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“Come on Mabo!” A young girl cried. Mabosstiff gave her a friendly loud bark in response. She giggled and ran off to the nearest tree.
Arven and Juliana watched their daughter run in the leaves. It was a cold autumn morning. So of course, Arven came prepared. Aside from the foraging tools, he packed hot cocoa for the three of them, scarves, a first aid kit and sandwiches. It was also a good opportunity to have Piper try on the Fidough sweater his mother in law knitted. Her little pink boots kicked up orange leaves into the air. The girl rapidly circled the tree while Mabosstiff tried his best to keep up with the child. He knew she was special to Arven, so he instinctively knew to keep an eye on her.
“Look at them Arven, aren’t they adorable?” Juliana rested her head on his shoulder.
Arven felt his cheeks flush. Juliana was right. He loved his daughter dearly. After all, she was a near perfect reflection of the woman he adored. She also naturally adapted to the environment of his restaurant. Little Piper loved to chop the vegetables and stir soup until perfection. But most importantly of all, her bright smile upon greeting the customers. The patrons found the sight of the father-daughter duo working together heartwarming. All he could muster was a quiet “Yeah.”
Juliana took his hand in hers. Arven was used to her touch now so he grabbed her hand back with a tight squeeze.
“Hey, how about we go join her? I think it would be more fun than standing here.” She softly teased.
Arven nodded with a smile. The couple walked over to their daughter, now rolling in the foliage. Mabosstiff happily kicked piles of leaves in the air for the little girl to catch.
“More! More!” She laughed. Small hands reached out for the gently falling leaves. Once she caught a few, she would toss them back for Mabosstiff.
“Piper?” Juliana called for her. Piper and Mabosstiff stopped to look at each other. Piper grimaced as she turned to look at her mother. Juliana gestured to her to come over. Mabosstiff gave her a knowing look. Piper sighed and got up. Her legs wobbled a bit as she tried to regain her balance.
Juliana leaned down to her child. There was a Fidough patterned scarf in her hand. “We don’t want you catching a cold like last time, okay?”
“But daddy made that really good soup. And I became healthy really fast!” Piper looked up at her parents with eyes akin to a Maschiff pup. The corner of Arven’s mouth turned upwards. He couldn’t help but feel proud of himself.
“Soups are not exclusive to colds. I can make you that soup anytime you want Piper.” He promised her.
“That’s right Piper. You don’t need an excuse to have good food, even though everything your father makes is delicious.” Juliana gave her a reassuring smile. She placed the buttercup knit scarf around her daughter’s neck. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted him turning his head away to hide his blush.
“So can I go back to playing with Mabo?”
“Of course, but remember, we’re here to find mushrooms.” Her mother picked out a leaf from her ash blond hair.
Big brown eyes sparkled in joy. Piper turned around to face Mabosstiff.
“Come on Mabo! Use your sniffing powers!”
Mabosstiff tilted his head. Did she think he was a Lechonk?
Juliana and Arven laughed at their child’s cute orders. Juliana remembered spotting some wild oysters mushrooms on their way here. They were easy to harvest and Piper’s favourite too. A perfect start for their foraging.
“Oh what’s that over there Piper? I think I saw some by that tree!”
Juliana extended her hand to her daughter. Piper looked up at her mother with curiosity, amazed at her ability to find them so quickly. Arven and Mabosstiff followed behind, allowing the two to enjoy the moment. Juliana guided Piper to a tree decorated with shelves of little grey mushrooms. Using a blunt knife, she showed her how to carefully cut the mushroom off, but just enough to allow part to remain so it could grow back. Piper clapped her hand in joy at her mother's success. As Piper was still a bit scared of using an actual knife, she watched her mother take three more. Juliana put the mushrooms into her basket and returned to Arven.
“Not bad huh? Now it’s your turn.”
Arven opened a violet leather book and flipped through the pages before stopping.
“If my research is correct, the other mushrooms we are looking for like to grow on old, decaying trees.”
Piper tilted her head. “Um do they look like baby Toedscools?”
“They do, but-” Before he could finish his sentence, his daughter interrupted him. A huge grin was plastered on her face.
“Oh I remember seeing one! Come on Mabo, this way!” She said enthusiastically. The little girl ran down the path they came from, Mabosstiff chasing after her, tail wagging.
“Piper, come back! You’ll get lost if you wander alone-” He paused. His daughter was out of sight, “Never mind, come on little buddy. We have to find her.” He said to Juliana.
Juliana rolled her eyes at the mention of that name. The two ran after their daughter in the same direction, both observing the scenery for the little bundle of joy.
Piper, on the other hand, was too focused on the mushrooms to even think about her parents. She happily skipped off the path and down the slope near the river. There she found a long rotting log with a grocery store’s worth of mushrooms.
Mabosstiff came up to the log and sniffed it. He recoiled back in disgust.
“Okay Mabo, I’ll pick mushrooms from the log. You can start digging for chocolate.”
