Children At Play

First topic message reminder :

If there was a king of dumb ideas...it would be Chance. Not only had he failed to learn his lesson last time of wandering away from home, but he was back at it again with an idea that had the potential to do far more harm than being eaten by a predator would. It was fortunate that he struggled so much to put it into action, that way the odds of him giving up was greater. Unfortunately, he had been at it for a solid five minutes. He tried all he could with various different ways of doing it.

What was he doing exactly? Moving a rock. It was much larger than he was, far too heavy for him to handle, but he hoped that the spherical nature of it would make it easier to roll. He tried straight up pushing it, running and jumping against it, and even the clever idea of using a stick as a lever-though he could not take credit for the idea as he simply heard about some nerd talking about this sort of thing before. Currently, he was trying to move it with the stick. The branch was properly wedged underneath it, but he didn't have the strength or weight to pull it down.

He simply hung off of the elevated end of the branch with his teeth stuck in the bark. His eyes glanced over to the rock with the hopes that it would move. No dice. Alright then. He would just have to try something else. He let go of the branch and dropped back to the ground. Hmm...what else could he try? Oh-why didn't he think of that sooner!

The little zorua paced closer to the rock before he stepped onto the branch. He struggled to keep balance on the stick, which made him doubt his plan at least a little. He didn't have the brainpower and common sense to stop himself from trying. He stood at the other end of the stick and proceeded to try to jump up and down. The stick bent and moved, but the rock simply would not budge. He decided that he would give it one last jump, as high as he could.

Up he went, and-SNAP- down went the branch. He yelped in terror as the weak piece of wood snapped into two from the weight. He failed to catch himself properly and fell over onto his side as the branch splintered around him. He lifted his head with a shake and shot a look towards the boulder.

No dice.

"uuuugggggggGGGGGGHHH!" he groaned loudly before he allowed his head to flop back onto the ground in defeat.

((22-20 = 2))

"Maybe you can sneeze it out," Osiris suggested. "Or hock a mean loogie. That might get it outta there." It was a mystery to him how water could be in the nose and not... drip out or something. Stuck in the wrong pipe, maybe.

Unseen by the dratini, though, was the movement of many pokemon surrounding them. The pineco twitched and fell over, its face panicky for a moment before it started rolling away. The two skiddo shot each other a glance before goating away, trotting further into the trees where the dense forestry began to hide them. What Osiris did notice, however, was the strong thrum in the ground denoting powerful footsteps.

Similar to the kangaskhan, but... different. Hurried. Without a word, Iris slithered underneath the bush that Kiba was taking shelter in, raising his tail up to his snout to signal silence.

The zorua didn't really know how to describe the sensation in his nose. It was just the sensation of nearly drowning lingering in his nasal cavity, but he was far too ignorant to know. The dratini suggested he sneeze but...how was he supposed to force himself to sneeze? Did...did he have to fake a sneeze or something? Would that work?

Chance didn't even know what it meant to "hock a loogie" so he was a little lost in what to do. He stepped forward to leave the bush, but the dratini immediately slithered on back in. His eyes widened as he scrambled back into bush. His first instinct was to question the dratini, but the tail up to the snout indicated that this was not the time to speak.

His mouth snapped shut with an audible yet quiet "click" as he too began to hear the powerful footsteps. Something was coming...something big...

It stirred something in Osiris, something terrifying and awful, to both see, hear, and feel the effects of a pokemon's approach. The panicked fleeing of all of the pokemon hanging around, the gasps and rushed footsteps, and the sensation of the ground shaking and trembling due to something heavy coming their way.

He poked his head out from underneath the shrubbery, morbidly curious despite himself. Was it the mightyena or the kangaskhan coming back? It didn't become immediately clear to him, even with the arrival of two vulpix running for their lives. Unlike most of the pokemon who were splitting, these two looked very, very afraid. The rumbling of the ground grew more intense as they darted between trees and through bushes, until finally one final slam in the earth betrayed the presence of the pokemon in question.

Around a tree stepped a towering, hulking bouffalant, hot in pursuit of the two fire-type foxes. It lowered and swung its head as it ran, the edge of one of its horns brushing up against one of the vulpixes and sending it tumbling into a tree. The other took one look at its downed companion before turning tail and running.

Osiris gulped nervously as the giant normal-type huffed and snorted, inching closer to the vulpix, which could only weakly raise its head to watch the bouffalant approach.

