Pumpkin, butterscotch, and lavender figures climbs the stairs of Baron's flats, finding themselves in front of a locked door. Fumbling around her mane fur, Sriracha sleuths for the key. With a smooth twist, the lock clinks and the trio's view opens into a hallway. Sriracha pushes the door open and moves to the side of the doorway, motioning a paw for Sia and Bolt to enter. "Make yourself at home, Sia! I gotta do something real quick, but when I get back, I'mma start breakfast," Said Sriracha as she disappeared into an open bedroom. She cracks the door behind her as a faint "hello" tickles the room's walls.
Sia wipes away eyes boogers with the back of a paw. "Okay."
Sia goes to stretch, puffing her nap-fur back to its usual shape. She starts a waddle towards the couch, but...
Achoo!
Bolt catches a noseful of Sia's fluffy tail fur, causing him to recoil as he holds a paw to his tummy and hisses. Sia steps back, eyes glued to him as he grumbles in pain. A few seconds later, Bolt snorts, rubbing his nostrils with a paw and huffing. Sia lowers her tail, noticing a single purple strand of fur shoot from Bolt's nostril.
Sia cringes. "Sorry."
"Uh...awkward." Bolt limps past Sia, stopping to yawn as he passes the couch. "I'm gonna lay down somewhere, bro. I feel like my whole body's a big purple sore." He whimpers. "'Make yourself at home' is dumb, so uh...just do whatever? Check out one of Sriracha's books or something.." Bolt's door creaks open as he enters.
Sia eyes dart around the living room space as she waddles. The mahogany walls of Sriracha's living spaces feel both familiar and alien all at once. Sia hates to admit it to herself, but Team Burning Thunder Splash's flat is much cleaner than Team Harmonious Hope's. Not a speck of fur or broken tiles in any corner. It looks as though the Eevee cousins only moved in a few days ago. Sia plops her behind on their couch, causing small strands of lemon and pumpkin fur to fly into the air. Sia sighs. Clean, but not spotless. Crap. I should've asked to live with these three! I thought being "raised in a barn" was just a saying, but my own roommates live up to it...I guess I'm not one to talk, Sia thought.
Sia eyes the mountain of books suffocating the coffee table in awe. Without a second thought, she inches a paw towards the books and grabs the book from the top. The cover has an illustration of a sunset with two silhouettes sitting back-to-back, their tails forming a heart shape. That book is quietly placed aside. Another book depicts a brittle looking Togetic seemingly dragged along by an Aegislash towards a cave. There are a lotta bookworms in my friend groups. Sia raises a brow as she switches between grabbing a book from the stack and placing another in a new pile.
After the seventh book, Sia's paw catches a somewhat weathered book, but the cover shifts as she tries to hold it. The book falls page first into her tummy with several pages falling to the ground. The writing appears to be personal, crudely written, as if the writer never stopped to let their thoughts flow. Sia's fur grows wet from sweat, hoping to not pry on something sensitive. Must be a journal? Better not look. Glancing away, Sia grabs stacks of pages and stuffs them back inside the tattered cream journal. But as she goes to close and return it to the desk, something else falls from the text. She quickly catches one of the items, but the other lands on the table with a quiet slap. Curious, Sia turns her gaze to a photo caught in her paw. It's a photo with "Our First Big Expedition" scribbled on the empty space at the bottom. The photo displays two mons wearing matching weather-resistant goggles on their heads. One mon is a large Eevee holding an ice stone, who sits next to a lavender and orchid-purple Vulpix nestling a fire stone in a desert environment. The duo rests under the shade of a lone palm tree, its leaves a dreary sulfur color. The Eevee's charcoal bowtie looks familiar, but her expression seems concerned, unsure. The Vulpix smiles with his eyes, leaning on the Eevee's mane. Sia slides the photo into the front of the journal, unsure of what to think. Some mon's old memories. Sia huffs.
