Safe Haven

The Grand Tour pt. 2

Reina gazed over at the next attraction of her tour, the Bank. Unlike the stall of the Kecleon shop, this place was almost like a tent. The exterior of the structure was a mixture of medium to light grey bricks, all piled up until they were covered by a sculpture of a duskull, eerily resemblant to the real Pokémon. Its red eyes seemed to stare creepily into her soul...

"Hello..." she whispered, a bit afraid of what would come of it. The tent appeared empty at first, only becoming occupied when a Pokémon appeared from thin air, its mummy-like appearance forming before her. She squealed, cowering as the ghost-type Pokémon looked down at her. Erin was behind her, but he didn't seem as spooked as she was.

"N-no need to... to spook me!" She yelped, squirming more than a little. Erin chuckled, paw-steps sounding as he walked past her and plopped on the ground next to her. She looked at Erin, then back to the Pokémon that appeared before her.

It was a dark grey mummy-looking Pokémon, its hands jutting out and into the air, almost as if clutching for something that wasn't there. Strands of the wrapping on the mummy flowed outwards, stretching back on either side of its body, and on its head. It had one piercing red eye, looking directly into Reina's.

"It's nice to see someone new around here..." It said, still looking at Reina. It quickly glanced away, now focusing on Erin, "Are you sowing this one around, then?" It finally asks. Erin nods.

"Yup! Reina's getting the grand tour of the town by the Guild." Erin says enthusiastically, "Mind explaining how this bank works to Reina, here?"

"I don't mind..." It starts, redirecting its attention to Reina. She felt an immense pressure under her fur again. "This is the bank. Of course... Deposit your money, and it will stay safe..." It said, snickering a little. She didn't know how to feel about that... It began to speak again, "Keep it here forever, if you please...! It can always be taken out, though, if so desired... That is all." It stated, before vanishing back into thin air. All Reina could respond with was a worried glance at Erin and a shiver running down her spine. He, however, seemed unbothered.

-

"I'm telling you! That's just how it is. Dusclops is just very... shy?" He said, unsure of his own statement.

They both paused, standing before the next building. It was primarily constructed on rocks, light brown and strewn about. They, however, seemed perfectly stable even in their disorderly fashion. Behind and below the rocks was a building, made up of the same rock, carved particularly and smoothly. The main source of Reina's attention was the gigantic sculpted Marowak skull just above the door. The skull was surrounded by red and white feathers, the colors mimicking the red shingles of the roof and white Bones above the building. It seemed to be a Dojo of sorts, and it appeared unoccupied.

"I guess the owner's out of town?" Erin said questioningly. He glanced around one last time before turning to Reina with an unsatisfied frown.

"It's okay!" She reassured him, understanding that not all would go perfectly. She knew that even more so based on the morning she had with her dad... 

Erin turned away, still displeased with the Dojo being closed. He murmured something along the lines of, "-wasn't closed yesterday..." He looks back at Reina.

"Okay. Well! Let's get in some more places while we have the time."  He said, appearing more cheerful than before.

The next location was a large brown building with what looked like lockers jutting out of the exterior. On top of the building was a flat plain of the same material with choppy ridges on the sides, as well as a kangaskhan head on top. Reina glanced back down, noticing what resembled the paws and claws of a kangaskhan touching the ground.

A pair of Pokémon, a skitty and a houndour, that were talking to the owner of the building walked away, seemingly satisfied as they carried much fewer items in their paws. Reina and Erin came to a stop, now standing in front of the building. As Erin approached the building and knocked, Reina decided to get comfortable as she sat down on the grass below and rested her paws.

"Hello, darling!" A Pokémon said startling Reina as she had been just looking at her paws. She looked up, unsurprised at the realization the owner of the location was a kangaskhan. She did notice, however, that their pouch was empty. Didn't Kangaskhan usually carry their babies in their pouch?

"Hey! Where's lil' Pecha?" Erin asked. Before she could answer, she walked away to a desk inside. Reina gave him a glance, wondering what he could be talking about. Erin saw the look and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Little Pecha, one of their babies. He's the youngest, so usually he's in their pouch!" He whispered, happy to share with her. Reina smiled. That answered her question!

The Kangaskhan waddled over, having just finished a task.

"Sorry! I had to do something real quick-" they explained, "He's actually inside. Taking a nap with his siblings. He's big enough now where he doesn't always need to be supervised, y'know!" They say, whisper shouting jokingly. Erin laughed quietly, suddenly more conscious of his volume. They smiled, "No major worries about your voice, they'll sleep through anything. Or, almost anything."

"Ah, okay!" Erin said in reply. He paused, unsure of what to mention until he said, "Oh! I almost forgot. I'm giving Reina a tour, mind explaining what you do here for us?" He asked, smiling at the 'mon.

"I don't mind at all! Here at Kangaskhan Storage, we take care of all your storing needs." They explain, "I can take those items off your hands so you can have space, but don't worry! You can take back your items whenever you need." They finish talking, giving Reina a thumbs up with their claws. She smiled back lightly.

"Thank you...!" Reina told them. Shifting her paws, she stands up with a stretch, ready to go.

"Oh! And if you're ever outside of a dungeon--or just in general--and see a Kangaskahn rock, you can access your storage there." They explained. Reina nodded, intrigued. They seem to notice this intrigue and begin to explain, "Don't ask me how it's done, I have no idea! You could probably ask my genius wife who invented it some time, though!" They say, pride noticeable in their voice.

Reina nodded, still smiling. She was happy the Pokémon was so proud of the invention, it seemed interesting. Technology made no sense to her, though. Erin also seemed happy to know.

"She really must be a genius!" Erin exclaimed. " And it's good to see you, but we've gotta go now for the rest of her tour. I'll see you around, though!" He quietly yelled, excited to continue.

"Of course! You two have fun!" The kangaskhan replied, waving them off. Reina followed the tracks of Erin, energetically walking forward.

"So, next is-" He didn't get to finish his words, though, as a bell chimed through the town. Reina stopped in her tracks, intrigued and struck by the sudden sound. It echoed and continued to play a melody, all Pokémon listening thoroughly. Erin paused too, before moving to sit next to her.

"I forgot we had a deadline with this tour," He started, looking at Reina as the bell continued to chime, "We have to go to the Guild now since move-in starts soon. Do you want us to go back and get your suitcase?" He asks, pressing his paws into the ground as he fidgeted.

"Sure... Sorry we couldn't um, finish the tour, though." Reina replied apologetically, gazing at him glumly.

"Another day!" He said reassuringly, smiling as he brushed his paw to her shoulder. "We can finish it another day."