The pounding of the hooves against the ground frightened him. He couldn't help but swallow the lump that formed in his throat as the anticipation crept up on him. He couldn't help but a shy glance alongside Osiris. The little zorua gasped as the giant normal type tossed a poor vulpix aside. The fire type's friend took the opportunity to flee, while the buffalo closed in on the defenseless one.

Being the ever intelligent being he was, he voiced under his breath, "We gotta do something!"

Even more intelligent, he refused to wait for Osiris' response. The zorua pushed himself out into the open, the pain that he suddenly remembered gone just as quick as it showed up. The zorua bolted out into the open and towards the normal type. With all he could, he pounced on the angry pokemon. With as much strength he could muster, he latched himself onto the bull's ankles.

The bouffalant treaded up to its target slowly and confidently, visibly sure of its success and catching and slowing down the smaller pokemon. It was a completely vulnerable and unaware target for a moronic, brave little zorua and his ambitious fangs. Osiris watched in horror and dread when his friend bolted forward and sunk his teeth into the much larger pokemon's ankle. Grunting in surprise, the bouffalant swung its massive head around and tried to catch a glimpse of whatever had the nerve to take a bite out of it... and in the process, took its eyes off of the vulpix.

Visibly gathering its wits and strength, the fire-type hauled itself to its feet and concentrated for an instant. A bright, foreboding flash of light went off right in the bison pokemon's face, and this time its groan was louder and, dare Osiris think it, confused. The dratini watched the bouffalant's expression carefully, noting how its eyes dilated and it shuffled around drunkenly for a moment. For a split second, he felt some hope rise up in him; maybe the vulpix just needed an instant for it to do something amazing, like send the big lug right to sleep?

Said hope shriveled up and died when the bouffalant snorted powerfully, air wafting strongly out of its nostrils. It geared itself up and, with Kiba still attached to its ankle, began stomping the ground intensely, its back legs flying up and down, up and down, up and down, taking the poor dark-type along with them. The earth beneath all three pokemon quaked and shook awfully, causing Osiris to lose his balance topple over out of his loose coil.

The dratini willed himself to gather a stream of electricity and did his best to lash his tail out towards the bouffalant's bg stupid head, and he saw the move make contact, but it didn't stop the normal-type's stomping tantrum.

Absolutely mortified, his brain gave him one job: Don't let go. The zorua's snarls rippled out of his throat as he shook his head. He wanted to do damage, permanent damage. Chance couldn't get a better grip with any help of his paws due to how thin the leg was, but as long as he was back here he'd be safe from the horns right? Yeah...he just needed to stay back here and-

The normal type's hooves moved. One by one at a rapid pace, the ground shook with each stomp as Chance was flung back and forth. It was inevitable that he was forced to let go. He collided with the ground among the dust, coughing and hacking as he spat out the bull's blood. He looked back up just in time to see the round horseshoe of a hoof directly above him. The zorua's eyes widened as his ears flattened. A scream rippled through the air that was abruptly cut off as the bull's hoof smashed into his rib cage. The dark type was sent rolling through the dirt and grass, where once again, his limp body would remain still.

Before the bull could even remotely revel in its victory, a blast of dark energy erupted from the trees. Just like the zorua screamed, the bull unleashed a hellish bellow of pain as it was knocked away from the little vulpix next to it. Once the dark beam ended, a dark and ominous haze seemed to take the area by storm, focused particularly around the Boufallaunt.

A figure jumped out of the bushes. Brilliant blue eyes pierced through the mist, as angry as they were wide. While the bull recovered from the first attack, the dark blue-eyed shape bolted towards Chance and stood over him. The little zorua was curled up and crying again, unable to open his eyes and gaze upon whatever monster wanted to eat him now. Slowly and carefully, the unknown creature picked him up.

Osiris wanted to crawl forward and help his friend, especially after the heart-wrenching shout that ripped out of him when the bouffalant connected a hoof-stomp, but the quaking ground underneath him kept him totally at bay. It wasn't until the bouffalant paused that he felt a sliver of relief, but that was totally overrun by pain. Panic, dread, and fear coursed through  Osiris as his mind was dominated by the prospect of the next few minutes; was the bison going to turn on him next? The vulpix? Would it finish off Kiba?

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait around to find out. When a beam of darkness burst from the treelines and stunned the bouffalant, Osiris watched in awe. It seemed like every time they got into a bind, something came around to bail them out. The figure that touched down to help Kiba, though, looked a little... dark. The pokemon didn't look like it wanted to hurt or eat Kiba—it even reached down to pick him up gently, but the prospect of being at the mercy of a much stronger pokemon again was unsettling.