The second photo landed face flat. For a moment, Sia thought about placing it back into the journal without looking at the image. But...well, she already saw the first, so why not? Sia flips the photo, but squints at what she could make out. The photo is much older than the previous, with signs of wear tearing apart its frame. It appears to be some sort of commemorative photo. The big Eevee from the other photo looks much younger, her youthful grin shining as she happily shows a ticket to the camera. She stands next to a smaller Leafeon whose expression roars authority. Behind the corner of a table peeks out a third figure. Only a quarter of their face is visible, but the brown coat gave them away. It's another Eevee, eyes swollen and wet. It looks as though the crying Eevee is beckoning to the smiling one.
"Yeah, it's gonna take some time for that tummy wound to heal," Sriracha's voice echoes from the hall, causing Sia to hastily replace the photo. "Alright, lemme know when you're moving around. We got a guest over, I'm not trying to be more rude than now."
Sia couldn't remember if the sappy book was the first or not in the pile. In her rush, She places them every which way as footsteps approach the living room. Sia pretends to pick at her cloth booties as Sriracha peeks in from the hall.
"Oh! You can take off your shoes, girl! We don't mind!" Sriracha smiles.
A claw gets caught in the top of Sia's bootie, forcing her to waggle it off. "I-I, uh, oh. Thanks..."
"You nervous?" Sriracha studies Sia's calculated movement, adjusting her frames as she moves into the room.
"Uh…no?" Sia places her booties to the side of the couch.
"Oh, well, good! I am, haha." Sriracha forces a chuckle before clearing her throat. "Actually, I was thinking...do you wanna help me make breakfast?" Sriracha's bushy tail becomes still. "It's faster with more paws, and my usual helping paws need their rest. O-only if you want to, of course."
Sia hides a smile. "Sounds fun. I'm not great at cooking though."
"Hey…practice makes perfect, Sia! Ooh, I don't even gotta ask, but I will. Flint and Meira...they don't really cook, huh?"
"Not really. If they aren't eating pie, it's random berries. Café's probably rich off of them. I get more hot chocolate that way, at least."
Sriracha puffs her cheeks. "What!? Argh, those two spend more time at Granny's café than at home, bruh! They're great friends, but they can barely fend for themselves. C'mon, lemme show you how to wow them with a little somethin' somethin'."
Sriracha and Sia move into the flat's kitchen area, with Sia meekly following behind her much bigger friend. Unlike the one at home, Sriracha's kitchen has a rustic look of utility. Clean devices, ample space on the cabinets, and actual sets of dishes. Sriracha reaches into a couple of cupboards, swiping up several Oran, Leppa, and Pinap berries. She places the berries into a large bowl. Even with the skin intact, a strong aroma of fruity goodness wafts into the room. Sia stands to the side of the counter, her eyes barely peek over the edge as she watches Sriracha gather berries into a large bowl. Sriracha glances at Sia and facepaws.
"My bad. Hold on, I got something for you!" Sriracha chuckles. She reaches into the cupboards below the counter, retrieving a sturdy looking wooden stool. "Here, stand on this, Sia. Can't help much if you can't see what you're doing bruh!"
Sia notices the Fine Furniture logo plastered on the top of the stool and huffs. For a moment, she sits aside her differences with the furniture brand. However, Sia feels a little awkward; She doesn't know Sriracha too well, making the Flareon's motherly vibes seem strange. Guess she's just being nice? Kinda making me feel like a kid though... Sia thought. "O-okay." Sia carefully climbs onto the stool next to Sriracha. She adjusts her feet so she can stand comfortably, and tucks her long scarf in backward so that it rests gently on her back fur.
Sriracha retrieves a cloth towel and rinses it in the sink, ensuring it's damp enough to squeeze. She rubs the towel through her paws, gently scrubbing her nails. Sia watches patiently. After scrubbing, Sriracha rinses the towel once more and squeezes the water out. She passes the towel to Sia, instructing her to wash her paws as well. Not trying to be rude, Sia hides her feelings, doing as she is told. Then, Sriracha places the bowl of berries into the sink, filling it halfway with water. She runs her paws through the berries, humming a tune as gently scrapes the assortment of fruit.
