[X] My Assistant

[Master Houndoom]

This RP is already fully staffed and will not accept applications. Furthermore, any bunnying done to characters or pokemon is done with permission by the owner of the character/pokemon.

"And then, Jaima's mother comes home, and no one's there. Well, she's in a towering fury, she says, but she goes out to the back yard, and there they are, with a blanket draped over the clothesline, roasting marshmallows over Ember's behind!"

Tuesday and Meiko burst into fits of girlish laughter, and Jaima smiled, slightly flushed. Darryn also smiled, almost a smirk. "I've heard that before."

Meiko grinned at him, then back at Jaima, winking and pointing at him. Jaima raised a brow, then gave a smirk of his own.

"Well, this one is new to you. It's Meiko's 8th birthday, and it's supposed to be a surprise party..."

Meiko gasped. "Noooooo," she wailed, reaching for Jaima, who dodged nimbly.

The story never actually got told, but things were learned by the traveling companions. For example, Tuesday and Darryn learned that Jaima was actually ticklish, and that Meiko knew where, and vice versa. Meiko and Jaima learned that one should not get into a tickle war while there was a certain mischievous riolu around.

No one understood exactly how it happened, or where Zorro had gotten the rope, but before it could be stopped, Jaima and Meiko had ended up with their hands tied behind the other's back, facing each other, wide eyed and blinking in surprise.

With a laugh, Tuesday scolded Zorro, Darryn moved to untie the pair, and Meiko took the opportunity to drop a kiss on Jaima's nose.

* * * * *

The camp was set up with now expected efficiency, and supper had been eaten. The four trainers lounged around the fire, sleepy eyed, several pokemon (several being twenty, but no one was counting) lounging in different groups, and smiling. The previous leg of their journey, which had ended with the group taking refuge with Tuesday's uncle, had provided a time of rejuvenation, and the group had fallen into a kind of contentment that was the aim of many people, the kind of contentment one would love to look back in their life and say they could feel for the majority of it. The kind of contentment that, usually, preceded a storm or quake.

There was talking, and laughter, and soon the wishes of good nights. The morning would bring more travel, and perhaps a practice battle, but for now, sleep was called for.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

The red eyes bounced in the darkness, glowing fiercely, as their owner dashed forward. Tuesday took a fearful step back as Mercury shivered but remained in front of her, and then their attacker leapt out of the darkness and was revealed.

“Oh, no no no no no-” Mercury’s pleas were cut off by a long, slobbering tongue rolling up her face and leaving a trail of drool behind. “Gross! Ashleigh!”

“I missed you, Sparkly Dancer!”

Tuesday let out a squeal and the two turned to see Romeo standing on his hind legs, his forepaws on Tuesday’s chest as he licked her face and neck ruthlessly. Tuesday scratched the jolteon behind the ears, grinning. Romeo panted heavily and dropped to the ground, rolling onto his back as Ashleigh flopped next to him.

”Double belly ruuuuuuub!” they both declared loudly.

Tuesday giggled as she rubbed their stomachs, smoothing down Romeo’s soft fur and enjoying the soft warmth of Ashleigh’s underbelly. “You guys scared us. We thought you were dangerous.”

“They are dangerous,” Mercury said, wiping her face disgustedly.

Tuesday looked up at the kirlia and smiled, but when she opened her mouth to reply, she was interrupted by a roar that sounded behind her. The two dogs stopped wagging their tails and everyone turned in sync to see what creature stood behind them.

A large hairy tree-like pokemon stood, roaring, a nasty gleam in its eye. Tuesday swallowed thickly and staggered back a little. “A sh-shiftry,” she stammered.

She knew a lot about shiftry, having studied up on pokemon who were especially dangerous. This particular breed was in the top five, being a pokemon that enjoyed causing others pain. They were ridiculously fierce, cruel, and strong, and they were a dark-type.

A low growl that started so softly that Tuesday didn’t at first hear it swiftly grew into a barking snarl. Ashleigh was crouched low to the ground, his tail dropped between his legs and crimson eyes glowing through narrowed slits. His lips were pulled back, baring sharp yellow fangs that snapped sharply at the air, spraying saliva.

“Ashleigh!” Tuesday cried, as the shiftry advanced, “Smog!”

~*~

“Tai Tai Tai Tai Taillooooooooooo!”

High in a tree, a taillow beat its wings as it fiercely pecked the spherical invader of its nest. The taillow’s beak continued to peck at the offending pokeball, until it pressed the button on the front of the ball and, in a flash of red light, the ball burst open. The taillow pecked ferociously at the creature that came out of it.

Tempest’s eyes narrowed as the small, sharp beak made contact with her head. She turned a glare onto the bird but gained no reaction but an angry squawk, and the bird changed from merely pecking her to also clawing her with its talons.

And then its talons latched onto Tempest’s tail.

A lightning bolt shot down from the sky, piercing the taillow. The bird let out a sharp, surprised squawk, and tumbled from the nest to the forest floor.

With a sharp, angry “chu!”, Tempest kicked her pokeball out of the nest and leapt out after it.

“Ouch!”

Tempest blinked in surprise to hear the exclamation as her pokeball slammed down on top of someone’s head. And then she crashed down on top of a mass of hair that reeked of flowers and fruit.

Tempest glanced down at her downy cushion and then leapt off, sauntering away with a unconcerned, “Oops.”

