Please And Thank You

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

The vulpix following the gijinka trainer in black leather was very quiet. This was because he was thinking. He was thinking things like, I've never seen that before, where did it come from? Is that the city? Is my trainer going to want me to battle? Will we be going to the Hummingbird Lagoon?

Normally, the vulpix would simply ask his questions, but whenever he managed to wrangle one thought into something that made sense, something else came along to distract him. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever speak again when he noticed his trainer looking up and followed his gaze.

The bridge above them made him tuck those thoughts away in a corner of his mind to stare. It was made out of brick and the rays of the sunset turned it a blazing red and gold. It was the largest structure he had ever seen up close before. I wonder if we'll walk across it, he thought, What are those lights up there?

"Hey, what're you doing?" his trainer called, and the vulpix realized he had stopped walking to stare and felt the blush burn through his fur. He disliked it whenever he acted childish in anyway and not noticing what he was doing because he was so awed fell in that category.

"I was looking at the bridge," the vulpix replied politely, not letting his unhappiness with himself colour his voice, "I've never seen it up close before. Will we be crossing it?"

"I don't know," the trainer replied, the sunset turning his hair pinkish gray and dull light red, depending on where the rays hit. His face was also coloured by the sunset, making his pale white cheeks golden so that he looked glowingly healthy. The vulpix thought it suited him much better than the cloudy brown hair and pale complexion that he naturally had, but was aware that he didn't know his trainer yet and saying so might offend him. He really didn't want to offend his trainer when they were close enough to the lab that the trainer could take him back.

"Can I ask what your name is?" the vulpix tried, since it was something he wanted to know and it seemed unlikely to offend anyone.

"Right, sorry," Aurelius said, just realizing that he hadn't introduced himself, "I'm not normally like this. Anyway, my name's Aurelius Sorin. What's yours?"

"I don't have one yet," the vulpix replied, tilting his head to one side and thinking, Does he have a bad short term memory? He seems distracted, it could be that. I shouldn't make any judgments so soon.

"I know," Aurelius said, shifting his weight at how awkward everything was, "But I thought there'd be something you liked? Something you wanted?"

"No," the vulpix said, "I would like some choice between names, if you don't mind."

Aurelius sighed a little and ran a hand over his face. The vulpix was polite. He never knew how to deal with polite people because he was never sure if they were being polite because they didn't like him or because they did.

"Alright," he muttered, going through names in his head. He knew a lot of them, but he wasn't sure what would be right for someone who was going to be spending the rest of their life with him. Then he remembered his mother talking sentimentally, the only time he'd ever heard her be what she considered 'weak', about names and children.

"How about Edelgiso or Syon?" Aurelius asked. There had been other names, but they seemed too dark for the vulpix. He knew that he had been given a bright name in hopes of a good future and that hadn't worked, but he didn't think the idea was flawed, just that he was.

The vulpix considered the two names carefully, refusing to reject one out of hand. After rolling the names around in his mind for a few moments he came to a conclusion.

"Syon, please," he said, deciding not to mention that the other one felt a little ridiculous to him, like a name for royalty or someone famous.

"Right," Aurelius said, hoping that the name that meant something like 'good fortune follows you' actually worked. Syon looked so small and helpless and it was just beginning to sink in for Aurelius that he was responsible for Syon. He had killed the last person he had been even somewhat responsible for, so this wasn't exactly a happy realization.

Syon studied Aurelius's face, trying to work out what his trainer was thinking. He had seemed brash and a little absentminded to the vulpix until Syon had decided on his name, but that had changed into something completely different and far stranger. It didn't bother Syon, since with his mutated tails he was used to being strange, but it did make him curious and resolve to try not to accidentally say anything to hurt the gijinka. As he watched, Aurelius looked at the ground and Syon was able to see a shadowy green walkway beyond him. It appeared well looked after and inviting to Syon and threw his thoughts in a different direction, though not without saving the previous ones.