Mabosstiff whined. His ears were forced back and his tail went between his legs. Piper didn’t seem to notice his change in behaviour. She dismissed it carelessly as him not wanting to dirty his paws anymore. Piper eyed the log carefully, looking for her prized treasure.
“Pichu mushroom, Paras mushroom, Azumarill mushroom,” She counted out loud. Then her eyes landed on a familiar translucent fungus, “Oh! There it is!”
Mabosstiff looked up from the ground that he was sniffing. He saw something large and bulky moving in the distance. However, it’s hard to tell what it is due to it camouflaging with its environment. Afraid of alerting the beast, he carefully tugged on Piper’s sleeve, as to not rip it.
Piper pulled her hand away from the mushroom. She looked down to see Mabosstiff frantically trying to get her attention. He let out a soft growl. His dark eyes looked to his side, gesturing to the two to leave immediately.
“Hang on Mabo! I gotta get these guys first okay?” Piper now had two mushrooms in her hands. She waved them at him. Mabosstiff shook his head. He smelled a foul scent approaching the two.
Piper felt the grip on her sleeve tighten. She had an ounce of a feeling that perhaps she shouldn’t be here. Her pockets were now full of mushrooms, though there wasn’t much that could fit in a pocket of a child.
“All done! Let’s go find mommy and daddy, they are gonna be so proud!” She said cheerfully, unbeknownst of what was behind her.
“Pooouur!”
Mushrooms silently fell gently on the ground. The ear piercing sound of hollow metal reverberating made her senses come to a halt. Piper’s entire body was trembling. She looked at Mabosstiff with widened teary brown eyes, basically pleading for help. Mabosstiff growled at the beast. He bared his teeth with a grin to try and scare off the beast, despite it being much larger than him. Even if he didn’t stand a chance, Mabosstiff hoped he could give her the chance to find Arven and Juliana.
Suddenly, the beast coughed.
“W-wait! I don’t want to fight. Well, not now at least.” The beast said telepathically.
Piper gulped. She slowly turned around. The identity of the beast slowly came into her view. It was made up of different layers of dirt. The dirt body made up the shape of a strange looking Sawsbuck, but its antlers were replaced with a rusted cauldron.
“C-can I help you?” Piper stuttered.
“I’m hungry-”
“Don’t eat me! I don’t taste good!” She cried.
“I don’t eat meat. I was talking about mushrooms.” The beast gestured to the mushrooms on the ground.
Mabosstiff relaxed his body. Thank Arceus the beast only wanted the mushrooms. But still, it would be better if he and Piper left as soon as possible. There were plenty of other dangerous Pokémon in the forest that targeted easy prey. And just like a hound of Lycanrocs, they would be safer with the other two. Mabosstiff walked up to the beast. He used his snout to gesture to the mushrooms for him to take. The beast craned its neck to reach the mushrooms. Unfortunately, its neck was too far off the ground to reach them.
Piper looked down at the mushrooms and back at the struggling creature. If it didn’t eat meat, surely it wouldn’t bite…right? Piper reached down to pick one up. She held onto its edges and held it out for the creature.
The creature took the mushroom in its mouth and chewed on it slowly.
“Mmh! Tasty! I hadn’t had anything this good in ages!” He remarked.
“What do you usually eat?” Piper asked curiously, her guard starting to drop. She began to collect the fallen mushrooms in her hands.
“Dirt.” The beast replied, taking another bite out of the next mushroom.
Piper frowned. That was no good. Her father taught her that everyone should have access to good and healthy food. And if her past experience at the playground taught her anything, it was that dirt and sand were NOT food.
“You should come home with me, my dad makes a lot of food that doesn’t have dirt. He makes foods with lots of healthy things like tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers and bacon!” Piper said gleefully.
The beast’s ears perked up at the sound of proper food.
“I’ve always wanted to try mangos. Does your dad have mangos?”
“Yes, and many more fruits! He even has white strawberries and square watermelons! You have to try them!”
The beast gasped. How could such things exist? Back in his days, watermelons were extremely rare. They were treasures only obtainable through merchants from afar. And even then, they only had round ones. This girl’s father must be someone very important, he thought to himself.
“Oh um…I’m Piper,” She pointed to herself. She turned to find Mabosstiff missing, “And um…that was Mabo. I think he is shy.”
“My name is Ting-Lu. You have my thanks for being kind to me. All others who hear me tend to run away.”
“No offence, but your bowl is very loud. Maybe that’s why.” She confessed.
“It is? It’s hard to tell when you haven’t been around others for long. Oh well.” Ting-Lu snorted.
Piper held out a single Poké Ball. Her mother gave it to her before coming.
“Take this with you Piper. You may meet a new friend while outside.” Her mother’s voice echoed in her head.
Piper gave Ting-Lu a big, friendly grin.
“Wanna be friends?”
Ting-Lu bows his head down, his snout touching the button on the Poké Ball. A bright red light escapes the ball and surrounds its entire body. The light then vanishes as the ball shook slowly. One…two…three…click!
Piper held the ball tightly in her hands. She finally made her first friend, outside of her family. They were going to have so much fun trying new food and seeing the rest of Paldea!
