Whee, work is rough + Valentines Day + Birthday + Mom having tests. Regardless, love you guys and thanks for the support.


“Hm, hiding in the barrel does seem like a good idea…” You rub one of your little paws against your chin. “But how do I know I can trust you? You haven’t even told me your name.”
The Sandslash holds out a claw. “Name’s Yumi. Can we move on now? We’ve got about 30 minutes to take care of things before you miss your chance for the day.”
You shake Yumi’s hand and nod. You’ll have to remember to ask Shade about her later, but for now, you have a mission to take care of.
Leaving the little hovel, you and the Sandslash stealthily head to the back of a nearby inn. Yumi picks the door with a claw and slips inside. You follow and find yourself in the backroom of a bar with several large barrels. Another door opens and a Breloom walks in, wearing what passes for a uniform in the Pokemon world. This could be trouble, neither you or Yumi will be able to deal with this thing.
You brace yourself for a fight as the grass type notices you. He starts to say something, but Yumi pounces him, slashes the unsuspecting guard in the face a few times, and seconds later, she is busy cramming him down her throat. You watch her lick her claws clean and belch loudly, suddenly quite glad that she’s on your side…
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Yumi glares at you as she slips on the Breloom’s hat and sash. “Climb in.”
“I thought you said pretending to be one of the delivery Pokemon wouldn’t work?”
The Sandslash shrugs. “I do some work here for a little bit of pocket change every now and then. They’ve seen my face before.” You hear the sounds of other Pokemon coming and Yumi swears under her breath. Seizing you by the knap of the neck, she picks you up, opens a barrel, and drops you in. You barely have time for a breath before you find yourself treading booze.
Several voices start to converse with Yumi and you hear her tell them that the Breloom got drunk and wandered off, so she stepped in to help. The Sandslash doesn’t skip a beat, an obviously skilled and experienced liar. A few minutes later, your barrel begins to move, sloshing booze in your face. It takes a lot of effort to keep the mess out of your mouth; it smells foul, the few drops that succeed taste foul, and you sure don’t want to be fighting pirates drunk!
After what seems like an eternity, you feel your barrel go up a slope. The sound of a lot of voices manages to reach your ears through the wooden barrel, but eventually, everything comes to a stop. You press your ear to the wall of the barrel to hear what’s going on. You can hear Yumi talking to someone else; surprisingly, she’s the more manly sounding of the two.
“Three barrels of booze for you guys. Sorry for being a couple of minutes late.”
“No problem, Yumi. Always good to see you. Maybe a little later, I can see more of you?”
“Hmph, going to be hard to see anything when I gouge out your eyes.” You hear Yumi shuffle about, but you can’t tell if she’s at your barrel or one of the other two. “Hey, I brought you guys something a little special tonight. Why don’t you come over here and take a peek?”
You start to panic. Is she betraying you? Is this all part of her plan or has she been deceiving you all along? There are three barrels, but what else could she be referring to? Shit shit shit, you need to think of something, fast!

VOTING TIME:
>> Keep your faith in Yumi
>> Sink to the bottom of the barrel and hope they don’t see you
>> Burst out of the barrel and attack!

Voting Ends Feb 21, 9am EST