"Alright, here's where you come in, Sia. Normally, I do a little something extra, but since you're here, I wanna get breakfast out quick so we can do other stuff. I was thinking we could have some berry salad, and it'd be easier to eat if we cut them into smaller pieces." Sriracha explains. She places a couple of Oran berries onto a small platter in front of Sia, who tilts her head.
"Uh…?"
"Huh? It's easy! Watch." Sriracha grabs an Oran berry from the bowl, placing it on a cutting board. She coordinates a paw, before…
Swipe, swipe!
The single Oran berry now lays in four bite-sized pieces. Sriracha hums in pride at her technique as her left ear twitches. "It looks easy, but don't expect a perfect cut like that on your first try, bruh. It took me years to get that good. Lots of dishes, experimenting, trial-and-error, y'kno-"
Schwip!
Sriracha quickly eats her words as another berry has been split in half evenly. "What!? How the...huh. I guess you're a natural at this!"
"Guess so." Sia felt an urge to puff out her chest fur.
Back and forth, Sia slices berries in halves, and those halves into quarters. It isn't the same coordination and technique as Sriracha's, but it works well enough. Soon, the platter's covered in a lapis hue puddle beneath the slices of berries. Sia goes to lick her paw several times, having to hold the berry-covered limb down with the other to stop herself. Sriracha stifles a giggle as she reaches for another bowl in the cupboard, instructing Sia to place the slices into it. Leppa berries quick replace the the emptiness of the platter and Sia begins her slashes again, halves to quarters. With a rhythm set in motion, Sriracha got into her own pace with a set of berries.
The kitchen fills with the fruity goodness made stronger by the slicing. Sia glances over at Sriracha as she slices another berry, and Sriracha replies with a smile. It's kinda nice. Busywork, sure, but nice to be taught something for once, Sia thought. Sia stumbles against a grin of her own, trying to hide it between her focused scrunch. But her tail betrays her; it curls into an S shape, hypnotically bobbing with her rhythm. And yet, the urge to stop and lick her paw clean of the berry juices keeps coming back.
In the middle of a swipe, Sriracha stops. It ends up catching Sia's attention, who glances over. Sriracha's snoot wrinkles as she sighs. "So, uh, I know we're not too close yet, but you mind if I ask you something?"
"Nah. Go ahead."
Sriracha's eyes light up. "Alright. That day those Rattata boys, uhh...I don't remember their names. Anyway, I remembered hearing something from the crowd. I was kinda far away, but I think I heard right. They were calling you something that I won't repeat it. But I am curious. Why did they call you that?"
"Do you…really wanna know?" Sia's throat dries, but she keeps slicing.
"Oh! O-only if you wanna share, bruh! I can't and won't force you."
Sia pauses for a moment, and sighs.. "…Nah, I'll tell you. I think I'm okay with sharing. You don't seem like a blabbermouth, anyway." Sia places slices into the fruit bowl, retrieving yet another batch of berries to cut. "I'll drop the bombshell first, I guess. I was homeless. Hav--uh, had been for years. I had family before that, but one day, I woke up all alone in a field. It was close to a town, but not one I'd know. Water was nearby, a river, and I was just a kid. For a few days, it was easy to scavenge off the land. Berries and scraps." Sia huffs. "But it was winter, and it grew too cold to sleep out anywhere. Snow kept making me sick." Sia's throat begins itching. "So I did what I had to do. I walked a few miles into that town and stole some stuff. At first, it was a few things, like blankets and meals. I guess I got greedy, though. Clothing, toys, anything that wasn't nailed down became part of my turf. I may have been alone with my chilling guilt, but I was making it."
Sia clears her throat, asking for water. Sriracha manages to a pour a glass from the sink without taking her eyes off Sia. "One day, that town had put up papers. Papers with a drawing of me on them. They said I was 'wanted', and there would be a reward for whoever could bring me in. I may have been a kid, but nobody in that town had ever fought. Suddenly, it was harder to steal without fighting off some mon and uh, easily winning. With each passing day, more of the town was wary. I only wanted food, maybe some chocolate. And uh...that was life for several long winters. But as the seasons changed, something changed for me too. The boys."
Sriracha nods. "The Rattata brothers, right? Think I heard them calling you 'Big Sis', something like that."
