"So, you fell outta the sky...?"
The dirty forest hedgehog's bright eyes were filled with curiosity, staring at Scourge as he took a bite out of a small loaf of fresh, warm bread. This bakery was just a tiny building on the edge of this small town. They were the only people in there, besides the little old woman behind the counter. She was polishing a glass case with some fruity pastries on display, lost in her own world. The pleasant scent of bread and sugary treats hung in the air. It felt like home... Even Scourge could agree with that, even if he didn't really know what 'home' truly felt like.
He took a bite out his own loaf, looking out the window with a disinterested look on his face. Some Pidgey scratched and pecked at the dirt path a few feet away, blissfully unaware of their presence behind the glass. "Yeah, I fall all the time." He shrugged. "No big deal."
Manic looked confused, still chewing on his food. "But…" His voice was muffled. He finished swallowing his bite of bread before speaking again. "Out of the sky?" He tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "You sure it isn't a big deal, man? We don't usually get, uh… Furry green meteors fallin' around here."
"Green?" That caught him off guard, and he blinked. What was he talking about, green? His coat was black, so it couldn't be that. He shook his head and looked back out the window again. Sure enough, the reflection staring back at him had fur that was this dull shade of green. "What the-?"
Manic laughed quietly, but couldn't suppress the snort that managed to leak out. "What's with the face? Ya didn't know? Do you, like… Not have mirrors where you come from?"
"Shut up!" Scourge snapped, turning back towards the offending giggly idiot. "I wasn't like this before I fell. Somethin'-..." He remembered the ordeal with Arceus, and wasn't shouting anymore. How the hell could he explain that? And to a total stranger? "Some weird shit happened, okay?"
Manic nodded, taking another bite. His expression looked calmly skeptical, in a 'sure, if you say so' kind of way.
Scourge honestly wanted to punch him, but something about this dipshit's baby face prevented his impulses from taking over. Damn him and those… Fucking eyes. It was something about his eyes. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was definitely that. Yeah…
God, thinking was stupid. Scourge slammed his hands down on the table. The other hedgehog and his Rattata under the chair both jumped. "I'm bored. Let's blow this joint and find somethin' fun to do!"
Manic's initial shock faded away as he started to awkwardly chuckle, standing up and brushing some crumbs off himself. "Uh… Sure, if you wanna." He perked up a little, thinking of fun things he could introduce this guy to. "The next town over has a museum! It's really neat! Wanna go check that out?"
Scourge scoffed. "Museum? Museums are for nerds, let's go have some real fun."
Scourge was already out the door before Manic could object. He sighed and looked down at Rattata. The small Pokémon looked back up at him with a puzzled expression. This guy was weird, but he couldn't just let him run off, right? He could get lost!
Maybe.
Probably not.
The path ahead was pretty straightforward…
Whatever. He was going to follow anyway. Manic wrapped the rest of their bread in a few napkins and jammed it in his fanny pack before rushing outside, Rattata following close behind. "Yo, Scourge!" The bakery door swung shut behind him. "Wait up!"
A few minutes later, Manic found himself on the usual route he took out of town: a plain dirt road headed east over small hills, lush with tall grass, flowering bushes, and decently sized berry trees. A stream ran alongside the road, glittering in the sunlight. A Lotad quacked as he passed by and retreated into the water. A few Ducklett looked around for the disturbance, answering the Lotad with their own quacks. Two Tailow squabbled over a tiny piece of discarded food in the air, twittering loudly at each other until the smaller one gave up and fled. If he looked closely, he could see a short line of Bellsprout marching through the brush on the other side of the stream, following a Tangela.
All this, but no Scourge.
Manic could've sworn that he ran this way. There were no other ways to go, unless he wanted to go back to the forest.
"Psst!"
Manic's ears twitched towards the sound, then he looked up at one of the larger hills—one that was supposed to keep people fenced in and away from the true wilderness—and saw Scourge. He and his Pancham were crouched behind a big rock, honestly looking like they were up to no good.
"Why're you whispering?" Manic hissed back. "What're you doing up there?"
"Shh!" The hedgehog scolded, peeking back over the rock. "You gotta see this!"
Manic looked around. Nobody was watching… It was just him, Scourge, and their Pokémon.
This should be fine.
He managed to clamber his way up to where Scourge was sitting, plopping down in the soft grass. "You find somethin' cool?" He asked, trying to see if Scourge has anything in his hands.
The sharp-toothed hedgehog smirked. He had this evil glint in his eye as he slowly pointed down the other side of the hill, past the rock and at two small Doduo huddled together on the ground. One of them peeped, adjusted its legs, then returned to its nap. "See those?"
