The house was dark. As Leo had told me, my parents really weren't there. At present, I was more worried about my dizzy state. I shouldn't have finished that entire cigarette after not smoking for over a year. Orinthia became visibly concerned after I bumped into her while walking.

"Are you okay? I think you're poisoned. Do you need a Pecha Berry?" She sounded both annoyed and concerned. I would be annoyed too if my partner went from being a normal, healthy being to a dizzy, clumsy one. I couldn't blame her.

"I'm not dying," I tried to assure her, "I just feel like I was hit in the head, that's all. I'll be fine within minutes."

"You smell like a Fire-type Pokemon, not the normal Felix I know!" I couldn't be sure if she was mocking me at this point. "Oh, how do I smell normally, then?" I asked, trying to humor her.

"Like a rainy evening. Damp, yet comforting." She told me without batting an eyelash.

I was sure that counted as a compliment, something I wasn't used to receiving. And when it was from her, it was always special. I scratched my head in an attempt to hide my embarrassment. I focused on my gait. I could walk fine now. I looked at her and smiled,

"Forget that, I can walk now! Let's find a way to get into the house!"

"What do you mean, find a way? It is your house, can't you enter as you please?" She was confused. I then realized that she probably wasn't familiar with the concept of locks.

"Well, not really. We keep our houses protected from others like you would protect your territory back at the forest. Except we use a device called a lock that can normally be only opened with another device called a key. My parents probably put one, maybe more locks when they left. We can't get in if the lock is in place, I don't have the key." I ended up giving her a crash course. Fortunately, I didn't need to explain twice. She was quick to catch up with my words, as always.

"So you need to remove the lock without the key?" She asked.

"Exactly, Orinthia. Think you can help?"

"How? Show me the lock first."

To my relief, it was a simple but bulky padlock. I didn't know how to pick locks, and I doubted she did, either. Our best choice was to break the steel shackle itself. But that would make a lot of noise. We had some nosy neighbors.

After hesitating for a moment I realized that there was nothing I could do about my neighbors. If they catch me breaking in, I can just tell them I changed my mind and decided to return home. That should be enough for them.

"Hey, Rin, can you use any Steel-type moves? Like Metal Claw?

She shook her head and thought for a moment before replying, "I can use Night Slash. If you want to break the lock, it should be enough."

"You're the best, Orinthia!" I cheered her up and showed her which part to break. I watched in awe as her still-human hands morphed into claws and glowed, slashing at the metal lock. With a loud clank, the lock was broken. I darted around for the signs of anyone spying through the windows, but there seemed to be none. I smiled at Orinthia as her claws were replaced by the illusion of a hand again. "Good job, Rin. That made things a lot easier." She smiled back, "Glad I could help, Felix."

It sure was a great way to make the whole event memorable. You don't get to break into your own house everyday with a partner like Orinthia.

Turning on the lights, I looked inside the rooms. Everything was untidy, which was unlike my family. They liked to keep everything in order and wanted me to do the same. Instead, I was met with the sight of my parents' unmade bed, unwashed dishes on the sink, some important papers that usually stayed in the locker scattered on the couch and whatnot. I felt really bad at this point. My disappearance must've caused a lot of stress for my parents to leave everything like this. I loudly sighed. Then I felt Orinthia place her paw on my shoulder. She was back to her normal form.

"It's okay, they will be back soon, right?" She gently asked. I weakly nodded. Maybe leaving home without telling them wasn't the best thing to do, after all. But was it really my fault? Mom told me to leave the house and a lot more along the lines. I was just obeying her.

I then made my way into my own room. Upon reaching there, whatever remorse I was feeling had vanished as I discovered all of my personal belongings have been rummaged through; from my notebooks to my diary and everything in between. The diary was a decoy, filled with mundane words that held no significance. I never kept a real diary, out of fear of an event exactly like this. Just because I was gone doesn't mean they could rummage through everything looking for clues. Did they seriously think that I would leave clues about my destination if I wanted to disappear? My personal computer was probably also combed through, but thankfully neither of my parents was good with computers. I didn't want to find out anything more at this moment. I was suddenly feeling exhausted. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to such great lengths to draw my parents out of the house just to be met with this. Weakly, I sat down on my bed. Orinthia joined me afterwards.

"It's so soft!" She exclaimed, suddenly sounding joyful, "Is this where you sleep?"

"Of course!" I replied. Seeing her so excited suddenly made me realize that I was worried for nothing. No matter how bad things were, I still had Orinthia.

I got an idea. I still hadn't forgotten about the 'meal incident'. I looked at Orinthia out of the corner of my eyes, who was too busy examining the soft texture of the bed with her paws.

"Hey, Orinthia?" I whispered.

"Huh?"

I responded by grabbing her and tackling her down onto the bed. She giggled, not resisting even a little bit. Before I knew it, I found myself kissing her on the size of her muzzle, before moving onto her neck. I held her down, not allowing her to have dominance over me this time. Her breathing was getting harsh. She nibbled my ear before licking the side of my face. Eventually, we broke out of the chaotic display of passion as we stared into each others' eyes.

I could see warmth and love in her eyes.

Did she see the same in mine?