Walking through the forest, the cubone gripped his cracked femur tightly. It doesn't really matter where he is as long as he can eat and drink. He stops and notices something gleaming up ahead. Pushing his fat legs further, he realizes that the cause of the gleam was merely a silver necklace. Peering out of his mother's battered skull, he looks up at the foliage. Barely any light was coming through, making the forest incredibly dark. How could the necklace gleam so much in such little light? Shrugging his small shoulders, the cubone picks up the necklace and walks on, his feet crushing the dry leaves below.

The cubone stops as he hears an odd noise, like a cry and a call mixed together. Not really all that odd, the animals scattering about in the forest were his only reminders that he wasn't alone. Ignoring the odd sound, he continues to walk past the trees, turning to his left or right every now and then. There was no road, there was merely ground covered in dry leaves and sticks with small blades of grass peeking up every now and then. The cubone couldn't walk in a straight line, though, for millions of trees surrounded him, some with almost no space to crawl through, and some very far separated.

Despite the beauty of the forest all around him, the cubone paid only enough attention to his scenery so that he would not hit a tree. He only came into the forest to avoid some stupid trainers trying to catch him, but he thought that he might as well stay in here.

He stops again as he hears the odd noise. Before he has time to react, a creamish blur slams him against a nearby tree. Letting out a cry of pain, he slowly gets up, the back of his mother's skull in much worse shape. The cubone looks at what rammed him, and a meowth stood in front of him. She looked deranged. Drool was dribbling down her chin, her eyes were huge, she had about five scars on her charm and the flesh next to it, and her pupils were but dots. Her claws were out, digging into the leaves and ground beneath her.

She croaked in a very scratchy and rasping voice, "Do... shiny?"

The cubone stares at her, then asks in a cool voice, terrified, "What?"

The meowth lets out a shriek, then screams at him, her voice sounding even more jagged and terrifying, "SHINIES!"

She doesn't wait for him to answer and leaps on him. He is knocked against the moss-covered tree, his mother's femur now flying out of reach. She digs her filthy claws into his arms, pinning him there. He was slightly larger than her, but she was obviously insane and much more deadly than your average meowth. She instantly starts clawing at him, ripping at his arms and stomach, breathing heavily all the while. Now regaining the ability to move, the cubone chucks the silver necklace at her head, that being his only weapon. He quickly shoves her off, letting out a terrifed cry. The cubone darts over to his mother's femur and runs off quickly in the opposite direction, the blood now on his arms trailing down to his femur and down it's cracks.

Before the cubone can get too far, he is shoved back on the ground. The meowth is on top of him, pinning him down again. Being on his belly now, he cannot see her, but he can hear her ragged breathing and can feel her quivering paws. This time, though, he still has his femur with him. Preparing to leap up and attack her, he holds his mother's bone tighter. With a leap he shoves her off, raising his bone high above his head for the attack. The meowth tumbles to the ground, but now she wears a grin. He looks down, noticing a gleam, and spots the silver necklace around her neck.

The meowth gets up on all fours and prepares to charge at him. He breathes heavily, then chucks his mother's bone at her. It hits the meowth in the chest, but she doesn't seem to notice and darts to him. His "boomerang" returns to him as she knocks him to the ground on his belly. He notices something different, though. Her claws are not out, and she is making an odd sound... purring, maybe? The cubone lays still, not wanting to jerk her out of her pleased mood... might as well wait there until she gets bored and leaves. Why is she happy, though? Because he gave her the necklace? He doesn't dare look around to see it, though, just like how the dry leaves below scratch his stomach, but he doesn't dare move.

Time passes by, the cubone not daring to fall asleep. The meowth is still breathing ruggedly, though he can't tell if she's asleep or not. As it nears midnight, the cubone slowly edges away from the meowth, wiggling out from under her grasp. The meowth's head hits the ground as he slowly stands up. She lets out a screech, then grabs his paw - that is covered in dried blood - before he can react. She begins to tug him, her claws already deep into his arm. Terrified of her, he lets her drag him around. Apparently she knows the area well, for even though she walks unevenly and stumbles, she weaves a very special pattern past the trees.

After a short time, he can see a gleam - much like the gleam when he saw the necklace - up ahead. As they enter a clearing, he can see why. A large pile of valuables sits in front of him, shining. The pile is half as tall as one of the trees nearby, gold, silver, copper, and millions of gems making the pile shine. The meowth lets go of his bloody arm and darts to the pile. She dives into it, making some of the valuables tumble to the ground. She pops her head out, the silver necklace now missing. The cubone stays where he is, now understanding that the pile is her stash.

The meowth rasps in and urgent voice, "Come... shiny? Stay... with...?"

She pulls her claws out, her paws covered in blood, dried and wet alike. The cubone decides not to take any chances and warily makes his way closer to her. She lets out a screech and waves a paw at him, though not able to scratch him from so far away, "NO! SHINY... MINE!"

The cubone stops dead in his tracks, then backs up some. He sits down on the grass and dry leaves, now a good four yards from the pile. He asks carefully in his cold voice, the noise faintly echoing in his mother's skull, trying to lull her into a false sense of secrurity, "I'm sorry... what is your name?"

It takes the meowth a while to response, apparently processing the question. Finally, she rasps, "Meoula... duh Argehartooo..."

Meoula de Argeharto? The cubone raises his eyebrows under his skull and nods as if what she just said was extremely interesting. Her question catched him by surprise, "Yooou...?"

He pauses, wondering whether or not to tell her. Though, figuring that she's too insane to really track him down by name, like humans do, he says, "Orphon."

Meoula croaks, pulling her paw back into her pile, "Stay... with me. Leave... die."

Orphon nods, still scared, then looks down. Now why couldn't he have just let those trainers capture him?

End.