A red heat glows from Sia's cheeks. "Yep. Them and that embarrassing nickname of theirs. I got older and smarter with my thieving. By then, a lot of mons kinda gave up chasing me down. I like to think that they knew my situation." Sia stops halfway through a berry as she sighs. "Anyway, there was a day where I relaxed in my turf. Guess I fell asleep at some point, but I was jolted awake by approaching voices. A purple and a gray Rattata creeping up to me. First thought of course was more disgruntled mons from town. I was so tense, I started swinging to keep them away. But they didn't fight back. They just kept begging and pleading about wanting to 'join me'. Apparently, they saw my posters in town, and they cried on and on about having nowhere to go, that they were also wanted. I looked them up and down. Clean fur, no signs of struggling at all. I chased them away from my stuff. Tomorrow, they were back with the same routine. Day after day, I chase 'em out, they came back, for a whole week! Got in the way of my food raids. So, I finally I caved in...I mean, I didn't believe them at first. But they just kept coming back, and I guess I felt sorry for them. I can't believe I did!" Sia growls.
"After what happened, guess I'd probably feel the same bruh." Racha sighs.
Sia's gaze is caught by the board devoid of berries, finally ending her slicing. She catches herself daydreaming. "Sorry. Got off track. Uhh…so for a while, I let those two tag along. But I did put them to work, at least. Stealing for three would have been impossible. It took some time, but by the next season, it was natural to them." Sia chuckles. "While raiding a place, I ended up nabbing a page on a board. A 'freelance job', rescue teams. I didn't think it'd be good to start a team with us three, me and the boys. But they kept wailing on about the city on the flyer. What really changed my mind was the provided housing. A place to stay for doing what sounded like busywork? I'd be stupid to not at least try it. That, and the rescue team program was 'reform' for outlaws if they could keep up missions for a month at least. We all promised to stop stealing and try to be legit. We gathered up all the stuff we could carry on hand, and left everything else there. Maybe some other unfortunate mon could use the stuff. And one early morning, I found myself and the boys in front of Baron's building. And...here I am now. Sorry for my life story. I-I don't talk much about myself." Sia sighs heavily, unaware of the tears dripping from her face. "T-the part I don't get is why they did that to me. I h-helped them, and they acted like I was…was…"
Sriracha places a paw on Sia's head, nearly engulfing it. "Hey…it's okay. I won't judge you at all, you had to do what you did to survive. I'm more worried about your family abandoning you. No mon, especially a younger child, should be left out to the wilds. Even if things seem confusing and weird with how life can be, I'm glad you're here now. You've put the skills learned in those hard times into a practice that helps a lot of mons. And you've made some new family here already with Flint and Meira! I'm sure we'll be like family soon, too."
"…Thank you." Sia's words are wavey.
Sriracha's fur dampens. Am I being comforting or condescending? She pours her soul out to me, and I flatten her face with my paw... My books never account for reactions, Sriracha argues in her mind. "Y'know what? I'mma let you in on a secret…my little cousin in the other room, Thunderbolten? He's a former outlaw too."
"I'd appreciate you not trying to rope in my life story too, bro!" Bolt yells from the table, lounging in a seat.
"Oop!" Sriracha covers her mouth with a paw. Her ears droop too. "O-oh, hey! You're really good at multitasking, Sia! I didn't even notice all the berries were done, I guess I was busy listening to you. Since we're almost ready, how about you help me set plates? If you want, I can share some of my past too. Feels kinda unfair having you share all that with me."
"Yeah...okay." Sia sniffles.
Sriracha gathers some plates from a cupboard and spreads them across the counter. She instructs Sia to place the slices into flower-like shapes, alternating between different berries that circle the plate like rose petals. A quick learner yet again, Sia copies Sriracha's technique, slowly placing fruit together in the same shape.
As the rhythm of setting the plates slows, Sriracha clears her throat. "This might be a weird place to start, but as an Eevee, I spent a lot of my time raising Courage." Sriracha's tail sweeps as she speaks. "I should explain that. Courage's part of our family has a tradition where the older cousins and children act as caregivers to the youngest. I'm guessing it makes life easier with bigger families? Courage only has a few siblings though, so it was definitely old tradition passing down, bruh. So basically, Courage and I are cousins, but I'm also kinda his mom. In a caregiver sort of way."
