[Halloween 2019] Full House

First topic message reminder :

It was a nice house. It really was. It was big, but not too spacious. Each room had its defining feature, such as a stove for the kitchen, a fire place for the living room, and doors into everyone's rooms. The wooden flooring didn't have some annoying creak, the walls looked sturdy and none of the windows were shattered or broken. It was a nice pleasant little house in the suburbs of Grassveil, if you could call it a suburb given that Grassveil was a small yet busy town.

She woke up in the mornings on a comfortable bed, had access to food to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner with, and had all the time in the world to spend with...kids who weren't really all that interested in sticking around it seemed. Chance liked to wander off, resulting her needing to chase him down if he didn't come back at a certain time, and Emmelyn either was dragged off with him or at the library.

Which meant Mirage was left home. Alone. To do...well, that question bothered her every day for the past two weeks. At first she waited for Sova. After she told him about the kids, she kind of expected him to show up. As each day passed, however, she began to lose hope. Instead, it began to anger her. It started to feel like she was more of some pet waiting for their master to come home. After the first week, she decided that perhaps it wouldn't hurt to wander Grassveil a little. She kept up disguises, of course, but every time she went out she worried about Sova coming back to find nobody home. She couldn't bring herself to have the courage to speak to any pokemon either.

What was the point of it? She was just going to be someone else tomorrow. There would be trouble if she tried to establish an identity. She'd have to upkeep it, maintain it, and if the disguise ever broke, she's done for, Sova's done for, and even the kids. She had no choice but to resign herself to the house and...do nothing. What could she even do? She was a wanted outlaw who didn't do outlaw-y things anymore. She was a fugitive who had no choice but to stay in the same bland empty looking house she didn't really know how to go about decorating.

In a way, it felt almost like a prison to her. A prison that held the door open, but every time she left it was a roll of the dice whether she'd be thrown into an even worse one. It was demeaning.

At the very least, each day brightened up a little when the kids came home. Emmelyn would have something new she learned while Chance would have some wild tale of adventure to tell everyone. It was nice to hear from them, but whenever they asked her about the world and what to do...she was lost. She gave the best answer she could, but she knew it wasn't enough. She didn't know anything about the world. Everything she did know was a lie, that was made very apparent to her.

Now, she was stuck with two kids at dinner on a Friday night pretending everything was absolutely okay.

Why did these children have to ask so many hard questions right off the bat? Why couldn't they ask their dad something simpler, like what his favorite color was? Or better yet, why couldn't they talk about themselves instead? The problem here was that he didn't want to lie to them, but he didn't want to upset them either... and had no idea how to explain something like this to kids. Still, he tried, "I thought it might be best for everyone if I... wasn't here. She disagreed." Was that too blunt? He couldn't think of a more kid-friendly way to explain it to them, and he felt certain that they would turn on him upon hearing this. They probably should, he figured.

Emmy, for one, frowned at this. "Shouldn't we get a say?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. She wasn't normally the type to be too bold with someone she had only just met, but this was her dad, right? And, more importantly, she felt quite strongly about this. He had said that he had issues, but that didn't seem to warrant avoiding them, not to her. That was what he was saying, right? That he had avoided them just for the sake of it? Did he just not like them?

The eevee's frown made Sova frown in response, as if he wasn't already doing enough of that. He opened his mouth to speak, but had no idea what to say. The child was right... and so was Mirage. He was telling the truth about thinking it would be safer for Mirage and these children if he wasn't in their lives, but that wasn't all of it. He was scared of committing, of being hurt by that... and he hadn't really weighed in how anyone else might feel about it.

While his sister was focused on what was correct to be concerned about, Chance's ears flattened. His brow scrunched together in a look of disbelief and confusion. "What?" he cut in just behind his sister to deliver a healthy dose of criticism, "You can't just not do what mom says like that!"

"At least put some effort in to hide it or something," Yes, Chance, because that's what was important here. The severity of the situation flew right over his head. He was not quite able to piece together the whole picture like his sister did. "Like uhhhh-Send letters sayin you're busy or-or fake your death! Waiiiiit-no last one's kinda hard..." His eyes squinted as his mind rifled through what little knowledge he had in attempt to find more examples of what the Glaceon could have done to avoid his mother's wrath. He didn't at all think of the repercussions such actions would have against him and his sister.

