Oh yeah, the ferret thing and the scorpion that showed up a little while ago. I hadn't really interacted with the pair apart from getting the shit scared out of me by the scorpion, but I think that's a perfectly reasonable reaction to have when a scorpion half your size walks right up to you! I'd seen them around here and there, so they must have joined the guild as well. I guess I could check in on them and see what they're up to.
It didn't actually take me that long to find the pair - I popped my head into the dojo and found the scorpion in there lifting weights with its tail, and the ferret was sitting next to the scorpion watching it. I stood for a second taking in the bizarre sight before me - I don't think I'd ever get used to how strange everything here was.
I watched the scorpion for a couple of minutes, and started to zone out watching the weight go up and down, before I was suddenly snapped out of my trance by a voice saying "Oh, hello again!"
The ferret had taken advantage of my lapse in concentration and scampered up to me, smiling up at me. I took a second to compose myself before replying, "Oh, hey there. I take it you two found the guild master then?" As I finished saying that, a dull thud rocked through the room, and I glanced over to see that the scorpion had thrown the weight onto the ground (how heavy was that thing??) and had skittered over to us.
"Sure did!" the ferret continued. "I'm Furret, and this is my little buddy!" she said, pulling the scorpion closer to her. As she did so, I noticed that it was wearing a pink bow tied around its neck.
"Yeah, I'm Smith." The scorpion said.
"And together, we're Team MLG!" Furret announced proudly. Smith didn't seem as enthused as she did about the name.
Team MLG? That's too much, I had to stop myself from laughing. Doing my best to stifle a giggle, I replied, "That... sounds epic."
That elicited a reaction from Smith, who rolled his eyes at me before responding. "Y-yeah, it is..."
Their team name got me thinking, and I started to ask a question: "Are you two hu-" but I was cut off by Smith, who shouted over me.
"HAPPY to be here? Yeah, we sure are, haha!" His face was marred with a pleading expression and he tilted his head over in Furret's direction slightly, as if he were trying to tell me not to bring that up in front of her. I gave a quick affirmative nod and he sighed in relief.
I realised by this point I hadn't even introduced myself yet. "I'm Ross, by the way."
Smith spoke up next. "Nice to meet you, Ross!"
Furret was speechless.
Looking back at her, I noticed that her gaze had drifted down, and her eyes were laser focused on my fanny pack. "What... what is THAT?!" she huffed out, appalled.
I was baffled. "My... fanny pack?" I questioned.
"Yes, that... thing." she responded, sounding even more offended. "Why are you wearing that anyway?"
"It's handy!" I replied. "The pouch lets me carry stuff, and I can tuck my tail into the strap so that it's not dragging behind me and leaving a mess all the time. See?" I boasted, before turning around slightly to demonstrate how it was tucked in. I couldn't get why she was so upset with the fanny pack - it's a super practical thing to have!
She paused, and took a breath, before beginning to dictate at me. "I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this won't do at all! It doesn't match with your color scheme at all, it's super gaudy and totally not cute at all! I won't stand for this!!"
A mischievous grin crept onto her face, and she excitedly yelled out, "I'm fixing this now. Let's go!" before grabbing me by the arm and dragging me out of the room. "Come on, little buddy!" she called back to Smith.
As she did so, I turned back to look at him. I couldn't see the face of the scorpion that had been here a few moments prior - instead I saw the broken visage of a man defeated, resigned to his fate. A man who'd seen this happen countless times before and was powerless to stop it. We shared a commiserative glance at each other, before I whispered to him, "Is she always like this?"
"Y-yeah..."
Furret dragged the pair of us right out of the guild hall into Capim Town proper, barely giving us a chance to stop and catch our breath before we'd ended up right in front of a shop. "In here, in here, let's go!!" she insisted, ushering the two of us into the building.
The inside of the building looked remarkably similar to how I'd imagine a typical tailor shop looked - shelves towered above us filled with bundles of fabric in a multitude of colors and designs, and the counter was being manned by a red and black spider, with yellow and purple limbs.
"Hiya, Ariados!" Furret called out cheerfully, before pushing Smith and I toward one of the counters which was littered with all sorts of accessories and other finery. With the speed and precision of a seasoned veteran she darted between the shelves, collecting an assortment of items I could barely make out with how fast she was moving around. I got the impression that she'd done this many a time before, and as I looked down at Smith, his pink bow caught my eye again and it clicked.
"So I take it that bow was a gift then?" I asked. It seemed obvious that Furret liked to accessorize him, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yeah... She buys stuff like this for me all the time." he responded, the resignation in his voice apparent. Smith let out a small chuckle, before continuing, "I don't mind too much though. The constant gifts are just her way of showing that she cares. That's what I think, anyway." The prior resignation in his voice had given way to a happier tone.
I couldn't help but look down at my fanny pack - even if it was extremely fucking ugly, it was a gift as well, and it meant a lot to me. I hooked my thumbs into the strap and readjusted it, before smiling to myself and replying, "This was a gift too, so I get it. It's not a bad look, by the way. The bow, I mean."
I heard Smith mutter under his breath, "Though I wish she wouldn't spend so much of our money on this stuff..." but before I could ask exactly how much, Furret dashed back over to us and urged us to follow her again.
"Fitting room's over here, come on come on!!" she insisted, pushing the pair of us into a nearby doorway.
The fitting room she'd chosen for us was thankfully spacious enough for the three of us to fit inside. Furret had already deposited her chosen goods in a pile near the door. It felt a bit strange being in a fitting room with two other people, but modesty was a foreign concept to most pokemon, so I did my best to push that feeling down.
As I looked at myself in the mirror, with blinding speed Furret appeared behind me and removed my fanny pack, before dashing away and returning with the bundle of accessories she'd chosen.
"Let's get started...!" she whispered, her voice quivering with excitement.
After much laboring and vetoing on my part we eventually managed to reach a compromise - Furret would graciously allow me to keep wearing my fanny pack as long as I allowed her to treat me to something cuter, which I eventually acquiesced to. We walked back over to the counter just as Ariados was descending from one of the higher shelves, and Furret paid for my new accessory.
We exited the store, and I waved the energetic pair off. As they vanished off into the distance, I looked down at my new scarf, twirling the end between my fingers idly. It wasn't something I'd have picked out for myself, and I wasn't sure if I liked the style or not, but I couldn't deny I was becoming attached to it.
It was a gift, after all.