The Frostbitten Land

Chapter 1

Herbert wasn't a fan of paperwork. Sure, it was his job to check them. He was the leader of Team Gaia after all, Gaia's Pillar. But if he knew one thing, it was that paperwork could often become tedious, time-consuming, and at times, pointless. He'd recruit a secretary, but he was too prideful to take in one. He could do this job by himself, no matter how tedious. He should set an example for his underlings no matter the circumstance after all.

He leaned back in his office chair, heaving a deep sigh. What was he supposed to do about some farmers missing a Miltank? Sure, it could be some Rocket shenanigans.. Those scheming, lowly thieves still haven't been dealt with surprisingly. But what would Rocket want with a Miltank on a farm? A freaking Miltank! He was quite sure one of the Admins slipped it in to humour Herbert. It was humorous.. But it was also annoying

He pinched his nose as he looked at his office table. It was quite bland for a leader of Team Gaia, but did you really expect a leader to live in luxury while they worked? His eyes made their way from the papers of reports to a photograph. A young boy of 8 was in it, with black hair and golden eyes. The kid didn't have much of an expression, holding an egg. Behind the kid was a woman dressed in red.. 

Herbert averted his eyes from the picture. He needed a break. He couldn't keep on working in this dingy little office. He'd get the more important papers run through with the Executives just in case he missed something. 

As he stood up, he could hear the audible pops his knees made, inwardly wincing as he gathered the papers and walked out of the office. The door opened to reveal a neat hallway, sporting earthen walls that contrasted the brightly white tiles laid down on the floor. Doors lined up the walls at equal intervals on both sides, although they weren't frequent. He looked to both sides, spotting an Admin coming towards him with another little stack of papers. Shit.

"Ah.. Hello, Samuel.", Herbert greeted the sandy-haired Admin. He sported brown eyes and a dark complexion, a bit of an antithesis to Herbert with his black hair, his golden eyes and his lighter complexion. Even their clothes seemed to hold some contrast- Herbert was in a business suit, while his colleague Samuel was wearing a more casual set of clothings, kind that you'd see dads over the age of 40 wearing while chilling out in their backyards with friends for a barbeque.

"Hey boss- Got you some more papers to work with. You might wanna look at this one.", Samuel said. Before Herbert could say anything, Samuel was already flipping through the stapled pages before pressing it in his face.

"Suspicious influx of seaport immigrants from Sinnoh. I double-checked just to make sure, many of the passports are blatantly fake. No records. There's more in there.", Samuel added as Herbert took the papers, skimming through them. Suspicious indeed.. There was a 23% increase in tourism from the sea ports these past few months as opposed to the slow 0.2-3% increase that came every year. 

".. Certainly suspicious. I'll look into this in the meeting. Good job, Sam.", Herbert said, putting the papers away with his current pile.

"Thanks, boss- Now I gotta go-", Samuel said, hurriedly turning to go away. Herbert raised an eyebrow. Samuel wasn't usually so.. Well, quick to run.

"Is it the kid?", Herbert asked. Samuel stopped, turning to Herbert with a little smile.

"Yeah. Marie had the kid just last night, but I didn't get the memo here. I need to go see her and apologise- And see my kid.", Samuel revealed.

"Ah.. Congratulations then, Sam. And don't call me boss- Herbert's just fine.", Herbert said seriously, although a smile played at his lips. Samuel gave a thumbs up as he began walking away quickly.

"Got it, boss!", Samuel said from a distance. Herbert watched him disappear behind another door, as his smile faded. Sometimes he felt a bit jealous of people like Samuel. Having a family to care for like that, finding love.. His mother may not've been the best, but she did have an avid taste for romantics. A bit of that must've rubbed off of him. Never the less, he was doing well as he already was. He didn't need love, not when he had his Team. They were family to him too.