Everyone Gangster Until Mom Shows Up

A river. Well, it was more like a stream. It wasn't as impressive as the one he saw back in Everspring, but it was just enough to make him cautious. The little zorua hopped his way through the snow, finding it difficult to walk through the excessive amount of snow. Instead of footsteps, he left holes of snow behind him. Chance was certain to double and even triple check where he went, fearing what could happen if he were to land in the wrong spot of the river.

Despite his unusual caution, he was excited. This place was so cool! There was snow everywhere! Oooh, what if he made a fort out of the snow? That'd be wicked! His mind raced with all kinds of ideas he could carry out here. All of the mischief he could get up so. He wondered briefly if he could take some of the snow home...before realizing how stupid that was. Fortunate that nobody was here to read his mind!

...What did snow even taste like? He paused as he stared at the snow around him. Curious, he gave the snow a lick.

...

Tastes like cold. Noted.


Mirage would bet money that Chance was thinking of something stupid right then. The zoroark trailed along just far enough behind the zorua for him to not notice. She heaved a quiet sigh as she watched him struggle along. Her form was hidden underneath the magic of her illusions, making it appear as if nothing at all were there to begin with. She watched her son lick the snow and couldn't help but feel even more defeated than before she got here.

She could absolutely grab him and drag him back right then and there, but...what would that accomplish? He'd probably just run off again. She figured it'd be better to wait for him to wear himself out. With how difficult it was for him to travel through this terrain, that looked as if it might be soon...at least so she hoped.

Chance Energy: 13
Mirage Energy: 62

Alki tapped the pencil against the clipboard she held in her hand, tilting her head as she gazed at her drawing. It... didn't look horrible. At least. That was something, right! But there were so many areas she could improve in... Some trees looked thicker in real life than they did on her page; the leaves didn't look quite right, and the water didn't... look like water. It looked like someone had dropped a pretty thick piece of string right in the middle of her drawing. Just some black and white string, stretching across the snow.

It looked lame. And while there were some areas that looked... almost good , like the bark, and the shading on the trees, and the clouds in the sky, the water just didn't look like water. The tapping sped up. The more she looked at it, the less will she had to continue working on it.

Maybe later... It wasn't unsalvageable, but... Gosh it just didn't look right, and that was disappointing.

"Hm." She said quietly to herself as she inserted the clipboard into her bag and stood up. Drawing was so difficult, but it was nice. It was a distraction, at the very least, and she wasn't bad at it. At least, she didn't think so... And so long as she never showed anyone else, it didn't matter what other people thought!

She placed her bag on her ear before trudging off, following the stream wherever it went. She wasn't too worried... If she fell in, she could teleport out, and she could warm up pretty easily... Not that she particularly wanted to fall in... If she did, she could lose the things Darcy had bought for her, the... glasses? The things that made her see better...

At the thought of them, she brought a hand up to the edge of the glasses, pushing them up against her face. They were nice... Unique, at least. But she wondered what other people would think... She hadn't managed to work up the courage to wear them in public... What if people thought she looked dumb?

The girl sighed, ears twitching as the thought crossed her mind. Who didn't? It was just people like Darcy, too obsessed with her to see the truth... Her mind settled momentarily on a ribbon on her wrist, before she felt her feet slipping from under her.

Sploosh.

Oh. How pleasant. Her entire lower half suddenly found herself under water, but she supposed she was lucky that it hadn't been any deeper. Her bag, at the very least, remained safe... She sighed, teleporting out of the water and back into the snow. Her lower half was freezing now, but what was to be done?

She'd warm up once she found firewood... In the meantime, she'd probably be fine... What was the worst a bit of cold could do to her? She shivered, before her eyes settled on another Pokemon. It was a Zorua, who seemed to be busying themself by... eating snow...?

...

Maybe it tasted good...?

She idly wondered if he'd seen her fall in to the stream. That would be unfortunate... She picked up a bit of snow herself, and gave it a small lick as well. Maybe she was missing out...?

...

Nah. It just tasted a bit like water. Really cold water...

Her curiosity sated, the girl shied forward, standing on the opposite end of the rather small stream. He seemed younger than she was, and given what she'd seen of him recently, she couldn't imagine he was hostile. He seemed rather docile, but... She didn't want to cause a scene, so better to be cautious... Besides, what if he didn't want to spend time with her...?

