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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 14, 2016 17:36:40 GMT -5
Dominia had done her best to help the family get out of the village's prying eye. The villagers were only too happy to clear a path for the frightful family, and just as happy to give them their space under a tent of their own. More berries had been brought to help them heal- especially Chance, who despite seeming immune to Lemondrop's shocks, was hardly able to stand when he was finally pried off the mouse.
As the family settled in the nest provided for them, Lemondrop slipped away, and once sure that no one was within harm's way, she released all the electricity stored in her body. The enormous lightning bolt lit up the village for a moment before dimming to late evening darkness again. By the time she bounced back to the edge of the nest, her broken cheek was already letting off tiny sparks- remnants grabbed from the air, harmless at the moment.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 14, 2016 17:43:06 GMT -5
Angelo watched the little mouse return, surprised by thunderbolt he had just bared witness to. No doubt it had been this ferocious little rodent to wake him from his primal state. But he had heard their trainers gossiping, weeping, even. Something tragic had happened to Lemondrop, that much was clear as day. Her pouch was ruined, she was without Tunes here, in this baby-stealing village.
"Lemondrop," he greeted when she returned, nodding his head. "It's been a while."
Winter, curious about what her father was talking about, but also frightened by how tense the air still was, buried herself in Vivian's mane, only to poke out her little face to listen.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 14, 2016 19:46:17 GMT -5
Vivian wrapped her arm loosely around her daughter and rested her head on her other paw, keeping the youngster close enough that she could feel her against her chest. Her gaze fixed on the tiny Pikachu, who shuffled under their hut and plopped onto her behind beside Chance.
Lemondrop let out a wry, shrill laugh; it sounded more like a cry of pain than an exclamation of amusement. "Yeah, especially for you. I didn't expect you to recognize me."
"He wasn't the only one," Vivian murmured, pulling the Pikachu's attention to her. "What happened to you? And the serviper."
Chance's tail twitched anxiously, and one of his ears gave a nervous flicker as he lowered his head between his paws. Lemondrop caught the movement out of her clear eye, and she frowned. The story didn't bother her anymore; it felt far away, as if something she had watched happen, but hadn't experienced herself. Like something from another lifetime. If it weren't for being partially blinded and broken, she would wonder if it had happened at all. But she could talk about it. Chance, however, clearly couldn't, and she wasn't about to work him up when they had just gotten him to finally stop crying. "We had a crazy accident. It was something kinda like what you guys talked about happening in Goldenrod, but me and Halloween got separated." Her voice petered out, growing so quiet that she could only just be heard. Even this was enough to throw Chance into a series of agitated spasms; he pressed his twitching paws to his eyes and the fork of his tail all but smacked Winter in the face.
Austin's gaze was on his brother as Lemondrop spoke. Every new revelation in this seemed to make the entire situation more bizarre. Chance had never mentioned something bad happening to him. He had never even hinted about it in all the complaints he had made over the years. Austin had never seen this side of his brother before... terrified, vulnerable... What could possibly shake Chance?
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Post by Atticus on Feb 14, 2016 20:17:34 GMT -5
Winter crinkled her nose as Chance's tails waved by her face. The impish nature of a child inclined her to nip at them, and so she did. The conversation was getting too heavy for a cub like her to understand anyway. She was still very young, with much to learn. Half of what Lemondrop said, she couldn't properly digest.
Angelo looked at his sons softly, sighing. "Well, it's good that you made it out," he commented, averting his red gaze back to the tiny Pikachu. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for what you did in Goldenrod." The Umbreon had forced himself a toothy smile through Lemon's giggling, but now his features had relaxed, looking even somewhat solemn. Angelo could be short-tempered and narrow-minded, but he didn't attack humans. Not good ones. The fact that he had almost used tooth-and-claw to assault Tunes for a snack... to this day, it made his stomach churn.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 14, 2016 20:58:15 GMT -5
"Well, I didn't do it for you," she said nonchalantly, shifting closer to Chance. She perched herself on his paw, leaned against his cheek, and rubbed his snout. The event clearly meant more to Angelo than it did to Lemondrop. To her it had just been another instance of closing a hungry mouth. But she could see that he wasn't the same person he had been when she zapped him; otherwise, he would be trying to eat her. But it meant very little to her.
"Halloween and me found our way here by accident," she went on. She shrugged. "It's a nice place. Kind of gloomy at times, but it's way better than having nowhere." She spared a glance back at Dominia, who was suddenly pretending to not be able to hear. At least she wasn't offended.
"Where's Halloween?" Viv asked.
"We don't talk much." She looked down at her paws. "He can't really hear anymore, so there's not much we can... do... He's here, somewhere. Probably trying to figure out what happened. But I can't really keep track of him anymore."
Chance's gaze shifted to her, his frown growing just a little bit more pronounced.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 14, 2016 21:01:28 GMT -5
"Like I don't know," the Umbreon retorted, but there was a light air about him.
"Gloomy?" Winter piqued in, innocently. "But there's Dominia and all these nice Pokémon. And the flowers!" The Eevee retreated completely into Vivian's neck fur before leaping out and bee-lining towards the flowers. Her Meowth friend met her there, and they resumed the game they had started playing in the morning.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 15, 2016 0:04:52 GMT -5
Vivian reached for Win as she sprung away, but there was no catching her; she never could keep up with the kit. That was what Angelo was good at, when it was necessary. She cast a wary glance at Dominia, whose gaze followed her daughter. As if Vivian was dumb enough to think she want listening in! She frowned peevishly and rested her head on her paws, watching Winter and her playmate. As long as they were in sight, she supposed, where the boys could chase her if Viv couldn't, there was no harm in letting her play...
