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.

Osiris flinched slightly at the poke Kiba's mom gave her son, sympathetic if nothing else. He lived a rough life at his mom's heel, it seemed. Maybe it had something to do with how much freaking trouble he got into, but he didn't think he saw the zoroark-in-disguise act gentle towards him even once. Well, besides the whole saving him from the rampaging bouffalant thing. That was pretty cool and caring.

"I know you saved my son's life not too long ago, and whatever Iris and I did to help save yours' was just us returning a fraction of the favor," Saige replied smoothly. "I don't take that lightly, Miss Sidonia. The rest doesn't really concern me." the dragonair laid out, not flinching from the blase attitude or blunt delivery. She spoke honestly; there wasn't much in her life besides Osiris, and the list of people looking out for the both of them was short and approaching zero. Anybody who did something that significant for her family wasn't someone she intended to do wrong by. Said dratini puffed up slightly at his mom's words, proud despite everything he did wrong last night.

There wasn't a lot to pick up on, in honesty. The note on the door betrayed the fact that her son had a fake name on top of his tendency to disguise himself, which meant they were hiding from someone. Who that someone might be was anyone's guess as far as she was concerned; guild, police, outlaws, there was no telling. She'd only met the two of them twice, and both meetings were relatively brief.

The answer was...correct. It didn't seem like a question with a particular yes or no answer, but the wrong answer would have ended very badly for everyone involved. She was satisfied with it, especially since the dragonair seemed to know not to pry. While she didn't drop her own disguise, she relaxed a bit more. She knew not to let her guard down completely, but it was easier to cope with this knowledge.

"Kiba, room," she ordered the zorua. Chance obediently sulked towards the empty hall. He limped along, struggling as he went, but he knew better than to complain about it at that moment. It was a miracle his mother wasn't chewing him out then and there, he shouldn't test his luck...as much as he wanted to.

Once he was well on his way, her attention turned back to Osiris and Saige. "Thank you for this," She spoke to the dragonair, her voice now laced with uncertainty. The mightyena looked down at the little wyrm that accompanied the other mother. "Can you give any other details on this Jolteon? What happened exactly?" she questioned the child quickly. The sooner she could get these two out, the better. She didn't want to risk them finding out any more about her. It was bad enough that they knew she was a zoroark...

This dice is not existing.

Saige released a breath she wasn't conscious of holding; the mightyena didn't say anything in reply to her, just a brisque thank you. She knew she passed some sort of test there and was consequently glad for it. The dragonair simply nodded in response, watching the dark-type interact with her son with curious eyes. This was something she hadn't gotten around to either - she was very interested in his answers.

"From start to finish?" he asked rhetorically, more so informing her of the nature of his answer. He was leaving nothing out, and was being clear about it. "He came out of nowhere. We were just walking back to my house, and then he blasts between us and blindsides us. Then he starts talking to Kiba - well, more like talking at Kiba, 'cause he was out at that point. I think I got off lighter 'cos I'm a dragon-type and we resist the electricity stuff." he began, as honest and detailed as he could. Every detail minus Kiba's alter-ego was going to be mentioned to the best of his memory - anything that could help the zoroark hunt this guy down and take care of him.  

"He was saying stuff like "hello again," and "I was wondering when he'd catch you again," and... I don't know, I just stopped thinking and jumped on him at that point. He kinda ran circles around me - he was tearing into Kiba like... like a piece of meat or something, and blasting us with electricity left and right, no matter what I tried." the dratini recounted, his frustration re-emerging and entering his tone. "Toward the end, he had us both down, and he said that "it was a lot easier now that daddy wasn't around to ruin the fun." He stopped moving, so I blasted him with my best move, and he dropped and didn't get back up. I grabbed Kiba and took him home, and that was it."

The dratini exhaled calmly, nodding as he ran the story back in his head. That was all of the important personal details - the rest of it was just his tactical failings. Those weren't mistakes that Kiba's mom was likely to repeat, and thus not worth her time as a result. His part in this was to provide the right information and crush this jolteon the next time he came around, no muss, no fuss.

This dice is not existing.

She listened to every word the wyrm had to say, but found herself dissatisfied with the details. He told her what happened, yes, but the jolteon could have been any jolteon for all she knew. It sure sounded a lot like the one that attacked Chance and Sova in Discharge Prairie, but she wanted to be sure of it.

"The Jolteon, what did he look like?" she demanded. Whether it was who she thought he was or not, she was certainly going to do her damnedest to make sure that the electric type would regret his decision...and perhaps never bother them again for certain.

"Did he have a bad paw?" she clarified. That was the only real detail she could recall from what she was told of the scene. Her eyes focused on the little dratini...but she still felt awkward. It was unfamiliar to have strangers in her house. It almost felt like she should toss them out right that moment, but she needed this information...and it was a little discourteous. She was nice now, right?

