[G2-001M] DAWN OF A NEW DAY, JASMINE

It was with a heavy heart that Jasmine said goodbye to family and her quiet life in Windenburgh. Her father, a Dachsbun by the name of Pocus gave her one last nuzzle and her mother a Raichu Luminarian by the name of Hocus, gave her a warm hug. With tears in her eyes,  determination in her soul and her companion Pacha at her side, she set off the winding mountain pass to make her way to the Dragonspiral Tower. She knew that the journey wouldn’t be easy but she also knew that she outgrew the expertise in the area and if she wanted to expand her culinary knowledge she’d need to move out of the comfort and safety of her town.

To her surprise, the mountain pass was clear all the way to the Whispering Woods. The forest known to the locals as the “Haunted Forest” had always scared her as a kid and she stayed cleared from them. But they stood in the way to her path to the Dragon Spiral Tower so in the morning she’d have to face her fears and brave through the spooky densely overgrown woodland. She made camp and cooked herself a small meal before drifting off to sleep.

The morning came and Jasmine made her way through the forest. However, after what felt like a whole day she still hadn’t made her way to the tower and she feared the worst. She was lost. Quickly she tried to gather her bearings but the thick canopy of branches and leaves overhead made it impossible to see the sun nor the moon. After quite a few more hours she fell to her knees, exhausted. She quickly looked for a safe place to settle for a quick rest, in a hollow between some tangles of branches and roots she made camp. To her surprise she felt herself drift off to sleep quicker than she would have expected. Her sleep was disturbed however when she woke up to a couple of Mankeys going through her bags. She and her companion Pacha shooed them away, getting a few scratches along the way. By the time she had gathered her things back in her bag, she heard the primal cry of a Primeape, this one looked furious and really strong. Fear hit her and she quickly gathered her things and started running. Getting small cuts and scrapes from the branches as she ran through. She thought she was done for, the woods seemed to go on forever, however she eventually saw a bit of light creeping through the woods and she rushed her way through them.The open was small and she had to squeeze herself through. Thankfully the Primeape was too big to follow her. Standing in a clearing she caught her breath. Once she calmed down she took a quick look at her surroundings and spotted the peak of the Dragonspiral Tower. Hope came back to her, the path to the Tower looked clear as such she took the time to rest up.

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In the morning, after having rested Jasmine set off again. Stopping when the sun was high in the sky to clean herself up in a small stream. Eventually she made her way outside of the Dragonspiral tower as the sun was hanging low but not quite setting yet. She was exhausted from her travels through the Whispering Woods but she felt a sense of pride for having reached her destination. Yet the only thing on her mind right now was the thought of having to introduce herself to others. There were already a handful of Luminarians buzzing about the tower. She shyly approached the tower’s main gate and felt eyes upon her. Due to her height, she was used to others starring but this was different. These were not the peaceful townsfolk of Windenburgh. She thought of speaking to the others but decided to start by going in first.

Jasmine was trying to find the courage to go in when a light fur pichu with white tips and light blue butterfly markings came down the ground floor’s staircase. It did not take long for this new pichu to rush closer to Jasmine. “A new face! Hello! Oh wow, look at you! You’re a pickachu but pichu sized!! Are you here to meet Mirage because of the prophecy?? There seems to be-”  With the overwhelming bubbliness of the newcomer, Pacha, Jasmine’s Kartana companion hid behind her back. This made the white tipped pichu stop mid sentence, she took a small breath and smiled. “Where are my manners, my name is Nixie. I’ve been here for a little while! What’s your name?” Jasmine spoke in a soft and shy voice. “It’s Jasmine.” Before Jasmine could bring herself to ask for a tour, Nixie started talking once more. “Oh wow, such a pretty name! Would you like a tour of the tower?” Jasmine smiled and simply nodded her head.

The two of them made their way up the tower, stopping on each floor and Nixie giving a long winded description of each of the floors. After a few floors, they ran into Mirage who was making her way somewhere and didn’t seem to be in a mood to be disturbed. This didn’t stop Nixie however. She grabbed Jasmine’s hand and bounced towards Mirage. “Mira~! Look! We have a newcomer! This is Jasmine, she doesn’t talk much but she’s here to see you!” Jasmine swallowed and shuffled her feet a little. While she was unable to actually look at the cloaked pikachu she finally came up with the voice to talk. “I’m- I’m… not actually here to see you. I- I … heard there is quite a diverse group of people here and I- I want to cook for them as well as expand my culinary strength… that is… if that’s ok…” Jasmine wrapped her arms around herself, Pacha poking its head over her arms. She waited for a reply for what felt like forever to her, but was probably only a few seconds. Mirage looked her over with her cold eyes then turned to Nixie. “Help her find a room.” She then glanced at Jasmine again. “I don’t care what you do, just don’t get in my way.” With that Mirage went on her way.

Nixie grabbed Jasmine’s hand again and led her back down the tower, closer to the ground floor. As they made their way down, Nixie started talking once more. “Don’t mind Mira, she seems mean but she’s really nice! Oh but don’t actually call her Mira, I don’t think she’d like it.” Almost without taking a breath she continued. “There are a bunch of others here too! There’s this really funny one named Espir he’s my best friend now and then this really grumpy one named Radium. It’s like he tries to be grumpy on purpose but he’s just adorable.How did you get here?  Did you come from far away? I did. My older brother told me to keep walking toward the tower and he will find us but he hasn’t arrived yet. He got hurt when the beast attacks happened so he’s probably still recovering. I got separated from my other brother along the way but we were both told to go to Dragonspiral Tower so I’m sure he will find me soon. It’s why I help everyone I can to get here cause maybe one day I will find them.” With this Jasmine understood Nixie a little better. “I’m sure you’ll find them… and I-.. I can help you if you want.” Nixie’s smile grew even bigger than Jasmine even thought a smile could. Before Nixie could respond however it was Jasmine’s turn to get excited, she suddenly was the one dragging Nixie along as she ran into a big dusty room. “Woahhh what is this place??” Nixie giggled relieved to see Jasmine being more comfortable. “This is the heating room! Although, Espir told me it used to be some sort of kitchen back when all the towers were still up! Ain’t that cool??” Jasmine’s eyes grew wide, she saw the potential in this room despite the disarray. “Um… is there a free room close to this?” Nixie grabbed Jasmine’s hand again and led her down the nearby corridor to a small and somewhat dusty room with a bedding and small storage chest. “It’s dusty but it’s all yours if you want it!” Jasmine nodded and set her bags down. Nixie then turned and pointed out towards the staircase. “How about we finish that tour now?!” Jasmine smiled softly “Lead the way.” The two made their way back up and Nixie continued on with her stories and tales of both her own adventures and the others who reside in the tower.