Mischief Managed [Halloween S4 2019]

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Tonight was going to be fun, Chance thought to himself with a snicker. He spent quite a fair amount of time on just collecting data about the kill-joys of the evening, now was the time to act against them! He couldn't do this alone, however, fortunately, he knew exactly who to ask along with him. It took him all day to put together the note for Osiris, even more just to sneak it into the dratini's room without his mother noticing.

...That was probably very illegal to do, but what did he care? He was gonna be the world's best outlaw! The zorua donned his cape and flash emblem, slapped on his false-oversized fangs, and picked up the pumpkin shaped basket. The innards of the carrier was empty, however, so he flipped the object up onto his head-effectively transforming it into a hat.

He sneaked out of the house and into town square, a careful and cautious eye looked to and fro. This was a Top! Secret! Meeting! He had to make sure nobody was following him...Once he was satisified with his three second search, he slipped into the alleyway he told Osiris about. He searched around the boxes and barrels briefly before he located the one he scouted out several days before. A grin stretched across his expression, the "X" he marked on the crate still ready. He reached his fore-paws up onto the edge. With a keen and careful eye, he made a move to jump in...

Of course, he failed. The box flipped over with the wrong move and trapped him inside. A surprised cry escaped him as he dashed forward in a blind panic. He rammed into the side of the box and sent it flying with him across the alleyway. the box struck another barrel. The rumbling sound of wood struck fear into him as he heard something heavy drop on top of his box.

...

uh-oh.

The zorua shrugged, a little difficult to tell from how he laid on the ground, but it happened none the less. "Seems like a pretty simple explanation to me," he spoke up, "A 'mightyena' came along to try to steal our candy...but we didn't have any so it beat us up. "I" got knocked out first thing and you heroically save "my" life from the big-bad monster."

He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he continued, "If you want to leave then leave. It's not like I can stop you from being a bad friend right now, so you're free to go without trouble...I'm just going to be here." It'd be weird for Chance to wake up suddenly, completely alone and without Osiris in the cold Autumn night. It's better to rest the body than to force it to work when it was clearly out of steam-especially when there was no immediate threat nearby. It wasn't going to be pleasant for Chance, but it was better than the alternative. Besides, it'd be the dratini's fault if he wakes up totally alone, not his.

"So in other words, lie to him because you want to be a secretive fartface," Osiris paraphrased, his scowl deepening at Evil Kiba's suggestion. What a hypocrite! This coming from the same guy who pitched such a big fit over Osiris thinking Kiba was pretending. "What's even the deal with that? Why is that so important that you have to threaten Kiba just so he doesn't know you exist?" the dratini suddenly demanded, the zorua's advice combined with his awful attitude lighting his fire again.

He just wished there was some way he could punish him without hurting Kiba. But this guy clearly had no problem with using his friend as a shield, and he wondered why Osiris thought he was a chicken. The dragon-type slithered closer to his companion, freeing himself from his coil to get a little closer. His movements weren't aggressive, just lively and worked up.

This dice is not existing.

There's the insult. The dratini was clearly becoming upset all over again, but the alter remained calm and continued as he was before. He ignored the emotional side of the dratini's outburst and answered as if the dratini inquired in an equally as calm manner, "Because I will go to any length to make sure he has the best of everything. If he knew someone was helping him with that, it would ruin it. He'd lose his chances at the best kind of life and it would crush him. He might as well be dead at that point, so throwing him off a cliff would just be an improvement on his life." He made sure to put extra emphasis on the destructive nature of what the truth would bring, just to get the idea across. There were admittedly other reasons, but they were inconvenient to his argument...and he knew it.

"Lying about me is okay, because it protects him, that's the only kind of lie permitted." The zorua's gaze looked back to the dratini, a dismissive flick of the tail indicated that he wasn't interested in pursuit of the topic. "Any other questions or are you going to go home?"

Yeah, okay. For half a minute there, Osiris thought maybe this zorua could be tolerable, given the right circumstances. Nope. All it took was a few seconds of conversation and the evil, overbearing, arrogant, presumptuous jerk reared his head back. The dratini inhaled deeply and exhaled after a moment, visibly trying to calm himself. He couldn't hit the guy, he told himself, he just had to be the bigger person and find out more about Kiba's situation so he could help him... just like Zircon.

