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))

Osiris sucked in a greedy gulp of air as soon as his head broke through to the surface. Dratini may be a species that spend a lot of time underwater, but he still needed to breath no matter what. The same rang true of the zorua latched onto him; urgently, Osiris swiveled around to see how Kiba was doing. It wasn't a pretty sight - he seemed like he was going out of it pretty quick, if he wasn't out already.

It took nearly everything he had just to keep the dark-type above water, and even that wasn't going so well. Osiris didn't think he had it in him to make it all the way back to solid ground and pull Kiba out of the water. That left Iris with basically two options; launch him out and hope he didn't get hurt too badly, or take a page out of Kiba's book and cry out for help. The problem was that there were two pokemon relatively nearby that he absolutely did not want to attract... and no one else was closer!

Wait, what was that? Osiris squinted as he caught the movement of something scurrying away from the stream and rocket up a tree. A moment later and a curious, fuzzy face looked right at him. At least it wasn't aggressive... or aggressive yet.

"H-help!!" he called out, willing to take the risk. If it backfired, he'd just have to put his dukes up. "I can't get him out and he's hurting! I think he swallowed water!"

The furret's ear twitched with a tilt of the head as the dratini looked to them. Their eyes widened as the dragon type called out to them with a brief explanation of their plight. As quickly as it did before, the normal type spiraled right back down the tree and close to the shore of the water. It didn't hesitate to dive right in towards the two. The furret seemed to snake through the water as quickly as it could run, surfing through the waters much like the serpent that held the fox.

The normal type did not permit the dratini time to react if he happened to declare them a foe and instead moved behind them. In a swift movement, the furret spun around and produced a small and gentle wave that propelled them to the edge. The normal type rode the wave along with them until they reached the rocky and traverse-able surface.

Chance didn't react to being moved. The zorua washed onto the shore with the dratini and remained out cold. The furret gave itself a shake that flung water droplets everywhere, before it zipped to the zorua's side. It looked down at the zorua hesitantly before it looked back up to the dratini.

"CPR?" It requested with a paw pointed at the fox.

Osiris remained tense and nervous, especially when the furret dropped down from the trees and dived down after them. It didn't become clear until it propelled them back to dry land that it was out to help; The notion that a pokemon would see two struggling kids and take advantage of their plight had him scared for a minute.

Thankfully, this pokemon just seemed to be willing to help out. It even stuck around for a minute after delivering them to dry land, and once it spoke Osiris realized that Kiba needed help that he couldn't quite give. "I-I don't know how," he admitted shakily, his insides twisting themselves into a knot. Maybe he could just... smack Kiba on the belly really hard and he'd cough the water up?

In his unsettled state, it didn't occur to him that the furret might have actually been requesting permission rather than making a simple suggestion.

The furret held a blank stare in the dratini's direction only briefly before it made the executive decision to go ahead and try it anyways even if the dratini didn't exactly say it was alright. Living by the water, the furret was a little more experienced in this type of scenario than the average of its kind. The normal type situated the fox on their side and began the process. 15 steady chest compressions, air. Compressions, air. Compressions, air. Compressions, air-

The zorua convulsed. His body was absolutely thrilled to forcefully eject the unwanted water from his body through whatever means it could in a combination of coughing, hacking, and vomiting. Consciousness was just about restored to the zorua as his dazed mind began to process things around him once more. He gasped for air desperately as his paws tucked as close to him as they possibly could. His body began to quiver and shake as his lungs took in as much oxygen as they could fit with each breath.

He lives.

Once that was done, the furret's gaze began to focus-or rather stare at- the dratini...more specifically the dratini's body and tail...the bleeding bits.

"Y-you did it!!" Osiris exclaimed, all of his fears and worries evaporating once Kiba started hacking up water. Despite the absolutely pitiful image that he conveyed, Osiris couldn't help but beam down at the zorua. He slithered around him once in excitement, his relief momentary overpowering the significant aches and sharp pains all over him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he continued, bounding right over to the furret who saved the day. "I don't know what I would have done, I don't even want to think about it!! I owe you a huge one, really." he gushed. It was then that he noticed the furret staring at him - or, well, at his noodle body.

The dratini followed the pokemon's gaze and was reminded just how bad he looked. And as if just looking at his wounds was all it took, the sharp stinging of open gouges meeting open air stole the breath away from him. His snout scrunched up slightly at the sensation - Kiba might have been okay, but Iris still hadn't gotten himself looked at by anybody. "... I don't suppose you know any healing moves?" he tried, his tone and posture very sheepish. It felt a little lame to ask, but so far this furret had done nothing but help.

