Luke and Volcan receive a surprise visitor, Torolf of Team Warmachine, who delivers troubling news that will take the two of them on separate missions and force them apart for an uncertain amount of time...

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With the ending of winter in the forested north, and spring bringing life to the woodlands again, the small community of Port Azure saw its boundaries expanding compliments of its newest residents -Team Phalanx. The winter had been slow for the now Azure-based team -both for themselves and their friends in Team Valiant, as it seemed like work from the guilds had come to an abrupt halt following their victory at Hadleigh only weeks before, and work in Azure was at an all-time low due to the weather.

Having mutually decided that they would make their new home in Azure, the former island-dwelling Rescue Team and their newest member, Lashanne, passed the time where they could by doing research on the topic of building their new homes. They studied construction methods, from laying foundation to the types of homes that they could build with what was available to them. As spring began to roll into the area, guild-approved work had yet to return, and the team members spent the spring thaw taking jobs in and around Azure to make as much money as possible.

Finding street performance was not as profitable in Azure as it was in Princeport, Volcan was soon joining Minato on the fishing boats, helping the town replenish the storage barns with fish that had exhausted over the course of the winter. Tristan worked with Katsu at a lumber mill outside of town, their combined strength all but removing the need for Tauros-powered equipment - which was good as some of the mill’s on-site bovid workers were in poor health due to age and the slow winter months.

Serena found work at the town clinic thanks to Mikhail, and although she had to start as a volunteer, she was eventually compensated for her time. Lashanne, much to her own chagrin, worked at the nearby apple orchard a few hours out of town, helping them prepare their next seasonal crop by fertilizing the soil around the trees and chasing off some of the wild birds and bugs trying to nest in them. It wasn’t that she didn’t like working, but she found such tasks as this to be boring and it made the days long for her.

By the time the dry season approached, there had still been no guild work. At first, they worried that Grom of Team Phalanx was hoarding all of the jobs for himself, which he had been trying to do before the battle of Hadleigh. But Kage, having had a similar suspicion, confirmed they too were at a standstill after spying on Grom. The Emboar checked at the Post Office every day, yet like them he always left empty-handed.

Despite the concern of the dry spell, Team Phalanx had no intention on letting it distract them from their course. They were ready to settle down in Azure, to make their fresh start official. The first step, the construction of their own homes.

The first hole had been dug out by Tristan and a volunteer in the Dugtrio, Doug of Team Valiant, and once the edges had been smoothed out by Volcan and Minato using spades, Lashanne assisted them in laying a gabion of wooden posts in which to cage the dry stone. They received another volunteer in the form of Katsu, who along with Tristan was able to easily spike the poles into the ground with his tremendous strength. The two ended up making a contest of it, seeing who could position the most posts in the least amount of time. Although Katsu won the competition, they had to start more than half of the project over again as Lashanne chewed them out for putting the posts in the wrong spots...

By the end of the first week, they had already started adding the dry stone, bringing it by the wheelbarrow to the hole, while Volcan, Minato, and Lashanne applied a lime mortar the Delphox had mixed together to bind the stones. The tedious task was long and arduous, but promised a solid foundation when the mortar dried and fused the stones together. Tristan further contributed by using his massive bulk, stomping on the stonework before the mortar could dry to make as level a foundation as possible. When the foundation was set, they removed the wooden posts and set them aside for the next project before filling in the holes around their new foundation.

Into the second week, the team was eagerly devoting their time to this project -even Caulin tried to make his own contributions by helping his father carry timbers. The poor Riolu proved too small, however, so his father had him carrying nails instead as they worked on laying out the framework for the house, which had been decided in advance would belong to the Lucario and his son by Volcan. “You have a kid to raise and he deserves a home,” had been the Blaziken’s argument.

With the skeleton of framework around them, the team was taking a break. The sun was barely above the horizon that morning as the team had started quite early -Caulin was even still yawning as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes as the adults spoke.