The bouffalant, on the other hand, must have felt the same way and sought to do something about it. The bison took more than a moment or two to gather itself after the heavy surprise attack it just withstood but dug its hooves into the ground nonetheless. It lowered its massive head and took off with all the power of a tank, surging forward in a head charge aimed directly at their mysterious savior.

"Watch out!!" Osiris couldn't help but yell, his heart stuck in his throat.

Chance could feel himself being picked up. It hurt to move, but this touch felt...familiar. The zorua was cradled in silence. Part of him immediately knew what was up, but still, he struggled to open an eye. Sure enough, despite the darkness that swelled around the environment, he could see her familiar face. Relief washed over him as he forcefully snuggled his head against her, his body shook in fear as he would start to cry once more. The familiar face held him close, where they would sit until a voice broke through the air, "WATCH OUT!"

The zoroark's gaze snapped behind her to the oncoming buffalo. It seemed angry. How c u t e.

"Can you hold?" her voice mumbled to the zorua.

"U-Uhuh..." Chance hesitated to confirm. His whole body hurt, but he was pretty sure nothing was broken.

"Stay in there until I say you can come out." Her orders were firm, he knew not to disobey or resist as he was plunged into the comfortable abyss of his mother's hair. He knew he had a rough ride ahead, so he made sure that he wouldn't dislodge himself.

The figure turned to the oncoming bull. It may have been angry, but she was angrier. Her softer gaze snapped back to their outraged expression as she pulled a small gem out of the little satchel that she carried with her. She hadn't used this thing before, but it seemed fitting to use it on something she really wanted gone.

Mirage gripped the little gem as it took on a shine. A mix of red, black, and even purple here and there energy seemed to encase her. She thought about perhaps doing a little dance just like the zorua who sold this to her suggested just to really rub it in, but ultimately decided that this thing needed to die. Now.

A brief flash emitted from the orb as the mist around them began to grow even darker, pitch black as if it were the dead of night. The sun's light failed to pierce the veil she conjured. The boufallaunt charged straight towards the still zoroark, but instead of a collision, it ran straight through her. A sinister laugh echoed as multiple of her seemed to surround the normal type, each one of them with a wide and taunting smile to keep it busy in trying to figure out fact from fiction.

Without a moment's hesitation, a dark wave blasted down onto the creature from above. Mirage unleashed the power of the Black Hole Eclipse onto the weaker pokemon with everything she had, determined to do more than just knock it out with a single strike. She may have abandoned the ways of an outlaw, but currently this thing not only harmed her child, but continued pursuit in doing so. As far as she was concerned, it asked for this.

The blast seemed to go on for much longer than the original beam of energy did at a much more intense rate, going so far as to even shake the ground and create a crater where the buffallo stood. The illusions dissipated, but it was too late for the normal type to even think about fleeing. Once the beam tapered out, Mirage would land just on the edge of the smoldering crater. Gradually, the light returned to the area around them at a snail's pace. She took a look inside to both marvel at her work and check on the status of the fried steak.

Osiris was totally seized by terror as the mysterious figure didn't do anything as the bouffalant charged it. Well, it... tucked Kiba into its hair, which, you know, kinda weird, but not as weird as standing there and not moving out of the way! Despite his injuries and the faint aftershocks left by the bouffalant's strong ground-type attack, the dratini managed to slither forward in a vain attempt to do something. Anything.

It quickly became evident that this new pokemon had everything under control.

In a matter of seconds, wicked, destructive twilight rained down on the bouffalant. It was the most overwhelming and dominating display of power he'd ever seen in his life, rivaled only by fairy-tale and fiction. The very earth beneath the pokemon's target gave way to its wrath, forming a deep cavity in the ground where the bad buffalo once was. Osiris remained where he was, a bit too close for most pokemon's comfort, but he was too awestruck to move a muscle from where he sat.

When the pokemon touched down from the sky and began to calmly oversee its work, he could do nothing but stare up at it in wonder. That was power. Admiration and fear wrestled strongly on Osiris for the briefest of moments before admiration won out. Soreness and pain forgotten, he burst from where he was to the pokemon's side in an unconscious flash of Extremespeed, bounding up with an awestruck expression.

"That...was... totally wicked!!" he exploded, eyes wide as he invaded the zoroark's personal space. "I've never seen an attack like that, let alone everything that led up to it!! There was so much energy, and there were three of you, and you weren't scared for even a second!! You saved me and... my... friend." he gushed. The dratini slowed down towards the end, though, as he got a really good look at the pokemon. Tall, darkly-colored, red accents in the hair... not unlike a zorua, if it were all grown up.

