First part is finished! Thank you everyone who attended my art stream, it was fun to host. Mine and Coda's reactions when the contest came out is summed up by a "HEEEEELL YEAAAAAH LETS MAKE SOMETHING AAAAMAZING!!" though this might be a little under exagurated. So a new story has started and we're really excited to see what you guys think. Team Eloquence isn't mine as it isn't Coda's either. Team Eloquence belongs to both me and Coda. So to really experience what this team is about, you need to take in the art AND the writing. If you don't read it then your only getting half of what this team is about. I hope you enjoy what we have to offer! Ryoma Sengoku of Team Unchained Hearts: fav.me/d7e0lcm Grayson Malus of Team Solemn Vow: fav.me/d7rqcaz Team Queen Illusions: fav.me/d7ird0v Team Velvet Polarity: fav.me/d7bcjur WARNING- May contain strong language.
------------Part one written by writercoda--------------------------------------- "Can you pass me the other one?" The Sandshrew rummaged around in the equipment box for a moment, then pulled out a a long, thin piece of metal, folded into three segments. Slotting them together, he dropped the finished pole in the Zigzagoon's outstretched arms. "It's like a tent pole," she remarked, pushing it down on the square base and letting it click into place. "How many left?" "Five," the Sandshrew groaned, reaching back into the box. "God, what a waste of time." "The faster we set up, the sooner we'll leave," she stated, pointing over at the coil of netting on the floor beside the box. "Can you give me that?" "Yeah, sure." Kneeling down, he lifted up the bundle of netting, then stopped, clutching it to his chest. "Dammit, I can't hold this. Cinder, can you just do it on the ground?" "Yeah, sure," she replied, and he dropped the coil, muttering a curse under his breath. She took a seat beside it, and started to unbuckle the straps. "So, do you think there's anything behind all this?" he asked, leaning back against the equipment box. "Some kind of Hunter ploy, maybe?" "No, Adrian," she grumbled, taking the end of the netting and starting to unroll it, "I do not. Can you help me with this?" "I mean, just think about it," he continued, walking over and kneeling down beside her, "Here's the sequence of events. The ninjas were apprehended, and the guilds don't give out any information on what's happened to them. Now, the Ambassador's having this party, hosted by the Hunters' Guild. Kara wakes us up at half past seven, barely gives us enough time for breakfast, and announces that we'll have to help set the events up." He grabbed the edge of the netting, pulling it taut as the Zigzagoon unrolled it. "Instead of taking a whole party, it's just a few groups, including us. Hell, most of the guild's probably still asleep." "It's almost ten, so I doubt that," she replied, pointing over at the grandfather clock across the room. "This is probably just Kara's way of punishing us. I don't know about the others-" she gestured over at a little Plusule and green-eared Minun, unfolding a table, "but she doesn't like us, and the feeling's mutual. I don't respect her "authority"." She made air quotes with her claws "Why is that?" he asked, lifting up the netting, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you talk to her." "I'd respect her authority if she didn't spend every second shoving it in people's faces," she snapped, getting up and walking over to the other end of the net. "Putting that whole tough-guy attitude on top of it, too. I just can't take her seriously." She pulled the netting upwards, wincing a little as it dug into her paws. "That, and I haven't forgotten about the ninjas, either." "Yeah, that bothers me a little, honestly," he replied, stringing his half of the netting up against the pole. "That Greninja didn't seem like all that bad of a guy. He came freely once you'd explained it all to him, and besides, it was the other two that attacked the Ambassador. Well, I hope that he's all right." "Same here," she stated, smacking her netting against the pole and pulling it into place. "The Hunters detained him. I'm pretty sure they've given him to the prison warden, but that's all I could find." Both were silent for a moment, and then Cinder let out a huff. "You're right, Adrian. It does bother me, and I'm not going to leave it like this." "All right," he replied, smiling, then took a step step back from the finished divider. "That's one down, then. God, I don't even play badminton and I already hate it." "Just two more to go," she stated, "What I'm wondering is-" "Why the hell's that grandfather clock there, anyway?" he exclaimed, pointing over at it, "This is a ball-court, for crying out loud! It's going to break so fast..." "I'll give it 'till three," she chuckled, "but what I was saying was-" "Five coins on one thirty," he replied, holding out his paw with a grin. "You're on." She clasped it, and gave it a shake. "Anyway, I was wondering what those were for." She gestured over at a couple of chairs across the room, with a few large paper bags draped over the top of each. "Kara brought them in, before she left. If it's equipment, why not leave it in the box?" "It's probably soft if they can drape it like that," Adrian suggested, staring over at it. "Maybe clothes, or blankets