“Seems to be coming along well,” Volcan said as he observed the framework they had done so far. “We’re doing pretty good, I’d say, considering this is the first time any of us have done this.”

“Speak for yerself, Volcan,” Tristan piped up. “I was putting up supports in the mines back home - I did my share of construction work back then.”

“And knocked down a few of them too,” Volcan added teasingly

Tristan whirled around to face him. “Hey, hey! I thought you had amnesia! How’d you remember that?”

“Oh, I had someone give me a few reminders,” replied the Blaziken evasively, looking over Tristan’s head toward Minato and giving a wink.

Tristan didn’t catch the glance between them, oblivious to the grinning Lucario behind him. “Besides, I evolved! The tunnels weren’t big enough for me anymore when I became an Aggron,” Tristan huffed, crossing his arms. “Had to make them wider when I rebuilt the supports.”

“Fair enough,” agreed Volcan. “Long as we keep following the instructions we should be okay - we already got the foundation right the first time and that’s an achievement. Especially since we only learned how to make lime mortar or a dry stone foundation from a book.”

“As long as the instructions are clear, a book is enough. I’m sure Lashanne would attest to that, given her profession,” said Serena. Then, she cast a glance around the construction site. “Speaking of, where is she? I haven’t seen her since we started this morning.”

Minato chimed in. “She said she had to go get something from the airship, but...that was ages ago.” He replied, shrugging.

“Think she’s okay?” Caulin asked.

“I could go check on her,” offered Volcan, but no sooner did he say this did he spot movement from the direction of the airship. Taking a second look, the Blaziken saw the familiar form of the Delphox descending from the deck of the ship, levitating by use of her psychic power, her branch-wand in one hand and the other carrying something he couldn’t yet identify. “Nevermind - there she is.”

The group turned, following Lashanne’s course as she made her way over to them from her airship. Serena looked up at Volcan as she noticed that she was carrying something, and asked, “what does she have there?”

“It looks like a big plate of… something,” he said, squinting his eyes as she got closer. “They look like… pancakes?”

“Pancakes?” Serena and Minato echoed simultaneously.

The Delphox reached them, giving a meek smile as she noticed they were all watching her. “Hey. Sorry I took so long,” she said. “Anyone hungry?”

As if cued, there was a growl from Volcan’s abdomen, and the Blaziken flushed and laid his hands over his stomach as all eyes suddenly turned toward him. He gave a nervous chuckle. “Does… that answer your question?” He returned.

“Perfectly,” Lashanne replied, arching a brow. “Did you not eat breakfast or something?”

“Luke was still sleeping,” replied Volcan with a helpless shrug. “I didn’t want to wake him up.”

Serena rolled her eyes as Tristan let out a chuckle. “Volcan,” she said in derision.

“I was excited to get started today, okay? We’ve made such good progress.”

“We’ll make more if you eat properly,” returned Lashanne as she set the platter atop a stack of lumber. “Dig in! Made plenty for everyone.”

“What exactly is the occasion here?” Tristan asked curiously as the others moved over to study the platter of pancakes set before them.

“Can’t I just do something nice for my new team?” She asked, shrugging.

“Just didn’t seem your style,” replied Tristan. Volcan wheeled on him and summarily slapped the Aggron’s chest with the back of his hand, gawking at him. “What?” Tristan asked.

“A little tact goes a long way, Tristan!” The Blaziken scolded.

“No, he has a point,” admitted Lashanne, sighing and rubbing the back of her head. “I know I haven’t taken much time to bond with anyone, not even over the winter when we worked together on those jobs.” She cast a glance at Caulin. “Except you of course, kiddo.”

Caulin giggled softly. “Hanging out with you is always fun, Lashanne. You always have a good story to tell~” he replied as he took a plate of pancakes for himself.

“You seem to have taken quite a shine to her, kiddo.” Minato pointed out with a soft smile of his own. “This mean you’re reconsidering your future goal?”