She wouldn't blame him. If she saw herself on the other side of a creek, she'd turn around and run. She was bad luck...

Alki rubbed her right wrist softly, securing the ribbon's tightness, before calling out. "H-Heh... Hello...?" She offered meekly, before pushing her glasses up. She wasn't going to get used to these any time soon...

Her face grew pale as she remembered she was wearing them. Would he like them? Or just think they're lame... She'd think they were lame, considering who was wearing them... But it was too late to take them off now...

She shivered again, more intensely. It was getting colder... She should go warm up soon... But for now, all she did was smile at the Zorua, hoping that he wouldn't mind her presence.

Hmm. Yes. Upon closer inspection of a second taste, this did indeed taste like cold. He just had to take a second look, just in case. The zorua squinted at the snow before him, seemingly oblivious to just how freezing it was around him. What could he do with this knowledge, he wondered. Sure there was the typical snowball and igloo that he thought of just moments before, but what next?

Could...could he like...put it in someone's drink? Make it really cold? That's something an outlaw would do right? Maybe Old Man Petrie would think twice about his behavior if his morning coffee was absurdly cold one day? Hm...he'd need to find a way to bring it to Grassveil...oh-Robin was a special type right? Ice-vulpx? ...If he licked her would she taste like cold-

"H-Heh... Hello...?"

His ears snapped towards the sound of the voice a mere second before he turned to look. His eyes locked onto the sight of a jigglypuff...that wore glasses. Something about this jigglypuff seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite remember what. The zorua squinted at the jigglypuff next, as if he were the one that needed glasses around here. A gust of wind blew through his moment of silence before his ears perked right back up and a big wide grin stretched across his face.

This jigglypuff probably just looked like someone he saw once!

"Hiya!" he barked, thrilled to see another face around, "Whatchya doin' here? Whatchya name? Cool eye-thingies! Those are glasses right? Oh! Can I try em on?? Would they make me see better? Can I touch them???" he immediately burst into chatter after a quick romp closer to the balloon pokemon.


While Chance certainly hadn't noticed the jigglypuff's fall, Mirage certainly did. The zoroark's gaze snapped onto the jigglypuff long before she spoke out to Chance. Her attention focused on the fae, also feeling as if she recognized this puffball. Fortunately, she had a bit more of a brain to her than her son. While she couldn't recall exactly where she'd seen this puffball before, she could recognize that there was a guild member beyond those lenses.

Her ears fell back as uncertainty befell her. A guild member. This was bad news. She'd have to be careful around this one...definitely keep herself concealed. The less this guild member knew, the better.

Alki rocked herself back and forth gently, trying her best to calm her nerves. He hadn't said anything, but she'd seen his ears pop up, gazing at her, squinting... glaring? Was he angry? Maybe she'd interrupted something, or maybe he just wanted to be alone... Maybe she'd made a mistake...? Oh Arceus, how could she take back a greeting...? Maybe she just shouldn't have said anything... A gust of wind blew through the air, adding an extra sharpness she was feeling in her feet. She rubbed her wrist softly, ears folding forward before she jumped.

He'd suddenly ceased his silence, barking out his own greeting at her. grinning at her. Was he... happy? About her...? She managed her own shaky, confused smile back. "H-Hi..." She repeated, clearly nervous, as she shivered. Before she could say anything more, however, she was quickly bombarded with a series of rapid-fire questions by the strangely over-eager Zorua. He didn't seem cautious about her at all, already trotting up to her as he asked.

What was he asking? She was gonna lose track... She cleared her throat as he stopped, considering each of his questions with her left hand on her chin. Her ears twitched, which caused her glasses to slip slighly. They weren't really adjusted right, but that was ok... She could just push them up... Not that she wanted to at the moment.

She was thinking.

"U-Um... I'm... I-I j-just came here t-to d-draw a-and... I d-dunno... R-Remember, I g-guess..." She said quietly, remembering that day, from before she'd evolved, when she'd met Synd'r... That was still one of the best days of her life... Not that there was much competition... "M-My n-name is A-Alki, a-and... I'm happy you like them... " She finally pushed them up, as she responded to the recognition. She'd usually wonder if he was being insincere, but he was so excited, and he had no motive to lie...

