Children At Play

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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))

Chance was surprised by the sudden arrival of a second passenger. Usually Emmelyn was the only one to bunk with him, so this was...different. He blinked at the dratini as he was complimented on his mom. His ears flattened nervously, knowing full well that she could probably hear them.

"Ahah-yeaaaah..." it's not that he disagreed, it's just the fact that they were literally on Mirage's back, hitching a ride. It just felt weird. He was not even sure if he was allowed to talk at the moment. Given the lack of response from his mother, he figured it was alright. "M-My dad's just as strong too-actually a lot more. She coulda probably taken on like-ten more of those at once."

--

Mirage situated herself until she was comfortable with the two toddlers in the back. She nearly forgot all about the collaterally saved vulpix. It piped up a word of gratitude, though still looked ready to bolt. It very obviously did not mean any harm, but her first instinctual reaction was to yell at it to shut up. "Sh-Shut up." While she didn't yell or sound angry any more, she sounded more uncomfortable than anything. It wasn't a bad discomfort, really, but more of just a feeling she wasn't used to. It wasn't often that Mirage was thanked by anybody other than her family...well, her new family.

The awkward look managed to break through her expression now that neither of the children were capable of looking. She...didn't know how to respond to this. She couldn't just tell it to shut up, that wasn't even the right thing to say! This was new territory and Sova wasn't here to hold her hand. Fuck. What would Sova do? Scream at it? No-that was just her again...

". . . Find new friends." she started off in whatever direction was opposite from the vulpix. Smooth.

"I bet," Osiris kept whispering, blissfully unaware of the fact that Kiba's mom was likely listening to every word they were saying. "I know this one guy who blew up some of town square—he's in jail now—and he's the only other person I know who could do something like that. You think she'll ever show you how to do that move?" he went on, his curiosity and awe growing as he kept thinking. Osiris didn't know anything about the zorua line, so the revelation that they could put out that kind of firepower was totally new to him.

It meant Kiba would probably grow up to be really strong, just like him, so that was cool to think about. It was a shame he wasn't going to join the guild, actually, because they could probably beat everyone up together once they got bigger and stuff.

"NO!" the immediate answer from Mirage was quick to answer the dratini's question. Chance's ears flattened as he flinched from the sudden and harsh response. The zorua dared not to speak another word as he placed his paws over his snout. He was admittedly immensely disappointed that she wasn't going to show him how to do that, but he'd been told that very word often enough that he'd grown used to it. He figured he would just have to find out how to do that sort of thing on his own. Maybe it just came with being a zoroark anyways?

Mirage's stance on the subject was firm and unchanging. There was a snarl to her tone that made it clear. Her awkwardness before immediately vanished as Stern Mom Mode came right on back in. While she would have loved to just bolt all the way back to Grassveil, she needed to take it slow. It was quite a trek back through these valleys and without a solid path to follow, it might take her a little more time to get back. While she held some concerns about Emmelyn at home, she knew that the little eevee knew what to do if she didn't show up when she went off looking for Chance. The babysitter was certain to keep her company.

Mirage, despite her short and curt answer, had more to contribute to the conversation besides silencing her son. "You familiar with Outlaws or something, kid?" she asked. If the so-called friend was in jail, then it was highly likely that he was one. She wasn't sure which answer she wanted out of the kid. Yes would mean that her identity was a little safer, but now some outlaws might be aware of her children-prime targets for getting to both her and Sova. No, well, the dangers of that were obvious.

Mirage Energy: 22

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Just as Kiba did, Osiris immediately deflated when his mom's voice boomed. He coiled up and ducked his head as far down into the pool of his serpentine body as he could, more startled than scared. So she had good hearing, too. That did not bode well for either of them during this trip back.

"Uh... n-no?" Osiris guessed. "Kind of? I don't know. W-when I met him, he wasn't in jail, but then he got into a fight and they put him away, but he's not a bad guy! He's like, sick. It's stuff in his head that makes him act weird and sometimes mean." he elaborated, still not entirely sure of the answer. Were you still an outlaw if you were in jail? They took Zircon right to jail after he won that fight, so did that mean he was an outlaw for like twenty minutes?