"Aurelius," Syon said, waiting for dark eyes to look at him before continuing, "I think we should go over there, under the bridge, on the walkway."

He waved one of his tails in the direction he meant, keeping his eyes on Aurelius. This served two purposes; not seeing the tail that was, he knew, a pale red, and keeping an eye on the trainer he was already beginning to feel needed to be watched carefully.

"Yeah, I guess that's where we should be."

Aurelius set off a walk at a brisk pace and Syon trotted at his side, noting that with the sunset fading his trainer's hair was turning back to the strange, sickly colour it had been before.

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -

[Crim]

SPOILER: Click to show

#E238EC #B4CFEC

+Hey, c'mon bro, don't hide in the bushes like that! Don't you remember what Mom said? Only /cowards/ run and hide like that. Tell me: do you want to be a coward?+ Farther down, under the bridge, a cold, female voice rang out, scorn etched into every syllable spoken. A pair of dark brown eyes stared into the quivering bushes, where her brother was no doubt hiding. She glared at him for a few, long moments, before, hesitantly, the creature crawled out from the bushes, gazing fearfully up at his sister. Arceus, she was even bigger than he'd remembered, and she was younger than him, too.

+S-shut up, I am not a coward! I'm just... keeping watch, yeah, that's it! There could be bigger, scarier Pokémon out here that could eat us, do you really want to just charge into everything?+ the replying voice was male, and obviously more timid, but the Pokémon held his own against his sister in an argument, using whatever logic he could think of to try and rationalize his hiding. His sister, however, wasn't one for logic. She cut in as he was about to mention something else, rushing at her sibling with a Take Down that wasn't as strong as it could have been. However, it certainly wasn't soft, and her brother let out a timid squeak as he was pushed back. Without thinking, he retaliated with a Confusion, only to recoil in horror as his sister let out an angry growl.

The female stalked towards the male again, and this time he cowered right under her, staring up at her with wide eyes. +Mother told you to stop using that weird psychic crap! We don't /do/ that sort of thing, it isn't natural for Pokémon like us. What do you think you are, an ugly old Drowzee or something?+ The female snorted in contempt, before glowering at him.

+I'm leaving now, but you're going to stay on this Bridge until some trainer or other Pokémon comes along! Then you're going to kick their butt, and come home, or else not come home at all. I know that Mother won't exactly miss you if you get beaten or stolen.+ The sister left her brother there, allowing her horrible parting words to echo within his ears and confuse him.

It was a few, long minutes before the brother pushed himself to his feet, limping slightly (his shoulder had been injured by one of his sister's earlier Take Downs) as he made his way towards the start of the Bridge. He didn't know what he'd do, all he knew is that he desperately wanted to prove his sister wrong. He'd make his mother proud. Grimacing, he decided to challenge the first thing he saw, unless they were terribly scary. The first creature, or creatures, in this case, he saw were Au and Syon.

The Poison-type flattened his large ears against his skull, watching them near for a few, long moments, before bursting out of the undergrowth he'd been creeping in and running towards the trainer and the slightly odd-looking Vulpix. He didn't get far, however, before he stumbled on a rock, tripping and tumbling head over foot to come to a stop a few feet away from the Morph and his Pokémon. Eyes wide, he stared up at Au, before hastily trying to backpedal, whimpering, +P-please don't hurt me, I'm sorry!+ Oh, what his sister would have been jeering had she seen him now.


Level 6
Growl, Peck, Confusion

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

Aurelius's day had been long and painful, even though he knew what he was getting into, but he was beginning to relax. He suspected it had something to do with Syon's constant questions. It wasn't that they weren't annoying. They were annoying, mostly because every question was something neutral and pointless, but they allowed him to concentrate on something other than himself so he liked them. He still thought they were stupid questions though; who cares if someone has looked at the trainer phone or not?