“Heck no! I’m still gonna try and make my own team when I get older.” The Riolu replied proudly. “I’m gonna be the best there ever was. You’ll see!”

“I don’t deny that in the slightest.” His father replied with a pat to Caulin’s back.

“Well, let’s not all stand here with stomachs growling,” said Serena, rising onto her hind legs to take a pancake with her paws, Volcan, Tristan and Minato following suit.

Almost in unison, they all took their first bites of the pancakes.

Almost in unison, their expressions soured. Lashanne gauged their reactions, seeing Minato’s face contorting, Volcan’s eye twitching, and Tristan’s mouth hanging open as he let out a low groan and lastly, Serena, who looked ill. They swallowed their first mouthfuls, and all stared in puzzlement at the pancakes in their hands and paws.

“That… is very salty,” said Volcan.

Minato was practically gasping after swallowing his morsel. “Ugh….anyone have a large pitcher of water on hand?” He wheezed.

“One for me too,” agreed Serena.

“Did… I do something wrong?” Lashanne asked.

“What recipe did you use for this?” Volcan asked, holding up his pancake and pointing at it.

“Sweet milk pancakes,” she replied.

Minato’s ears perked up upon hearing that, glancing over to Lashanne inquisitively. “Sweet milk?” He asked, still smacking his lips. “...You...did read the label on each ingredient you used, right?”

“I bought all of the ingredients yesterday - transferred them into some labelled containers in the galley,” She picked up one of the pancakes herself, taking a bite to taste it. She had barely chewed twice before her face soured and she spat out her mouthful behind her. “Gods! What the-?” She asked, looking at it in bewilderment. “I only used one teaspoon of salt!”

“How much sugar did the recipe call for?” Serena asked.

“Four tealespoons, why?”

“Did you by chance… reverse them by accident?” Volcan asked.

Lashanne’s went blank, staring absently at Volcan. “...I… It’s entirely possible.”

“Yeah, that would do it,” said Volcan, setting down the pancake. “But… hey guys, it’s nice of her to make us breakfast, right?” He asked, trying to defuse the situation.

“Even though the girl has no idea how to cook?” Tristan muttered, and received a glare from his comrades. “Oh… I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

This time it was Minato who walked over and outright clocked the Aggron across the back of his head. “Keep making offhand remarks and you’ll be a vegetable before you even retire,” he commented in a glib tone.

“Mmhhh~ hey this is good stuff!” Caulin stated, wiping his mouth with his arm and walking up to Lashanne with an empty plate in his paws. “Can I have some more, please?” He asked politely.

Everyone watched the Riolu in mild astonishment, surprised to find that out of the six of them he was the one who liked the pancakes, when it had been unanimously agreed they had not turned out well. Tristan looked over at Minato, pointing at Caulin and whispering. “Ya do feed him, right?” He asked, though it was meant to be a figure of speech.

Still, Lashanne gave Caulin two more pancakes, letting him take them and sighing as she leaned on the wood pile. “Sorry guys. When it comes to cooking Toby did most of it,” she said. “Even then we mostly only had non perishables for those long trips.”

“It’s understandable,” said Volcan, setting down his pancake. “If it’s any consolation, forget what Tristan said. They’re cooked well -it was just that mixup of ingredients.” He reached over to clap her on the shoulder. “So, three out of four. Why don’t I go to the market and get us something, then we can get back to work?” He turned to his teammates.

“Sounds fine to me,” agreed Serena.

“You know, you could have had something hearty if you had just shaken me awake, rather than just leave me hanging.” Came a familiar voice that made Volcan flinch and the rest turn to see who had arrived.

There stood Luke, his paws on his hips and looking at the Blaziken with one eyebrow raised, a look of slight disappointment present in his eyes.

“Uh… hi, Luke,” said Volcan.