"You're so dumb," Osiris hissed angrily, his patience fraying. "I'm going home. And so are you. Get up, now." he snapped, raising himself up to a height he deemed intimidating, glaring down at the zorua laying on the ground. The dragon decided he was done playing mister nice guy; he'd put up with this jerk for way too long before they got into that fight, and even then he held back for a moment so as not to hurt Kiba. Their little talk afterward looked like it might be fruitful somehow... but force was clearly the only thing his alter-ego responded to, so he'd have to compromise for now. He consoled himself with the knowledge that if Kiba knew the situation, he would understand.

The dratini was aggressive. Instead of countering his points, it seemed as if the lizard decided to try and work some intimidation into him. Didn't this brat get it? He was designed to handle intimidating. The zorua didn't move a muscle, instead he opted to close his eyes and relax in the grass. Besides, Osiris wouldn't hit him. He had before out of self defense, but he doubted the dragon type would beat him down just for not getting up.

"Go home, Osiris," he instructed, "The body needs rest." His guard was down, the detect he set up before had worn off. If Osiris wanted to strike the zorua, he'd be fully capable of doing so. The alter was busied with fighting off the lingering sense of exhaustion, which left him wide open.

He tried asking. Force it was. Osiris didn't immediately smack the relaxed zorua. The move he had in mind took a minute to get going, actually; instead, the dratini scrunched up his snout in distaste before loosening himself up.

Osiris had to be careful about this - while this was not the strongest weapon in his arsenal, it was very likely the second-most powerful move he knew. So control was a big aspect of this; he wanted to remind Evil Kiba who won that fight, who was calling the shots... and who lost, and who had to listen. He didn't want to cause injuries. He wanted to send a message.

In one smooth movement, the dratini kicked off the ground with his tail, leaping up into the air a short length. His momentum carried him slightly onward to Kiba, closing the small amount of distance between them. In the process, he flipped forward, his tail spinning and glowing a bright viridian hue, not unlike the Dragon Rage that he fired earlier. On his way down, he swung the Dragon Tail downwards, aimed directly at Kiba's exposed middle. Ideally, he wanted to knock the wind out of the zorua, maybe scare him a bit. Causing a little damage was inevitable, but injury was unthinkable, and for that reason, he was careful not to swing as hard as he could, instead pulling back on the blow to a certain extent.

The movement the dratini made in the grass signaled that something wasn't quite right. An eye opened just in time to see the brilliant flash of blue just before a strong force slammed right into his torso. A yelp erupted from his throat, but it was cut short by the forceful expulsion of air from the body's lungs. His back agonized as the force of the power seemed to try to bury him by putting him through the dirt with pure force.

An ache erupted in his ribs as breathing suddenly became a tasking feat again. The zorua scrambled to his feet, trying desperately to ignore the complaints and pains of the body. It felt as if he just couldn't get enough air. He attempted to speak, but it proved difficult to get out much of anything, "You-...I just said-...f-fuck!"

He gasped and struggled, but again the paws would give out from under him. He tried to pick himself back up again, thinking that the dratini was about ready to fight him again, but nothing seemed to cooperate with him. He fell onto his stomach, which only caused a new wave to shiver through him, before allowing himself to fall onto his side and curl up as much as he could with his paws bringing his ears over his eyes. If he couldn't run or fight, then he'd just do whatever he could to minimize whatever damage this dratini was going to bring upon Chance.

The yelp that erupted from Kiba lit a flare of panic up in Osiris, but he didn't hear any cracking sounds. He landed roughly, wincing at the feeling of his cuts brushing against the concrete again. The dratini watched his companion scuttle about in pain, nervously thinking that maybe he messed it up, maybe Kiba was hurt - ah, no, the zorua had enough strength to run his mouth. He was probably fine.

"I just told you to get up." Osiris pointed out flatly in response. "Also, language." he added after a moment, squinting in disdain.