"Mom? Wait, how old are you then? You don't look much older than Courage or me, huh?" Sia curls her tail.
"T-that doesn't matter, girl! No way I'm answering that." Sriracha blushes. "Look, I'm old enough to pass as a mom, okay? I could even pass as your mom if I needed to! Anyway, in the village our family comes from, there's this event for mons of a certain age. You earn the right to a ticket, a very valuable thing." Sriracha chuckles. "See, the ticket can be exchanged for resources. Not exactly cash, but it pays for food and travel for a loooong time. Pretty much a voucher to get younger mons out into the world. Back then, I almost got my ticket revoked cuz of Courage…" She pats a paw to her head, rocking it back and forth. "Courage got some kooky idea to fight off a Feeder when he was really young. He got hurt...real bad. I was supposed to look after him, and his mom just knew I messed up."
"So, what happened with that?"
"Well, it's not my place to be speaking on the Feeder part. You'd have to ask Courage about it." Said Sriracha. "I can tell you about the ticket thing though. You may not know Courage well, so lemme tell you: he's very quiet. Takes a lot to get him to raise his voice. When he knew that his mother would punish me by taking my ticket, he finally spoke up. He backed me up about his own story, and his reassurance saved my tail. It was depressing to see his sobbing Eevee face a little while after that when my time came. I went on exploring regions and taking on random for-hire jobs, but there was never a day that I wasn't thinking about Courage. I thought about going back to visit, but I never had to. When I settled down here, he found his way to Twiligleam. We barely recognized each other, neither of us were Eevee anymore. I evolved, and so did he. He cried the same way he did the day I left."
"Wow. I guess you are older than you look." Sia chuckles. She moves the back of a paw to the side of her mouth. "And what about Bolt? Did you raise him, too?" Sia glances at the table. Bolt snores into his paws.
"Oh, not really. I know I talked about Courage, but he was the last of us three to join my team. The first was Thunderbolten. I don't know all the details, but from what I learned, he actually snuck away from home without a ticket. Not all mons need them, and you can refuse them too. I guess it's some kinda pride thing. When I moved into Baron's flats, one of the first few missions I took was for an outlaw Jolteon, wanted for 'fighting dirty'. It was only myself on the team at the time, but I was skilled enough to do plenty of missions. When I got through to where the outlaw was said to be, I easily captured him. Thunderbolten may be smart in fights, but he's not the best at dungeon crawling. I ended up personally taking the punishment for him if he promised to straighten up as part of my rescue team."
Sriracha and Sia begin carrying plates out of the kitchen, lightly placing them on the table. The smell of freshly sliced fruit jolts Bolt awake, who begins chowing down immediately. Sriracha shakes her head in shame while Sia suppresses a snort. He reminds Sia of how the Rattata brothers ate, and silly as it was, the feeling is cathartic and comforting. Despite their betrayal, Sia keeps the positive memories of them near and dear.
"Hey, Racha! I'm getting up!" A tone Sia didn't recognize shouts from down the hall.
"Good timing, cuz the food's done! Come holler at our guest too!" Sriracha shouts back.
Sia turns back to grab the last two plates of berries, cautiously moving them from the cabinet. One plate has juice seeping into the slices, and she didn't want to accidentally give anyone soggy fruit. Sia makes sure the soggy plate is hers, carefully placing it down before reaching over and placing the other in an empty space. Her focus quickly shatters when her gaze meets Courage's, who wears his usual meek smile. She looks the Vaporeon up and down; his torso is wrapped in bandages similar to Bolt's. Despite the knit look, the wrapping seems to waver with Courage's breaths, like a gentle tide pool. As Sia sits, she begins to think of that day as if it were a distant memory. Two and a half weeks ago, Sia felt nurturing warmth from Courage's back as he swept her away from the battlefield. Maybe it was a delirious feeling, but for the first time, Sia felt an emotion she didn't understand well. Her admiration for Courage's quietly sweet demeanor bleeds into her bright red cheeks.
