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Description
It was more like mental exhaustion that had made the small group's pilgrimage out of the fog feel even longer. the small band had set forth only a few hours ago but it already felt like they had been walking for days. the lack of colour in the surrounding atmosphere didn't help matters either. the road they were taking felt like one long, drawn out sigh, the ground fittingly cast in shades of white and grey with bits of cold blue here and there; even the trees, dark as they were, seemed to be made of condensation rather than an actual solid object.

The traveling companions were uncharacteristically quiet, all of them obviously weighed down by the burden of personal reflection. the only one that didn't seem quite so inwardly focused was a kirlia/steenee hybrid, her bright purple and green colouring clashing greatly with their surroundings. if they were being followed by something hoping to divert them from their journey, it would be she that caught their eye in the first place and she was aware of that. it wasn't a legitimate fear, more like a joke made between them of who was going to die first if their trip was compromised.

the creaking sound of the wooden wagon of supplies the gang were pulling gave a loud thump as the wheels went over a particularly large rock in the narrow path they were navigating through, briefly snapping the gaggle out of their own heads to long enough to turn to their cargo, inspecting it for damage. The first to heave a sigh of relief was the only occupant sitting atop the various previsions on the wagon itself; the quilava/lucario cleared her throat.

"Oh thank arceus, the wheel's fine." she said, voicing the conclusion her traveling companions had all made on their own, the mottle coloured braixen/zoroark being the first to respond.

"I say we decide right now who is going to drag this thing if the wheels break." he adjusted his glasses, making an annoyed noise and removing them from his face when he realized he had only made the lenses worse by touching them. He reached down and started to clean them off on the tie around his neck, mumbling something else inaudibly under his breath. This seemed to catch the attention of a kirlia/steenee that happened to be beside him, having to stifle a bit of a giggle in order to avoid the other hybrid's glare. it didn't work. she brought her free hand to her face, attempting to cover her amusement from him, snorting dryly in response.

"You're the big strong guy here, pal." the quilava said, smirking a bit as she turned to look at him. he cast his glare in her direction, exhaling indignantly.

"You think that's fair just because I'm the only guy?"

"Well, you ARE always talking about how manly you are." the zoroark/primarina at the front of the wagon chimed in, tightening her grip on the handle of the wagon so that she could free her other hand long enough to point a claw at the other fox. The look on his face made all three of the girls snort.

a twilight coloured braixen/zoroark on the other side of the wagon was the first to attempt to drop the teasing; Waltz was always easy to pick on, but at the moment, she really wasn't feeling particularly playful. As an emotion pokemon, Mia had already noticed her friend's pensive silence, but found it a bit hard a subject to bridge in a group setting. it wasn't like they weren't all friends; quite the contrary. Their little gathering had grown up together. having to strike out on their own, the master plan had always been to do so together. unfortunately, it all happened far quicker than any of them could have expected. But with the turmoil taking place in Candle Cove, their former home, they had become something like refugees, having to pack up what little they had and set forth to a different place.

it wasn't just the state of their former home that prompted such a drastic and sudden separation from the place they grew up in, but this was something Dahlia still had not quite opened up about. there was obviously no point tapdancing around the elephant in the room; her transformation into her evolved form wasn't something she could deny or keep to herself. But how it had happened...well, that was pretty strange. Dahlia's bordering irrational fear of other pure dark types was certainly no secret, so waking up from a dream to find herself fully evolved...it was a lot to take in all at once. she had been complaining of terrible nightmares for years, but her small circle of friends shrugged it off as small talk, everyone suffered from bad dreams from time to time.

Mia swallowed shallowly in reflecting on it. she had been Dahlia's closest and best friend practically since the day they hatched. to not have taken a genuine fear seriously made her feel about two inches tall. she loved Dahlia very much, they were practically sisters, and she hadn't even noticed how much she was suffering until all of it came to a head. Dahlia had told her time and time again that it wasn't her fault; the vixen's mind didn't even think that way. that kind of thought had never once crossed her mind and it was a bit upsetting to hear it from Mia. But try as she might, the kirlia cross still blamed herself for not seeing the signs.

