Devolution

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Hail crashed down in angry swaths, battering the world below. Rainfront was known for it's temperate weather, cool summers and warm winters. Not hailstorms. Everywhere she went, she just had to make a mess, didn't she? What, had she tried to outrun it? That was impossible. The problem was under her skin, deep in the rotten lump of flesh that should have been her heart. Everywhere she went, she caused destruction, wrecked damage, battered people and homes. It had been an accident, when the unsuspecting explorer slipped and one of his gravelerocks grazed her. That was all it took to set her off.

She was pathetic. Why did she even think it was a good idea to step into town when she was like this? She should have kept herself far away, where she couldn't hurt anyone, where no one could hurt her. The little fox shoved her way past the crowd, muttering frantic apologies, her head down to hide her watering eyes, her shaky paws. She didn't even know where she was running, but she only knew that she didn't let herself stop until her legs burned, and her paws gave out and sent her crashing to the ground.

She laughed. It was a weak, broken thing, crying in earnest now as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. Had she traveled far enough to keep the hailstorm out of Rainfront? She hoped so. She could catch herself, most every time, hold back her emotions until she was somewhere far enough where she, and the hailstorm she wrought, couldn't hurt anyone else. But this time her control had slipped, her legs shaking as she finally found the strength to walk again. She needed to keep moving. That was the only thought that pierced her hazy mind.

There was a house on the top of a hill. It was a rickety, abandoned-looking thing that she couldn't imagine anyone living in. That would do. That should be far enough, right? She could only hope so, even as her feet dragged like lead as she hauled herself upwards, forcing herself to keep her head down. Try not to think. Try not to think, just walk, just move, just get someplace where she couldn't hurt anyone else.

(She wondered, ever so faintly, if she might be losing her mind. Pokemon weren't supposed to live like this. It was just her, a puppet with it's strings cut, still playing at the idea that it had muscles to move, and bones to hold itself together, and a mind, and a heart.)

(Her thoughts were getting away from her. She couldn't afford that. She just had to keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking.)

Robin's Energy: 8
(-10 from entering.)

As expected, the cowardly behavior pattern of the vulpix continued and she revealed herself on request. This was almost too easy. What was the point of even trying to run in the first place if she was going to give up so fast? Krikka was a bit surprised that her toy didn't at least try to hide first, but this just told her she was more persuasive than she thought. Any resistance was suddenly gone from Viola as she stepped forward and offered up her belongings. Krikka gave a puzzled look in response, as if genuinely confused by why the vulpix would think she was being robbed. Of course, it was fairly obvious where one would get that idea from, but Krikka could rob anyone.

"Oh silly, I don't want your stuff," the umbreon began, stepping closer to her plaything, "I just want you." She didn't see much point in even pretending she cared about her facade at this point since the vulpix was clearly aware of her malevolent intentions. This just meant she didn't have to pretend anymore... and apparently she never had to in the first place.

"You still owe me a trip to the old house, remember?" the umbreon continued, choosing to focus on the most innocent part of her plan for the day. She had more in mind than just getting a guide through a place she already knew her way around.

The most fun thing about Viola so far was her unbelievable obedience, leading Krikka to become rather fixated on it. This was what she wanted to play with, to test the boundaries of. Even Solus wasn't so... well-behaved. Sure, this vulpix had tried to flee, but that seemed forgivable with how fast her mind changed. "Now come on, I'd like to get out of the hail soon," she led nonchalantly into another order, ignoring the tense atmosphere as if it were normal. To her, this was just another day.

Without waiting for Viola's response, Krikka turned and started walking in the direction she was pretty sure was "up." She knew the house was around the top of the hill, and she didn't see a point in making the entertainment lead the way when she no longer had a reason to feign being lost. She turned back just to check that the vulpix was following her, but she highly doubted she would be seeing much resistance at this point.

I just want you.

What did that even mean? Was she going to kill her? That was the only reasonable thing she could think of, though the scenarios that her mind conjured up went to much darker places. She was in danger, yes, but she didn't know exactly how. Did the Umbreon really just... want to get to know her, in her twisted way? She swallowed hard, only staring, for a very long moment. As if she could look hard enough, and learn what the monster below her skin was after.

And yet, despite her fear, despite the terror that seeped into the marrow of her bones- some part of her, wry and defeated and small, almost wanted to laugh. This might as well happen. She didn't deserve anything less. She stepped forward mechanically, the faintest spark of laughter threatening to escape her maw before she smothered it. 'Lux' would have her fun, whatever that entailed.

But it would be more painless if Robin could figure out how to appease her. It always was.

And the only way to figure that out was a little experimentation. Humor or demure silence? The latter seemed to bore the Umbreon, and the latter was more... risky. But truly, how much worse could she make this situation? She trotted forward, matching the Umbreon's pace, a bright, thin smile etched onto her face. If only she could glean what kind of person this monster was.

Lux knew the way. She didn't need a guide in the least. No, Robin was the only one in unfamiliar territory, here. It was so tempting to rush into the fog, to cover her eyes and stand perfectly still. But she'd know how that would end. The Umbreon wasn't in any rush to find her, not to mention how she knew the territory better.

The hail stormed down, sharply cold, and Robin forced her head not to hang, forced her feet not to drag. She wondered if pleading would do her any good. Her gut feeling warned her otherwise, a cold, dark pit deep in her stomach. The terror had numbed to a looming, all-encompassing sense of dread that wrapped around her like a blanket. Some part of her wished that she would just... do whatever she was going to, and get it over with.

"Lead the way, Your Highness." She chimed, nothing in her tone betraying all the fear and anxiety and worry and dread- she half expected to get hit in the face for her effort at levity, but at least that would be something. She wasn't sure how long she could stay in suspense like this before something in her snapped.

Robin's Energy: 11
(+1, new page)

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

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Consistent if nothing else, the vulpix followed along obediently, seemingly going so far as to try to pretend to be less distraught than she actually was. Krikka wondered if she thought that would help her; it wouldn't, but the sentiment did not go unappreciated. As much as the umbreon liked submission as a trait in others, her plans weren't going to change just because the victim of her game was willing to put on a happy face.

In fact, in this case, the facade was actually detrimental to Krikka's goal. She wasn't interested in whatever act Viola thought might save her. "So, who are you really, under that very genuine smile?" she questioned without hesitance, showing no interest in allowing this question of hers to go unanswered. She didn't really expect the answer to be anything special, but it was more about the principle of making someone so closed-off to her be honest. The information she might learn wasn't as important as the journey to get to it.

"After all, you assaulted my town with a storm, threatened me, then ran away and made me chase you. A little honesty is the least you can do, don't you think?" the umbreon pressed, knowingly warping actual events to make them sound worse than they were. She wasn't trying to prove anything by it, just having a bit of fun with her toy.

In reality, she knew she was owed no explanation... and wasn't in a position where that mattered. She wasn't really asking so much as demanding an answer, but she figured the vulpix was probably smart enough to pick up on this without needing to be directly told. The terms of their deal had already been made clear, after all; Krikka didn't intend to harm her as long as she cooperated fully, which obviously meant answering any questions honestly. What Krikka's words actually meant was closer to "Tell me or I'll hit you," but she wasn't going to clarify. She had already made the rules very clear, and she wasn't going to baby her victim through the whole game.

Her only hope was that Viola didn't get herself maimed too bad before they could reach the house. She really didn't feel like having to carry the fox the rest of the way.