"Y-Yeah, they're glasses, b-but... I don't think they'd fit you... M-My... Um, y-your head i-is much smaller than mine... a-and your ears, and... I-I'm... r-rounder..." She said, after a few seconds. It seemed obvious to her, but maybe he just hadn't fully considered the question in his excitement... She slowly pulled them over her ears and off her face, before holding them out for the Zorua to touch. Come to think of it, didn't he seem oddly familiar...

But why would he be here... Surely, she was just imagining it... She was just always worried... She managed a small smile, squinting as she struggled to readjust to how blurry everything was... The glasses really did help her... How had she ever managed to see at all when things looked like this...?

"I-I-I'd be happy t-to let you t--touch them, t-though... J-Just, p-please d-don't touch the glass, i-it's... h-hard to clean... Um... S-S-Sorry... w-what's your name...?" She stumbled through her words, unsure of herself, before she concluded with a sheepish smile. She hoped it wasn't the Zorua from that day in the prairies, but if it was... Well, he seemed willing enough to start over...

Alki Energy: 42 - 18 = 24

"Chance!" he piped up loudly in response without a care in the world for who hears him. Without a second thought, he lifted a paw and papped against the glasses. He failed to take much care with it, not really recognizing that he should. Despite being told that the glasses wouldn't fit him, he leaned around to try and get a look through the lenses.

He looked back up to the jigglypuff. He squinted at the jigglypuff again. "...wait a minute..." he chimed in deep thought, "Who are you?"

Even though he asked a question, he went on without waiting, "You're like-that jigglypuff-from the prairie? With the skitty? Oooooh! Yeah, I remember you! You were so cool!" he smiled genuinely, without a single recollection of what happened afterwards. "What'd ya say you were doin around here again? Drawing? Ooh like in those picture books? Those are the only good kind of books, could you like-draw me???"


...She wasn't familiar with social grace, but she knew just enough to recognize that her son might have been a tad annoying. Mirage remained where she sat, just behind some dead bushes and trees. Her form still remained hidden, but she still felt it necessary to have some kind of cover...just in case.

Chance! He seemed quite thrilled to tell her his name, and while she managed a shaky smile in response to this, she had no clue why he was so happy. Last time... Hadn't it been really bad? She gave him a shaky smile and managed to grin despite the memories that were floating through her head. She gave a quick glance at her ribbon, frowning as she tried to push the sight of what had happened to her sister, of what the Glaceon had done, of the electricity that had gone through her body... Of how much of it had been her fault...

She watched as he pawed at the lens on her glasses, biting her lip as she stared. Should she say something...? There was a smudge now, on the glass, from his paw, and there was snow on it... He seemed to lose interest quickly, but her glasses were still there... She picked it up, and awkwardly tried to clean it against her own skin. It didn't work too well... Finally, she gave up, and placed them back on her face. pushing them up. She had been getting a headache...


She turned her attention back to him as he spoke up again. Wait? Wait for what... He was squinting at her again. Had he remembered? Was he mad at her again? No... Who are you, he asked, and Alki couldn't help but blink in surprise. It had taken him this long to remember? She hadn't exactly expected to impress him, but at the very least, she'd figured that that encounter would have been memorable to him...

He went on to ask her things he should've already remembered, but truth be told... She was happy he'd forgotten. She'd been doing her best to forget that time completely, but sometimes, when she was sleeping, she remembered the sudden heat from a lightning bolt, the slow torture of watching her first and best friend hurt, suffering...

"Y-Yeah, I-I am. T-T-Thanks..." Alki still wasn't entirely sure what Chance wanted to get at. Cool? Her? She wanted to deny it, but he really seemed to believe it... "I-I'm not very cool often, though... S-Say, d-don't I..." Alki trailed off, unsure of whether she should remind him. Did she really want to tell her secret to him? If he really had forgotten, wouldn't it be better she let him forget...?

"Y-Y-Yeah, I c-can d-draw you..." She mumbled quietly, contemplative. She was in the process of getting out her papers, when a shiver, even more intense rocked her body. "A-Actually, d-d-don't... c-can we w-warm up first, t-though? I'm... r-really cold..." She managed a feeble smile, before her expression turned serious.