Saige's eyes flickered between her son and the mightyena, digesting the story he told. It was hard for her to imagine Osiris in a high-stakes fight like that, and in the streets of Grassveil so close to their house no less, but there was no trace of falsehood... and Sidonia seemed to take him at his word. Maybe this jolteon was connected to whatever they were running from? The dragonair didn't know and didn't plan on finding out, but the information was in her head now and it was hard to ignore.

"Yeah he did, he wouldn't step on it during the fight," Osiris remembered with a start, feeling a little stupid now. She was asking for details about the jolteon, not a play-by-play of what'd happened. "And uh, his ear. It was kind of torn, like a bad tug on it would take it right off. But otherwise, he looked pretty normal to me."

A silence hung in the air as she mulled it over. If it was last night, then odds were that the jolteon was gone by now. A reasonable thing to these two would have been to report the jolteon to the police, but she quickly found that she didn't quite want that. Her gaze snapped to the dragonair, the illusion following her actual motion.

"Don't report this to the station. My..." Husband? Boy friend? Significant other? What the hell was she and Sova supposed to call each other? "My son's father and I will look into taking care of the situation...quietly." Her tone was more of an instruction than a request. The last thing she needed was police showing up on her doorstep to try to interview Chance. Her paw remained on the door, keeping it shut even though the two weren't currently attempting to leave. The illusion that disguised her seemed to just be standing near it, not touching the wooden structure. She still wasn't sure about these two.

"And do not speak of my son's true identity to anyone without my approval...Is that understood or is there something else you'd like to ask?" the tension in her voice built up.

A strange request, but Osiris' mom certainly saw the reasoning behind it. Whatever the reasoning behind her motive, she wanted to avoid drawing attention to her family. Saige wasn't sure if it was such a great idea for her and Kiba's father to take care of the issue themselves, but she also knew precisely nothing about the issue in the first place. Osiris knew more, just by virtue of having crossed paths with the jolteon. She'd trust the mightyena in the end - she more than deserved it after taking care of Osiris as she had.

The dismissal—even if it was polite—was clear to her. "I understand," Saige said, nodding gracefully. "We'll get out of your hair now-"

"Actually," Osiris cut in, eyes flickering from his mom to the mightyena. "Can I uh, talk to you... in private, for second?" he asked awkwardly, the question really more aimed at his mom that Kiba's. It was a very roundabout way of asking the dragonair to leave the house while they talked for a minute, and she realized this, gracing him with a look that requested more information. "It's not about what happened," he cleared up, shaking his head as he slithered a pace closer to the mightyena. "It's a different thing."

It took a few long seconds, but the dragonair eventually nodded reluctantly. Not out of any distrust towards Sidonia, but more-so toward her son; he had a penchant for... well, being a kid, but on the other hand, he'd kind of earned a little bit of leeway with the whole 'beating up an attempted murderer' thing. "Don't waste her time, okay? You know where to find us if you ever need anything, Miss Sidonia." she said, shifting her focus to nod gratefully at the other mom.

Then she snatched up her brat-sack and let herself out, the door shutting quietly. Osiris didn't waste any time. "How'd you get so tough? What do I have to do to get strong like you??" he burst out, eyes wide as he looked up at what he knew to be an illusion. "I just—I want to do better if that jolteon shows up again. I know he went after Kiba once, he told me the story in Everspring, and I want to get him good next time so nobody gets hurt again." he rushed out, expression and tone both earnest and pleading.

The dragonair seemed to understand. She wasn't sure if Saige knew just how much weight was behind her silent promise if word got out, but it was enough to let her allow them to leave without much more trouble. A grumble crackled in the back of her throat, but it was quickly cut off as the child in the room spoke out once more.

Osiris wanted to speak with Mirage, alone it seemed. Curious, the zoroark allowed the dragonair to leave without her son. Once the dragonair was out, her paw went right back on the door to pin it in place. The illusion dissipated and revealed the true form of the zoroark to the small dragon type who had already seen her before. His request was an odd one. One that caused her to pause and contemplate how she should answer.

"...I am not a good fighter," she admitted, "Just a strong one...and i'm that way because life required me to be that way-else I would have died...The best advice I could give you is to challenge yourself in any way you can. Whenever you're about to fail, just think of why you want your goal in the first place and let it motivate you. Hang onto whatever anger or frustrations you have and use it, don't just let it slide."

"I've always fought as if my life depended on it, because usually it does. So...either fight like you're going to die or don't fight at all, because you're either going to win or die trying."

Osiris frowned absently as he gave the zoroark's words thought. It was similar to how he felt after defeating the jolteon - keep that frustration and anger in mind and use it as fuel for self-betterment. It'd certainly serve to motivate him to get out into the world to face bigger challenges. He had ideas already, but this advice wasn't really geared towards getting better so much as getting stronger.

