2nd Nov 2014: Oh dear god, I hate my writing to this story. It was so stupid and retarded and I don't know why people even like it.
But, to make it worthwhile for the new ones who check, I'm just going to rewrite it.
Main characters will stay, and possibly a lot of the members of the "rescue team" in the later chapters (you know...) will be booted out of the story completely. I'm sorry, but I find this story stupid. Just works like that.
The general plot stays. I'll probably be adding a little more details here and there (like plot stuff), so the chapters may extend.
Also yes, it probably seems kinda boring in the first front bit, but promise there's something leading up to the end of the chapter.
Why... would they even be after her?
The flowers she ran through were pretty and delicate, and would perhaps be even more so if she didn't have to trample all over them. The braixen apologised to them silently. They didn't quite deserve that fate, but she didn't have time to be thinking about something like that when she was on the run.
The mostly black, devil-like hound chasing her was stealthily following her, trying to make its presence unknown. The braixen's senses were extremely sharp—she was almost a psychic, not quite, but almost there!—and she just knew, she just knew, it wasn't going to stop chasing her until it caught her and kidnapped her for its own uses.
What could she do to escape..?
The gushing sound of water caught her attention. She almost stumbled, but the river was almost like a friend to her—she smirked. For something like that... to save her at this sort of time...
She didn't have the time to really think about how stupid it all seemed.
She jumped over the river, breath hitching. Landing on the grass with a soft thud, the braixen whipped round to stick her tongue out at the houndoom. Noticing it had been spotted long ago, embarrassed, the houndoom turned tail and fled in the opposite direction. Chicken, she thought.
Hold on... did that rafflesia over there... just rustle?
The braixen whipped out the twig from her bushy tail, friction setting the twig alight. If it was more danger to her, she'd fight it—
"Xena! Sheesh, calm down, it's only me!"
Xena's eyes softened, a sigh escaping her lips, looking down. "Oh... it's just you, Ria." She stuck the stick back into her tail, looking apologetic. Ria, the vileplume, stood up, looking pretty annoyed. "I'm sorry. I was on the run from a houndoom. They're still after me... because of my thieving abilities..."
Ria looked as if she couldn't get any more sympathetic. "Your abilities aren't your own fault, Xena."
Born with a hidden ability, "Magician", Xena usually accidentally took what wasn't hers, all because of that blasted ability. She didn't want it, she thought bitterly. It wasn't a gift, it wasn't a talent, it was a curse. There wasn't any other way to describe it.
Trying to avoid the topic, Xena sighed, "Never mind, Ria. Let's just go ahead. I'm pretty much safe now. Shall we head over to my house?"
The vileplume looked dubious, but nodded. Xena smiled, leading them over to a small wooden hut, the place she called her home. Her parents were usually out, and even though she had a little sister—a fennekin named Candice—the younger fox preferred to huddle up in her own room.
"Oh, oh... crappy, crappy roses!" Ria suddenly cried out. Xena got a shock. "Sorry, Xena! Really, really, sorry! I forgot I have to go babysit my brother even if my parents are good-for-nothings..!" The vileplume lived by herself, because her parents were unreliable, but they still called her back to babysit her younger brother every so often.
"It's all right." It wasn't. She didn't want to be left alone again. "Why do you use roses as a swear word again?"
"Because they smell so good! Gotta go, Xena! Don't forget to get a mate while I'm gone!"
Xena balled her fists as she watched Ria skitter off. Everyone was always telling her to go get a "boyfriend", because they thought she was pretty, and her personality was that of a sweet one. But the braixen didn't want one—she just didn't. There wasn't a need to.
Whenever she was pissed, she did whatever to un-piss herself. She yanked out her stick, the twig already on fire. Without thinking, she hurled an ember at a patch of amaryllises—her favourite flowers, but what did that matter at that present moment?
Xena watched the flowers burn, and somehow... it gave her satisfaction. Could she be counted as a slight sadist? Perhaps, but destruction was the only way to cool herself down.
Don't tell me what to do. Nobody decides my life for me!
"Excuse me."
Startled, the braixen whipped around, her anger dissipating. A frogadier stood in front of her, looking slightly disappointed.
"Um... yes?" she started off politely, yet nervously. Uh-oh... It sounded like she did something...
"...That was my patch of amaryllises you burned, Miss," the frogadier replied after a long pause of silence. He looked uncomfortable and bristled, staring at the burnt patch of flowers.
Oh. Oh, crap, crap, crap, crap! It belonged to someone! "U-Um... I'm sorry... I..."
"Miss, it's fine. I can always regrow another batch. I just don't want you to go around burning random flowers. Some other owners can be unforgiving and you could get into trouble."
Thank Arceus. Xena smiled at him. "Well, thanks! I'm... um, I'm Xena. What might be your name?" This frogadier was a nice guy. It was pretty important to know names of nice people.
After glancing at her, the frogadier finally replied, "The name's Ford." Then he added, "You have a very nice name, Miss Xena."
A faint pink splashed over her cheeks, but she pretended it was nothing. "Oh, u-uh... thank you, Ford. Just 'Xena' is fine, by the way. No 'Miss'."
"All right, Xena." Ford gestured to a familiar-looking hut. "I live just there, in case you wanted to know."
The braixen turned and stared.
She felt like the stupidest person alive.
All these years... He's been my neighbour... and I didn't even know.
"You're my neighbour?" It spilled out of her before Xena could control it. The Braixen blinked, and covered her mouth with her paw. "Oh, I mean—"
"Yes, I know you're my neighbor," Ford replied, cutting her off. "I've seen you a lot of times before, but I never thought that you'd... oh, never mind me, will you? You're very pretty, by the way, Xena."
The faint pink excelled to a firm pink. "Thank you very much..." she muttered quietly. Why did everybody say that about her?
...But somehow, hearing that from him... made her believe it.
After a very long awkward pause, Ford finally clicked his tongue. "I hope to see you around, Mi—Xena. I'll just go ahead and replace those amaryllises, right now."
The fire had stopped, but the flowers were absolutely black. They seemed like if they were touched, it would crumble into ash. Well... wow. How stupid of her to go ahead and burn something.
She really needed to control her rage. Poor Ford hadn't even done anything to her and she went ahead to burn his flowers into almost-oblivion. Jeez... dumb, dumb, Ria... it all stemmed from her, after all.
But he still needed an apology, didn't he?
"I'm sor—"
"You don't need to apologise, Xena. I already said it's fine."
He did? Ah, well... if he did... "Of course, Ford. I won't apologise anymore."
"Good. I'll see you around."
Gazing at Ford's leaving figure, Xena placed a hand where her heart was claimed to be. It was beating rapidly, for some odd reason. It beat at a messy rhythm, one she couldn't even predict.
What... What's happening to me?
It was beginning to slow down... just after Ford left...
The thought of him made it speed up again.
I don't think I have a disease...
If she did, she'd be on the ground and dying, wouldn't she?
Then... But then... what is it?