"I'm not going back, Orinthia; please don't make me." I muttered, weakly hugging the Zoroark I've grown used to calling 'Orinthia'. I thought she would be mad at me for giving her such a strange name, but she seemed to like the name and never complained about it. I gave her the name because I always found her mysterious and exciting to be around. I felt her sharp claws fiddling with my black hair, which I never bothered to comb, a gesture that helped me calm down quite a bit. I hugged her tighter.
"Tell me what happened this time. Stole from your Alpha or something? Started a rebellion at the academy?" she asked. Zoroark often develop a good grasp of the human language while studying them and trying to pose as them using illusion. Orinthia was no exception. She had a moderate grasp of the human language, but sometimes she used words that would sound really out-of-place to a human.
"No Orinthia, I didn't steal from my boss. I'm only dishonest with my family, not my employer or my teachers. Can you stop calling my boss 'Alpha'? It's kind of funny." I laughed. She seemed a little embarrassed as she tried to defend herself, "But he is the Alpha of your business. You work under him. If he wants, he can make you leave the business at any time. Is that not right?"
"That's right, but he can't anymore. I already left the job today, as well as my school." I told her. I left a lot of other things as well, but I thought it was better to tell her one by one instead of spilling everything out at once and making her angry at me. Orinthia is the last person or Pokemon I want to be mad at me. She means a lot to me, more than I can admit to her or anyone else.
"Why did you do that? What are you going to do now, Felix? I won't make you leave, but do you have any idea what life here is like? What will you do if other Pokemon join together and try to tear you to shreds? I can't fight them all." She asked me before pushing me away. Her gaze was piercing, making her predatory frame look even more menacing. I didn't really know how to explain things to her. I tried to shorten everything to two or three sentences for easier communication, "I actually got kicked out of my home after failing my class. I have nowhere to go. I was thinking if I could stay with you, Orinthia." With that, I averted my gaze. What she said was true. This forest had too many wild Pokemon. I was no fighter. I had no Pokemon of my own. I came to Orinthia with the hope that she'll protect me. But she can't protect me from everyone, right? This forest was a peaceful place inhabited by only Pokemon. I don't think they would take the presence of a human very lightly.
Orinthia seemed to have calmed down a bit after my explanation as she tried to lift my chin with her claws, but I resisted. I did not want to be a burden to her. If she couldn't take care of me, I would have to leave and try to tag along with a band of travelers or find a job in a distant town. Except the latter was really boring. I've worked as a cashier for four years, I don't think I can keep doing it anymore. I heard Orinthia sigh. "Fine, at least tell me what actually happened. We Zoroark are not stupid. We will figure something out."
"I never called you stupid!" I cried out. The idea of insulting her was beyond me. She was probably the smartest being I met outside of my city or friend circle.
"Some trainers do, Felix. Last moon a trainer tried to toss one of those capturing devices on my head while I was napping." she laughed.
"What happened then?" I was feeling curious.
"I'll show you later." she shifted her teeth into a wide grin, making me slightly uncomfortable. She quickly got a hold of herself before inquiring me about my actions again.
I sighed, "Fine, but where do I begin? You know how I told you I never got along with my family?"
"Yes, you did." she nodded.
"This afternoon it escalated over the limit. My mother handed me over a bottle of toilet cleaner and told me to drink it because I failed my mid-terms-"
"What is a toilet cleaner?" she interrupted me. I realized I should use more mutually understandable terms.
"Uh, a type of liquid that burns everything it touches for long enough. You die if you drink it, of course." The toilet cleaner we used was acidic. I tried my best to explain the nature of strong acid to her.
Orinthia looked horrified, "Why did your mother tell you to drink that?"
I laughed, "Don't worry, she didn't mean it. We toss around death threats in the hosue on a regular basis. That's the problem, Orinthia. It gets tiring real soon. You feel like nobody loves you. So after she told me to leave, I came for you. You won't hurt me like her, right?" I looked at her with hope, trying to hide the tears in my eyes.
I had no time to react as she pulled me into a tight embrace this time, covering my face with her large tuft of breast furs. "I... will... never hurt you." she slowly assured me. It was enough for me as I hugged her back and slowly began weeping. Luckily, she didn't interrupt me as I emptied my sorrows through my eyes, getting her fur damp in the process. I hope she didn't mind.
"There, there, everything will be okay." she lowered her muzzle and licked my neck. I wished for a moment that I had a long muzzle like her so I could repay her, but instead I opted to stroke her mane with my fingers. She seemed to like the gesture as she weakly giggled. After a minute or two, we finally broke the embrace and stared as each other. She was the first one to break the silence.
"You know, I have a lot of things to teach you now. How to hunt, how to run, how to find shelter at haste, lots of things. Are you ready to learn?"
"Of course!" I chimed. "It sounds a lot more exciting than what they taught me at the academy!"
"Great, we can start tomorrow morning, Felix! You humans can't see in the dark, right?" she told me.
"You're right." I had to admit.
"Maybe you should get some sleep." she offered.
I didn't realize how tired I really was amid the chaos today. My body responded by loudly yawning.
"You're right. But what about you, Orinthia?" I asked.
"I'll cuddle you to sleep, Felix." she grinned.
[TO BE CONTINUED]