Disclaimer: Pokémon © Satoshi Tajiri; Nesrin and all other concepts © me
IV
A Spring of Beginnings: Part 3
Is it really that much of a crime to save someone and then disappear on him?
Because with the way Red's chasing after me, it sure feels like it…
Then again, I probably shouldn't have taunted him in the first place.
Hm…
Nah~!
"Alley-oop~!"
A cheeky grin plays on her lips as Nesrin dances around the Bubble attack, using the trunks and branches of the surrounding trees as her springboards, before landing in a crouch beside her deadpan partner.
"Aw, come on, Knightmare," she wheedles the Beak Pokémon with an arm around his neck, "Lighten up and join in on the fun!"
That only garners a roll of his single eye before the avian returns to preening himself. Nesrin pouts, having her plan of mass destruction foiled before it even began, but leaves him to it. After all, she never wants him to be in any condition less than peak, if possible.
"Nyoro!" A vein throbs on the Poliwag's head as he hops up and down in frustration. "Nyoromo!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Nesrin stretches out her arms, yawning without care. "I'm coming so hold onto yer tail, o' slippery one."
A jet of water blasts towards her head and she yelps, jerking backwards with a flail of her arms before bending like a bridge and narrowly avoiding the Water Gun to the face. Sunlight refracts and disperses against the droplets, giving way to a series of seven colors. And the pink-haired girl straightens with a sigh.
"Talk about a close one…"
But she can't relax just yet as the Tadpole Pokémon charges at her, pushing off of the ground and using the momentum to spin in midair. Recognizing the attack for what it is, Nesrin grins and leaps backwards in order to dodge the Double Slap. His white tail seems even whiter than before, most likely enhanced by his own Aura as most moves are, but she's not concerned, reaching out a hand to flick one of the Poliwag's surprisingly nimble feet and sending him off-kilter. He falls to the ground and bounces comically as a result of his thin but very flexible skin.
"So close, yet so far away," the pink-haired girl tuts, lips curled teasingly, "Oh, but don't worry: not many can catch me, anyway~!"
Carmine eyes narrow.
I suppose that I should've known better than to egg them on, but…
.
.
.
LEEROY JENKINS~!
The clearing practically explodes with action as bubbles are blown, clinging to a variety of surfaces and slowing down anyone who's unfortunate enough to land in them. Jets of water soak into the ground, turning it into mud and further decreasing the speed of those involved. Glimpse of not-blue clash with blurs of not-pink and squelches are heard with each and every movement alongside cries of fury and cackling laughter.
Meanwhile, outside of the war zone, Red stares at the Fearow in bemusement.
Roosting in his nest, Knightmare continues to preen with little concern for his human. Anything that just happens to come his way is promptly deflected with a beat of his broad wings. It almost reminds the boy of the times when his mother would carry on with her workload despite the chaos in the backyard that was he and his friends.
It's somewhat nostalgic.
But then he receives a face full of mud pie and stills.
Immediately, silence falls as the boy twitches, feeling the sticky mixture of dirt and water slide across his skin in a doubtlessly uncomfortable manner.
Nesrin and the Poliwag glance at one another before instantly pointing to the other.
"He did it!" "Nyoromo!"
And from beneath the brown, there's an ominous glow of red irises.
Ehehehe… Whoops?
"Now, now…" Nesrin says rather breathlessly as she holds up her hands in a defensive manner, muscles coiled and ready to spring into action, "We can talk this over, yeah?"
"Nyoro!" The answer comes from the Tadpole Pokémon rather than from his human. "Nyoromo nyoro!"
And honey-colored eyes shift to the side as a dry laugh leaves her lips,
"You don't say…?"
Although unable to actually understand Poké-speech, Nesrin is able to get the gist of it by observing the Poliwag's body language, expression, and cries. Of course, the fact that she's able to glean intent with her Aura doesn't hurt either. As it is, this is what she deduced from his response:
"Too late! Death is nigh upon us!"
"Ahahaha…" Her laughter is drier than a desert. "And that's my cue to make like a tree and leave… BYE!"
With that, she dashes towards her partner for safety… only to be held back by a hand on her shoulder.
A chill runs up her spine.
And~ I'm doomed.
Oh, cruel world, I say goodbye to thee in order to rest in peace…!
.
.
.
Hm, I wonder where I'll be reborn next?
As it is, however, the pink-haired girl narrowly escapes being put six feet under as a result of the double-edged mud. Despite having endangered her in the first place, its slippery properties had allowed her to, well, slip away in time. It's only too bad that Red's forgiven his Poliwag and the two are teaming up against her again.
"Mou~!" Nesrin whines, upping her brattiness by a few levels, "Knightmare~ Save me~!"
Said Beak Pokémon pauses in his self-care, tilting his head to look at the rascal for a long moment before, finally, snorting and returning to his ever-so-important grooming.
"Meanie!" She shouts, only to yelp when bubbles suddenly cut off her path, "Whoa…!"
Slipping on moss-covered bark, Nesrin windmills her arms in an attempt to regain her balance and tips backwards before making a split-second decision. Stamping her foot against the tree, she pushes off and twists through the air, landing on a different branch in a crouch to better balance herself. An exaggerated pout plays on her lips as she sulks,
"No one loves me…"
"Nyoromo!"
Sensing danger, the pink-haired girl leans towards the left and then the right in order to dodge the jets of water before backflipping away from a Body Slam and landing atop one of the many boulders along the riverside with nary a sound, lips twisting into a cheeky smile.
"Missed me~!"
"You sure?"