The furret's expression fell a little as the dratini asked if it knew any healing moves. It was disappointed to have to shake its head an tell the wounded child "No" even if it could not be helped. The furret seemed to think on this for a moment before its ears popped right back up as if a light bulb appeared in its tiny little mind. It looked down to the rocky ground below it and stepped on down to a tall weed that poked out of the rocks. The furret closed its eyes as the weed began to shiver and shake.

It opened its eyes and focused its attention on the plant, which began to shift and move. The long leaves on it drifted towards the furret as it held out its arm. The leaves wrapped around the tiny limb before forming a complete knot on the top. The furret's arm was now tightly wrapped up like a bandage using the leaves of the plant. It looked back to the dratini and held out its arm, with a pointed look at the dratini's wounds.

Chance, meanwhile, was left to shiver and shake. The dratini was happy, but he was still miserable. It became difficult to breathe again, but for an entirely different reason. He was scared. He couldn't stop himself from crying-though it was difficult to tell since he was already soaked and his breathing already seemed irregular. He didn't dare to move or stand up from the spot. All he could do was wish that Mirage, Sova, or even Emmy was here.

He watched, mystified, as the furret performed its strange plant trick. He was confused, as well - what was it trying to do? It wasn't until it bound up its own arm and looked at him did it click.

"... Oh!" Osiris felt a little stupid for taking a few moments to understand. It wanted to bind up his wounds! That was smart, and again, really generous. "Please!" he asked, wriggling a little closer to the furret. This wasn't why he and Kiba came to the stream, but it was an arguably better result.

A distracted glance told him that the poor zorua in question wasn't exactly doing well, though. It was a close call for both of them, but Kiba had sucked in a mouthful of water and it was taking a toll on the guy. Iris felt bad, but he wasn't immediately sure what to do for him. The furret didn't seem overly concerned, so maybe it was normal? Osiris resolved to keep an eye out for him on the way out of here, regardless.

The furret nodded and went to work on the dratini. The furret concentrated for the briefest of moments before its eyes popped open again. Small and lithe strands of plant sprouted up from the ground, as if they were encouraged to grow. The little strips steadily began to wrap around the dratini. It was a little tight, but the furret attempted to take caution with the pressure. A neat little knot was tied atop of the dratini, every wound covered up safe and sound from both bleeding everywhere and becoming infected. The furret seemed to strike a sort-of "ta-da!" pose when it finished, continuing to ignore the zorua now that it was no longer in any mortal peril.

Chance, meanwhile, was still curled into a ball. He wished for the comfort of his mother's hair or his father's cloak. Unfortunately, he was alone with a dratini and a furret who did not know how to provide the comfort he needed. He hacked up some more water along with this morning's breakfast once more. He could still hear the water behind him, but he didn't have the strength to get up and move away from it. His lungs still burned, but the outside of his body was still cold. For someone who talked so highly of himself, it was unexpected to have such a childish display. It was understandable in the grand scheme of things-considering he was younger than Osiris.

Osiris kept his eyes wide open as the furret worked its magic. It was an incredible phenomenon that the other pokemon was able to produce, spawning plants and getting them to grow in this way; Obviously, it was some kind of grass move, but Iris had to wonder which one specifically. "Thank you," he said solemnly when it finished, "I owe you one, really." The dratini did an experimental little wriggle - it was a bit harder to move around, but the benefit of him not bleeding everywhere far outweighed a little bit of strain.

Iris glanced once more at Kiba, who coughed up some more water and a bit of something else. He grimaced at the sight. It seemed like it wasn't just a bit of momentary discomfort - Kiba was kind of in a state right now. He might need more than a little time.

"I have to help my friend now," he said apologetically. He was sure the ferret understood, considering what it just did for them. "Thank you for everything! You really got us out of a bind."

The furret paused for a second, as if confused. It had just put Osiris into a bind had it not? It took a moment for the true meaning to hit the normal type. Its eyes widened once again in realization before it gave a nod. The furret looked over to the sopping wet Zorua and seemed to have an almost pitying look. They did not attempt anything and instead opted to speak once again, "You two should go home."

Safe wasn't exactly how Chance felt at the moment. He was out in the open and close to the river. He struggled to command his body to move, but it was hard. His whole body ached and somehow felt heavy to just stand on. He couldn't stay here though, he had to to at least get somewhere that wasn't here. With as much strength as he could muster plus some energy he barely had, he managed to get himself onto his paws. His stomach felt sick still. It was hard to get the courage to move with the knowledge that each step was going to haunt him.