It's stupid, Aurelius thought while nodding vaguely at something Syon had said, It's all 'have you scanned me with the trainer phone' and 'do you enjoy traveling at night' and 'what are those lights up on the bridge'. Next thing you know he'll be talking about the weather. It's small talk. The only time you make small talk is when you don't like someone but can't afford to piss them off - wait, does he feel that way about me?

Aurelius glanced down at Syon at that thought, whose pale tails looked like hallucinations in the darkness. He tried not to curse, even in thoughts, because his uncle had taught him not to and everything in life had taught him to respect the dead. He didn't curse unless he cared enough to forget and he knew it. He wondered if maybe the snapped response of 'don't talk about it' when Syon had asked about his family had made the vulpix wary and then he remembered that Syon had been polite even before that. Aurelius hadn't actually thought he could feel worse about it, but he did.

"Hey, kid..." he started to apologize for whatever he was doing, which was something he had learned very quickly and had to do often because he should and he could never, never say sorry enough even if he repeated it until he died.

He stopped when Syon turned to glare at him, surprised. The vulpix hadn't been anything but nice to him all night, but he got mad when Aurelius tried to apologize. Aurelius might've been worried if he hadn't decided that his life was an example of irony after everything was said and done. Instead, he was bitterly amused.

"Could you please not call me that," Syon said, his voice as cold as Aurelius had heard it and doing nothing to stop the ofcoursethiswasgoingtohappen, didyouthinkyoucouldactuallybeanythinglikeable, sillyyou'reamurderer, littlevulpixhatesyou, you'llkillhimtoo.

Aurelius was overreacting and he knew it, but that only made things worse, really. His ears tucked down into his hair and he shoved his hands in his pockets, every line of his body screaming 'go away'.

"Okay," he said.

Does he mean that?, Syon wondered, already knowing that his trainer wasn't aware of what was going on in the world around him due to The Incident. The Incident had been the most amusing thing he had ever seen, but he respected Aurelius's request to never talk about it and think about it as little as possible.

The vulpix sighed a little as they walked. He still had questions, but he could tell Aurelius wasn't in the mood to listen to them. I know a trainer and his Pok¨¦mon need to be friends, but this is more difficult than I thought it would be, he thought while glancing around for something other than his trainer to study and noticing a lantern, I wonder how they get the light to stay in those glass containers? I wish I could ask.

Aurelius was so lost in his thoughts that when the Pokémon burst out of the bushes he slid into a basic fighting stance, his panicked thoughts running on the line of 'shit my Mom's found me and decided to attack me because I'm so unaware and I'm going to get beaten into a pulp.'

He was very relieved when it turned out only to be some purple kind of Pok?mon, but he didn't bother slipping out of his stance, remembrance of his mother making him wary. He did slip one hand into his pocket to grab and open his phone. It scanned the Pokémon without seeming to do anything at all, and the Pok?mon's information appeared on the screen.

"Okay," Aurelius said cautiously, "You're a Nidoran male, level six, and you know growl, peck, and confusion. Poison type."

Aurelius wasn't really sure why he was reading out loud until he saw Syon's glance up at him, his dark brown eyes warmer than they had been before, a clear 'thanks'. Aurelius grinned back at him, gleeful in having done something right.

Syon's ears, which had gone back at the sight of the Pok?mon, slowly raised into a perked position again. The Pokémon was about half his size and it didn't seem to be too dangerous, though the 'poison type' was a little worrying. I should thank Aurelius for reading that to me, Syon thought, He didn't know that I wouldn't like being called 'kid'. I don't think he meant anything bad by it.

The vulpix glanced up at his trainer and seeing that he was only frowning at the Nidoran¡á, took a few steps closer to the purple Pokémon and said, "We're not going to attack you. Are you hurt?"

Syon hoped his trainer wouldn't make him a liar; they hadn't talked about whether he wanted him to battle yet, but Syon took the lack of orders to mean Aurelius either didn't care or didn't want him to attack the Pokémon. It was still a risk, but since Syon doubted Aurelius would force him to do anything, it wasn't a very big one. He wanted to have a good relationship with his trainer, of course, but there were limits.