“Don’t hi me.” Luke returned as he approached the Blaziken quickly. “You know you need to have a good serving of breakfast before you start your day, otherwise you’ll literally crash and burn yourself out due to lack of energy.” He scolded, lifting a paw up to bop the Blaziken’s beak.

“I’m enthusiastic about building these houses for my friends,” he said with helpless shrug. “Besides, Lashanne…” he gestured to the pancake platter, and paused frowning. “Well… she tried.”

“Thanks,” the Delphox mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Luke also rolled his eyes and let his arms hang from his sides. “I swear, you are utterly hopeless sometimes.” He replied in an exasperated tone, before his left paw suddenly shot forward, grabbed at Volcan’s harness and yanked him down to his level, where he planted a surprise kiss right on his beak. “...But you’re my hopeless Blaziken.” He added, his tone softening as with his gaze.

Volcan let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, love, truly… I just want to make sure my team has a roof of their heads they’re not paying for every night.”

“...You know what bothers me about you two?” Lashanne asked. “Even when you’re displeased with each other, you still look like you want to make like a-” She caught herself, eyes rolling to look in Caulin’s direction. “Uh… nevermind.”

Luke cast a glance at Lashanne and only shrugged at her. “Well, I guess that just goes to show how much this hot headed rooster means to me.” He replied casually.

Caulin tilted his head a bit at Lashanne. “Wait, what were you gonna say Lashanne?”

Minato quickly scooted over and cupped his paw over the Riolu’s mouth. “Something not meant for the ears of a child.” He answered for Lashanne, looking up and shooting her a small wink.

“Okay so, am I making a list? What does everyone want from the market?” Volcan asked, quickly diverting the subject.

“Since my attempt at cooking bombed, I guess I’ll have sausage, and a coffee if they sell them here,” replied Lashanne.

“Aw, c’mon Lashanne. I thought your pancakes were good.” Caulin whined after pulling his father’s paw away from his mouth. “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, ya know.”

“Not everyone’s got the tastebuds of a Tauros, Caulin,” Lashanne remarked with a chuckle, walking over and ruffling the top of Caulin’s head with her paw.

The Riolu only giggled and leaned into Lashanne’s paw, then leaned gently against her in return. Such a sight brought a smile to his father’s face, happy to see his son getting along so well with Team Phalanx’s newest member.

“Well if you’re doing a breakfast run, I suppose I’ll tag along then.” Luke offered. “I was going to do a grocery run myself after breakfast. We’re getting a bit low in the pantry.”

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Volcan, putting an arm around Luke and then looking at his friend, listening to what each of them wanted from the market before bidding them goodbye with a “We’ll be back soon,” and headed toward town.

Luke wrapped an arm around Volcan’s hip as they walked, letting his head rest gently along Volcan’s side and sighing in content. “So...you gonna wake me up next time you need some food?” He would ask in an expectant tone.

“Come on, you were sound asleep. How I could I disturb you?” He asked, pulling Luke tight to him. “Besides, you were out fairly late on that job with Hank and Kage. I figured I should let you rest.”

“I’m normally an early riser, love. It wouldn’t have bothered me that much.” He replied, tilting his head up to look at Volcan. “Besides, I can’t have my groom-to-be running on empty throughout the day.”

“That one’s on me, I grant you,” admitted Volcan. “I guess my eagerness to get everyone setup here is making me a little impulsive.”

At that, Luke sighed. “Well I suppose I can’t blame you. Your team has made Azure your new home, and it’s only right you guys have your own roofs over your heads.” He admitted softly.

The Blaziken nodded. “They need this fresh start, and I want to give it to them.”

Luke began to chuckle. “I think my influence is starting to rub off on you. Now you’re the one willing to go out of your way to help everyone no matter what.” He pointed out, nudging Volcan’s hip.

“Of course,” he replied, smiling at Luke. “Take all the credit why don’t you,” he added in jest, giving Luke a light slap on the back.