Feeling hands wrap around her arms, Nesrin widens her eyes, honey-colored irises seemingly paling in shock, before she snaps her head around to see that Blue and Green had snuck up on her from behind while she was distracted by Red and his Poliwag.
"When–?!"
She starts to ask but is interrupted as a furry force knocks into the back of her legs, forcing her onto her knees and in front of teal-colored eyes before a familiar song is sung.
"Pu~ rin, pu~ rin~!"
So I got knocked out by a pink puffball.
Sue me.
.
.
.
Actually, please don't.
I'm broke.
SPLASH!
"COLD!" Nesrin wakes with a yelp, shivering like a little leaf in a big storm (and pouting when Knightmare laughs at her from his dry, warm nest). "Are you trying to give me hypothermia or something?!"
In response, Blue simply rolls her eyes, dumping yet another bucket of water over the pink-haired girl's head. "I don't know. You tell me."
"Oh, you cruel, cruel person…!" The rascal gasps before making a silly face and giving the brunette two thumbs up, "I totes approve."
SPLASH!
Another mini-waterfall cascades over her, making Nesrin sputter indignantly, as Green smirks, tossing his bucket over a shoulder and cocking his chin in superiority. "What, can't even handle a sprinkle of water?"
Blowing at her wet bangs, the pink-haired girl gives the redhead an unamused look before suddenly baring her teeth in a mock-smile.
"Challenge accepted."
"Wha–" SPLASH!
And down the boy goes.
"VUI!" The Eevee bristles on behalf of his human, growling at his perceived enemy, "Vui…!"
Meanwhile, Green flails in a panic before suddenly stopping and scowling in embarrassment upon noticing that the water doesn't even reach his knees. "You…" Glaring at Nesrin with heated olive-green eyes, he cracks his knuckles threateningly. "You're going down…!"
With that said, the redhead lets out a war cry and tackles the pink-haired girl into the river, hands struggling against hers, as they roll across the shallow stream, each attempting to overpower the other through brute strength.
"Oh, brother…" Blue sighs, shaking her head in exasperation, as her Jigglypuff giggles with delight. "Pupupupu~!"
Then, just as it seems like Green's pinned her down, honey-brown eyes glint.
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Nesrin crows, planting a foot against the redhead's stomach and using her lower body strength to throw him over her head before rolling with the momentum into a crouch. "HAH! Didn't expect that, did'ya?"
SPLASH!
Green coughs, having accidentally gotten water up his nose, before growling, rolling up his sleeves and getting ready to jump the pink-haired girl again when he's suddenly smacked upside the head.
"That's enough," the brunette says, resting her fists against her hips, "We're trying to clean up, not have a pool party."
Disgruntled, Green turns away with a pout (not that he'll ever admit to it) as his Eevee cuddles against him in comfort before he suddenly locks eyes with Nesrin. Honey-brown irises sparkle with mischief as pink brows waggle in temptation. And despite his enmity, the redhead grins in response.
Never seeing it coming, Blue goes down with a mighty roar and the water war expands to include one more opposing force.
SPLASH!
As for the resulting tower of lumps, I only have one thing to say…
.
.
.
Worth it!
Crossing his arms, Red stares down the five kneeling repentantly in front of him. Or rather, four are kneeling repentantly while the last is amusing herself by trying to make a grass whistle. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for everyone else, Nesrin is unable to produce more than a raspberry.
Finally, he sighs and his friends (as well as their respective partners) relax as he lets them off easy and crouches in front of the pink-haired girl instead, flicking her forehead to get her attention.
"Buu~ If I get a concussion, I'm totes gonna sue you," she singsongs before falling onto her side and rolling around without a care, "Whee~!"
Blue twitches, staring in horror at the increasing number of grass stains beginning to show on the other's twice-off-white dress before squeaking, "B-But the dirt, and the grime, and the, the, the… ugh!" Her Jigglypuff pats the brunette's legs sympathetically. "Purin, rin…"
Green simply face-palms, muttering incoherently under his breath about checking himself into an asylum because obviously the outside's crazier than the inside, as his Eevee remains wary of Nesrin.
Red, however, only gives a slow blink before looking down at his partner upon feeling a nudge.
"Nyoro," the Poliwag burbles, tail swishing behind him, "Nyoromo, nyoro?"
And just for the heck of it, the pink-haired girl mentally translates that with an Australian accent:
"Crikey! The sheila really is nuts, ain't she?"
"Snrk…!"
Quickly covering her mouth, Nesrin attempts to stifle her laughter because of how odd yet adorable that was before yelping when she's abruptly hauled to her feet by the arm.
"Aw…" She pouts, picking at her mottled dress, "Ruin my fun, why don't ya?"
"You're insane," is Green's automatic response before he winces upon being elbowed in the side.
"Be nice," Blue hisses somehow without dropping her twitchy smile, "She's not a bad person."
"Per se," the redhead retorts, crossing his arms in case of any more stray elbows, "You and I both know that she's a few eggs short of an Exeggcute."
Oh, sure, hit me right in the feels, why don't you?!
Then again, they're not exactly wrong since–
Pidgey!
Humming to the music in her head, Nesrin stalks after the Tiny Bird with light footsteps… or, at least, she tries to but is quickly held back by Red once more.
"NOOOOOOOOO–" She begins to wail before the wild Pokémon flees from battle. "–OOOOOO, okay, I'm done now."
And cue the simultaneous face-palms.
Teehee~!
Trivia:
7. Nesrin enjoys sitting cozily by the window and watching the rain pour outside, especially during thunderstorms.