He wasn’t seeing things. He wasn’t overheating. An Exeggutor had definitely come through here. But why a cave? Didn’t they need sun?? Wasn’t this the opposite?? He could barely hear anything above his own breathing and Cacio’s footsteps on stone beside him. They weren’t getting anywhere it seemed. Mint shivered, already missing the sunshine. Maybe this job was an actual bust. “Let’s turn back and get something to eat…we can try again later.” He whispered, unsure as to why he was whispering. When everything echoed it felt better to keep his voice low. Ok, he was a little scared. Whatever. [break][break]

Cacio didn’t argue more or less unbothered by the environment. He could see pretty well in the dark, but if his trainer was having a moment again then so be it. And then he let out a sharp hiss, alerting his trainer they weren’t really alone anymore. Mint, still bumbling through was more relieved than annoyed. People! People made this whole experience less creepy. Or well, person, he noted as they got closer. “Hey! Fancy meeting you here~!” Mint greeted, overly friendly as usual. Cacio flinched as his voice echoed a bit through the empty space. His Luxio nudged him a bit as silence engulfed them again. “What- uh- what brings you all the way in here, if I may ask?” Mint continued, lowering his voice a little not that it helped keep it from bouncing off the walls.


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+ samuel carter hope this is ok!!

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The first thing Sam noticed about the young man was the fact that he was very bright, but pretty quiet. So that was an interesting contrast.

Then, with how friendly the other was, Sam worried he'd seen him on Mt. Pyre and somehow forgotten him. It didn't happen often, but when people were overly friendly Sam's brain panicked and started to run search engines.

So far? Search results; nothing.

"Is it?" Fancy meeting him there. "I'm looking for the missing exeggutors... is that not why you're here?"

He couldn't imagine going to the seafloor cavern for recreational purposes but perhaps he was judging a book by it's cover.

mint frost

Mint’s eyes widened in surprise and then relief. He totally wasn’t hallucinating. That had definitely been an Exeggutor ambling into this cave. “Oh! Oh good, you too then?!” he started, practically shouting before covering his mouth and waiting for his voice to stop echoing before nodding quickly at the other trainer. “Yeah, yeah. So, I thought I saw one come through here and you basically confirmed that for me.” He explained with a small laugh. Cacio let out a huff, the Luxio having confirmed they were tracking a pokemon. He could smell them in here. Faintly, but there was a trail somewhere. [break][break]

“I kinda lost my nerve ‘cause I wasn’t sure but now I wanna turn back again.” He added sheepishly. Confidence restored, he grinned at the stranger and their partner. “I’m Mint by the way…Um, wanna go together?” he asked, nodding in the direction the fleeing Exeggutors probably went.



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Although his absol had started out ahead of him, she'd slowed when the other approached. Now that the luxio was giving a bit of communication, and competence, she kept her otherworldly senses alert but allowed for the luxio to take lead on tracking.

"Sure." He wouldn't mind going together, and showed as much with a nod and the rest of his introduction. "Sam Carter. I'm the caretaker at Mt. Pyre."

Absol walked on when Sam did, pressing forward only at his pace and not moving an inch more or less than his gate.

Sam was just relieved he hadn't suddenly forgotten this boy in some way, shape, or form. This was in fact their first meeting like he'd thought. His mind really could play quite the trick on him sometimes though.

mint frost

Cacio regarded the other pokemon politely but didn’t pay that much attention to it preferring to glance over at his trainer and turn back deeper into the cave. His eyes seemed to glint briefly before he lowered his head to the ground and began sniffing. Mint nodded as he tried to memorize the voice to the name, since he couldn’t exactly see the guy very well. “Wuzzat?” he blurted out before clearing his throat. “I mean- I haven’t been to Mt. Pyre yet.” He clarified. You’d think he would visit one of the closer landmarks to Lillycove, but he just hadn’t had the time. And let’s be real, his priorities had definitely not been a bit of ghost hunting right now. “What do you do out there? I know there’s a lot of ghosts, but that’s about it.” He added. [break][break]

The second person helped keep his mind off things. Like how far this cave went and how their steps and voices kept bouncing off the walls. Or how there was a soft, but distinct sounds of trickling water. Not anything fast, but at least there was a bit of a flow. Shouldn’t they have alerted something by now? Cacio lets out a soft growl to interrupt the conversation and more or less warn Mint something ot the affect of they’re getting closer. OR at least, the smell is getting stronger, even if there maybe wasn’t anything directly in front of them. Maybe a bunch of them had grouped up further ahead for something.


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+ samuel carter hope this is ok!!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"I'm the caretaker of the memorial grounds on Mt. Pyre."

Y'know, the gravekeeper. Sexton. Glorified gravedigger? Yeah, that's Sam.

Something between a coo and a hum left absol. It was the noise that Sam had been waiting for. Sam raised a hand to stop Mint from walking forward anymore. Just ahead, the cave twisted into an area with a bit of light and a few noises. Nothing dangerous sounding, more like happy noises. But one thing was for sure.

"I think we've found the exeggutors. It's best to approach quietly, and calmly. They could have a nest within the cavern."

Absol wasn't on high alert, but she did prance forward first, giving Cacio a sort of batted eyelash as if to tell him they weren't in danger.

She, as an absol, would have known.

mint frost

Mint stared up at Sam, blinking slowly a couple of times before nodding as if he understood. “Oh ok!” he chirped before returning to the task at hand. On the Absol’s cue, Cacio stopped just a step or two ahead of her. He turned to look at her and then back at their trainers waiting for instructions. Mint once again nodded at his partner. “Like…an egg nest? Is it that time of year for them??” It was deep into the summer right now but he supposed…..giant palm trees….would mate in the summer yeah. He had no idea what wild pokemon breeding seasons were like, he just assumed it was spring. [break][break]

He let the Absol take the lead before bounding after, stealthing forward despite the growing light. “What do we…do if it is a nest though? We don’t have to force them out right?” He felt that it would piss them off more than anything. The sound of water became clearer and Cacio caught a peak at lumbering figures splish splashing in the water. “You think that’s fresh water…?” Mint asked crouching down like his pokemon. He felt silly, but Cacio was doing and it felt appropriate.


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+ samuel carter hope this is ok!!

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Sam followed their pokémon's lead, also bending down as he watched all the different sorts of palm pokémon enjoying themselves in the small den and nest.

"I don't think moving them or interrupting their natural movement is necessary. If we tell the rangers who requested the information what we've found, they'll just monitor and make sure that the exeggutors return once they've finished procreating."

Sam's knowledge on pokémon was strictly book related. He wasn't a breeder or professional ranger, he just read too much at night before bed. He glanced to Mint, then nodded back toward the entrance.

"I can get us out of here, if you need the help or an escort."

//NOTES
it's perfect! after your reply you can submit for closure in moderation requests!

mint frost

He couldn’t see it from this distance, but there were probably pokemon eggs over there if Sam was right. And, well, he had no reason to doubt Sam anyway. “Maybe after they leave, I’ll come back to explore their cave pond…it looks cool from here.” He whispered back at his companion. He nodded quickly, before gesturing at Caccio to move back towards him so they could exit without frightening the pokemon. [break][break]

“If you wouldn’t mind. I’d feel more comfortable following you out.” Mint said with a small laugh as he straightened up a bit, his quads cramping a bit from being crouched too long. His Luxio moved to his side, pausing to rub past his leg before circling around to take point again with Sam’s Absol.



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