As the Shuppet circled Valen letting out their own, unique cries, he was panicked at first. Were they going to attack him? But his fears were assuaged once he saw Qwerty do a backflip mid air. She seemed quite triumphant, and though Valen was still nervous, he relaxed considerably.
"Wow, we did it," he sighed, looking at the Shuppet circling him and Qwerty. The three ghosts and the Virtual Pokemon seemed intrigued by each other. They were communicating back and forth with rapid chatters of their own, no doubt asking each other questions and coming to some kind of understanding. Qwerty was curious about where the Shuppet had grown up, what were their favorite parts in the city, barring the old coot's backyard of course. Did they enjoy solid food as much as emotions of misery? And the Shuppet, in turn, were interested by Qwerty. Where had she come from? What was her virtual world like? What were her favorite toys? Valen admired the scene with a small across his face before remembering-- he could tell the old man that he'd completed the mission now! And even receive some kind of reward. Would it be some kind of pokemon? He hoped so. I guess any reward's good enough as any, he thought, trying to train himself to be more easily satisfied than he actually felt.
He knocked on the door. "Uh... Hello?". As the client opened the door, Valen swallowed. "I just, I mean, I got the Shuppet..." The ghost types cackled, and Valen just hoped they wouldn't fly away, making him look like a liar and a fool in front of the client! "They uh, they decided they're moving onto bigger and better things I guess. But they're with me now! Sooo uh." What was the polite way to ask for a reward? Was it polite? He really didn't know. It was the first time he'd done a non volunteering job. "But, you know, well, you said you'd give me something else after the task had been completed. So that's why I'm here." Little did he know, though, the Shuppet found his nervous energy somewhat fresh tasting. It wasn't quite misery, but the flavor of thinking something bad was going to happen was a bold experience that probably tasted something like roasted red pepper, sage, and garlic.
After the conversation, with the night still being young, Valen found himself going to the local pokemon center. Qwerty had been returned to her pokeball on account of there being more pokemon being out and about Valen. Thankfully, the three Shuppet circling him, cackling and giggling hardly brought a glance from anyone. With Kalmia often taking her own long walks through the city with all the pokemon she took care of, who would think three Shuppet were strange?
"Oof," Valen waved Shuppet #1 away from the PC sceen. "C'mon, you guys wanna get to this place or not?" All three circled around him frenetically. "I guess that's a yes. Then let me-- hey, no playing with the mouse! Come on, let me find out where to take you guys!"
After some playful struggle, the Shuppet settled for contedly sitting on his shoulders and top of his head as he looked up where to take them. "Hm... Horror... House? In Pureplain? Oh wow, huh, I thought I'd have to get out a lot further. Well that works for me! What about you guys?"
The Shuppet dissappeared, reappearing in front of the screen, their eyes glued to the pictures. They guffawed at the sight. What an interesting place they'd be going to! Had they proper mouths, they would have been smiling, although the way their eyes crinkled up at the corners was enough to read their expressions as amused.
"Let's head out then. Hey-- no going through my bag!"
Arriving at the Horror House took approximately a half an hour of walking around, though the destination had been simple to navigate through. The spindly and dark building loomed over them, and even if Valen knew it was just an attraction, the atmosphere was chilling. "Sheesh, you'd think I would have outgrown this stuff by now..." The Shuppet, meanwhile, were enjoying the taste of Valen's fear. It was sweet, very sweet. "I mean... I guess I can't just leave you guys here. Let me talk to someone." He knocked on the door of the establishment. "Hello? Anybody there?"
