"Ah. Back when lances didn't explode." Ingra mused. "Those were the days. Actually, we were just about to head out to Viridian Forest with the newblings."

The woman gestured toward the rest of the group with her thumb. "They assigned three chaperons, if you'll believe it. Despite appearances, little miss titan mitt and tall quiet over there are full fledged hunters. Apparently. Anyhow, what brings you two here on a day such as this?"

After sitting there for a bit debating on what to buy Celica let out a sigh.
"One moment." With that Celica walked over to Sebastian. "Hey, I need the money if you want me to get the supplies."
Celica was planning to get the bag but she needed the money Sebastian and Ingra had so she could afford it without starting a tab.

Sebastian had decided to follow Celica, Terry, and Phillip over to the McWoodpunch stand. In his experience they usually had fair prices anyways, so it was just as well that they were the only item shop open. As he approached he slid between the two boys who were having their own conversation. Once he got closer to the shop counter he overheard Mr. McW detailing the "special".
"Hmm," Sebastian said loud enough for Celica to hear," with 9 items theres a fair chance we will get the items we need anyways and the special item is intriguing. But we could probably afford more if we just bought the items straight."
After thinking for a second.
"I say go for it." He said to Celica.

"Well we were all young hunters, once!" Allison giggled with a smile, only for Samuel to add, with a slight gesture to Ingra, "...Most of us."

The two other women didn't seem to catch on to it, so Allison continued on to answer Ingra's question. "Anyways, we aren't doing anything in particular. It's just nice to get out of the house sometimes, and most of our real friends are hunters, so we might as well try and catch them here."

"If we can catch a small job here or there for a little extra cash, well that doesn't hurt either." Samuel once again added.

"But then we got caught up talking with Fennel here about Kat, and well, I'm not really sure what we were talking about. Just odds and ins I guess."

"Same here," Fennel agreed. "though knowing me it was probably about what weapon you guys are going to train her in, even though the answer is obvious."

Both parents answered simultaneously, albeit with different answers.

"Bow," from Allison. And from Samuel, "Psi Staff."

"But it's my..." Allison paused for a moment before continuing, "Okay, I'm prepared to argue my point, and all, but Psi Staff, really? I expected Twin Swords."

"With how clumsy you both are? I wouldn't let either one of you have a single sword, let alone two."

"Hey I seem to recall using your swords to save your life against..."

Knowing these two, and even if you didn't, Fennel's reaction of putting a hand on her face and sighing slightly was a good tip off that unless acted on by and outside force, this was just the beginning of a long drawn out argument. Not that Aki seemed to mind, listening intently to the parts that made even a little sense.

---

With all the team's money in hand, the McWoodpunches went to work. Steve tossed a small backpack to Alex that ducked behind the shelves after catching it. Not long after, a whirl of machinery could be heard and then nine "Pop" sounds, followed by some mumbling, cursing and kicking sounds before a tenth "Pop". Alex once again appeared from behind the shelves after the ruckus had passed carrying the bag, now laden with items.

"Here's the best part, kiddos." She said revealing the contents. "Everything are in these cute little colored capsules so that you can have even more excitement opening each one!"

She handed the bag over, and whether the capsules were opened right away or later, soon the contents would be revealed.

The group got:
x1 potion
x1 awakening
x1 burn heal
x1 Ether
x4 calm tea
x1 slow heal
x1 carriage voucher

Ingra slowly backed away from the bickering couple. If she knew them, they would be at this for hours. As she crept away, the huntress gave Fennel a mock salute as if to wish her good luck, then returned to join the others. As she turned around, she noticed Akichouko standing nearby.

"Oh, hey." She said, addressing the recruit. "Let's go see if the others have finished making preparations."

"Why not." The small girl replied with a shrug. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

She nodded at Fennel, and the researcher waved good-bye to the pair. Although the pair argued quietly, the large empty room carried at least the vibrations of the discourse, if not the actual meaning, restoring just a small bit of the usual atmosphere.

Well, thats not so bad. I would've liked at least one antidote. But it will be nice not to have to spent all day traveling. Sebastian thought after taking hte bag form the shop keeper.
After a moment, he said as much to Celica and the boys.As he saw Ingra approach he tossed her the bag so she could inspect its contents as well

Celica waited for Sebastian to deliver the bag before she motioned towards the rest of the group.
"Ok, let's get walking. I wanna be at least half way there before lunch time."

Had the group taken a carriage Celica could have enjoyed a nice lunch in the shade of the forest, but as it stood she insisted that they walk, and no one had the money to contradict her, so her lunch had to be had on the road, scaring off pesky Rattata to protect her food. Lucky they weren't pokemon that would pick fights with people normally so no danger was to be had whether walking or setting, as long as you did so away from the tall grass.

By the time the party reached the forest's edge the sun had begun to set, and it would soon be night. Perhaps a small bit of training, and by extension, hunting, could be had, but the dense canopy would easily deny the light even from the mostly full moon as soon as the sun was fully down, leaving no light to set up a good camp easily within the wood. The walk didn't seem to tire the children all that much, Aki merely stood around waiting for the adults to give orders with a bored look on her face while Philip had just grown more anxious.

Ingra eyed the recruits with a mixture of concern and curiosity. They appeared to be restless, a dangerous state of mind in the field. Though they had some daylight left, it was unwise to begin hunting during twilight unless you had specifically prepared for a night hunt. The best course of action would be to make camp for the evening and wait until tomorrow to begin the mission. However, she felt no need to point this out. This area wasn’t particularly dangerous, and the trainees had three experienced hunters as a safety net. If anything went wrong, it would simply be a learning experience.

“Alright, greenhorns.” She addressed the recruits directly. “What do you want to do now?"

Celica let out a sigh at Ingra's question. Celica knew that she simply wanted this to be over already, she was getting bored of babysitting.
"What do you think they wanna do?" Celica placed her arm around Ingra while motioning to the kids. "They wanna fight monsters! Look at them! They're gleaming with excitement and zeal!. So let's stop lollygagging and get in there." Celica began to walk towards the forest while waving for the others to follow.