirk from Art.

“I think this will be great for us, Tanis.” Artemis commented as he went to investigate the view from one of the windows. Rolling hills dotted with numerous houses and trees stretched along the landscape, with the great tree nestled in its little valley to the far left.

“Fantastic!” Tanis hooted, propping Ridley back on her shoulder. “Like I was tellin’ you folks earlier, it’ll take us about a week or two ta get this all cleared up and such. I’m sure the Keepers and the orphanage will be thrilled ta be getting some donations! Ah, right-”

Tanis’ ears perked up as she seemed to remember something. Moving to the far wall, she pushed aside a fairly large crate stacked high with more dusty boxes. From behind the storage tower the frame of an old door could just barely be seen hiding in the shadows.

“Even has a door for you folks ta use!” The Nidoqueen pointed out proudly. “This way ya won’t have to be tip-toeing through the house after dark or live in fear of bein’ ambushed by my my kids while they’re playing, ha ha!”

While Sophie had no problem with the thought of overexcited children pulling her into a game, Art seemed pretty relieved by the prospect of having an alternate door to use. Then again, she was used to having plenty of younger siblings who always wanted to play and adventure about. She listened quietly as Art and Tanis discussed things further, where the outside water closet was, that there was a small bath connected to the room, and so forth. While the business side of the conversation was mostly going right over her head, she kept the things she found important in mind.

“Now-!” Tanis grinned, wiping the dust from her palms and extending a clawed hand out towards the duo. “I’ll have an extra key made up for ya’ll in the next few days. Since we’re kinda far from Tabira herself don’t go getting anything that runs off electricity, ‘less yer planning ta power it on your own, ha ha! Outside that, ya’ll just keep doin’ the good you’ve been doing around here. Welcome to the house!”

“T-thank you, Tanis!” Sophie beamed.

“Thanks for having us, Tanis.” Artemis agreed, taking hold of the Nidoqueen’s hand and giving a firm shake.

There was comfort with knowing they finally had a stable space. The inn filled up very quickly with other people still flooding into the town to aid the guilds, it almost felt like a race at times. 

For Sophie, all of this was a relief. Though she appreciated the extra effort Art always went through to get her a room of her own, she didn’t like sleeping alone. She missed the comfort of sharing a room with her siblings back in Fableton. There was something about hearing the steady breathing of someone else sleeping nearby that helped her settle her mind. Something about hearing the voices of young children playing that brought her joy. She still missed not being able to be around her family greatly, but this would help. She could at least feel safe now.

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