Last time he heard his friend talk like that, his mom looked just about ready to end him. It was Evil Kiba, of course, but if someone heard the zorua talking like that on the way back to Kiba's house and it got back to his mom, that'd be catastrophic. "You can have a second to catch your breath, but you're going home one way or another," he declared, slithering around the zorua, giving him a healthy berth in case he got any funny ideas, but still within Extremespeed distance if he tried to bolt. "We can do this the easy way and you can lead us to Kiba's house and I'll leave you there, or we can do it the hard way. I'm sure a smart guy like you can imagine what that'd be like." he said, his emotionless tone turning mocking towards the end. "Either way, you're not causing any more trouble for anyone else tonight." he finished, his prepubescent voice as hard as he could make it.

In truth, he knew he didn't have it in him to do it the hard way. Just hitting Kiba's defenseless body like that felt wrong on so many levels. It was different when he was defending himself - still weird and unnatural, but he had no choice. This was different. Osiris felt twisted and sick, making his friend cry out like that. He was bluffing, and banking on the alter-ego's logical side to just cut his losses and take the path of least resistance. He seemed to be the kind of guy who did what made the most amount of sense.

He needed to find a way to give the body the rest it needed. It was what made the most amount of sense! It was dangerous to go out like this, especially if an actually bully did decide to pick on two wounded children. It was dark, they were weak, and while he didn't care about whether Osiris left or not, he cared about Chance. This was the time actual criminals wandered the streets and it was even more unsafe with people commonly carrying theft-worthy items around. They were safer in this lot, where nobody ever came.

Osiris was proving to be a problem again. His fur bristled, but he knew there was nothing he could do-not when the body was like this. He said nothing as he attempted to gather his breath, but once he did he spoke with a strained tone, "I don't know where he lives, you idiot!" It was more of a quiet whisper, less intimidating than he wanted it to be. He curled up tighter in the little ball, bracing for another potential strike.

This dice is not existing.

Oh. Well. That was embarrassing. The dratini flushed, floundering for a moment until divine inspiration struck, and he felt like a total dummy. His house was closer - he should have taken Kiba back there in the first place! He could sneak the zorua in through his window easy as pie, and once his mom went to sleep, Evil Kiba could even use the sink to wash all the blood off of himself. Genius. Osiris cleared his throat slightly, composing himself and trying to sound in control.

"Then you get to come home with me," Osiris said. "My place's nearby - I didn't have to go far to meet Kiba out here. A short walk and we'll have ourselves a little sleepover." he revealed, feeling mighty proud of himself for not losing composure or looking like a moron. Now came the hard part, and the gamble. "Get up, now." the dratini repeated his initial words, staring at the crumpled up fluffball that was his friend, hoping desperately the zorua would do as he asked.

Osiris really didn't want to have to find out if he had it in him to hit Evil Kiba again. It just felt... so much like punishing his best friend, even though he knew he was only causing pain to his evil alter ego. He comforted himself again with the knowledge that Kiba would understand if he knew, and that he wasn't causing him any bodily harm - just a little momentary soreness.

Well that lie failed. He figured it would go right over the dratini's head, but then the dragon type had a different idea. The dratini's house being closer did more to appeal to him, but he still found the abandoned lot they were currently in more appealing. Defiance swelled. He wanted so badly to just attack this dratini all over again, but this wasn't his body to sacrifice. Sure he was aware of the pain, but it was just another thing he was familiar with.

"Unless you're willing to find a way to drag the body safely all the way there," he wheezed, "Chance and I are not leaving this lot without resting up." He moved his ear to get a good solid look at the dratini, a defiant look in his eye as he stared the dragon type down. "It's my duty to take care of this body right now and it's at its stopping point. I'm not going to risk forcing the body to it's feet and either fight you or stumble all the way back-especially in the middle of the night like this where bandits and criminals wander around looking for people to steal from!" he managed to gather his breath enough for a sneer followed by a growl.

"So either go home or think of something else to waste your time with."

"Dude, it's Grassveil," Osiris replied, disbelief in his tone. "Not Grima. Nobody's waiting in the bushes to jump out at us. And we're really right down the road, and you really don't have a choice. The way I see it, if you have all this energy to cry and moan, you've got the energy to march. You can rest up all you want there - you can even have my bed, as long as you're not a bedwetter." the dratini laid out, his tone turning hard when he reminded the zorua that this wasn't a debate. Also, a little bit when he laid down the ground rules for his bed, because while he had faith in Kiba, he wasn't so sure about this guy.