He shook his head upon failure to come up with better options. Instead, he piped up with even more insistence, "Otherwise she's just gonna get suuuuper angry and then suuuuper sad like that," he pointed a paw to the door Mirage burst in to throw Sova through just a moment ago.

This dice is not existing.

Both eevee-kin had similar reactions to Chance's... feedback. Emmelyn turned to him with a desperately questioning look while Sova simply stared at him in confusion. It was clear to them both that certain aspects of this conversation were lost on the zorua, but how? Sova, of course, wasn't unkind enough to question how his son could be so... whatever this was.

Emmy, on the other hand, was. "Y- ... CHANCE, you realize he's talking about leaving us, right??" she questioned in a mix of disapproval and concern. Such an attitude wasn't like her, but she felt comfortable enough around her brother to make such exceptions. "Why're you helping him!?" she added on, not knowing which one to be more upset with. All she knew was that she was upset, and she felt much more comfortable lashing out at Chance than the big scary-looking glaceon she hardly knew.

Immediately, Sova gave a panicked and dismissive wave of his paw. "N-no, no, I- wait look I'm not gonna do that," he spoke up without even realizing what he was saying. By the time it occurred to him, it was too late. Maybe this was right, though; maybe he was wrong all along for trying to avoid them.

Of course he was. Deep down, he knew that.

He certainly hadn't expected his sister to turn on him. He just kind of thought that the conversation would continue as usual, but the sudden twist shocked him. He looked back at his sister with wide, confused, and perhaps even fearful eyes. His ears were attentive and turned towards her, listening...for once. Her blunt and straightforward explanation finally nailed it into his thick skull.

"Wh-OOOOOOH-Wait what?" his expression quickly turned to realization then back to utter confusion with a tad more disbelief. "Why am I helping him???" he questioned as he looked to his own paws, horrified at what he had done. He could certainly hear what Sova said in response to all of this, but that didn't mean he paid much attention to it.

"B-But he can't do any of those now-right? Because we'd know-and we could tell mom! He can't leave if we tell mom what he's gonna do, right? W-Wait! I got this!" He looked to his sister, utterly lost and confused yet eager to clean up this apparent mess his tainted paws had a hand in creating. His gaze flicked to the glaceon, rife with panic and in search of a solution.

This was it. It was time. In order to ensure that this deadbeat wasn't going to upset his sister like that ever again, he'd turn to a ritual that he seldom used himself. He turned to the glaceon and pointed a paw at him, his narrowed eyes burned with a passion as he invoked one of the most ancient codes he knew. "If you promise you're not gonna leave then you gotta pinkie-swear!" declared the fox with no pinkies.

Emmelyn's feelings of disapproval turned to surprise as Chance's position took a 180 and he began frantically scramblng to make up for what he had said. It was hard to stay mad at him for long when he did things like this. Sure, he wasn't actually being very helpful, but the fact that he was trying so hard was enough. She was flattered that he would suddenly try so hard to make up for being a goof, seemingly just for her.

Unfortunately he was still a goof, good intentions or not. She sighed and hung her head in embarrassment upon hearing the zorua's request to their father. "...We don't have pinkies," she muttered, not knowing what else to say. At least he had tried, but a pinkie-promise wasn't exactly possible with paws.

Sova, meanwhile, was hardly surprised by this development; okay so the pinkie-swear thing was a little confusing but as for the rest... Well, this was more like what he had expected in the first place. The children had no reason not to be critical of him for what he had just told them, and if anything, he was ready for much worse that didn't seem to be coming. "I do promise," he responded, this time conscious of what he was saying. Seeing how much his presence mattered to Mirage as well as these children... there was no way he could think about leaving them now.

Really, he had figured this would happen. He knew it would be harder to leave if he turned back and saw them. He knew they would all make him want to stay... and maybe that was okay.

...THE RITUAL WASN'T GOING TO WORK! How could he have fallen to such folly?

Chance's ears pinned back as his sister's mumble reached his ears. He proceeded to ignore the glaceon's words and frantically search for another solution. Sure he could take Sova's word for it, but they needed something more. Something that would make sure he couldn't break that word.

"Uhhh-" he frantically looked around for something to help him in this quest for blackmail. He found nothing...except for one thing. "Th-That's good! Because-i-if you leave...then I'll tell everyone the t r u t h about your scarf-ribbon-thing!" he puffed his fur out defiantly with determination and defiance. Still, despite this, he shook a little. The illusion of the eevee managed to stay strong, but the zorua quivered like a leaf, hoping this glaceon wouldn't cross him. He didn't know if he had it in him to go around town telling people Sova's scarf tasted like dirt...