Aurelius was just thinking, Yeah, that Pokémon was babbling about something, wasn't it? Figures that Syon would notice that. Is he that polite to everyone?

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -

[Crim]

The Nidoran noticed the human moving into a defensive sort of stance, and he mentally cursed, angry that his attempt at attacking hadn't been successful. His sister would have no doubt scorned him for such a pathetic display of strength, but he could still make her proud, maybe. As he clambered to his feet, still eying the trainer and Vulpix warily, his mind was busy thinking of what to do next. Should he go ahead and attack while their guard (or, at least, the Vulpix's guard) was down? He could try to be diplomatic, of course, but then... he'd probably wind up being kicked out from his home. His mother wasn't the kindest individual, after all, and she wouldn't hesitate in sending him away for failing to meet her standards.

The human had a strange machine which read out his species and his typing and his attacks, though the names of such attacks were foreign to him. Confusion? Was that the strange attack his sister seemed to detest so much? He wished he hadn't been born with it. His mother always said it reminded her of their father, whom she had always said she had detested for some reason or another. The Nidoran's strange attack had no doubt made him feel quite unwelcome at home. The little purple monster sighed, weighing his options, before shaking his head rapidly as the Vulpix queried whether he was hurt.

+H-hurt, me? Oh no, not at all! He put up a nervous little smile, though his leg was smarting from landing awkwardly on the ground, and his shoulder still hurt greatly. As he moved, he winced slightly, though the Poison-type tried quite hard to mask that little fact. If he was going to battle this trainer, he didn't want any of his weaknesses to be obvious right from the start.

Standing, he readied himself to lunge at the Vulpix, to attempt to impale the creature with his horn. The surprise attack would have no doubt done some good damage, and he would have probably gained some sort of advantage. However, he found himself backing away a bit, before hesitating and spitting bitterly at the ground, gaze downcast.

+Oh, I can't do it! It'd be so easy to do it, but... I've never been one for fighting... It's just kind of pointless... My sister and mom are going to be so mad at me for not attacking, but... I just can't help it. Damn it...+ The little Nidoran began to back away, and a pair of red eyes, hidden in the bushes, narrowed in disgust at the creature's depressing antics. A snort of irritation was heard before the sister made herself visible, launching herself out of another nearby bush at her brother and raking her small, but sharp claws over his face in a Scratch. She had been spying on her brother since she had left him, and she was not at all pleased by what she had just seen and heard.

The Scratch barely missed the Nidoran's left eye, instead leaving three small but deep gashes under the optical organ. The gashes began to leak blood, and the male let out a pained squeal as his backed away, eyes widened in fear and ears flat against his head. Against his better judgement, he sprang past his sister, scurrying behind the trainer and Vulpix and pawing at his face, trying to remove some of the annoying, painful wetness from the area.

+I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!+ he squealed, clamping his jaws shut as the Nidoran female stepped forwards, glaring at the Nidoran, the Vulpix, and Au. She snorted with obvious contempt at his apology, brushing it aside with ease as she addressed not only her brother, but all three of the creatures in front of her.

+You /did/ mean it, so don't even try to apologize, you worthless use of space! Now, Trainer... I have no quarrel with you, even if I loathe you kind. If you step aside and let me handle that weak Pokémon behind you, you won't face any danger from me.+ She obviously was prepared to fight Au and Syon if they decided to face her instead. The Nidoran female glared ahead, watching and awaiting some sort of response.

Level 7
Scratch, Growl, Tail Whip, Take Down

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

Aurelius wasn't sure who the nidoran thought he was fooling. He could tell that the little Pokémon was limping and he thought Syon probably could too and that was why the vulpix was being so polite. He hoped that was why the vulpix was being so polite anyway, because he wasn't sure he could protect Syon if he insisted on being so politely friendly to every Pokémon they met.

