[color=D1D0CE]What? How could the most important mission their town sent adventurers out on be a failure? Lumi's ears flattened against her head, her fur puffed up so far that she looked like a pale brown marshmallow more than an Eevee. The adventurers in question hardly seemed like adventurers; they just looked like deflated stuffed animals at most. Her ear swiveled to the side when she heard Cane's voice pipe up behind her. It was best if he didn't see what was going on, right? Should she even be seeing this? 

[b]"We set off towards Ember Cave approximately two months ago in search of any explanation regarding the Sage Stones,"[/b] the Luxray continued. [b]"After arriving there, we were faced with many types of feral Pokemon, as expected, but getting to the Sage Stones themselves was a whole other feat. We spent several weeks scouring the cave and many times we became lost in the labyrinth. As we traveled deeper, the Pokemon there became fiercer and fiercer, much more than we have previously encountered. It was only when we lost three of our members that we decided to turn back."[/b]

The Swellow bunched up her feathers. [b]"These Pokemon are very ferocious. They seemed to have been putting their lives on the line to protect the Sage Stones, even though they seemingly bring about negative effects,"[/b] she said. [b]"Sadly, we were not able to retrieve the bodies of our fallen comrades, but--"[/b]

[b]"We ask that everyone in Sunspear stay away from Ember Cave for now. Entering is dangerous, if not lethal,"[/b] the Luxray growled. His eyes swept across the crowd as he held himself high, though from here Lumi could see that fresh scars, bright under the sun, marred the Pokemon's body. [b]"For now, we recuperate and wait. That is all."[/b]

The group of Pokemon trudged through the groups of Pokemon, even when several of them burst forth from the main crowd and ran up to them in search of answers. Lumi stared at the commotion in front of her, her eyes wide with shock and fear. They actually failed the mission... how was that possible? The Tauros under her shifted to the side in order to get her to jump off his back. When she was safely on the ground, the giant Pokemon was one of the first to shuffle towards the smaller roads away from the city square. 

She felt Sable's paw swat the tip of her ear. [b]"Let's get going."[/b]

[color=CD7F32][b]"B-but--"[/b][/color]

Her normally stoic, dark eyes flared with emotion.[b]"No [i]buts,[/i] Lumi. You saw what you wanted to see. Now it's time to go home,"[/b] Sable sounded unusually somber as she got Cane to his feet and began to lead them away. 

Lumi frowned and tossed a look at Sora before she ultimately followed after her big sister. [/color]