Lemondrop likewise watched the kit run off. She was glad she did so; she didn't feel like getting into a discussion on words with a baby. "Anyway," she said, her gaze shifting back to the adults, "are you... Going back to the humans?"
She didn't realize how scared she was to ask until the words were sticking to her throat. Her chest felt right, aching with the long-forgotten exercise of hoping.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 15, 2016 0:54:36 GMT -5
"Of course," Angelo responded, dumbfounded. "We came here only for Winter. When we're all rested up, we'll be returning home with her."
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 17, 2016 0:20:07 GMT -5
Lemondrop's eyes widened hopefully. She tried to keep her voice calm, but there was a noticeable shake in it. She played with her hands as she continued. "Tunes must be close by, if this guy's with you." And she nodded to Chance. "So... I can find her?"
Austin perked up. "Of course!" That seemed like an odd thing to have to ask. Tunes wasn't always around, but she came to visit often enough! Less often in recent years, but she was by far the most frequent visitor to the ranch. Lemondrop sure did sound worried about it. He couldn't imagine why.
The Pikachu sat upright, and she looked from Austin to his parents hopefully.
Vivian nodded. She could sense the desperateness coming off Lemondrop in waves; that alone answered plenty of questions. She certainly had not wanted to be here.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 17, 2016 0:45:36 GMT -5
Angelo smiled, figuring that his wife and son's reaction were enough consent that she didn't need his extra input. The Umbreon had no reason to object, anyway... as long as she didn't plan on riding him on the journey back. He didn't intend to get struck by her lighting bolt again.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 17, 2016 0:57:54 GMT -5
Lemondrop's eyes shined. "I... I guess I'll go find Weenie!" she chirped, her voice breaking. She pressed her paw to her broken cheek as she jumped up and scurried away, a noticeable spring in her step.
Chance lifted his head as she disappeared down the path. He looked back at Viv and Angelo, a faint, distant smile on his face. He looked more tired than ever, but the exhaustion was coupled with a shine that had disappeared long ago without Vivian ever having noticed. Even as exhausted as he looked, he somehow looked more like himself than he had since he was a baby. "How long are we going to be here?"
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Post by Atticus on Feb 17, 2016 1:24:20 GMT -5
"Tomorrow morning..?" Angelo offered, side-eyeing his mate. He could really use a good night's rest, despite his nature. They had been running since last night, and were struck by lightning upon arriving. Chance had fainted, he had just about blacked out... his family needed the sleep, no doubt. Preferably, though, Angelo would scout out another place to bunker down for the night and rid himself of the villagers, but...
He looked over at Winter, seemingly oblivious to any wrong-doings, just enjoying a game of tag with her new friend. There weren't a lot of other cubs at the ranch... he felt quite bad, thinking about it. Maybe he could talk Don into knocking up Brook again so that Win would have some playmates back home.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 17, 2016 1:37:47 GMT -5
Vivian spared Winter a glance as well. The sympathy her mate had for their daughter had not touched her; this was all a major inconvenience and a huge fiasco, and Winter would not go unpunished. Seeing her oblivious to the trouble she had caused simply made Vivian angrier. But at the same time, she had a creeping suspicion that any instance of reprimanding the kid in front of their eagle-eyed guard would earn more than a disappointed look. Yeah, the ranch was the best place to beat Winter's ass for this. She wanted to get out of here.
But as impatient as her frustration made her, she had to acknowledge that she couldn't bounce back from things like she used to. She hated it; the limp slowing her down, a few extra pounds aggravating the limp... She she still wasn't used to always being able to have a full stomach, and when hungry, she tended to eat more than she should. It was a habit she hated but couldn't break. And it made for a vicious cycle that made her less and less able to maintain speed and stamina.
But then again, it didn't matter. Catching the kids was what Angelo was for.
She forced herself out of the rabbit hole that train of thought had become, and turning back to her eldest, she nodded. "Tomorrow."
Chance's lips twitched, as if his smile was thinking about widening, but then he turned around and rested his head again. Austin's shoulders sagged as the air around the espeon became lighter, and with a smile he settled down beside his brother happily. Austin wasn't thrilled at where they were forced to rest, but at least it was comfortable. He found himself laughing mentally; Winter would be kidnapped by the hives baby-stealers in the world.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 17, 2016 1:47:43 GMT -5
Angelo lowered his head as the evening sun disappeared over the horizon. The sooner they fell asleep, the sooner they could leave, but it was harder than he thought it would be. Surrounded by the Lengendaries and their baby-stealing underlings, how could he be sure that when his eyes opened the next morning, Winter would still be here? He wouldn't put it past that Fire Mongrel to stick her in another village, or for the fire vixen to snatch her away and go solo. He appreciated her taking care of his daughter, but she was... uncomfortably maternal around her. Winter already had a mother, she didn't need two.
Ear twitching irritably, he looked toward his daughter. "Winter!" he called, and a pair of brown eyes met his. "Come now, it's time to sleep."
The cub dare not object, given the events of the past two days, but disappointment flared in the eyes of both her and her companion. After bidding him farewell, the fox kit bounced over to her parents and nestled back into her mother's mane. Exactly where Angelo had wanted her.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 17, 2016 1:55:53 GMT -5
Vivian wasn't complaining either. The last thing she wanted was Winter getting away again. She curled her paw around her and pulled her close. The kid had better get used to her mane, because after this, she was never sleeping anywhere else again. Vivian was perfectly willing to slow cook her before she let her wander off like this again.
"If you're not there when I wake up, you'll be in even more trouble," she growled to the kit, prodding her rump with a claw for emphasis. But her voice lacked most of the acidity in her thoughts.
It was plenty to make the boys squirm, though. They had been in the receiving end of a similar threat enough times as kits, and back then, Vivian hadn't been so able to temper her voice. The legitimacy of her threat, the guarantee of it being carried through, never changed.
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