Beat It, Punk! [Halloween 2019]

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He moved to the rhythm of a tune nobody knew. He hummed along as each step accentuated the notes. His tone was off-key, horrific, and honestly a sore to anyone who had the misfortune of ears. He cared not, for today was a good day. In his book at least. It'd taken him forever to escape his mother's watch, but he'd waited for the perfect moment to attempt his escape...when his mother slept.

He really wasn't supposed to be out, especially right then and there. The wound on his flank and gnawed bite marks on a fore-paw and back paw hadn't healed yet. He felt fine enough, however, and he still was all bandaged up. So he was good in his book!

The town's street was rife with a livelihood he hadn't seen in a while. Pokemon shuffled from to and fro, some adorned with costumes of varying quality. He, however, had the misfortune of losing his elaborate costume the night he received the wounds he bore. That was alright with him though, he had another trick up his sleeve to get some treats! He just had to figure out where he left his bucket the other night...

His search would be interrupted, however, as he spotted a familiar elderly lurantis shopped about. It was that target he was supposed to "trick" the other night! A mean ol'man that sat on his porch and ate candy in front of the trick-or-treaters instead of giving it to them. He stopped in his tracks with a fixed gaze on the grass type. Their grumpy expression and sneers towards the children said all: he was still a jerk.

Therefor, he had to do something! But what? The zorua zipped off into an alleyway and found his way atop some boxes, he reached the rooftops of the street where he could properly stalk the the grass type. His mind tick-ticked away as a frantic search around found...was that a bucket of paint up there? A wide grin blossomed before he bolted ahead of the lurantis, who took their dear sweet lovely time as they made their way down the street.

Just his luck, the owner of said bucket was nowhere around. There was a small collection atop the roof, the owner must have been repainting their house. He had a small selection of colors to pick from. He picked out the red bucket in a heartbeat, he left the other two behind. The large bucket was a tad too heavy for him to lift, so he was left with pushing it close to the edge. Each move was careful and calculated, by the time he got it to the edge, the lurantis came close to the corner. His fore-paws hung over the edge as he waited.

Closer...closer...

...

NOW!

The zorua bolted up right and behind the bucket. With a quick back-kick of his hind-legs the bucket was sent over the edge. With a clang, clatter, and a splash, the pedestrians and lurantis below were covered in an unknown red substance. Cries of fear and outrage rippled from the crowded street. He peered over with a snarky grin to survey the extent of his chaos. Confused and baffled, the lurantis and the nearby casualties of prank-war chattered nervously and cried in disgust. The grass type, however, had the sense to look up. Chance found his gaze locked with the lurantis, who's eyes promptly narrowed.

Uh-oh.

He bolted off without a second thought, there one moment and gone the next. As quickly as his paws would take him, he worked his way over to the building next over and looked for a way back down. He jumped down into an alleyway and moved to head back into the busy streets, his form shimmered and changed in order to disguise himself. A flash of white followed by a crack of the earth below caused him to stop in his tracks, he narrowly avoided being impaled by an illuminated white claw. The illusion dissipated before it could even form.

He yipped in fear, his nose pressed against the glowing arm as his momentum pushed him forward ever so slightly more. A drop of red fell onto his nose before he noticed it also slowly dripped down the arm that stopped him as well. Slowly and cautiously, he looked up to see the glare of a very upset lurantis.

"...Uh-Hello, mister?" he smiled sheepishly as he slowly stepped back.

While Robin was worried about what the rascal named Chance did and wanted to get him out of here, Yera had a different plan of action in mind. The doe's ear twitched. She didn't say a word as instead, she decided to turn around and walk back to the munchlax.

Aries cast a worried glance as his employee left him all on his lonesome. The skiddo's hooves shifted and scattered as if he couldn't decide whether or not to follow her, but it would be so rude to leave this vulpix unanswered! "A-Ah...th-thank you..." he stammered, but he didn't leave.

Yera's words with the munchlax were quiet. The munchlax gave a laugh, wrote on a slip of paper by the table, and gave it to the deerling. The normal type hopped off of the seat and waltzed out the cafe doors, patting its stomach along the way. The deerling's expression was blank, emotionless, and quite terrifying in the eyes of the skiddo who'd known her for months now.

She stepped over to the pokemon doing paperwork, had a word with him. The pokemon gave an annoyed chatter, but ultimately left just behind the munchlax with its massive collection of papers. The deerling followed behind, but she didn't step out. Aries' ears shot up high with alarm as he realized where she was headed, "Ah-Yera! What are y-you doing!?" he cried despite knowing exactly what she was doing.

Yera brought down a board from the side of the door, it clattered loudly across the handles and stretched across the width of the door. She walked over to the latches on each side...and locked the door.

Robin froze, then, statue still, only able to watch in mute horror as Yera did... something. A perceptive eye may notice how Robin's posture tensed, an undertone of anxiety etched in the tenseness to her body, blue eyes a bit too wide. Where was Kiba? Where was he- please, please come back soon, she couldn't leave him here, but she couldn't escape from the horrible feeling that came with being trapped. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Or, at least, she didn't think she did - maybe she had technically helped Kiba do something that was technically illegal, but she could claim ignorance, right?

She hadn't done anything wrong and she knew the Deerling wouldn't believe her and now she couldn't escape and-

Breathe. Breathe. Steadying your breathing was supposed to help, that's what everyone said, even though it had never once worked for Robin. Not once had it soothed the feeling that came as everything slipped steadily out of her control. It helped her keep up appearances, though - don't look guilty, she'll be mad if she thinks you're guilty, she already thinks you're guilty, you are guilty-

And forced a demure, but not distressed, frown, idly tilting her head. Kiba, please, please come back- she didn't want to be alone and outnumbered with people who were angry with her. She needed to get out of here, and being locked in with someone who was certainly angry with her was... well. It was awful. She isn't going to hurt you, the logical part of her mind hummed, but that reassurance made her feel no better. Not in the least.

"Mm? Closing up for the night?" She asked, a veneer of casual thought crossing her voice. But she knew that wasn't the answer. Not really. She knew that before the Deerling even spoke, her mind whirling with a torrent of things she couldn't place nor name, unable to pick out individual thoughts from the maelstrom.

Her faint, thoughtful frown did not so much as waver.

"No," the doe responded simply, a soft and calm smile upon her expression, "We don't close until sundown." She trotted back over to the skiddo and the vulpix slowly. Once she reached the duo, she circled around Aries and began to push him along, "C'mon, this way."

"Wh-What are you doing though...?" Aries questioned, fear in his tone. The doe's behavior was odd, atypical, and ominous. Somehow, she had managed to frighten him more so than Chance's presence did. It was counterproductive to what Yera wanted, but a necessary evil from her view.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you ever again," Yera informed the two of them as Aries was passed along towards the back. It was an odd sight to see, especially with how much smaller the deerling was compared to the skiddo. So much so, that it caught Chance's interest upon his return.

The zorua managed to slip in and out of the back room without anyone to notice him, the distraction the vulpix provided along with the lack of other customers made it easy. He noticed the scene, however, and his curiosity was caught. He watched them briefly, before he slipped by the two of them, the air shimmered as his Illusionary magic worked away at hiding him from their distracted sight. The zorua hopped up onto his seat and dispelled the ability, the deerling and skiddo both facing away from the scene as Yera urged Aries to a safer area.

"...What's going on?" he whispered with a glance in Robin's direction, utterly unaware of anything that just happened.