Emmelyn couldn't help but give a slight smile at the zorua's continued desperation to fix the situation. He could be really mean and kind of an idiot sometimes, but the other times he could be really nice... and still kind of an idiot. The eevee couldn't help but wonder if her brother knew something about the strange ribbon though; she figured there was probably something more to it with how cagey the person wearing it had acted over talking about it, but she certainly didn't know why, or even if it was something bad. Had Chance somehow figured it out, maybe on one of his delinquent outings that she hadn't participated in?

Sova had his doubts that the kid knew anything about his "scarf-ribbon-thing," especially after explicitly asking him what it was. At that, he wasn't particularly worried about anyone knowing what it was. It wasn't like it was illegal, and he didn't care what "everyone" thought of him on a personal level for using it. Most of his closest friends all knew about it anyway, and none of them had any serious problems with it. However, he decided against ripping away his child's sense of security by saying anything about this. "Don't worry, I think your mom would kill me if I tried," he decided to say instead, giving a hesitant smile.

He was trying to lighten the mood, but it was... probably true-ish.

"Oh definitely," Chance suddenly ceased his panicking at the drop of a hat as the subject shifted, "She was meeeeeega-mad at you." He was certain to stress his words, just so Sova knew just how dire this situation was. "You should probably lay low for a while and avoid her for a bit-just until she cools off," The ever-so-wise child advised the glaceon, unknowing of just how bad that advice would go for Sova.

The form of the eevee stretched as Chance did. He'd concluded that everything was fixed and now back to normal. His mess was clean, so he didn't need to worry...right? He stepped away from Sova's personal space and hopped up onto his bed. "So. What now? Do you like...dad-us or something?" he asked as he flopped down onto his bed, a little tired from all of that excitement already.

Sova remained consistently baffled by the words and behavior of the zorua. He was so talkative, and everything he said was so... insane. Granted, he was a child, Sova kept reminding himself. This was surely normal for such a young child... and it wasn't like the other one was any less weird; she was just... quieter. Regardless, they both had a way of making it difficult for him to respond with very deceptively complicated questions. The zorua asked if he was going to "dad them," and of course, he had absolutely no idea what to say to that. What did it even entail? "Um... I... what?" he struggled, "Isn't that what I'm... doing?"

Emmelyn's gaze shifted to her brother as he asked if they would be dadded, and then back to the glaceon for his response. He seemed confused, leading her to conclude that he wasn't very experienced in fatherhood. She leaned in close to Chance and spoke in a very hushed tone, "I don't think he knows how," trying her best not to sound judgmental. Maybe they should help him?

Sova's ears flattened in embarrassment and disappointment in himself. He wondered if the eevee realized he could hear her. With his large ears and close proximity, it wasn't hard at all.

This dice is not existing.

Although Chance had no particular idea on what it meant to be "Dad-ed" himself, he found it astonishing that his dad didn't know how to Dad. He pondered for a moment on just what it meant to be a Dad...from what little he knew. Surely, it must have been just like Mom, right? He rolled onto his back with a thoughtful hum before he looked to the glaceon-upside down from his bed without bothering to turn back over. The illusion, of course, reflected his actions.

"No...you gotta like...yell at me more? Ask Emm if she wants a bedtime story? Stare jodge-meen-tally every time we annoy you? Be suuuper bossy? Ground us??" He ticked over what he thought Mirage often did "for" him. It...wasn't pleasant now that he thought about it. He paused as he contemplated it for a second longer, "...Actually I'm fine with not having a dad. Could you not be our dad and still be around? You're too cool for that."

Sova couldn't help but chuckle at the zorua's presumed impression of Mirage, bringing a slight smile to his face. He didn't exactly feel happy, but he didn't feel completely upset either... melancholy, that was it. How outgoing this kid was and how fast his mood shifted reminded the glaceon a lot of himself. He wondered if that meant Chance was like him in any... bad ways; or Emmelyn, for that matter. It had admittedly been a big fear on his mind since Mirage had told him they had children. In hindsight, being absent would have been stupid, considering he had sort of been left alone in his childhood and all that did was make things worse. Maybe it was best for the kids if he were around to try and be a father for them.