or something. It's already a little chilly in here." "Well, we'll find out in a while. Let's start with the next one-" "Mind if we use this court?" The interruption threw Adrian off, and he reeled around, staring into the face of a tall, lean Zoroark. He sported a broad-brimmed, fedora-esque hat, and a short ponytail rather than the characteristic mane. He looked almost unfinished without it, legs and rear bare aside from a thin layer of fur. Why didn't Zoroark have tails? His eyes were a fiery bronze, and he gave a playful smile, resting against the side of the equipment box. What kind of impression did this guy give off? High class, charismatic, kindness or arrogance? Adrian just couldn't tell... of course, knowing Zoroarks, that was probably intentional. Damn foxes and their enigmatic persona bullshit. Upon seeing the Zoroark's companion, Adrian's face fell, curling into a grimace. It was a sneering Quilava, hair parted in the middle, hazel eyes glaring straight into him. He sported an almost floor-length, unbuttoned lab coat, with licks of faint, green flame printed onto the sleeves. He retrieved a brown ball from his pocket, then threw the coat off with a flourish, draping it over the side of the equipment box. There was a certain aura about him, if you could call it that... condescension, arrogance? In any case, the vibe he was giving off wasn't likable in the freaking slightest. "Ryoma Sengoku," Adrian snapped, muscles tensing as he glared at the Quilava. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while." "You are... Adrian, is that it?" the stoat asked, palming the ball and glancing over at the equipment box. "The feeling's mutual." Cinder quickly took a half-step in front of the Sandshrew, meeting the Quilava's gaze. "Yes, that's right," he continued, "You're Adrian Selkirk. You were thrown out of the Researcher's Guild for assaulting a superior, as well as general disorderly conduct. After switching through a few part-time jobs, all of which you were expelled from, you joined the Hunters' guild at the "suggestion" of your current partner, if I can even call it that. You study ancient languages, have no regard for anyone's authority, and have been watching me since the apprehension of the Iaponese ninjas. Crashed your cart in the back-alley race because of it, too. Hilarious." Turning to the Zigzagoon, he smirked. "Your name is Cinder Saint-Claire, and you pride yourself on your borderline sociopathic tendencies. Although you specialize in manipulation and blackmail, you aren't exactly the best with discretion. Once you're certain you've solved the problem, your arrogance is just boundless." Cinder pulled her bandage a little tighter, clenching her teeth. "You recruited Adrian here to the guild as an example of your skills," the Quilava continued, keeping the same deadpan monotone. "I wouldn't be too surprised if you intended to usurp the Hunters from inside, and I really couldn't care less." "So you've got the same powers of observation that she does," Adrian snapped, stepping out from behind her, "How utterly fucking amazing. Believe me, I don't need any reassurance that you're a sociopath. I saw how you treated that Sceptile, you absolute bastard." A paw clamped down on Adrian's shoulder, and he looked up at the grimacing Zoroark. "I hate to interrupt," the fox grumbled, "but this is a celebration. We're here to relax and enjoy ourselves, and I'd appreciate it if you did the same." Letting go of the Sandshrew's shoulder, he reached into the equipment box, pulling out two rackets. "Take care of your disputes on your own time. For now, I have a match to play." He tossed a racket over to the Quilava, who grabbed it, smirking at Adrian before turning away. "Don't bother," Cinder muttered, as the two walked towards the court, "Waste of time. I see why you don't like him." "So fucking help me..." The Sandshrew clenched his fists, glaring at the Quilava, "Sociopath or otherwise, I'm not going to stand for that." "You call that sociopathic?!" she snapped, "He's proved that he can ask around the guild, that's all. We don't exactly have some kind of "air of secrecy"- she made air quotes with her claws- "around our actions. Hell, he didn't even have to ask around. He probably just asked Cuffin, if anything. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, he insulted me worse than you." "I'm sorry, I just-" "You don't have to tell me," she sighed, "For another thing, I haven't forgotten all the times you told me about him, when he took down the Sceptile. Anyone who makes sweeping statements like that doesn't rank too highly in my book." "I repeat myself that much?" he asked, face falling a bit. "I'm sorry." "It's fine." She rolled her shoulders back, stretching a bit. "We'll deal with him later. For now, let's just finish setting up, and figure out what to do afterward." "All right," he replied, shooting another glare at the stoat before turning away. "Well, I'm going to try and find the Ambassador. If there's any chance one of the languages I've been saving is Iaponese, that would be amazing. It'd be really fantastic if I could get the schematic behind it, find out how the symbol alphabet corresponds to its spoken component. Being an ambassador, I'd think that she would know things like that... I just