But by her own admission, Kiba's mom apparently wasn't a good fighter in the first place. Osiris sought both strength and skill, so he'd have to go somewhere else to learn the secret to the other half of the equation. "I felt that stuff after it was over. I wasn't just mad at him for attacking us, but me, too, because I couldn't keep us safe. I still feel that way." he spoke to himself, staring down at the zoroark's feet as he thought. "I just gotta remember that feeling and never stop working, huh? Okay. I can do that." the dragon nodded, now fully resolute.

"Thanks," he said, smiling up at her. "Um, also, do you think it's okay if I come over sometimes to pick up Kiba to go play, or is that maybe not okay?"

They'd gotten together tonight originally because Kiba had left a note for him in his own house, but he felt like just going over to each other's houses would be a lot more convenient. On the other hand, there was a bit of secrecy to the way Kiba's mom did things, what with disguising herself and Kiba in front of his mom and everything. Maybe she wouldn't be cool with it - better to ask now so as not to risk her getting mad when he tried it.

It was apparent that her answer didn't satisfy the dratini. She felt a bit bad that she couldn't help him with what he wanted, but she didn't really have much to offer in the first place. She tackled things with sheer brute force and either got blown back or succeeded. She'd never really had to use anything else...though admittedly it would have been useful during the mewtwo fight. Perhaps she should look into it too...

Osiris was back to being happy. He looked up at her with a smile and a request. She frowned herself this time around. There was a pause as she contemplated her decision. Eventually, she responded, "Kiba was grounded last night. He wasn't supposed to go anywhere." She decided to inform the dratini. "He won't be seeing anyone for a long while so long as I have a say in it," another low ominous tone lingered in her voice. She hesitated, but continued, "When he's not under house arrest...maybe...so long as you and him tell me when and where you are going before you leave."

"O-oh," Osiris uttered, the child in him shaken by that admission. No wonder Kiba thought his mom was going to be mad at him - he wasn't supposed to be out last night in the first place! Iris had been grounded as well, but he at least got an admission to go trick-or-treating for a few hours... "Okay. We will, I promise. Last night sucked." Osiris said, a humorless chuckle escaping him briefly.

It was a good idea for other reasons as well. If Kiba's alter-ego got out again, just the zoroark knowing where they were would dramatically decrease the odds of him getting away with something bad. Having her as a safety net, in general, would take such a load off his shoulders. They wouldn't have to worry about getting lost after dark or surviving for too long in a mystery dungeon if they got stuck for some reason. Plus, there was always the chance he could see her blow up another pokemon and take a ride home in her comfy hair.

Spirits raised, he shook himself up and looked at the zoroark gratefully. "Thanks again for the advice. Can you tell Kiba bye for me? And that I hope he gets better soon, and I hope he's not grounded forever." the dratini went on, regretful about leaving his friend behind but glad he had his mom to watch over him. Maybe she'd sniff out his alter-ego and just have him taken care of... that'd be nice. With that, he slithered up to the closed door and waited for her to let him out, as she still had a hand on the knob.

The kid promised, but she couldn't help but still feel irked by how close this kid and his mom had become. It was bad enough that they knew where they lived, the fact that they knew Chance's identity only made it worse. The wyrm was chipper and joyful, almost as if he didn't see her as a threat. The mother was smart, but the kid needed more work.

"I will, but..." Her claws dug into the wood as she leaned in close to the dratini. Her other arm planted on the ground as she drew near, "Remember this: Tell nobody and do not lie to me." Her husky voice growled as low as she could. Her intense eyes and bared teeth were certainly a sight to see, no illusions or trickery to change a thing about her. Still leaned in close, her hand on the door pulled it open just a crack. There was barely enough room for the dratini to squeeze through and not enough for the mother to peer through and see what was going on.

She waited for the dratini to either leave or respond.

For a brief, terrible moment, Osiris thought he was back in that abandoned work lot face-to-face with Evil Kiba again. A ray of sunshine caught his eye from outside though, blinding him, and he remembered where he was. He realized it really was Kiba's mom that was... threatening him. Huh. Was this what the bouffalant saw in its last moments? The dratini was minutely shivering, not even aware of it, but unable to look away from her red eyes as he looked up at her.

Osiris saw where Kiba's alter-ego got it from, a little bit.

"... yeah," Osiris agreed after a moment, shaken and a little bit disappointed. Hadn't he proven himself by now? He stood by Kiba both in Everspring and last night, and still, his mom saw it fit to do... this. "I'll 'member." he said once more, turning and running out the little gap in the door without a second thought.

It was... fine. She didn't have to like him, even if he really wanted her to. He got what the advice he was after and she got the secrecy and promises she wanted. Kiba was safe in his own house, Osiris was with his mom, the alter-ego was in capable hands, and he had a lot of work to do going forward. Things were as they ought to be. The dratini exhaled shakily and slithered after his mother, eager for the ride home and the rest of the day.

After a night like that, being grounded for once never felt so good.