He glanced down at the nidoran, his black eyes narrowed. For a second he had thought the Pokémon was about to attack Syon, but instead the nidoran had burst out babbling things that didn't make much sense to Aurelius. I get that he doesn't like fighting and thinks it's pointless and that his mom and sister don't like that, Aurelius thought, But I don't get why he's telling us now. Actually, I don't get why he's telling us at all. Maybe Pokémon normally blurt out their sad stories when they meet trainers or something?

Syon understood far better than his trainer did. He doubted that always being considered weak was all that different from always being considered a baby. He was about to take a step forward to try to comfort the nidoran so that they could talk about it all when the nidorina came flying out of the bush, making the four tailed vulpix jump a little in surprise.

Aurelius saw the new Pokémon attack the nidoran and was at Syon's side before he could even think about it. He had been taught from a young age never to let an ally stand alone and even if he hadn't been, there was a strand of said I'd take care of him, mine to look after, mine to protect that connected him to the vulpix as strongly as a blood tie. He only saw the nidoran because the Pokémon had run behind him and Syon, making Aurelius automatically scan him to see if he was a threat. He noted the bleeding scratches under the Pok?mon's eye and the defeated body language and decided on 'Not A Threat'.

Then the other Pokémon caught his attention and he labeled her as 'Very Definitely A Threat' by both her words and the look in her eyes. It reminded him a little of some of the older men that had visited his father, the ones that always carried weapons and didn't seem afraid of anything. He wasn't really sure what to reply to her challenge. If it had been him alone, he would have simply refused to move. His morals were very clear on that: no letting someone injure someone else for no reason, even if it doesn't concern you. But the rule that he had based his life by, the rule that was most important to him, was 'protect those under your protection when they can't or won't protect themselves'. Syon was under his protection and he wasn't sure how well the polite, questioning Pokémon could fight. Aurelius knew that sometimes he was a little confused as to when someone wasn't or couldn't protect themselves though, and he knew that Pokémon were supposed to battle.

In the end, he just gave Syon an almost but not quite pleading look. He wasn't sure what he expected, but the small nod he got in return wasn't it.

Syon mentally admitted he didn't know what to do in this situation, but he suspected his trainer knew what to do even less than he did, so he accepted that it was up to him.

He took a few cautious steps forward so that he was slightly in front of Aurelius, who he thought probably needed to be protected from harming himself somehow. His body posture was defensive and he was tense enough that he would move at even the smallest gesture. He was as ready to fight as he could be, which wasn't saying much.

"Could I ask why you seem to be so upset with your brother?" Syon asked curiously. He really did want to know and had ever since he met the nidoran, though he wasn't going about to let his guard down in hopes of an answer.

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -

[➤ GRAZ !]

The Nidoran♀ spat her words, the bile in them building up with rage.

”What do you mean, why? Are you an idiot or something? Maybe you should stay out of big kid stuff, because you’re just a baby who probably wouldn’t understand anyway. I’m angry at him because he doesn’t care about what we are! you”

[/color] she looked pointedly at the Vulpix, glancing vitriolically at Aurelius as an afterthought. ”...might have no problem being the lapdog of a dirty human, but mama didn’t raise me like that. I have pride, and I’m never going to let myself be a slave like you. As for the freak over there, I couldn’t care less whether he lives or dies, but as long as he lives under our roof, he does as we say. So BUTT OUT, okay?”[/color]

The Nidoran♂ whimpered slightly, cowering further and retreating deeper into a bush backing onto the edge of the bridge. When he could go no further without plunging into the water below, he stopped, waiting to see how this tense situation would resolve itself. His sister continued confidently.