He pressed on with each slow and shaky step, sniffling with his tail tucked between his legs as he made a bee-line for the closest bush he could see.

"Yeah," he agreed, "We're gonna get right out of here, I promise. Thank you, again, for everything you did!" he repeated once more, still on some level relieved that he didn't have to deal with a big angry green fish or the prospect of bleeding everywhere on his entire way home. He gave the furret one clumsy bow, which when performed by a snake looked more like a silly half-flop.

With that said and done, Osiris immediately turned on a dime and went after Kiba. Anything with a pair of functioning eyes could see that the zorua was in a really, really bad way right now. "Kiba, wait up!" he called, slithering a little less quickly than usual on account of his bandages. They held up well, considering they were made out of grass. "Don't be in a hurry, man, we're kind of both not in tip-top shape. Let's just take our time, okay?" he suggested, not really sure what to do for his friend. He was soaking wet, shivering, and evidently very weak. Beyond staying near him and keeping him safe as best as he could, Osiris couldn't think of a stand-out solution.

The furret seemed a little confused, but decided to shrug it off. It seemed like the kids wanted to be alone so...why not let em? The normal type turned around and zipped off back into its tree, where it would be safely hidden from potential threats and still have a good eye on the children below.

"Kiba", meanwhile, disregarded the dratini's advice to slow own a little. He wanted the comfort of cover while he rested(hopefully) back up. The voice of the dratini speaking directly to him sparked a sudden need to buck up and suck it in. He built himself up to be such a grand figure earlier with his tale of the Jolteon and this was practically a contradictory to that. While he didn't exactly lie about what happened, he felt like he had implied that he was completely fine with it.

"I-I'm good." he spoke firmly, though it was more of an order to himself than a response to the dratini, "W-We need to not be here." He couldn't hide the quiver of his voice as he crawled at a snail's pace towards the bush. "Not out in the open..." He really wished he could just curl up in his mother's hair...

"Right. Good thinking," Osiris said, only sort of agreeing. Not that he had anything against hiding, but if something really wanted to find them, he didn't think a bush would help. It was more so just to ease things along that he decided to go along with Kiba, what with him being... really not well put-together at the moment. "We'll take cover, recharge for as long as we need, and then high-tail it the heck out of here. Okay?" he pitched, only including himself in that plan so as not to single the zorua out. "I could use a break."

He could, in all honesty, but had Kiba not been in such bad shape he could have forced himself to keep going. Maybe it was for the best that they hung out for a while, though.

Osiris slithered a bit ahead of Kiba, but at an equally slow pace so as not to make him think he was being waited on nor left behind. With his friend in such a state, it fell on him to be the responsible one and protect the both of them. The dratini reared himself up as tall as he could, casting a speculative eye across their surroundings. Aside from the faintest movement in the foliage and treetops that could have been wind, they seemed to be alone.

There were some outliers, of course. Nestled up against a faraway treetrunk lay a very, very still Pineco. It wasn't facing them at the moment, but looking at it, it had to be asleep or something. A pair of sentret skittered across the forest floor, spooking him for just a moment before he realized they were heading in a totally different direction.

Nothing was immediately close, though, and what was nearby seemed docile and uninterested. It was as good a time as any for them to rest up.

It was hard to act normal with how cold, wet, and terrified he was. The zorua crept forward until he managed to reach the targeted bush. He crawled underneath the extensive branches and dropped himself as close to the root as he could get. This wasn't anywhere near as safe and comfortable as his mother, but it would have to do. His crying stopped at least, so he managed to regulate his breath again. His body was sore. While Osiris' wounds were likely greater than his, he was far too focused on himself in the moment.

Only when his pounding heart settled did he speak up again, "Wh-What just happened?" he asked. Sure he could remember some of what occurred, but he had difficulty understanding it all. The zorua's wide-eyed gaze looked to the dratini with the the expectation of an answer.

Osiris maintained his super solemn duty of being watchful and protective, turning around as Kiba sought refuge under the bush. Still nothing except for the pineco, but that didn't mean he had room to relax! His friend needed this break more than he did, so he had to get the jump on whatever out there thought about getting the jump on them.

"We got our butts saved by a really nice sentret," Osiris replied, mistakenly understanding why Kiba would be a little foggy at that part, being unconscious and all. "Bandaged me right up and even got the water out of your belly!"

In the distance, he spotted a skiddo munching on some grass. It must have felt his gaze on him because it looked up and they made eye-contact. Osiris glared at it and reared himself up, trying to appear threatening. The skiddo just looked confused and took another bite of grass.