have to hope that one of my symbol alphabets is the right one." "How many do you even have?" she asked, cocking her head, "I don't think you've ever told me. Whenever I see you work, there's papers everywhere, and the symbols don't look anything like each other." "Well, that's obvious," he stated, nodding, "They're mostly from art, antiques imported from all over Parai- but I've said that a thousand times already. Anyway, for complete symbol alphabets, ones with around twenty-six corresponding symbols, give or take a few... I've found seven." "Seven complete languages?!" she exclaimed, eye twitching a little. "That's a lot better than I thought- and you didn't tell me this, no." "Anyway, they're all useless," he admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know how they correspond to spoken languages, like I said, so I have no way to really translate them. Iaponese is the first new spoken language I've ever seen in the city. You see what I mean? If one of my alphabets was written Iaponese, it'd be incredible! Proof that my research does a little good, for starters- that, and crossing it off so I can get to the other alphabets." "Yeah, I see what you're saying." Crossing her arms, she looked over at the doorway to the main hall. "Go find the ambassador. There's someone I want to find, actually... so I'll come with you and split off if I see him." "Who, Robin?" "Donovan," she stated, letting out a huff. "Why'd you think Robin? If I wanted to complain about Kara, he wouldn't exactly be the best person to tell." "Why is that again?" "Because they're an item," she grumbled, "and I already told you that a while ago. I think. Anyway, I need to find Donovan. Like you said earlier, we need to find out what's happened to the ninjas, the Greninja in particular. The guilds haven't given us an answer, and we've waited long enough." She pulled her bandage a little tighter, and clenched her teeth. "That, and if they've hurt them, I'm not going to stand for it." A tennis ball collided with the side of Cinder's head. Adrian stared for a moment, frozen, then reeled towards the court, baring his teeth at the Quilava. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he snarled, "Watch where you're aiming, you little-" Wait. Ryoma was on the wrong side of the net. "Sorry about that!" the Zoroark called, "Could you toss that back over?" Cinder knelt down, practically seething as she rubbed her head, picked up the ball, then threw it into the equipment box. "All right, you two, that's enough." Adrian looked over at the entrance to the room, staring down at the little Pancham. Kara looked a little better than usual, the tuft of fur on her forehead immaculately combed- but her trademark sneer was still there, along with the hands on the hips to project some impression of authority, despite that she was easily the shortest in the room. A pair of Zorua trotted along behind her, one with blue markings rather than the usual red. Each carried a bundle of colorful cloth, whereas Kara only held a little branch, covered in incense leaves. "An accident's an accident, so don't get your panties in a twist about it," the Pancham stated, pulling an incense leaf off the stick, and chomping down on it. "Anyway, your relief crew's here. I rounded up a couple Explorers to help out. Shadow, Luna, thank you guys again for helpin' with this." She scanned the room for a moment, then stopped, eyes locking onto the Plusule and green-eared Minun, who'd just finished setting up a second court divider. "Justin, Dustin, that goes for you too!" she called, "You're finished! Head out now, if y'want!" The two Electric-types obliged, nodding to Kara before high-fiving and rushing out the door. "Keep taking my goddamn silverware, those two," the Pancham grumbled, "No idea what the deal is there. Anyway. Adrian, Cinder, you two go get changed. We do have a reputation to keep here, got that?" "What're you even talking about?" Adrian asked, cocking his head, "We weren't told to bring any clothes." "That's because I brought 'em," Kara replied, gesturing over at the paper bags on the chairs across from them. "Could've sworn I said that earlier. Eh, whatever. Just go get changed, and you're set to go. Everything should be near set up by now." "Do you know where the Ambassador might be?" the Sandshrew asked, "I need to ask her something." "How the hell should I know?" Kara snapped, "Just get going, willya? You're wasting time." Cinder ripped open the paper bags, revealing a gray three-piece suit in one, and a black, sleeveless formal dress in the other- the kind of thing you'd see at a wedding or masquerade ball, if anything. The train coming off of it was massive, and definitely not made for someone with a tail as bushy as Cinder's. "Oh hell no," Adrian muttered, glaring at the suit, then turned to the Pancham. "What's this even for?" "I'm gettin' changed in a couple minutes," Kara stated, "and it's pretty simple. We're the hosts here, so we've gotta look like it. Everyone helping with th' setup'll be wearing something like this." A complete lie, considering how she'd just let those Electric-types leave... but Adrian decided not to call her on it. "Fine," Cinder replied, picking up the clothes and throwing them over her shoulder, "We'll see you later, then. Thanks."