”So I’m going to repeat my offer. Step aside and nothing will happen to you or your puppy.”[/color]

e238ec | b4cfec

[/sub][/blockquote]
[/blockquote]

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

Syon was used to being mistaken for an immature vulpix. His lack of two tails and colouring of the others almost guaranteed it would happen every once in a while. But normally it was an honest mistake, a simple dismissal. Actual mocking had been rare and juvenile enough to cut his anger with the hypocrisy of it. He couldn't remember the last time he had been directly, cruelly attacked on something he cared about and the quiet fury building inside his mind frightened him a little. Most of his anger came from the insults to himself, but a particularly vicious portion of it came from the insult to Aurelius, who Syon was beginning to like and feel responsible for.

He was aware, in a distant way, that it was wrong of the nidorina to treat her brother as she did and that this was a situation in which he had to battle, even though he generally disliked to fight. The giddy spiral of his rage prevented him from even considering backing down and he took two steps forward before he spoke.

"I don't appreciate being called a baby," Syon said, only realizing after he spoke how ridiculous the sentence sounded. Normally that would have embarrassed him, but as it was it simply fueled his anger. He was crouched a little closer to the ground than he had been before, his stance tense and his fur bristling; Syon wasn't to the point of attacking first, but he was very close to it.

Aurelius wasn't really sure what to do, which was a strange, unsettling feeling for him. Normally, his morals were backed up by his feelings and thoughts. But he wanted to snatch up Syon and run. His thoughts were twisted with fear, torn between 'not my problem' and 'unjustified violence is wrong'. His parents had taught him that, both of them - that and that justified violence was perfectly fine.

Syon's words only added confusion to the mix. As far as Aurelius could tell, the vulpix, after everything, was still being polite. Didn't even curse, just said he didn't like what she was doing, only nicely. Can't tell if he's even upset, he just seemed irritated Aurelius thought, - there was something though. The way his voice sounded. Reminded me of Mom when she was about to kill someone. Darker, edged, sharp. Something hidden that you could get cut on and it'd get infected and you'd die. But this is Syon, so you'd probably die painlessly and quietly. Politely.

"Syon isn't anyone's slave," Aurelius said, because he couldn't let that go. The idea upset him more than Syon being called baby; he didn't understand why the vulpix, who was so calm and patient with him, would forget to mention it. He thought maybe there was a reason and he just wasn't getting it, because that happened to him sometimes, well okay lots of times, but he wasn't one to keep quiet just in case he did something wrong.

After talking, Aurelius fell back into his mind, which was an unpleasant place filled with scars and fangs and thoughts of What if he gets hurt, Can't let him do this, Named him, Supposed to protect him, Protect him.

The silver gijinka gritted his teeth and searched his mind for a reason to stay still, because he was about an inch away from simply declaring whatever battle might happen wasn't going to happen unless the nidorina was attacking him, and he didn't think Syon would appreciate that either. He was just about to give up - he had never had much patience - when he remembered that his mother had similar morals to him in regards to protecting others and that she had let him fight. Aurelius wasn't sure why, but luckily he had a good memory and a talent for finding things in his mind, especially the things he didn't want to find. When the words came, they were simple and comforting: 'If I never let you fight, you'd learn nothing. Then where would you be if I wasn't there?'

Aurelius let those words settle into his mind, softening the edges of his panicked feelings so that they slid under his thoughts and stopped poking holes in them. He decided that he would let Syon fight unless the vulpix actually needed him to get involved. And he would be fair. He wouldn't jump in the moment the Pokémon got a scratch. He wouldn't.

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -

[ßukowski]

Any notion of an olive branch shriveled and died with the Vulpix taking up an aggressive posture toward the female Nidoran. She was past silly negotiations, they'd just rejected her offer once and she would not beg these insolent passer-by to allow her to properly punish her own brother, for Arceus' sake! A cool breeze swept the bridge, delicate for such a heated situation, catching her sizable oval ears and sending her whiskers into a brief twitching fit.

