Thursday, Three days before the festival, before sunrise, the eternal partners prepare for another adventure
Carrot: "You sure about this? I think we should try helping the rest with the festival. Maybe that Ice stone can wait."
Hazel: (Kind Grumpy)"It can't, you've been panting while I try to sleep for a week! We either get that stone or we die trying."
Carrot "...fine, but we must return as soon as possible. We can't just let the rest of the guild prepare the whole thing."
Preparing their respective bags, the pair prepare to leave under the guise of the night, the orange wolf hoping no one notices them slipping out and missing for some days
Taking cover behind the odd furniture along the guild, they notice the mon doing guard that night
Carrot: Whispering "Shh, let them leave, I don't think it will be long."
Hazel: Whispering "I have some sleep seeds too if need-" Before she can finish, the mon moves from the door
Carrot: "All clear"
Slowly but firmly, the pair slip through the entrance, hoping they were overlooked, before pacing at a considerable rhythm to the forest
Day 1: Sunrise
Some hours after departing the guild, deep inside the forest, the pair stop to check their map, courtesy of the old federation
Hazel: "What about this mystery dungeon? It doesn't seem too far away, and maybe someone could've dropped one there?"
Carrot: "Unlikely, that's a grass type dungeon, whoever could have an ice stone wouldn't drop it there for anything, apples don't go for much nowadays... what about this one? It's submarine, so lots of water types; maybe some novice explorer tried chewing more than they could bite?"
Hazel: "Nah, I don't think so, why would someone take an ice stone to those places anyways? I think we need to go further north... what about this one? In the tundra, surely there will be more than enough icy stuff, maybe even the stone?"
Carrot: "Actually... yeah, that could work, and it's even close to the guild! Maybe we can take some hours and visit them?"
Hazel: "That'd be lovely, I miss them!"
After deciding the route, the pair set their sights on the artic desert up north, planning along the way what they're going to need
Hazel: "Do you think there will be snow at all? I mean, we're in the middle of the summer, why would there be in the first place?"
Carrot: "Maybe? Even if the tundra is not snowy, the mystery dungeons are pretty funky, like that one we explored near the volcano, remember?
Hazel: "Yeah, I remember, it was in the middle of a volcano but it was full of water, guildmaster Chesnaught said that maybe the place was an ancient ocean before the volcano erupted and formed that place?"
Carrot: "Yeah, like I said, mystery dungeons tend to be funky, so there will probably be some snow, so we have to be prepared for it."
Hazel: Pulling her thicker scarf from her bag "All ready and preplanned!"
Midday
Having walked for hours, the pair sit on a clear in the forest to eat lunch and remember old glories
Hazel: "Speaking of the volcano, remember that Blaziken? The one near that pond?"
Carrot: "Yeah, how could I forget it? Poor guy was as confused as us about the whole lake inside the volcano! I wonder how he's doing"
Hazel: "Well, last I heard he had joined guildmaster Lurantis' guild"
Carrot: "No way! She accepted him? I thought she only accepted girls in her little club"
Hazel: "Yeah, me too, she made an exception for him, something about his vibes going well with the rest of the girlies"
Carrot: "I'm not going to question guildmaster Lurantis', if she wanted him there surely was for something"
Hazel: "And what about the Staraptor? Your friend"
Carrot: "Maxwell? He retired early, his last mission went awry and he said that he was not made for guiding work anymore"
Hazel: "That's a shame, he was an amazing fighter, but a bit hardheaded: What did he do anyways?"
Carrot: "Collapsed a house while fighting a petty thief and accidentally trapped two mons, they survived but he could not let go for any reason"
Eating the berry salad like there was no tomorrow, the pair finish their meal, clean the area and hide below a tree shade to let the hottest hours tick by before continuing on their trip
Afternoon:
Hazel: "I swear the guild was farther away..."
Carrot: "Me too, maybe it was because we went to every single other guild around before guildmaster Mienshao told us about Clover?"
Approaching the guild, they can see movement already, the guild seems to be as lively as ever, recognizing some faces
Hazel: "Sandy! Goat! Hey!" Hazel meows, with the Wiggly and the Gogoat turning to the pair
Sandy: "Hazel? Carrot?"
Goat: "Heyy! Friends! Welcome back to Highwoods! Come in! We're about to eat dinner! We were just waiting for the last novices to come back from their missions"
Sandy and Goat guide the pair to the mess hall, announcing their arrival as they walked inside
Goat: "Fellas! Come see who's back! It's the mons, the myths, the legends, Carrot and Hazel!"
As they walk inside, they see a ton of familiar faces and new ones following them
After several paw shakes and welcoming hugs, the group arrives to the mess hall, where they see all but two chairs already occupied
Hazel: "Those are Avalanche and Marcie's chairs, where are them?"
Goat: "... kinda complicated, they went solo after guildmaster Chesnaught announced he was going to retire"
Carrot: "Chssnaught is retiring? When?"
Goat: "Soon, he hadn't given a specific date but it should be soon"
With a plate full of assorted berries, Carrot and Hazel swallow the bad news before going to the social area
Goat: "So your room will be your old room, no one has taken it yet so enjoy!"
After a first hectic day, and even before first entering the mystery dungeon, Carrot and Hazel lay in the hay, exhausted from the whole day