"And... Um..." She bit her lip, before nodding to herself. Better to be honest, before it turned around to bite her later... "D-Don't... Don't I owe you a secret? Y-Y'know, f-for... t-the secret I know... A-About your mum... " She trailed off, regretting her actions, but... it seemed right. Darcy wouldn't want her to lie...

She wouldn't want her to be a criminal either, but... Well... She tried not to think about that too much...

Chance's expression fell. He couldn't remember much of what happened, the fact that the jigglypuff knew his mom's secret was one of the many things he'd forgotten. While he didn't exactly remember it, he trusted that the jigglypuff told the truth. An instant fear clamped down on his heart, all prior joy and wonder gone.

At the very least...the jigglypuff apparently owed him a secret. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about this, but secret-for-secret seemed...valuable. He could use that. His ears pointed towards the jigglypuff expectantly, the energy he had prior all put into the act of listening for once. Alki had his attention and nothing was going to get rid of it.

---

Mirage, meanwhile, had a similar reaction. A strike of fear, though her's was followed by an intense anger. A guild member knew about her? She knew Skylar was aware, but this...this was some random puffball. She didn't exactly recall the jigglypuff's presence during Sova's little sit-down in the guild, but she knew enough to consider this a danger.

At the very least, it seemed Chance had the right idea. Information for information, but she knew that she would have to step in ahead of time now. Just so the jigglypuff would know that it would be a very bad idea to pull anything stupid. Hm...there was certainly nobody around here. If she could redirect Chance away then she could make sure that the jigglypuff couldn't tell anyone...

...Then again...wasn't that pink puffball a kid...?

Alki took in a deep breath, trying to push the cold out of her mind. Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up so soon. At least until they'd warmed up, then she wouldn't feel as miserable, but she'd made her choice, and she didn't want to seem like she was backing off... She kicked up a clump of snow, watching the white powder rise into the air, disperse, and then fall. Synd'r wouldn't like this... But Synd'r wasn't around, was she...? And Chance had seemed so excited to spend time with her! Maybe even be her friend...

And saying she knew his mum's secret had only served to worry him. So if she could cheer him up, give him something to defend his family with... Then that could serve to heighten his spirits once more. Cheer him up, make him happy, and maybe... Maybe want to be her friend...? He was watching her intently, eagerness and fear mixing on his face. Her ears lowered as she pushed up her glasses, hemming and hawing as she thought of how to start her explanation.

"Y-Yeah, s-so... Um, S-S-Sova let it s-slip, I t-think, that... Your mum's an outlaw, a-and... a p-pretty big one. B-But s-she's reformed, a-and... I-I w-won't tell on her. I don't wanna, b-but... I want you to have more than my word..." She began, almost seeming to justify the action to herself more so than to Chance. "S-So m-my secret is... I-I'm a-an outlaw, t-too... " She lowered her eyes, rubbing her wrist as she willed herself to keep pushing on. She'd revealed it, and it was only fair... And if he told on her, she'd... Well... Honestly, she didn't want to tell on Mirage... But at the very least, she'd owe her!

"But I don't hurt anyone! Ok? I don't... I'm not violent, I just... I w-wanna steal f-from the... b-bad people. The bad, r-rich people, l-like... t-there's this guy in Grassveil who's conning people out of jewels and money, a-and we're gonna rob him cause he's bad and we're not... I-I'm in a g-group, t-the Phantom Thieves, a-and... W-We're good guys! Outlaws, b-but... G-Good guys..." She brought her bag up to her face, shyly holding it in front her, almost like a shield. Was that lame... Or stupid to say? Outlaws could be good guys, right...?

"S-So that's it... I-Information f-for ya, I'm... a-an outlaw. So if I ever t-tell on your mum, y-you can tell on me, b-but like I said... I d-don't wanna. I d-don't wanna hurt h-her, a-and if I told on h-her, I'd also b-be hurting y-you, a-and your dad, and... I just don't want to hurt anyone... I hope you're not worried. T-That's all..."

