On the dock of the house beside the lake a girl. Snuggled against her chest was a red furred Absol and laying down behind her and providing an exquisitely warm backrest was a Blitzle. In the sky above, the sun was starting to set and a short waves washed gently against the side of the dock. From within rose the water an elegant neck topped by a graceful head. The Milotic smiled at the three young friends happily. They looked so peaceful like that.

"So, I hope you three are having a fun time," the Milotic commented to the three, moving her head closer to the dock to rest it on top of the smooth wooden planks.

"Mhm, lots of it," Abby Keenan said, a smile on her face as her blonde hair fell about her face. "Right Xav?" she asked, glancing down at the young crimson furred Absol in her arms.

"Yes, though I believe the endless game of tag dragged on longer than necessary," he replied with a small chuckle.

"Honestly Xav, you'd say that any sort of fun dragged on 'longer than necessary'," the Blitzle said, looking down at him over Abby's shoulder.

"That's not true Grace, one can not have enough time laying in the sun," Xav said with a smirk at the Blitzle.

"And here I thought you'd decided to start mimicking your uncle rather than your father," Grace said snidely.

"Well, both of them like to lay in the sun all day," Abby put in, frowning at the two of them. Pokemon were lucky, they got to develop faster and knew more words than her even though they weren't that much older. "So it could be either."

"That's up for you two to decipher," the Absol said as he stretched out his paws and lay his head between them. "I for one don't mind who I got it from, the fact remains the same."

"Hmph," Grace said, turning her head away from the undignified display. "I suppose that's true, they're both rather lazy. Nothing like my mother and father."

"My father is a gym Pokemon who fights at least three to five battles a day, he deserves to be able to rest afterwards. Your parents however mostly just graze in the field while your father might recite old poems that your mother most likely heard a dozen times." One of Xav's blue eyes opened up to look up at the Blitzle. "Remind me, what definition of lazy are we using?"

Grace screwed up her muzzle and was about to reply when Abby swatted them both on the head. "If you two keep fighting I'm going to get Aunt Kaolin to turn you into ice sculptures."

"And you know I would too," the Milotic agreed with a nod of her head.

"He is lucky that I am not in the mood for a true battle of words and wits," Grace muttered, leaning her head down against Abby's shoulder. "For if I were than he would be weeping on the ground before my hooves from the sharpness of my tongue."

"Ha!" Xav exclaimed, small giggles rolling out of him. "Oh, I would like to see you try."

Abby just sighed and patted Grace's head while stroking Xav's chin. "You two are funny..." she smirked and then leaned down and licked Xav's nose before leaning up and licking Grace's. "But you're my kind of funny!"

"..." Grace blinked and looked down at Xav who had the same look of surprise on his face. "You know Abby, I often forget that you're ten."

"Yes..." Xav commented in agreement.

Kaolin chuckled in amusement. "She might be able to understand us, doesn't mean she has the same mindset as a ten year old Pokemon. But that's where her charm really shines through." The Milotic lifted her head out up and leans it over to nuzzle the girl, giving her a small lick on the cheek as she reeled it back. "Besides, she wasn't as bad as when she was five, you two must admit that, hehe."

"Oh, do not remind me of that," Grace said, shivering.

"Indeed..." Xav said closing his eyes to suppress the memory. "I'd just forgotten what that evil pink bow looked on me too..."

"Hey!" Abby said, her face bunching up in childish indignation at being talked down to as if she wasn't even there.

"Hey, at least I bore through it for your happiness," Xav pointed out. "Just don't ask what happened to it the moment you... 'lost' it."

"I don't even know what bow you are talking about," Abby said, her face still red. "But I bet it was the bestest bow ever!"

"... I certainly appreciated it," Grace put in with a smirk down at Xav.

The Absol gave her a small flat look for a while before a small smirk form at the edge of his lips. "Yes... and I found it amusing when she made you her only personal parade float."

"..." Grace glared at him. "We agreed to never speak of that again!"

"My bad," Xav said with a small smile. "Slip of the tongue really, I don't know what came over me."

"Aunty Kaolin, when are mommy and daddy going to be home?" Abby asked, looking away from the squabbling Pokemon. "They're the best at getting these two to stop it."

"Hopefully soon, they had a table reserved for them before they left and it's been almost over an hour and a half already. So any minute now darling," Kaolin replied, giving Abby another nuzzle. "But she has a point, if you two don't stop arguing, I will end it," she said. Eying both the Blitzle and the Absol with narrowed eyes and a firm tone.

The two stopped in whatever they were currently arguing over and they closed their mouths and turned their heads away from each other. The Milotic nodded her head in appreciation. "Thank you," she glanced over at Abby once more. "As for you, you better get ready for bed, that way Roxanne and Matt won't have to worry about it."

Abby blinked and then nodded, pushing Xav gently off of her chest as she got to her feet. "You're right! But... I don't want to go to bed." She frowned, appearing deeply conflicted, or as deeply as someone her age could be conflicted.

"That's why I said just get ready for bed," Kaolin pointed out. "Get into your pajamas, brush your teeth and such. That way your parents can spend a bit more time with you before they send you off," she added, giving the girl another nuzzle.

"Oh, okay!" Abby said, grinning before she nuzzled Kaolin back and licked her cheek. "Thanks Aunty Kaolin!" The little girl turned and ran into the house excitedly.

"You're welcome... my little Abby," Kaolin said with a soft sigh to herself.

"Go keep her company Xav," Grace said, ignoring Kaolin's private sigh. "I should go get back to the stables."

"Right right... say hi to your mother and father for me," the Absol said as he pushed up onto all fours and did some stretching before walking casually to the house. "And Grace... you didn't look all that bad with the lights on you, it brought out your... figure."

Grace smiled, getting to her hooves, leaning down and nuzzling Xav's head. "Love you too, Xav." She turned and gave Kaolin a nuzzle before prancing off towards the stables happily. The Absol continued on his way to the house, nuding the half close door with a paw before squeezing his way inside.

Kaolin let out another sigh as she closed her eyes and hung her head, a small smile on her face. "Another day successful, and no need to freeze any of them," she said to herself before letting a small chuckle rolled out of her before diving underneath the reflective water.