As though sensing something from her, Dahlia took a few steps backward, reaching over and taking one of Mia's hands in her own. The kirlia cross blinked, brought back to reality by the gentle tap of her best friend. she smiled and squeezed the newly evolved fox's hand back.

"We used to do that all the time when we were kids, remember?" chirped the fox. Mia shrugged, bemused smile still on her face.

"Well, we're not kids anymore. Not really."

a collective silence fell over them and once again the only sound to be heard were the creaking of the wooden wagon they were toting.

"Mia and Dahlia sittin' in a tree, s-i-t-t-i-n-g!" sing-songed Waltz; he had only just noticed the closeness of the the two girls up front. Mia snorted, having to hold back a laugh at the look on Dahlia's face.

"Guh! At least SOME of us aren't kids anymore..." she stuck her tongue out at Waltz who returned it in kind.

"You're the baby, you big fat baby!"

"I AM NOT FAT!!" Dahlia snapped back, eliciting a chortle from the rest of the group.

"Ladies, please. you're both pretty." Polaris piped in from within the wagon. Waltz rolled his eyes.

"Hey, speaking of fat, why the hell are you the one that gets to ride in the wagon the whole way?"

"Waaaaaltz!!" Mia sighed, even though her eyes were always concealed, she still looked extremely amused. "We drew straws. It's not Polaris' fault her's just happened to be the shortest."

"Yeah," chimed Polaris. "So stop being sour crepes and---"

"waitwaitwait. wait. wait." Waltz held a hand up. "Wait. did you just say sour crepes?"

"...yyyes?"

"Wrong!"

"What?"
"Wrong! sour grapes, that's the saying! where did you get crepes?"

"maybe I don't like crepes..."

"who doesn't like crepes?? everyone likes crepes!"

"grapes are better than crepes."

"....." the girls had to stifle a laugh.

"you're just pretending to be dopey, right?" the zoroark/primarina grumbled in the direction of the other fox.