Chance was a simple pokemon. Complex situations weren't exactly his forte and with how this particular situation was...well, it didn't exactly register well for him. Alki prattled on and despite his prior concerns for his family, his thoughts drifted off into other places until a surprising realization caught his attention.

"...You're a guild member and an outlaw?" He quirked an eye brow and tilted his head, seeming more confused than worried now. His prior fears and uneasiness were out the window. After all, he had information against Alki now! So...everything was fine! Now...he just needed to figure out the sheer paradox of what this jigglypuff just said...and let her know just how cool that was.

"Dude that's like-impossible!" he piped up with an admiring grin, "That's soooo cool! How do you do it? Do they just like-let you do it because it's bad people?" He gasped, "Is the whole guild secretly part outlaw??"


...The kid was a thief. The jigglypuff seemed to have the wrong idea of what an outlaw truly was, but that was semantics. Her gut twisted and turned as she tried to decide what to do about this. The fairy seemed genuine, but outlaws liked to play tricks on people. Was her son being tricked?

Illusion still steady, she decided to draw herself closer to the duo. Her attention to detail reached out even to cover the tracks of her feet in the snow, but it was difficult to concentrate on that and the nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. She couldn't just kill the kid-well, she could but...she didn't really want to. Sova definitely wouldn't approve-wait.

The jigglypuff said Sova let it slip. Her eyes snapped wide in shock at this revelation as the feeling in her gut twisted and turned even more. Who the hell else was Sova telling about her?

Alki blushed as Chance spoke up once more, his look of worry fading in favor of a rather puzzled look. It certainly felt as though she'd completed her objective of easing his worries. Now he just inquired about a rather... well, reasonable assumption. It was pretty impossible, if they knew about her secret... Her blush only deepened as he expressed admiration for her. It wasn't sitting all too well with her. No one should admire her, but it was such a welcome change of pace compared to recent events that she didn't want to correct his mistake. If he wanted to admire her, so be it... Even if she didn't deserve it, it was such a nice feeling... and if he admired her, he probably thought that thievery was cool, which was really good! It was cool!

"A-Ah, y-yeah, I'm... b-both." She said quietly, a small smile appearing on her face as she blushed, walking forward toward some wood. It'd be easy to start a fire, and she really did need to warm up, but she didn't want to leave this conversation behind... She motioned for the Zorua to follow her as she picked up the wood, and started collecting it in a pile. "T-The g-guild d-doesn't know though... I t-think they'd really hate me if t-they found out, y-y'know... S-So I guess it is impossible...? I'm making it work though..." She finally collected all the firewood, and sat down beside it, shivering. "I just k-keep it a secret, d-do t-thief stuff w-when nobody's looking, a-and n-no one has to know... I'm a way b-better thief than I am a guild member, though..." She bit her lip as she began to remember all her screw ups, with Skylar, Sova, with her own sister...

"But yeah. I'm an outlaw t-too, s-so... y-you don't have to worry about me! I r-really w-won't tell on your mum... Um, d-do you wanna warm up...? Y-You can sit n-near the fire, i-if you want..." She mumbled, before blowing a small stream of fire onto the wood, setting it ablaze. Flamethrower came in handy in a place like this... It almost made her feel like a fire type! Just like Synd'r...

A small content smile overcame her as she leaned back, letting the droplets of water still on her fade away. "I'm happy y-you think I'm c-cool too... I-I d-don't really think I am, b-but it's nice to hear other people s-say it..." She trailed off, stopping herself from adding the few words that would really complete her thoughts. Even if it's not true... It was ok to live a lie for a bit, right...?

"I-I c-can d-draw you, o-or s-something, i-if you want, while we warm up...?" She offered, reaching inside her bag as she cocked her head at him, still blushing, still smiling...

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Frozen Stream :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Frozen Stream :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Frozen Stream :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Frozen Stream :

Ahh...so the guild didn't know. That's why this was so hush hush. Well, that was a secret on par with his mother's...right? Surely this jigglypuff would suffer just as much consequence with that kind of reveal as he and his whole family would! The zorua was comfortable with this. The adventure could continue!

He watched in awe as the jigglypuff blew fire onto the wood. His eyes grew wide as he tried to resist the urge to touch it...y'know...just to see if it was fire. For science.