[Living Arrow]

“Hey!” Darryn rubbed his hair, making sure to sweep it back into place, and stooped to pick up the Pokeball. “A simple ‘hello’ would have worked just as well, y’know?”

Tuesday’s Pikachu made an “oh shush” motion with a few flippant sweeps of a paw and walked off into the dark, her jagged tail following like the banner of a proud warrior. Darryn rolled his eyes and collected Eggheart and Rockclaw’s Pokeball before nodding to November who trotted after the electric rodent.

~

“Hey, Temmie!” November’s larger hooves clopped in the dirt, falling into a very slow walk to keep pace with her much smaller ally. The Pikachu had a sort of ballsy kick-assness about her that November loved – it reeked of self confidence and a lack of care for what others thought that the equine secretly wished she could have for herself. “Temmie?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?” Tempest asked with a raised eyebrow, sparks crackling from her cheeks as she continued her march into the depths of the forest.

“Yeah, about that…” November snorted, “It’s not gonna stop…”

“I see.” The reply had a hint of amusement although it carried more than its fair share of annoyance. Tempest looked up again. “Did you get bigger or something?”

“Evolved, didn’t I?” November said proudly, tossing her resplendent flaming mane like one of the females from one of the many human haircare product adverts. She hadn’t has chance to catch her reflection in a puddle, window or even the eyes of someone else but she knew she looked better. She could feel it!

“I take it you actually won a battle then?” Tempest sniffed, skipping over an exposed root. “Big step up.”

“Like, totally.” November grinned, reliving the glorious moment where she crushed that Pinsir’s exoskeleton and sent it crying back into the dark. “Didn’t know what hit ‘im.”

They walked on for a while, Tempest looking back quickly to spy Darryn following, a concerned look on his face. The pink little smile of Eggheart grinned out from his shirt, a Pokeball tucked safely into her pouch.

“So, what’s the glossy-haired one got planned?” Tempest asked, brimming with static energy. It was clear she was impatient – eager to find her own master.

“Ah, the situache? Well, Darryn’s been totally phenom. I found him just waiting in the woods, with the baby egglette, and then *WHAM!* I kicked that stupid bug thing to the curb and stomped his ass back under whatever rock he crawled out from. Then we talked, Darryn did the talking, and we decided, Darryn decided, that we should go looking for the others. That’s when you dropped out of nowhere and now, here we are!”

Tempest’s face scrunched up and her eyes narrowed. With a growl she stopped walking and turned around, glaring at the boy following them.

~

“WAH!” Darryn narrowly dodged a Thundershock and pushed Eggheart down into his sweater for protection. “Tempest! What gives?!”

“PIKA! Pika pika pikachu! Pikachu!” Came the angry reply, coupled with a hiss and a baring of teeth.

“Look, I can’t understand you so shouting at me doesn’t help!” Darryn responded, still holding his arms defensively over the bulge against his chest. Tiny arms and legs kicked to be let out but they were easily restrained.

“Chuuu.”

November’s hoof stomped down in front of Tempest, blocking her path. She looked up at November angrily but the Rapidash’s intent stare and whinny seemed to prevent the Electric Mouse from going any further. A stunned silence passed within the odd group, interrupted only by Eggheart’s successful escape from Darryn as she slid out of his shirt and dropped to the floor.

“Look, everyone.” Darryn opened his inner eyes, bathing in the Emotaglows that welcomed his Sight. “I know you are scared, angry, worried and impatient but arguing and running off won’t help anyone. Look, we’re all fine so being optimistic and assuming that the others are also doing good is what we’re going to do.” Suspicion and irritation flashed through Tempest’s aura. “But, we need more of a plan – just walking through the forest isn’t going to help.”

“Pi! Pi pikachu!” Tempest declared, holding out her paws in a ‘FINALLY!’ expression.

“So, November’s Morning Sun was huge, huge, meaning someone is bound to have seen it. But, that means our not–so-stylish friends will have seen it too, so we have to keep moving. I also know that putting you in your Pokeball won’t keep you in it as you’re one of the ones that has worked out how to get out on your own, aren’t you?” He asked Tempest. She inspected her fingernails, looking unimpressed.

“So you can ride up with me or walk – November’s going back in her ball.”

The Rapidash stomped and her eyes widened dramatically.

“You’re on fire - it’s too much of a giveaway for the bad guys to find us. But, if anything happens I’ll call you out. I promise.” Darryn nodded, watching his fire-type’s aura mellow out, accompanied by a nod. He recalled her quickly and tucked her Repeat Ball into his pocket alongside Rockclaw. Bending down, he took Tempest’s ball from Eggheart’s pouch and put it with the others.

“You’re our first line of defence.” Darryn told Tempest, returning Eggheart to her rightful place in his sweater. “So we’re counting on you to keep sharp. Don’t worry about the direction we’re going – south west is right towards Petropolis.” A doubtful cloud of grey passed over the Pikachu. “Moss grows on the north side of the trees.” Darryn smiled at her. “There’s always a plan.”

Tempest raised a wry eyebrow before uttering a curt “Chu” and scampering up to his shoulder. Eggheart giggled with glee and together they moved on into the fading dark – the sky was beginning to pale and in only a few short hours the sun would make an appearance.

*Just be safe, everyone.*