Manic looked. They're so cute… He couldn't help but smile, laughing quietly. "Oh, yeah! I-"
"SHH!" Scourge clapped his hand over Manic's mouth. Pancham flinched, but didn't look too disturbed by it. "You're gonna wake 'em up!"
Manic blinked. Alright, yeah. That was fair. He did tend to get loud when he was excited. Maybe Scourge was just worried about the babies. Yeah! Wouldn't wanna wake up these little birds…
Well, okay, he thought. "Little" because they're so cute, but they're, like… At least a foot taller than him?
What did the Pokedex say, four and a half feet tall? That isn't that big... At least, not that big to normal, human-sized people.
Scourge pulled his hand away, still glaring daggers at Manic as a warning. Then, he hopped up on the rock, settling on it like a frog ready to pounce. He stared at the Doduo with an intense focus.
Uh oh... He's plotting something.
"Dude, what're you-"
Too late. Scourge hopped off the rock and slid almost silently down the side of the hill, landing at the bottom surprisingly gracefully. The impact from his foot sent a small puff of dust into the air. What Manic swore was just a green blur dashed forward and leaped onto one of the birds' backs. The poor thing squawked and jumped to its feet, running around in circles. Scourge switched rapidly between mischievous laughter and screaming. Manic watched, horrified. How did he think this was fun? The other Doduo cried out, running away and disappearing into a patch of thick foliage.
"DUDE, NO!" Manic yelled, vaulting over the rock and sliding down the hill himself. His landing was a lot more clumsy, and he tumbled over himself once he reached the bottom.
Scourge gave a loud whoop, either not listening or ignoring him. He clung to the Doduo for dear life, a huge grin on his face. "MANIC!" He almost slipped, nearly sitting sideways as the Doduo tripped all over itself. Scourge laughed. It almost sounded like a scream. "YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!"
All three feet of Manic's Pokémon-loving self was deeply offended. Why would anyone even think about trying to ride a wild Pokémon!? It's dangerous, and these were just babies! That's not cool! Manic took a deep breath and huffed, but an ear-splitting noise startled him.
Something screeched. The bushes shook, and out stepped a massive and very angry Dodrio. The baby Doduo was standing behind it, its two heads looking around worriedly. One was following Scourge and what Manic could only assume to be its sibling, and the other was staring at him.
The Dodrio took in instantly what was happening to her poor baby, and all three of her heads flared their feathers and shrieked.
Scourge stopped laughing. "WHAT THE HELL-!?"
Manic winced. Oh dear, this was going to hurt…
The Doduo Scourge was riding finally kicked him off and ran away. Scourge hit the ground as the Dodrio charged. He opened his eyes and saw three angry bird heads and a pair of huge claws gunning for him. That was his cue. He rolled to the side, just barely avoiding being stomped on as he got to his feet.
The Dodrio stopped and turned around. It had fire in its eyes, staring down at Scourge. If looks could kill…
God, this was terrifying-... No. What was he thinking? No way an oversized three-headed kiwi with a bad attitude would scare him away! He picked up a stone, pointing towards the middle head and putting on a confident smirk. "You wanna fight?" Scourge shouted, reeling back. He chucked the rock as hard as he could. "I'LL GIVE YOU A FIGHT!"
The middle head opened its beak and caught it.
Scourge chuckled, taking a step back. "Uh…" Damn it, how'd it do that!? Bullshit, that's what it is. "Heh… Can I try again-?"
Dodrio squinted, its rage building. It threw the rock on the ground and stomped on it. When the dust cleared, only a miserable pile of pebbles remained.
"Oh." Shit. That was… Unexpected.
The three heads screeched again as Dodrio got ready to pounce, when-
"STOP!"
The bird froze. Manic had jumped in between the creature and Scourge. He stood there shakily, panting as he stared up at this… Enormous thing. He had his hands held out towards the Pokémon in an attempt to distract it. This felt like a horrible idea, but… He had to try.
"M-... Ma'am?" He squeaked. It was a wild guess. "I know you're mad, but-... Please, he didn't mean to hurt your baby!" He glanced back at Scourge with a grim expression. Hopefully he'd take the hint…
Scourge blinked. What the hell just happened? No way did he just-... For him? But why? There had to be something else to it… He shook his head, trying to get out of his own head. Don't think, thinking's dumb. "Uh… Yeah!" He nodded wildly. "I, uh-... Fell."
Liar. Dodrio knew it. It-... Okay, she, stepped closer, squinting at the two hedgehogs suspiciously. She was really close to Manic now. The right head lowered, trying to get a good look at him. Its beak was practically touching the tip of its nose, and it let out a low and aggravated caw.