Iris desperately hoped not. There was a stigma that came with being a bad pokemon like that, and that sort of thing was the last thing the charizard needed in his life, on top of everything else. "If he's an outlaw, then he shouldn't be. It's not fair to him." he finished, unwilling to move on that one fact. Sometimes life was just harder for some people and that wasn't right.

"If he went to jail right away and didn't do anything before that, he isn't an outlaw," the zoroark spoke, "Just a convict." Mirage should know, she's an outlaw. While she certainly put her criminal-days behind her, the fact remained that there was a bounty on her head and plenty of pokemon that wouldn't hesitate to take Emmelyn and Chance, throw them into some sort of foster home, and her behind bars...Sova as well if anyone found out.

If that happened, at the least, he could pretend that she manipulated him. That way he could stay with the kids and keep them from having to move from home to home. While she had not experienced it personally, she knew that foster systems didn't always work out for pokemon. Who knows what other parents would do with the likes of Chance?

Kiba's eyes kept on the dratini and listened intently. This guy was friends with an outlaw??? That was so cool! He wanted to babble more about it, but Mama was listening. She didn't like it when he talked about that kind of stuff around her. He knew better than that. The zorua was interested to hear more about the pokemon Osiris knew, even if the pokemon technically wasn't an outlaw. It excited him! He wanted to meet that pokemon too!!

"If there's somethin' wrong with his head, they'll probably figure it out and he won't get too harsh of a sentence...probably get thrown in an asylum or something." It was a little brutal to be so honest with the child, but dressing things up nice and pretty wasn't her strong spot even if she wanted to. Reality was harsh, the kids needed to know that.

Osiris' snout scrunched up in distaste. That was the most bogus thing he'd ever heard. It wasn't Zircon's fault at all that he was sick or that he got into that fight, but he was being punished because the other pokemon didn't know how to cure his sickness. "That's dumb," the dratini grumbled petulantly. "If you did something bad because you didn't know any better, then you shouldn't get in trouble." he said, adamantly refusing to side with anyone but his charizard friend on this. No way would he ever let Zircon get locked away in some loony bin to rot.

He sighed from the relative safety of the zoroark's hair, worked up over the subject but unable to really do anything about it at the moment. He had some pokemon to visit and check up on for Zircon, but right now he just had to get hauled home and endure the wrath of his mother. At least he and Kiba were going to get out safe, though, thanks to his mom. She was really powerful and nice even if she didn't act like it and her hair was super soft—probably the best savior they could've asked for.

She rolled her eyes, even though the dratini couldn't see them. It was a little dumb when put like that, but she wasn't going to sit here and explain the intricacies of the justice system to the dragon type...especially since she didn't even know half of them. She knew some basic terms and whatnot, but she'd never really been apprehended. There was one close call, but she had help to bail her out.

Chance, instead, would pipe up, "Yeah! If he couldn't help it then they should just let him go..." the zorua seemed to pout as much as Osiris, even though he didn't know the pokemon personally. He paused for a moment before he turned around and began to climb his way up to the top of his mother's head. He poked out of the hair and stuck his snout closer to her ears as he whispered.

"Hey, couldn't you just say that happened to-" he was abruptly cut off as Mirage made a sharp movement with her head and sent the zorua tumbling back in with Osiris.

"NOT, now Kiba." She growled to the zorua. God, she hated using that name.

"S-Sorry..."

The zoroark weaved through the trees with caution. Even if she could handle most of the pokemon here, she would prefer not to put the children in danger. She glanced up at the trees, where a pinecoe seemed to snooze the day away and a rufflet watched them with a curious interest. A disapproving look and some eye contact with Mirage later, the rufflet thought better of approaching and decidedly flew away.

The byplay between Kiba and his mom was mostly background noise to Osiris, as he was more interested in taking a page out of the zorua's book. The dratini wrapped a healthy chunk of his tail into the zoroark's hair so he wouldn't lose grip or fall out before peeking his head out to get a look at the outside world again. It was strange to see things from so high up in the air; even fully raised up on the ground, Iris was pretty short compared to Kiba's mom.