"Oooh that's cool," he whispered as he bounced closer to the flames, utterly fearless of what they could possibly do. He could feel the warmth against his fur, it was comforting. He didn't even realize just how cold he was until he felt it!

"That'd be mega-cool if you did!" he finally properly responded to the jigglypuff, "And it's like-even cool that you don't think you are though. Cuz it's like-you're some big diamond in the rough or whatever it's called. I think that's the saying? I dunno, I heard my sister say it at some point. Like-uhhhh...I don't know." He rambled on endlessly without a clear stop in sight, but he was silenced by the distinct sound of cracking off closer to the river.

His ears shot up and pivoted towards the river. "What was that?" he questioned curiously.

Mirage:

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Frozen Stream :

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Chance:

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Frozen Stream :

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Alki listened quietly as she savored the joy of warmth upon her body. It seemed to really impress Chance as well, the younger Pokemon bounding up dangerously close to the fire, enjoying the flames just as much as she was. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, it was so relaxing... And she was enjoying it so much! The jigglypuff simply closed her eyes  as she let the Zorua's words wash over her. It'd be... Mega-cool if she drew him? Well... being mega-cool sounded quite nice, honestly, so she'd be willing to do that! Alki took out her paper and pencils, and stared at her earlier drawing once more. Oh Gosh...

He was going to be so disappointed... But she'd already offered... Alki bit her lip, and gently flipped the page, hoping he wouldn't notice her earlier drawing of the river. He kept going on about her. About how she was like a diamond in the rough, and how that was cool or something... But she didn't want to be in the rough at all, and she never felt like a diamond... That was Darcy. Darcy was a diamond in the rough, she was so much better at... everything than she gave herself credit for. If anything, Alki was holding her back...

Before she could object, however, Chance's ears perked up, and his eyes directed themselves to the river. "What was what?" She asked, pushing her glasses up as she set down her clipboard. "I... Um... J-Just..." Was she trying to give instructions? What right did she have to do that...? If there was a threat, she'd either take care of it, or worst came to worst, she would protect Chance... She could manage at least that, right...? "I-I'll do my best..." She said quietly, as she pulled her shadow in front of her, holding the semi-solid blob in front of her, unsure whether she should form it into a weapon yet or not. She just had to protect Chance... He was younger than her. And nicer. He was more important here...

So don't teleport... Stick close to him, and make sure he was ok...

"H-Hello...?" She called out, fear seeping into her voice as she looked towards the River. She couldn't see anything there, even with the glasses, and she couldn't hear anything either... If there was nothing there, she was going to look sorta stupid, wasn't she...?

The crackling of the ice continued up until the Jigglypuff spoke out with a wary greeting. A short second passed before the ice suddenly seemed to explode upwards with a geyser of water. Chance would have been in awe if not for the odd shape that blasted out of the water. A splash rocketed towards them, extinguishing the fire specifically. Chance yelped in surprise as he suddenly found himself dowsed from the attack.

He jumped away from the spot, right into the snow where it promptly became even colder. If he didn't notice the cold before, he definitely did now. He looked up just in time to see a Cloyster glaring down on them with a wide grin. Two prinplup crawled out of the water in a much less impressive manner, but it was perfectly clear that this trio was all together.

His wide fearful eyes gazed upon the cloyster as it spoke, "I-" it didn't get far.

A blast of dark energy shot from behind both him and Alki straight back into the water from whence it came. A second hole was punched into the ice with another large splash of water from the cloyster's body. Chance blinked. Twice. He wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but the prinplup seemed just as shocked as he was. They ran back to the hole their boss disappeared into to investigate.


The blast was from Mirage. She didn't need a single word out of that Cloyster's mouth to know he was going to cause problems. The mere look on his face and attack against the campfire said it all. She kept the illusion up to hide her presence still, but it was more for the battle's sake than it was to keep the children in the dark. She huffed, almost a little disappointed at how easily that cloyster was taken care of.

If either of the two children had a brain, they could look back to the source of the blast to see a shimmering form of dark shadow in the snow that would quickly disappear. She took her concentration off just long enough to make the attack, which left a slight hole in her disguise.