And really, he kind of knew how. It was mostly intuitive, and anything that wasn't, he could probably just emulate from his own parents. His confidence grew, which wasn't hard since it had previously been nonexistent. "Sorry, I don't think that's how it works," he spoke as he finally stepped away from the door, moving closer to the zorua. "And since I'm your dad, why don't you let me see the real you?" he continued. Seeing how similar Chance was to himself brought him to the realization that the child might be trying to hide himself behind an illusion due to some concern or anxiety. Sova didn't want either of these kids to feel uncomfortable or afraid for any reason, and so he now had something "fatherly" to do.

Emmy looked to her brother as the glaceon spoke, and she couldn't help but agree. "Why are you doing that?" she added on to the question, curious why Chance suddenly wanted to be an eevee. "I don't think it's impressing anyone," she stated, assuming he was trying to look cool for Dad or something of the sort. She hadn't been planning to say anything about it until they were in private, but since the topic was already out there...

Well crud. The zorua's expression fell into a pout of disappointment, eevee illusion included. Great, now he was going to have two people around to ground him and yell at him. How much harder was it going to get to go out now? He may have slipped through his mother's fingers frequently, but that didn't mean it was always easy.

"And since i'm your dad," Uh-oh. There it came. Did Mirage send him here to ground him as his first act of being a father? He flipped back over onto his stomach, head kept low and on the bedding as he looked up at the approaching glaceon. He held back an annoyed groan, mentally preparing himself to tune out another lecture, nod, and apologize for anything and everything meaninglessly as he always did. "Why don't you let me see the real you?"

...Oh. He must want to do it face-to-face. Didn't the glaceon prefer him like this? Did the illusions not actually help? A particular emotional knife was stabbed into him, however, when Emmelyn declared his illusionary act unimpressive. Was-was it not good? His ears pinned back as the illusion vanished in the blink of an eye. He stared down at the Glaceon's paws in silence as he waited for it, feeling an awfully lot more exposed now that he was the odd one out.

In a flash, the illusion faded to reveal the hidden zorua, seeming... almost frightened. Sova's smile faltered for only a moment before returning as he came closer to the uneasy child. Here... he was pretty sure he actually knew what to do. "You don't need to hide from me," he spoke in as soft and reassuring a manner he could muster. He instinctively tried to move a leg to pat Chance on the head before remembering that he didn't have enough legs for that. Being down a working limb surprisingly hadn't impacted the big things like running and fighting much, but it was the small things... like being able to comfort his own child. The small things were harder to do, and that bothered him even more. Well, then his words would have to suffice.

Emmelyn decided to quiet down for the moment, seeing that these two were having a character development moment or something. She wouldn't want to ruin the plot by interrupting.

His voice was far from what he would have expected. Instead of raised and stern, it was much...softer. The words seemed to almost contradict the tone from his perspective. His mind didn't exactly click together that Sova meant he was fine as a zorua, but instead interpreted it as "your illusions don't work so you don't need to bother yourself." It confused him. All of these mixed messages confused him.

Even though he was hyperactive and happy just a moment ago, he'd become far more somber and hesitant. The confusion showed in his eyes, but he wasn't sure if he should question this or just do as he was told. After a brief moment of hesitation, he gathered the courage to speak, "B-But you were more comfortable when I was an eevee..." his voice was small and uncertain, hesitant to say such at thing in front of his sister-as if he knew it was stupid.

Sova cocked his head in confusion at Chance's claim that he "was more comfortable" with the image of an eevee. He wasn't so dull as to miss such an obvious message, but he wasn't sure how to respond to it... aside from with honesty. "I'm more comfortable with you as you," he responded, walking around the side of the bed to get a better view of the zorua. He hated the idea that he had instilled this worry in his child somehow, but more importantly, he wanted to fix it. "I don't care what you are... you're my kid, right?" he elaborated, wanting nothing more to express how not wrong Chance was for being a zorua. How could he be judged by someone who had fallen for a zoroark, anyway?

Emmelyn responded with a simple smile... at least until she was brought into it. The glaceon now known to be their father looked to her before questioning, "But you... ah... you're... silver? Sorry, that's just... not normal. Are you... alright?"

Of course, she was embarrassed, followed by general anxiety as she was put on the spot and expected to explain her coloration abnormality, which she had very little idea how to do. "I'm not sick if that's what you mean," she spoke, feeling a bit humiliated that she had even been asked.