"...uuuh. yeah." Waltz muddled back; Rosaline always made him really uncomfortable. her blank expressions tended to intimidate him a little. he sighed, glaring a little in Polaris' direction. the cross didn't really seem to notice.
~~~
exposition, exposition get it out ASAP

Description
It was more like mental exhaustion that had made the small group's pilgrimage out of the fog feel even longer. the small band had set forth only a few hours ago but it already felt like they had been walking for days. the lack of colour in the surrounding atmosphere didn't help matters either. the road they were taking felt like one long, drawn out sigh, the ground fittingly cast in shades of white and grey with bits of cold blue here and there; even the trees, dark as they were, seemed to be made of condensation rather than an actual solid object.

The traveling companions were uncharacteristically quiet, all of them obviously weighed down by the burden of personal reflection. the only one that didn't seem quite so inwardly focused was a kirlia/steenee hybrid, her bright purple and green colouring clashing greatly with their surroundings. if they were being followed by something hoping to divert them from their journey, it would be she that caught their eye in the first place and she was aware of that. it wasn't a legitimate fear, more like a joke made between them of who was going to die first if their trip was compromised.

the creaking sound of the wooden wagon of supplies the gang were pulling gave a loud thump as the wheels went over a particularly large rock in the narrow path they were navigating through, briefly snapping the gaggle out of their own heads to long enough to turn to their cargo, inspecting it for damage. The first to heave a sigh of relief was the only occupant sitting atop the various previsions on the wagon itself; the quilava/lucario cleared her throat.

"Oh thank arceus, the wheel's fine." she said, voicing the conclusion her traveling companions had all made on their own, the mottle coloured braixen/zoroark being the first to respond.

"I say we decide right now who is going to drag this thing if the wheels break." he adjusted his glasses, making an annoyed noise and removing them from his face when he realized he had only made the lenses worse by touching them. He reached down and started to clean them off on the tie around his neck, mumbling something else inaudibly under his breath. This seemed to catch the attention of a kirlia/steenee that happened to be beside him, having to stifle a bit of a giggle in order to avoid the other hybrid's glare. it didn't work. she brought her free hand to her face, attempting to cover her amusement from him, snorting dryly in response.

"You're the big strong guy here, pal." the quilava said, smirking a bit as she turned to look at him. he cast his glare in her direction, exhaling indignantly.

"You think that's fair just because I'm the only guy?"

"Well, you ARE always talking about how manly you are." the zoroark/primarina at the front of the wagon chimed in, tightening her grip on the handle of the wagon so that she could free her other hand long enough to point a claw at the other fox. The look on his face made all three of the girls snort.

a twilight coloured braixen/zoroark on the other side of the wagon was the first to attempt to drop the teasing; Waltz was always easy to pick on, but at the moment, she really wasn't feeling particularly playful. As an emotion pokemon, Mia had already noticed her friend's pensive silence, but found it a bit hard a subject to bridge in a group setting. it wasn't like they weren't all friends; quite the contrary. Their little gathering had grown up together. having to strike out on their own, the master plan had always been to do so together. unfortunately, it all happened far quicker than any of them could have expected. But with the turmoil taking place in Candle Cove, their former home, they had become something like refugees, having to pack up what little they had and set forth to a different place.

it wasn't just the state of their former home that prompted such a drastic and sudden separation from the place they grew up in, but this was something Dahlia still had not quite opened up about. there was obviously no point tapdancing around the elephant in the room; her transformation into her evolved form wasn't something she could deny or keep to herself. But how it had happened...well, that was pretty strange. Dahlia's bordering irrational fear of other pure dark types was certainly no secret, so waking up from a dream to find herself fully evolved...it was a lot to take in all at once. she had been complaining of terrible nightmares for years, but her small circle of friends shrugged it off as small talk, everyone suffered from bad dreams from time to time.

Mia swallowed shallowly in reflecting on it. she had been Dahlia's closest and best friend practically since the day they hatched. to not have taken a genuine fear seriously made her feel about two inches tall. she loved Dahlia very much, they were practically sisters, and she hadn't even noticed how much she was suffering until all of it came to a head. Dahlia had told her time and time again that it wasn't her fault; the vixen's mind didn't even think that way. that kind of thought had never once crossed her mind and it was a bit upsetting to hear it from Mia. But try as she might, the kirlia cross still blamed herself for not seeing the signs.

As though sensing something from her, Dahlia took a few steps backward, reaching over and taking one of Mia's hands in her own. The kirlia cross blinked, brought back to reality by the gentle tap of her best friend. she smiled and squeezed the newly evolved fox's hand back.

"We used to do that all the time when we were kids, remember?" chirped the fox. Mia shrugged, bemused smile still on her face.

"Well, we're not kids anymore. Not really."

a collective silence fell over them and once again the only sound to be heard were the creaking of the wooden wagon they were toting.

"Mia and Dahlia sittin' in a tree, s-i-t-t-i-n-g!" sing-songed Waltz; he had only just noticed the closeness of the the two girls up front. Mia snorted, having to hold back a laugh at the look on Dahlia's face.

"Guh! At least SOME of us aren't kids anymore..." she stuck her tongue out at Waltz who returned it in kind.

"You're the baby, you big fat baby!"

"I AM NOT FAT!!" Dahlia snapped back, eliciting a chortle from the rest of the group.

"Ladies, please. you're both pretty." Polaris piped in from within the wagon. Waltz rolled his eyes.

"Hey, speaking of fat, why the hell are you the one that gets to ride in the wagon the whole way?"

"Waaaaaltz!!" Mia sighed, even though her eyes were always concealed, she still looked extremely amused. "We drew straws. It's not Polaris' fault her's just happened to be the shortest."

"Yeah," chimed Polaris. "So stop being sour crepes and---"

"waitwaitwait. wait. wait." Waltz held a hand up. "Wait. did you just say sour crepes?"

"...yyyes?"

"Wrong!"

"What?"
"Wrong! sour grapes, that's the saying! where did you get crepes?"

"maybe I don't like crepes..."

"who doesn't like crepes?? everyone likes crepes!"

"grapes are better than crepes."

"....." the girls had to stifle a laugh.

"you're just pretending to be dopey, right?" the zoroark/primarina grumbled in the direction of the other fox.

"...uuuh. yeah." Waltz muddled back; Rosaline always made him really uncomfortable. her blank expressions tended to intimidate him a little. he sighed, glaring a little in Polaris' direction. the cross didn't really seem to notice.
~~~
exposition, exposition get it out ASAP