Alki watched as three Pokemon crawled out of the water, all three significantly larger and more imposing than she. They didn't look too pleasant, one of them seemed almost amused at her, smirking with narrow eyes as he glared at her. Wa she really that unimpressive...? Well, she wasn't the pinnacle of strength or of intimidation, but she could defend Chance just fine... She sharpened her shadow into a small blade. It wasn't her preferred weapon, but it certainly seemed more intimidating than what she usually used... And besides, she could change shapes with it pretty quickly...

Before she could say anything more, demand an introduction, or... do anything, really, a wave of dark energy pushed forward, blasting the Cloyster back into the water which he came from. The other two pokemon fled soon after. Not that it was any concern of hers anymore... Usually, she would've been more than willing to accept that the attack had been meant to protect them. If it was just herself, she would lower her guard immediately. But she had someone who... She wasn't sure if he could protect himself. Even if he could, he'd called her... mega-cool...? She wasn't sure what exactly that entailed, but she wanted to prove it…

With little hesitation, she turned around to face the source of the energy blast, only to be met with snow. She could’ve sworn, as she turned around, that she saw some sign, some remnant of the energy blast, but now there was nothing to be seen. It was strange… Her ears twitched at every sound, but nothing definitive. Nothing to prove that someone was there. But the attack had to come from someone. She didn’t know any move like that, and Chance seemed too young to be capable of such a powerful technique…

Not to mention, he seemed more spooked than she was. So there was still someone else, someone out there, and she’d rather not risk them being a threat later on too…

“I know you’re there...” She said, letting the shadow in her hand transform from a pointed dagger to the whip-like shape that she usually used. It was easier for her, and if the unknown pokemon was capable of such a technique, she wanted to be as comfortable as possible… “T-That attack d-didn’t come from nowhere.” She paused, surveying the area. What were her options…? She had no way of figuring out where they were, unless she just blindly struck out… Her eyes went back to where she thought she’d seen some sign of a Pokemon’s presence, but it was nothing but snow now…

But… She knew flamethrower… If they were invisible, and she just… sprayed out, then she’d know if it hit someone… At least, most people. As unpleasant as it was to think about… A lot of Pokemon had hair, or fur, and that was flammable… And if it was for the sake of protecting her new… friend…?

“I can’t see you.” She said simply, lowering her hidden power closer to her body. She pushed her glasses up, before staring up defiantly, at nothing in particular. “But even if you are invisible, or… w-whatever it is you are, y-you still have to be here… I know Flamethrower… s-so… I’ll count to five. A-And if you haven’t come out by then, I’m gonna spray all around me with flamethrower. And if I hit you, I’ll see y-you... I don’t want to hurt you, b-but… I-If you’re a-alright, w-why are you hiding…?” She finished her threat tentatively, in her small, insecure voice. They could probably really hurt her if they wanted to, but… She didn’t mind. If they hurt the little(r) kid, though…?

“One...” She began, still holding her shadow as she glanced around, hoping someone would show themself… She didn’t want to hurt anyone… But she didn’t want either her or Chance to get hurt, either...

Chance looked over to Alki as she turned and started to talk to...someone. He wasn't sure what she addressed, but he didn't question it. The zorua's ears perked and pointed in the direction the jigglypuff spoke towards. His body shivered in a desperate attempt to heat itself, but he forced his way through the snow and towards the jigglypuff.

He cowered behind the guild member, as he figured her to be much more capable of...well, doing things, should it come down to it. The zorua's eyes took on a shine as he prepared himself for any oncoming attacks...but nothing came.


Mirage huffed as the puffball spoke. She cold tell that the kid was terrified, the way she stuttered in her voice said all. She could appreciate the bravery, but there was something she had to criticize. She walked forward as the jigglypuff spoke. She took her time in it, confident that nothing bad would come of this.

She took care to keep her footsteps quiet and hidden. She waited until just before the jigglypuff would count down to the final number before the illusion dissipated. "Five is much too long," she commented, "If something were hostile, they could have easily done something by now."

Of course, she'd spooked the kid. The whip of the hidden power cracked against her shoulder...but it didn't really do much. She looked back to the jigglypuff with a look that seemed to expect some kind of explanation or even apology, while her son cried out, "Mom!?"