It was a debate in truth however, because wow even with that dumb sneer on his face and stupid words pouring out of his mouth, that was Kiba looking at him struggling to breathe. Because he hit him in the gut when he didn't see it coming. Still, he had no option but to double-down; if he left this guy here all by himself, there's no telling what kind of trouble he'd get into looking just like Kiba. The guy outright admitted that he was going to kill him if Osiris lost that fight! Even bringing him home wasn't the best idea, really, but it was the best option he felt like he had.

So double-down he did. The dratini raised himself up again, eyes glaring daggers at the zorua that looked so much like his friend. "I'm not taking no for an answer, and I'm losing patience. We can do it the easy way or the hard way, chicken." he growled right back, looking for all the world like he was ready to pounce on the weakened dark-type. "Choose before I choose for you."

Man...this dratini was a prick. He'd say an even bigger one than he was. The zorua's ears pinned back with a curled lip into a silent snarl. He wanted to stay here, even if it'd be cold and frightening for Chance, because it'd be guaranteed safety. This dratini, on the other hand, was ensuring that this was no longer a safe space. He could hardly even believe the dratini could make the assumption that his ability to talk back meant he could just stand up and walk out of there!

He was quiet as he weighed his options. He could go with the dratini and risk being jumped in the street, or he could stay here and take a definite beating. Osiris already proved willing to strike Chance despite the lack of a need for it, even if it wasn't as strong of an attack as it could have been, with how careless the dratini was it was a bigger risk than he liked. He began to move. The zorua uncurled from his spot and made another attempt at standing up. It was even harder than before, the legs quivered with the effort. He silently apologized to Chance, but his so-called friend wasn't leaving him any choice.

It took longer than it should have to get onto his feet, but each movement was careful. He took his time in getting up. Once he stood, he spoke, "You...have no idea what kind of villains live in Grassveil. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It just means it's good at hiding...and don't just assume that the body is fine just because I have a high tolerance for pain either."

"The only reason I'm doing this is because I don't trust you to not kill him...not anymore," he growled at the Dratini, attempting to raise his head high again. He quickly gave up on upholding the posture as he tried to avoid any complaint the body decided to deliver to him. He had to be careful and they both had to be fast. He walked towards the way they came, abandoning the bucket and sack of seeds he tossed aside earlier. Each step held a risk of another tumble, but he had no choice but to press on...because Osiris was a terrible friend.

"I've lived here my whole life," the dratini started, raising an eyebrow at the zorua as he started to pick himself up. "Crawled up and down these streets both with and without my mom, and I've never been attacked. Not until I left Grassveil's protection, or until I met you. If the villains really do exist and they're really hiding in plain sight... then they're not interested in kids like Kiba and me." he explained.

He stopped to slither over and pick up the seeds, seeing that his companion made no move for them. Osiris tossed them into his diglett helmet, and tipped it over so that the helmet was covering the seeds, then pushed it deep into the tall grass so nobody could spot it at a glance. They'd be there in the morning to pick up, in all likelihood. Then he took the lead between the two of them, stopping to study how Kiba's body was faring. It didn't look too good - the dratini frowned for a moment, wondering if he hit Evil Kiba too hard, or maybe he was just acting? Osiris wouldn't put it past him at this point. "If you need a second to catch your breath, I already said you could have it at the start of all this nonsense.

"And don't be so dramatic," Osiris added. "I didn't hurt him, I just knocked the wind out of you. Kiba won't even feel it when he wakes up tomorrow."

"If you need a second to catch your breath, I already said you could have it at the start of all this nonsense."

A wave of fury and rage washed over him. The careful watch of the body was abandoned as he whipped around to face the dratini. The body desperately tried to warn him, but his anger overrode the signals. His fur bristled, his furry collar looking more like a full mane than a small scarf. "You're the one that fucking told me to get up right now!" he shouted at the dragon type as strongly as his voice could muster. Each paws' claws extended with a clean white sheen, but the energy that coated them immediately broke away as the zorua's body collapsed entirely all over again.

The fox shivered in the spot, but still he looked on at the dratini with what could only be described as seething hatred. "You're awfully dumb too you know that?" he hissed, "There's so many people that would love to get their filthy hands on Chance and his family. So many that'd just LOVE to see them torn apart-just because of who his parents are."

"You keep assuming things without any facts to back them up and it's going to get you and Chance killed!"