Sorting Things Out
A Clover Guild Story
By Ribombee-anon
I woke up when I heard our dorm door open. Good thing I was a pretty light sleeper—growing up where I did, you learned to never let your guard down. I pretended to be asleep and cracked an eye open. It was late at night, but I could see real good in the dark, so I spotted who was coming in: a nervous-looking Togetic, wringing his hands and looking all over with wide eyes. This was a new guy: Toge. We got off to a rocky start, and I had mixed feelings about him.
He stared at me for a minute. He stayed calm, so I assumed he didn’t notice I was really awake. Then he looked over at the desk where Booker was snoozing in his bowl of cotton balls. Once he decided we were both out cold, he crept over to our dresser. On top of it was my belt, which had two pouches full of stuff.
‘You better not be doing what I think you’re doing,’ I thought.
Toge slowly opened a pouch and began digging around inside.
‘Alright, you’re doing it—thief. Once an outlaw, always an outlaw, huh...’
My heart beat faster. I got out of bed without a sound and snuck up on the dirty burglar. As he went through my belt pouches, I pounced! One paw covered his mouth and pulled him tight against me, and the other jabbed a sharp claw against his long neck. Toge gasped and squirmed.
“You rotten thief,” I hissed in his ear. He squeaked as I tightened my grip on him. “I oughta cut you right now.”
Toge whimpered.
“But I ain’t gonna—not yet. We’re guildmates, so I’ll give you one chance to talk. But you better have a good reason for what you just did. And don’t even think about screaming.”
Toge didn’t make a noise, but when I took my claw off his throat, he nodded. I let him go, then stepped back. He turned to face me, with his big eyes all tearing up.
“I-I’m s-s-sorry,” he stuttered quietly. “I d-didn’t mean to... s-startle you. And I’m n-not s-stealing any-anything. I swear!”
“It sure looked like you were,” I hissed.
“N-no, really! I w-was just o-organizing your-r stuff. I know n-not ev-everyone around here is g-good at s-sorting things, s-so... I just want to be h-h-helpful.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Seriously? Why not just ask me instead of being all sneaky about it? You looked super suspicious. You’re lucky I didn’t just stab you right away.”
Toge winced and touched his throat. “I’m... I’m s-sorry,” he said again, bowing his head. “I d-don’t want to b-bother people by a-asking if they need h-help. And I don’t w-want them to think-k I’m in-insulting them by c-calling them messy. I also j-just really hate... t-t-talking to p-people.”
I sighed. I could tell he was being honest—he was too scared to risk lying. Plus, he reminded me a whole lot of my partner. I couldn’t stay mad at him. “Alright, look... Sorry I almost cut you. You may be a dumb wuss, but you mean well. It’s cool you wanna help your guildmates—better than stealing from them, that’s for sure. I hate traitors. You gotta be a real bastard to hang out with other people and rely on their hard work, just to go trick them and turn your back on them in the end.”
Could’ve sworn I saw Toge flinch when I said that. Maybe it was just me.
“It would be s-safer to ask p-people before I or-organize for them,” Toge said. “But... I’d r-rather k-keep doing this s-secretly.”
I shrugged. “You really oughta face your fears and learn to talk to people. But if you’d rather be wimpy, go ahead. Just don’t come crying to me when someone beats you up cuz they think you’re a thief.”
“I p-probably won’t b-be caught again. M-most people d-don’t even seem to n-notice me...”
“Well, I did. You ain’t sneaky enough to out-sneak a Sneasel,” I said with a smirk. “Hey, here’s an idea: maybe I can give you some pointers? Back home, I learned a lot about staying hidden. I could tell you what I know.”
Toge kinda fidgeted. “I... I g-guess it c-couldn’t hurt to g-get a few tips-s...”
“Sweet. While we’re at it, I’d be down to do some fighting lessons too. After our little scuffle at the dock, I wanna see more of what you’ve got.”
“Th-thanks, but... I’m n-no fighter... Trying to t-teach me w-would be a w-waste of t-time...”
I gave him a light punch in the arm. He flinched. “Hey, everyone’s got potential,” I said. “Even Booker’s learning to fight, and he’s a total softie. You can do it too.”
Toge weakly smiled. “I... I’ll let you know if I ch-change m-my mind. Th-thanks... f-for offering.”
“Give it some thought. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but if you don’t cause trouble, and if you care about improving yourself, we can be pals.”
I curled my claws and held out a fist. He stared at it, then awkwardly reached out and shook it. Wait, did he seriously not know what a fist bump was? Whatever.
“P-pals, huh?” he whispered. “M-maybe... So, um... for now, d-do you w-want me to k-keep s-sorting your stuff, or...?”
“Nah, I’m good. Booker already handles it, and he does a great job. Like I told you down at the docks, he ain’t useless. He’s been learning a lot. And speaking of learning... Ready for your first sneaking lesson?”
I smirked. Toge gasped. “W-what? R-r-right now? B-but—”
“But nothing. Pretty much everyone’s asleep right now. Perfect time to teach you how Clawfolk hunt our prey. C’mon, pal.”
I grabbed his little hand and dragged him out of the dorm and down the silent hallway. Toge stuttered the whole time, and I tried not to chuckle too loudly. This was gonna be a fun night.
My homepage: https://rentry.org/RibombeeHomepage Clover Guild homepage: https://cloverguild.com