It was a little awe-inspiring to see how she totally dismissed pokemon with just her presence. He caught sight of the rufflet flapping its wings, flying away from the incensed dark-type. How did she get so strong in the first place? Kiba had mentioned his dad was a super famous explorer—was his mom also one? Whatever Kiba said about her earlier had slipped his mind already.

For the most part, though, he merely settled in for the slightly-awkward but novel ride home. He understood they probably shouldn't speak unless they were spoken to.

For the most part, it seemed as if the locals didn't want to bother with the zoroark. Whether they knew when they were outmatched, saw the impact that Mirage made just a while back, or just had no interest, they kept back. Another pineco that had fallen in their path rolled away as quickly as they could as Mirage stepped over the bush they hid in.

Fortunately, she still had questions to ask this little Dratini, "So, what's your name?"

"Osiris!" Kiba piped up, eager to answer whatever question he could for his mother. He quickly realized his mistake with a quick growl from his mother. He then realized that yeah, he wasn't the one being asked the question. His mouth snapped shut once more as he curled himself up as much as he could. He felt the need to be as small as he could, so perhaps his mother would be slightly less mad at him.

"I assume he's telling the truth..." Mirage spoke up once more, "What are you doing out here exactly when you SHOULD be in Grassveil?"

The trees above rustled, leaves falling from them as something appeared to be...following them. She kept on high alert, ready for a fight in case whatever was up there decided to come on down and say "hello."

"Yeah," Osiris echoed Kiba's answer and his mother's implied question before attempting to explain himself. "I, uh—I guess... practicing?" he asked with a questioning lilt as if he wasn't totally sure himself.  "Like fighting and exploring and that kind of stuff. I didn't have any classes today so I thought it would be a good idea." the dratini elaborated, scrambling for some sort of justification for running off into a dangerous place this like and horsing around.

That, and he seriously wanted to whip himself into shape. He had a friend to join the guild with and everything, but Osiris didn't think he was on her level yet. A few trips less life-threatening than this and maybe he'd figure some things out. Just running through here with Kiba had taught him a few things though. Like how bad of an idea it was to go anywhere dangerous by yourself and how helpful a friend can be when a wild pokemon has its jaws clamped around your everything.

"And you didn't bring a parent with you, why?" Mirage continued her growing army of questions for the little dragon. There were plenty of safer places this little tyke could have gone, like Pecha Forest. The pokemon there were weak and it was close to Grassveil, so if anything happened it was a lot more likely that there was someone around to help.

"You traveled all the way out here on your own, the two of you honestly could have died if I wasn't there." Her voice grew snippy and stern once again. Chance could tell that she spoke to the both of them. He kind of felt a little more bad for Osiris. Not only was he getting a lecture from his mom, but the dratini would probably get one from their mom as well. That's two lectures for one mishap!

"W-We were doing pretty good though!" he spoke up, "There was this mightyena-and this basculin-"

"I don't care what you managed to deal with out here. It doesn't change my point. That thing was out to kill and even if the two of you managed on your own, what about the next one? The one after that? And the one after that one. You never know how many bad pokemon you're going to encounter in places like these and one serious wound could mean the death of you."

This lady definitely meant business. The precise reason he didn't bring his mom with him was that he knew she wouldn't approve of him coming here. Not that he was going to admit that out loud; from the way Kiba's mom was talking, it sounded like she knew that already anyway.

Just like she knew how close they were to... well, dying. The mightyena probably would have gotten them both down if not for the kangaskhan showing up, and there was maybe an argument to be made for the basculin too. Iris liked to think they were doing well against the bouffalant, but then he remembered the sound of Kiba's voice when that hoof caught him in the side.

And, as she said, there was no telling what would come after. "... I'm sorry," Osiris mumbled into the silence left after the lecture, actually significantly genuine. Usually, this was where he'd say that just because it was what the adult wanted to hear, but this time it wasn't a fib. Hopefully, Kiba would see the light as well, and a unified front might pacify his mom a little bit.

The more his mom spoke, the more he became...upset. This day was supposed to be fun, not something that took a nosedive. This was exactly why he always tried to go places without his parents. It was much more fun with Emmelyn, but most of the time she'd just babble about how bad of an idea it was. Who cares if its a bad idea? Everything's going to turn out fine in the end anyways! The moment Osiris apologized was the moment a surge of emotion gave him the courage to fight back.