Manic, trying not to tremble, forced a smile. "Hey! I, uh... " He continued to hold one hand up as he dug around in his fanny pack. A few rings and a pair of drumsticks fell to the ground as he rummaged through, then he took out the bread from earlier. It was squished and crumbs were falling out the sides of the napkin ball, but he opened it and held it up to the bird. "How about a trade?"
All three heads became curious. A thing? All of them tried to poke at it at once, prodding it with their sharp beaks. At least they looked interested…
Manic pulled the bread away, taking a few steps backwards towards Scourge. He accidentally bumped into him, and the leather-clad hedgehog froze, putting his hands on Manic's shoulders. "I-I'll give it to ya, i-if you let us go!" He stammered, waving the bread around in front of them, trying to keep their attention. "We won't bother you or your babies again. Promise." He glanced back at Scourge again, gently elbowing him in the ribs.
"Yeah!" Scourge yelped. "I-... Yeah. Promise." He held up one hand, closing his eyes and trying to look like a good boy. He was clearly full of shit. "Scout's honor or whatever the f-" Manic elbowed him again, harder this time. He coughed. "Ow!"
Dodrio seemed to accept this, rising to her full height, though she was still squinting at Scourge. Animals always did seem to have the ability to know if someone was a good person or not, and it was very clear what she thought of him.
Manic set the bread on the ground in front of himself, gathered his things, then slowly started to back away towards the hill they came from, hands in the air and almost behind his head. Scourge didn't seem to get it until a second later—he ended up nervously scrambling after Manic, not wanting to risk getting pecked to death by this murderbird. Dodrio gave him a sharp caw just before he left the area she could reach, as if she were reprimanding him. He shuddered and sped up, climbing back up the hill after Manic.
Once the two boys were far enough away, the left head carefully picked up the bread in its beak. She walked back towards the tall grass and the two Doduo reappeared, crying up at their mother's heads. She set the bread down in front of them and watched as the four little heads pecked at it, making all sorts of noises as they enjoyed their treat.
Manic couldn't help but smile. It was a lot cuter when they were, well… Not terrified or trying to kill anyone.
Scourge, however, didn't look impressed. So much for that… How dare there be consequences for his actions? He scoffed, pulling his shades down over his eyes and walking back down the hill towards the path. "C'mon, bud, this blows."
Manic looked at him, confused. 'Bud'? That was oddly friendly-
Pancham squeaked, running after Scourge. The poor thing had been cowering behind the rock with Rattata the whole time.
Oh. That bud… Got his hopes up a little too soon. He shook his head and followed Scourge down the hill, trying his best not to fall this time. "Hey!" He shouted, picking up speed and accidentally ending up in front of the grump. "Yeah, that kinda sucked, but…" He gave him an innocent smile, lowering his head and looking up at Scourge. Those eyes… "Maybe we can go check out that museum now?"
"Rattata!" The mouse chimed in agreement. That sounded a lot less stressful than whatever happened back there...
Scourge lowered his glasses, peeking out over the top of the lenses and raising an eyebrow. This probably would've worked better if Pancham didn't stop by bumping right into his legs. Scourge stumbled, ruining the effect. He aimed a quick 'what the hell, dude' look down at his Pokémon, then back at Manic. Damn it. What he wouldn't give for this little idiot to stop giving him those puppy eyes…
It only got worse. Manic raised his eyebrows, his smile only becoming more pure. He knew exactly what he was doing, and… Damn, was he good at it.
"Fine…" Scourge grumbled, looking away and pushing his glasses back up. "We can go to your stupid museum… Happy?"
"Yes!" Manic cheered, pumping his fists in the air and running around Scourge a bit, now standing to his left. "C'mon, this way! Gotta get there before they close!"
Scourge rolled his eyes as the wild child ran off, stopping a few yards away and looking back at him with the goofiest grin as Rattata climbed up his leg and into his hair again. Nothing was really forcing him to stay with this utter dumbass, but… Well, something inside was telling him to stay.
… Fuck it, what was a few more hours gonna do? Maybe he'd find a dumpster to light on fire or something. He chuckled at the thought. Bastard. "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'. If ya smile any more, your face's gonna get stuck like that." He muttered, starting to walk again. He looked up, showing off his evil little shark teeth in a pointy grin. "I'll laugh."
Manic giggled. "C'mon, Slowpoke! Race ya there!"
Oh, little did he know…
Scourge laughed, humming through his nose as he kicked a pebble down the trail. Maybe he'd give this kid a few minutes head start...