"Watch, brother, you worthless coward,

[/color]" she hissed, "what I do to them I will unleash upon you ten times worse!" From within the brush, the abused sibling shuddered and desperately attempted to further retreat, however, found the edge and possibility of drowning as dangerously thwarting as ever. Nor would running elsewhere be of any use, as his sister would undoubtedly catch him.

Glowering then at Syon, the fearsome Nidoran finally made her move. A growl, somewhat squeaky albeit intimidating, shot from her open maw, which exposed her keen front teeth. She wasn't about to use them, however. Instead, she bolted at the Vulpix with powerful momentum surprising for her size, aiming to take him down quickly so that she could move on to more important matters.

[/blockquote][/font]

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

The soft wind ruffled Aurelius' hair, which made his muscles tighten even more. He generally liked dark and windy nights. They meant that he'd sneak out and find his mother waiting for him (to beat him up again, generally), or that he'd spend the night around a bonfire eating junk food until the sugar rush died and he fell down on the ground somewhere. But he didn't feel like that. He felt sick like he'd eaten fifteen bags of sour candy in a row and they turned out to really be frogs somehow, so there were tadpoles in his stomach. It didn't really make sense, but that was how he felt and Aurelius was used to what he was feeling not making sense.

I can't move, can't move, can't move, Aurelius chanted to himself, his eyes on the two Pok?mon, You have to stay still, stop being stupid, moving isn't going to help Syon, nothing's even happening, you made your choice, don't move.

Then the nidorina started to speak. Aurelius paid attention to what she said because if it had anything to do with Syon he was going to attack her. He didn't get why the vulpix had a problem with being called a kid, but he was willing to hit anyone who did it whether he understood why or not. He wasn't even completely sure Syon did have a problem with someone saying he was young, but it seemed to be the only thing that made him coldly polite instead of normally polite and Aurelius was working off the idea that anything that made the vulpix stop asking his polite questions wasn't good. He also didn't really care about being over protective; he was pretty sure there was no such thing as over protective, actually.

Syon listened to the nidorina too and he was a little scared. He wasn't really a fighter and he hadn't ever wanted to be one. But now he was in the middle of something that he couldn't back down from and very aware that in battle he was medium at best.

The growl was a little squeaky, he noticed and that made him feel better even as it lowered his attack. Some of the anger that he had before came back as his mind started to think that maybe he had a chance and reminded him that his trainer would probably return him if everything went wrong. It also reminded him that the nidoran didn't have the same option.

As the nidoran charged at him Syon leaped into the air. He moved a little too soon and his back paws hit one of her spikes. He stumbled and hit his paw on a stone, but it was far better than actually being hit by her and he knew it.

He spun to the side and whirled his tails around in a tail whip, feeling foolish as he did something that drew attention to his strange tails. That little piece of foolishness turned easily into anger and made the ember he spat at the nidorina a little stronger than it would have been.

Aurelius watched the embers fly towards the nidorina, glowing a bright red-orange-white against the night sky. It reminded him of precious stones and the paper lanterns his uncle had helped him make when he was little enough someone could pick him up. It didn't really make him feel any better about the battle, but he knew he was being weird. There wasn't - he didn't need to get involved. He knew that. He wished that knowing something helped as he clenched his hands into fists.

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -

[ßukowski]

[OOC: Sorry for the wait! dgfdhg]

Yielding but a glance, a mere brush of the Vulpix's paw on one of her keen orchid thorns, the Nidoran grunted and bulleted forth with excess momentum. Her ruby eyes kept focused backwards, however, attempting to keep the fox-creature in her vision. Resulting, her short legs faltered and she clumsily crashed onto the paved earth - perhaps, her take down's power was too great for her at such a diminutive age. Though the little rodent was young, she'd been steadfast and wretchedly domineering from conception. When her littler brother joined her family, he'd rapidly become an outlet for her, to say the least, aggressive personality. She was his big sister, he was required to listen to her - if he just obeyed, she wouldn't have to beat him up all the time!

