The Forest
| The Forest | |
|---|---|
 The perfect place for a hunt... | |
| Location | Café Plaisir, Exterior Grounds |
| Purpose | Bite Club, Foraging, Wild Pokémon |
Café Plaisir is located on the edge of a vast and sprawling forest. One major difference between Plaisir's universe and our own is that a lot of the world is far wilder and untamed compared to what we're used to. It's hard to bulldoze through woods to build condos when some of the wildlife can bulldoze right back.
The forest has many natural springs and creeks which some of the waiters enjoy visiting on warmer days, both with guests and on their own terms. Also to be found are extensive footpaths, good for stretching one's legs, and an abundance of edible plantlife, from berry-laden bushes to herbs to fruit-trees to edible roots and more beyond.
Close to the Café things are relatively peaceful, and the denizens of the forest have learned to steer clear, for the most part. But dangerous creatures lurk deeper within ...
Bite Club
During the events of Year of October's - Bite Club part 1, October helped to establish the Bite Club - what started as an informal tussle between friends has turned into a weekly event for all the big tough Pokemon to blow off some steam. Every Thursday night, any staff member who's interested can head out deep into the woods, away from prying eyes, grab themselves a collar (or bandanna, or other coloured marker), and get their paws dirty. The specifics are usually arranged ahead of time, waiter-to-waiter, but there's nothing to say you can't just show up and see what happens.
It should be noted that (currently, at least), Bite Club is a Staff Only event. Blowing off wild steam and not having to mind their 'customer service' manners. Guests definitely aren't allowed because of insurance and such. Wild Pokemon... Well, at least insurance and liability isn't an issue due to their lack of legal status but they're still an outsider. Though it's possible one could crash the party or try to sneak in with subterfuge.
Out-of-universe, Bite Club was established as a general concept for any author to dip their toes in, as the [ongoing as of this edit] Bite Night Anthology should hopefully show.
Collars and Etiquette
To quote an excerpt from October Flixard's Bite Club stories:
October drew himself up and then, after a moment's consideration, reared up to balance on his hindlegs and splayed his tails in a fan behind him for balance, thus making the most of his height and physical presence. He drew in a deep breath and bellowed, "Alright, welcome all of you to Bite Club! I can see we've got a..." he put in a sarcastic twist, "FEW new members today!" There was a light chuckle and then he continued. "We have a few simple rules! We all grab a collar and then we pair off! We do these games one on one! The collar lets potential partners know what you're up for! We have six collars in three groups! I'll go through them now!
He gestured to the nearby cardboard box, which Chai approached. "First, the watchers! Some of you first-timers might want to just watch since it's your first time! If that's the case, take a yellow collar!" Chai lifted the collar on cue. "If you're not sure, take a green collar, that means you're open to suggestions from other collars! Feel free to say no. At this stage, anyway." More chuckles.
He nodded to Chai, who put those collars down and moved on to the next pair. "Next; We have the hunters..." a purple collar was lifted, "and the hunted!" a blue collar. "Purple... and blue! Predator.. and prey!" they were lifted again in sequence. "Now I shouldn't need to tell you this; but don't run in the direction of the Café or the road!"
On another nod, Chai dropped those collars and moved on to repeat the gestures with the third and final pair. "Alright! That leaves us with the battlers!" he grinned, "Fighting for dominance! Who's going to be on top? Those of you who want a light wrestle in the mud should take an orange collar! Those of you willing to use special Pokemon attacks and fight full-force should take a red collar! If you're going the orange route, it's playground rules! No having each other's eyes out or kicking each other in the balls! ...That would be counterproductive anyway, unless your partner's into that!" there were a few quiet chuckles, "If you take a red collar, it's league rules! Which is basically the same thing but with superpowers! NO DISINTEGRATIONS."
"Awww~!" whined someone.
"AND!" Dextus suddenly chimed in, "Lemmie make a few things clear about League rules for those of ya who've never been battlers! It doesn't mean being a wuss, but if your partner says they're done, you're done! If they want medical help, you carry 'em!" he slowly swept a baleful Mightyena's gaze across everyone present.
As he did that, taking her cue, Sinister stepped forwards then, "And if ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE!" she flashed her teeth, "goes too far, it's up to EVERYONE to take 'em down! And if they're real lucky, that'll happen before I get to 'em! UNDERSTOOD!?"
There were a lot of hurried nods.
You now know as much as most Pokemon going into Bite Club. ^.^
The rest you pick up along the way. Stumbling in the dark or pinned down in the dirt!
Despite the wild and feral nature of the Bite Club, there is some degree of moderation - mostly it falls to 'if you see something, say something', but anyone who's not feeling up to doing more than watch will likely be something of a referee.