Elsewhere in the forest, Arven and Juliana searched frantically for their child. The two stuck together in case some wild Pokémon attacked. They eventually stopped to catch their breath. Juliana leaned on a tree while Arven fell to the ground, feeling hopeless.
“Where could she be? Piper couldn’t have gone far…” Juliana wondered out loud.
Arven stared up at the forest’s ceiling. The trees seemed ever so tall, barren branches resembling hands.
“Piper must be so afraid, and I couldn’t do anything about it! Damn it! Damn it all! I’m not better than…” His mind trailed off.
“Everything is going to be alright, Arven. Just like our time searching for the Herba Mystica, you have me.”
Brown eyes stared into cerulean ones. His precious Juliana, always so courageous and hopeful. She was always more heroic than he was. Words couldn’t express how grateful he was to have ended up with someone like her.
Arven nodded, eyes watering, lips forcing into a smile. Juliana placed her hand on his face, her hand was warm. She rubbed her thumb underneath his eye, wiping his tears away.
Mabosstiff searched around to find Arven and Juliana. He could smell a distinct rich chocolate nearby. He just knew it had to be them! Mabosstiff let out a familiar bark that Arven would recognise in a split second. And he did. As soon as he heard the sound of feet shuffling, Mabosstiff happily ran up to his best friend.
“Mabo! There you are buddy, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Arven wiped his tears from his sleeves. Arven leaned down to give his pal a big hug. Mabosstiff could feel him shivering, so he gave him a big lick to cheer him up.
“So glad to see you Mabosstiff!” Juliana chimed in. She knelt down to pat his white tuft of hair. Mabosstiff let out a content bark.
Arven looked up worriedly. His greatest fear came true. Piper was separated from Mabosstiff.
“Piper’s still missing.” He gritted his teeth. Damn it, he was no better than his parents - he thought to himself.
Mabosstiff shook his head. He turned away from his owner to lead them down the path she took. It wasn’t long until they found the little girl, now using her jacket as a makeshift bag for the mushrooms.
“Piper!” Her parents called out to her from above. Their voices were full of joy at the sight of their daughter, unharmed.
Piper beamed up at them and waved. “Look daddy! I found them! I also found this funny looking one!”
Her parents ran down the slope and wrapped their arms around her in a tight embrace.
“We were looking everywhere for you-” Juliana started.
“We were so worried, don’t ever run off again…” Arven added. His hold around his wife and daughter tightened, his fear of losing his precious one ceased.
Piper’s eyes watered. Now that she was reunited with her parents, her thoughts went back to the moment she met Ting-Lu. If he wasn’t nice, she would have never seen her beloved parents again, and that would be devastating. She let out a loud sniffle, embracing her parents (as best as she could with her tiny arms).
Eventually, they all let go to see the mushrooms she found. Piper pointed to the log as she explained each one.
“...and this one,” She held up the wood ear, “Was the one my new friend wanted. I gave him most of them, but saved some for us.”
“What kind of friend?” Juliana wondered.
“He’s big,” She stretches her arms out as wide as she possibly can, “and has this on his head.” She cupped her hands over her head to form antlers, more akin to Ting-Lu’s vessel.
“You met a Sawsbuck? Very nice Piper. That’s quite impressive for your first Pokémon!” Arven patted her on the back.
Piper raised his eyebrow at the name. “His name is um…Ding- no Ting-Lu. And he gave me chocolate!” Piper’s hand rummaged through the bag and pulled out three round, bumpy rock-looking things. Upon closer inspection, Arven knew what they were.
“Truffles? And three of them? That’s amazing work Piper!,” He paused, “Oh and Ting-Lu.” He added sheepishly.
“I think we got plenty of mushrooms, haven’t we Arven?” She nudged him, “Why don’t we return and start making lunch?”
Piper cheered. She sprung up from the ground and used her tiny hands to try and pull her dad up. Arven played along. He pretended that his daughter was actually lifting him up.
“Ooh, wow Piper- look at you! You’re so strong!” He laughed.
“Hehe, all thanks to my daddy’s amazing cooking!”
As they walked back, Juliana held onto Piper’s left hand while Arven held her right. The father-daughter duo were talking about the many uses of mushrooms in cooking. Juliana felt a warmth in her heart. Her perfect little family were back together after shortly being separated. From the corner of her eye, she noted that Piper had her father’s smile, one that she fell in love with during their treasure hunt.
Arven carried Piper the rest of the way back, the little girl was tired from her adventure. After placing her in her seat and strapping on their seat belts, he turned on the engine and drove off.
Mabosstiff stared out the window. From the reflection, he could spot a shiny red Poké Ball poking out from her pocket. Juliana could also see it from the rearview mirror.
“Do you really think she found a Sawsbuck?” She wondered out loud.
“I don’t know dear.” Replied Arven.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be good for her. Maybe she’ll be ready to meet new people.” Juliana mused. The two parents looked into the rearview mirror once more. Their little girl was dozing off into dreamland with a small smile.