That wasn't a guarantee, though. The dratini swallowed a thick lump in his throat, some of the fear and anxiety crawling back up to the surface. "You're not gonna eat Kiba, are you?" he blurted out, keenly aware that there was nothing stopping that from happening.

Yep. That thing was dead. Good. She couldn't help but huff in satisfaction as she stepped away from the edge. Her immediate thought was that it was time to have a chat with Chance, but her thoughts were immediately cut by the small squeaky voice of pure excitement. Her eyes snapped towards the sudden presence that babbled and bubbled with excitement at her side. The monstrous pokemon that absolutely obliterated the normal type was forced to back away from the little blue noodle in surprise and uncertainty.

Her first reaction: Kill it.

Fortunately, she quickly realized that whatever this creature was, it was...apparently a fan. The zoroark stared at the excited noodle with an utterly baffled expression. A normal pokemon would have been absolutely mortified by that display of power. Yet this one...seemed in awe. The dragon type mentioned a friend...a friend? Was he talking about Chance? Was she-....was she going to eat Chance. Okay, she could believe that this dumbass was Chance's friend now. Her eyes narrowed with a particular annoyance to the question.

"No." her answer was short and curt. She thought about whether she should correct the little Dratini on the name, but decided it was best not to. If there was one thing Chance got right, it was about using an alias around strangers.

Chance, meanwhile, suddenly struggled from within the hair. His body hurt with every movement, but he found it imperative to poke his head out now that it seemed like the danger was gone. His head popped out of her hair with a snarky grin, "Of course she's not gonna eat me!" Chance chimed with confidence, glad Osiris thought so highly of this zoroark, "She's my mom!" his tail wagged in the mess of hair as he looked down on the zorua from the safety of the zoroark's hair.

"Kiba." Her angered voice growled.

Chance's ears flattened immediately as he realized the error of his ways. "S-Sorry..." he spoke as he sunk back into the hair.

Mirage's attention looked back to the pesky blue pool-noodle. She had to deal with this thing, then she could have her chat with Chance. "Kiba has to go home now." she spoke to the child, her voice lacking any soft and kind tones, "Kiba is in a lot of trouble."

She was originally just going to leave it at that and walk away, but she stopped. Her gaze wandered over to the green leaves that covered the dratini's body. It was obvious the dratini was injured. Her expression seemed to almost flinch before it would become...slightly softer. An uneasy feeling took hold as she took a quick glance around. The crater, some random vulpix, and the dratini. That's all she saw besides the natural environment. She...she couldn't just leave this kid out here alone. Not because she knew that it was morally the correct choice but...well, because it was something she'd want someone nice to do for her own kid.

The zoroark's gaze looked back to the dratini, her intense eyes focused on the much smaller and weaker pokemon, "Where is your mother?"

It was always awkward watching your friends get into trouble with their parents, but holy god was it terrifying when that same parent (who moments ago reduced a bouffalant and everything immediately surrounding it to nothing) turn their gaze on you. Osiris knew immediately that he was busted. He'd been in similar situations before, but usually, he was playing hooky from school or staying out too late with his friends, not horsing around and barely staying alive in hostile mystery dungeons.

The excitement he felt at her performance dwindled into sheepishness and naked dismay at having been sniffed out. Something told him that this zoroark probably wouldn't feel merciful even if he looked really pathetic, but it wasn't like he could help it. "She's... uh. Ahem," he began, clearing his throat nervously when the words didn't want to come out. "She's not around here she's kind of at home right now," the dratini squeaked, lowering his gaze to the ground and trying to appear as small as possible. It went unsaid that his mom probably had no clue where he was.

If there was one take-away from all this, though, it was that Kiba's mom was seriously awesome, even if she was about to do the mom thing and collaborate with another mom in making their children's lives miserable.

Osiris was in trouble, but there wasn't much Chance could do about it. This wasn't a danger he was capable of helping with. His mom was mad. He could hear it in her tone. He was in big trouble and any attempts to stand up to her was just going to make it worse. He just hoped the dratini knew how to handle himself around mothers like...well, his.

Chance peeked back out from the hair, a look of complete and total apology on his face. He hoped Osiris would see him, that way the dratini could know that he empathized with whatever the dratini might have been about to go through.