The female was humiliated, having done something as untactful as falling from her own attack. Like she had something to prove, maybe just how exceedingly tough she thought herself, she was swiftly back on her feet and whirling around. Slightly disoriented and attempting to scrutinize the Vulpix's next maneuver, she was easily thrown off by the display of multicolored tails. Enough that she saw - oh, she saw - the fiery bits venomously shoot from Syon's muzzle toward her shoulder region, but she was too sluggish and they contacted and sizzled into her poisonous pelt. "Agh!" The Nidoran shrilled, flinching, though shook it off with gusto. Her snout crumpled up and her ears flattened back, longer than nearly half her body.

There were no distraction tactics this time, no growls or tail whips. Against the pavement she lightly whetted the tiny pearly claws of her left limbs once or twice, confirming their needlelike state, then lunged back at Syon with malice. She kicked her legs and swiped her forepaws. If her noxious spines didn't get her opponent, then surely her scratch would.

[Seas]

- l
_______________________________________
-l Got nothing left but ashes and sin
And a wildfire burning under the skin l-
_______________________________________
l -

Aurelius grinned as the Nidorina fell to the ground after missing Syon, though his hands were still clenched. Part of him wanted to cheer for the vulpix and part of him wanted to taunt the blue Pok?mon, but he didn't think Syon would like it. The vulpix didn't seem like the kind of person who thought that the louder something was said, the better. He seemed more like the type who would tell Aurelius to 'be quieter, please' in a library. Aurelius didn't want to upset him while he was battling - he could get hurt, or killed - No. No. He won't ever get killed, I won't let him. He'll grow up and evolve or something, whatever vulpix do, and have his own library and I'll take him wherever he wants, it isn't like I don't have the money, he isn't going to die. Syon's fine. I won't lose him, won't fail. Not again. Can't.

The gijinka's grin hadn't faded; it was actually a little wilder and wider, looking like something better found on a drawing of a madman's smile. His black gaze was fixed on the small, innocent looking vulpix.

Syon hadn't checked on his trainer, as was becoming his habit. This was because the almost fierce creature he had been was gone, replaced with his normal softness and he had forgotten that he had Aurelius to look after, forgotten that he wasn't still a vulpix alone at the lab. He was honestly surprised his attack had hit, as the Nidorina looked like she enjoyed a good fight and he tried to avoid them as much as possible. The strong scent of burnt flesh was sickening to him, and he took a few steps back without thinking about it.

He didn't know if that was what caused her to rush at him and attack, but suddenly he was frantically dodging spikes and sharp claws. He thought, She's trying to kill me! She would really want me dead.

It was a new idea for him, meeting someone who truly wanted to harm him. Syon had had minor fights with the other Pokémon in the lab before, but none of them had wanted to do more than beat him and he knew none of them would hurt him badly enough that he would need medical attention. His grace was lost in his panic and the Nidorina's claws cut up his forelegs. She wasn't tall enough to reach his face, so he kept stumbling backwards, his tails down, too terrified to even mention he would surrender. Syon's eyes were glazy with shock until a spike slammed into a cut, sending a burning all through his body. It made him gasp in pain, but more importantly it reminded him that he was a fire pokémon.

The vulpix didn't hesitate for a second before spitting out another ember, darker patches of his fur shining in the flare of light.

Aurelius watched and tried to remember to breathe. He wasn't sure what he wanted but he was sure he'd know what it was if he just had Syon in his arms, safe. He thought about changing, shifting into his eevee form and fighting beside Syon, remembered that he had never told the vulpix he could so that, and actually, visibly shook with the feelings wound into his blood.

The only thing that was stopping him from leaping into the battle and dragging Syon out of the way was the fire sparking in the air. Aurelius knew better than to get in the way of that. He wasn't insane enough to run into fire. Yet.

- l
_____________________________________
-l Feel as bright and hot as molten steel
Designed to leave a scar
No one knows what beginnings are l-
_____________________________________
l -