PokèDruids [PkmnWattys2016]

The Rising Cult

Cerci was walking around Snowpoint, scouting out potential recruits. She didn't necessarily need to hide herself, as nobody should recognize her. However, as the one or two witch hunters in the city made themselves apparent, she ducked in an alleyway to hide. Otherwise, she had no problem scouting out people to recruit.

She uttered to herself, "What were those qualifications again?" The textbook on recruitment was only a few chapters long, but she had some problem remembering it after all this time. "There was obedience first, that was for sure..." The reason they put obedience first in the chapter was that anyone who disobeyed the group for their own interests often risked exposing them altogether, even if they were to be good of heart. It was of utmost importance that the Druidic acolytes were obedient.

She was walking around the park, of which Snowpoint only had one, circling a bench a few times before sitting upon it. She looked about, trying to spot people who would work well as a Druid. There was a perfectly fine Pokemon trainer off to the side somewhere, trying to sneak up on some Pidgey. Quaint thing, it was, as he wore a heavy bag that jingled with every step. As it turned out, his demise was from the ring of his Pokegear. As a blaring ringtone scared of the bird, the boy uttered some profanity to himself before picking the device up and speaking, "Hello, mommy."

Gah, spoiled. He's no good. Another important thing for becoming a Druid was that somebody couldn't have too many bonds in the world. Sure, somebody could simply disappear without a word and never be found again, but the ethical implications were shaky. After all, the intent wasn't to ruin somebody's life.

Cerci looked around some more, enjoying the frigid air that came about this time of year. Few people were in the park, if any, but this was to Cerci's advantage; For you see, with nobody around, she could simply talk to somebody out in the open, as opposed to having to stalk them around and contact them through strenuous means.

About half an hour later, she saw a teenage girl with an air of nervousness walk into the park. She was carrying a small Chespin in her arms, who appeared to be happy, although somehow also morose. She made an awkward pace towards a tree, before kneeling down and whispering, "Okay, time to play now."

The Chespin was almost sad, if it hadn't covered up its emotions with an affixed smile. The girl seemed to be playing patty-cake with it, not truly unusual. She seemed to play this for a bit, entertaining her Chespin for about ten minutes, stopping only to shout with a whispery voice to a passer-by, "Hey, make sure you do your part of the paper!" Cerci found an opportunity to invade this young girl's privacy, which she seized nearly immediately.

She moved from this bench and sat herself right next to the girl, which made her quite uncomfortable. The girl stared at Cerci with a nervous yet dirty stare for a few seconds before speaking, "Can I help you?"

Cerci simply gave an evil smile before replying, "Oh, no, don't mind me. I'm just watching."

The girl stared for a few more seconds before resuming the game of patty-cake with her Chespin. The small animal, however, couldn't help but stare at her the entire time, eventually losing focus and just giving a dumb stare. The girl spoke to Cerci again, saying in her whispery voice, "I don't mean to offend, but if you don't mind..."

"Oh my, you just get curiouser and curiouser. Tell me, what is your occupation? You have the looks of a trainer, if I do say so myself."

The girl was taken a bit aback by this, but Cerci spoke in such an inviting voice and appeared so calm as to easily let her say, "I am a trainer, yes. Left about five years ago. Mom and dad don't really check up on me, they don't want to get in my way or anything. Just got into some academy, though, so they're making me do some paperwork."