Mirage, on the other hand, perked her ears and listened closely to what the dratini said. The dragon type's mother was at home. They were away from their parents, just like the little hooligan she had to rescue just moments before. The zoroark took in a deep breath before she let loose a loooong and slooow exhale. The last thing Chance needed was another bad influence.

"And where is home exactly?" The zoroak questioned the dratini further. The child's obvious fear and small appearance seemingly had no effect on her. It took experience to know how to appear stone cold and she most certainly had plenty of it throughout her life.

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

76-20 = Mirage: 56

It was a little bit gratifying that she didn't start berating him or something, which left him with a teeny tiny small feeling of hope. The dratini peeked up to get a read on her expression just in case she'd softened—nope, he was busted, dead, his mom was going to skin him alive and this lady was going to help. Iris did catch Kiba's sympathetic eye, but he couldn't do much to outwardly acknowledge it. The last thing he was going to do was nod or wink at him and risk his mom catching on and getting them both in more trouble.

"G-Grassveil," he mumbled, timidly glancing back down at the ground. "We're like a twenty—thirty-minute walk from town square, you head kinda towards Archie's book store then swing a right at the pancake stall that's up like every day and you go that way 'til you see our house, it's a little four-roomer with a chimney sticking up out of it." he went on, taking her 'exactly' command as literally as possible. The best thing to do in a situation like this with a no-nonsense authority that you had no hope of fooling... was to cut your losses. Roll over belly up and pray for that snowball's chance in hell that they had some mercy left in their heart and you appeared just pathetic enough to get some.

The zorua sunk back into the hair before he could be caught. He was a sneaky little bugger, capable of slipping out of his mom and dad's sight whenever he wanted. It probably helped with his dad at least that his illusion ability gave him an advantage. Mirage though? She knew his tricks. She was a zorua once. It was a little hard to believe though, he'd always known her as a zoroark. What was she like when she was a zorua? Was she different?

His mind began to wander and forget about both his woes and Osiris'. His mind wandered off into a whole other subject while his mother handled the situation outside. He knew he was going to get a mouthful once his mother's attention was back on him, or at most when they got back home, but for now he'd just enjoy himself in the comfort of safety.

The zoroark was...a little surprised that the dratini gave such an accurate response. Was this kid somehow stupider than Chance or was their mother a little too trusting....or was she really scaring the kid that much? Well, if she was, good. She was something to be feared as far as she was concerned at the moment.

She went quiet as she studied the kid. What should she do with him? She certainly knew which house he spoke of. A dragonair lived there. She could bring him home, but there was also the issue that this kid knew what she looked like. One wrong poster and the kid would realize that she's a wanted outlaw. The simple solution would be to just kill it. Dump Chance off somewhere for a bit, take the kid around back, and be done with it. Nobody would know.

...Buuuuuuuuut Sova would probably disapprove. Besides, there was something she felt inherently wrong with killing this weak little noodle. That would be her morality knock knocking on her emotions. The zoroark struggled with her decision for a moment before another irritated huff would escape her. A claw reached out in a flash and picked up the little noodle. It was fast, but careful still. The noodle was scooped up, launched into the air, before being caught in her hair along with her son.

"You're going home too." she demanded without giving the dratini even an option to resist.

The silence after his obedient answer began to gnaw at Osiris. He didn't know what kind of mysterious mom thoughts that she could be thinking, but he liked to imagine that at least a few of them were nice. Doubtlessly she'd decide to haul him home with Kiba since they both lived in Grassveil, but maybe she'd just drop him off with a stern warning, and not tell his mom?

... yeah, no, that wasn't happening. The dratini felt a firm, gentle claw swoop down and toss him up, and he felt only resignation to his fate as he rose into the air. Iris fell into a comfy mane of hair, and at this, he blinked in mild surprise. He figured the zoroark would just wind him up like a garden hose and carry him over her shoulder, but this might be more practical than that. Carrying both your stupid eggs in one basket and all that.

"Your mom's super cool," he whispered quietly to his... crew-mate? Hair-mate? Fellow passenger. She was scary but way more cool than scary. Any mom could pull off scary, but what she did to that bouffalant was incredible to him, even now.

The vulpix that had remained, who up 'til now been a silent and mildly terrified observer, figured this was probably the last opportunity to say anything to the pokemon who'd saved it from certain death. "Th-thank you!!" it trilled from where it sat at the tree stump, hauling itself to its feet. It padded away a few steps, looking to be only one mean glance away from bolting in the direction of the vulpix that had fled earlier.