"We. Were. FINE!" he snapped, "I was avoiding things just fine! I'm just fine! Yeah-it hurts, but i'm FINE and he's FINE!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice with me! You take one good long look at your friend and tell me he's completely healthy. If it weren't for me, you would have broken something serious or even been gored!"

"But he is fine. The leaf-thing's stopping the bleeding."

"Are you just ignoring the fact that he's bleeding in the first place?"

"You do all the time with you and dad!"

"That's different."

"WHY?"

"You'll understand when you're older. Either way, stop your back-talking. This isn't an argument you can win."

"I never win any arguments with you!"

"That's because I'm Mom, now shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

"Why do you always have to be such a bitch?"

Mirage stopped stopped walking. Chance's ears flattened as he put his paws over his mouth once more, a sense of dread creeping over him. A claw rummaged through the hair. Chance attempted to avoid it, but there was no escape. The scruff of his neck was grabbed and pulled out. His eyes looked to Osiris with fear as a small squeak for help escaped him. He was held in front of Mirage, eye to eye.

"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?"

It was at this moment Chance knew, he done fucked up.

Kiba was brave to a fault, Osiris decided. Whether or not that was a good or a bad thing was up to anyone's interpretation, but in this situation, he didn't think anyone would describe it was a good thing. Talking back to adults was one thing, but arguing with your mom? The dratini side-eyed his friend from the zoroark's back as he and his mother went back and forth, eyes wide and fearful of whatever maternal retribution was about to be brought down on him.

When he said the b-word, though, is when Osiris decided brave might not be the aptest description. The dratini went deathly still as the zoroark stopped, and when she plucked his friend out of her hair, he wished him a silent farewell. It wasn't until Kiba shot him a panicked look for help that he felt a need to intervene in the conversation. He thought back to how Kiba bravely put his life on the line for the vulpix, sucked in a deep breath, and took his shot.

"Kiba saved my life!!" Osirs blurted, not entirely sure how that helped the situation. When nothing else came to him, he decided to elaborate and hopefully just roll with it successfully. "A couple of times actually, and I saved him once too! W-we were doing pretty good until you found us... you know, keeping each other safe and working together, and we even tried to save that vulpix. He's just frustrated is all, I swear, p-please don't..."

Please don't what, Osiris wasn't sure, but that was when his filter kicked in and his well of courage ran dry.

She took in a breath, ready to have a few choice words with her son. However, the dratini reminded her of their existence. Not only that, but she could spy the curious gaze of a furret just barely within her line of sight. A furious rage stirred within her, the leer on her expression only a hint of the emotion she felt inside. How dare Chance do this!?

Her gaze flicked to the dratini, then back to Chance. She couldn't do it here. Not in front of this dratini and not in the middle of the dungeon. Besides, she felt that someone else in the family would be very interested in whatever new word Chance learned and decided to call her.

"Chance." She started, deciding the alias needed to be dropped in order to get the right effect she wanted. Her voice now a whole new type of angry. It was almost calm, that terrifying sort of calm where you absolutely know they're seething inside. The zorua tucked his tail between his legs and curled up as much as he could, again to seem small. He didn't dare even a smirk, knowing full well that he was in a heap of trouble. "We'll continue this...at home...where you can tell your father exactly what you just said."

Chance's eyes grew wide. No...no-no-no. Dad was going to KILL him. Oh no, oh god. He was frozen to the spot as she continued, "Until then, you are not to speak a single word. Understood?"

Chance nodded his head furiously, his mouth fastened shut.

Onto the next problem child, she looked to the dratini. "And you. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it doesn't matter how it ended. It doesn't matter if he's frustrated. This is not a way to talk to your mother. So get back in the hair, or you're going to have to be quiet too." She wasn't this kid's mom, but she was certainly going to act like it at the moment. She was the only adult in this situation. A solo-mom stuck with two children-one of which wasn't her own. Emmy behaved so much better than this...she was just beginning to think the dratini was alright when they apologized too.