"…Oh hey, it's you! Sia, right? Good morning!" Courage's voice is soft and easy-to-digest. "…How have you been?"
Sia's fur puffs with a poomf. "H-hello. I've been okay. Better than before, I-I guess." Her tail engulfs her head like bangs would, drooping across the forehead.
"…Glad to hear it." Courage flops a paw. "Racha's probably already said this, but make yourself at home."
"Okay." Sia's gaze becomes glued to her plate as she meticulously chews berries. She doesn't lick berry juice from her paw, despite how much it pains her to leave it be. Her thoughts laser focus on chewing, munching berries without so much as slurp or a gobble. It didn't help that fur from her tail nearly dips into her plate, or that her puffing out made her oh so obvious. What am I doing!? He's not even looking over here, what the heck, Sia screams in her head.
Sriracha and Bolt glance at each other, raising a brow. Sia's reserved mood is usually easy to understand, but neither cousin would say that she is a shy mon. Then, Bolt drops his jaw, the skin of a berry slice fluttering from his mouth. He smiles with his eyes at Courage, who pretends to not notice his cousin's antics. Sriracha's eyes bug out, her reaction knocking her glasses onto the table. With a quick motion, she replaces her frames and feigns an itchy throat while leaning closer to Courage. For a few moments, nervous chews fill the room between quiet chortles from Sriracha and Bolt. Sia peeks upward, hoping to not accidentally catch Courage staring back at her. Instead, she finds every mon fixated on Courage, whose smile is now a grumbly frown.
Courage bears his fangs, but settles with huffing. He frowns at Sriracha first. "Racha? Can you please not tell my life story to mons? I heard talk about Feeders. You didn't talk much about yourself, brah."
Sriracha leans back and winces. "Oh! Huh. Guess I'm not entirely comfortable sharing much. I'll try again soon." She chuckles. "Plus, talking about how our team was formed isn't 'your life story', and that goes for both of you." She points to her younger cousins.
Courage turns his attention to Bolt. "...As for you. I know that look. Don't even start, Thunderbolten."
"Haven't said nothing, bro," Bolt grins. "Just lookin' at you, which is not illegal, last I checked." He leans in closer, darting his eyes between Courage and Sia.
"...It should be if you're gonna look like that..." Courage swatted Bolt away with a paw.
Sia giggles before covering her snoot with her paws. She puffs her fur further, and shrinks further into her tail. Breaking the tension, Courage follows up with a laugh, causing every mon at the table to do the same. Sia feels her tail lower, and her fur grow a little tame as the table returns to a quieter mood. Eventually, topical small talk bounces between the four of them. The awkward air dissipates between the cousins and their guest, who grows confident as long as she doesn't look at Courage too long. Apparently keeping her word, Sriracha ends up shifting the conversation into talk about...minor secrets.
"Nah. That can't be true." Said Sia.
Sriracha huffs. "It is! I still got the book it comes from too, I can show you!"
"…Believe it or not, it's true. Sriracha named herself after something in an ancient tome. I'm a little jealous of it." Courage chimes in. "…My mom is pretty traditional. I didn't get to pick my own name. It took a few years before I had one, I was just 'Eevee' back home for a while."
Sia raises a brow. "Really?"
Bolt taps the table. "Now that I think about it, we have weird naming conventions. If you can't come up with one when you're young, an older family member might end up picking it for you. I got my name from my parents. They like unique names. And I'm not sharing the full thing! Thunderbolten's all I'll give." Bolt flashes a smile, a cracked tooth fully in display.
"I guess that makes sense." Sia nods.
Sriracha places a paw to her chin. "I'm curious. How'd you get your name, Sia?"
"I don't exactly remember. I think one of my parents named me. Hard to tell." Sia grabs ahold of her scarf. "There is a name I claimed, though. A nickname. When I was an outlaw, they didn't have a name to use since no mon knew who I was. So they came up with one. I saw it on a flyer. They called me 'Mugging Mouffette'. I still don't know what 'Mouffette' means, but I did go by that for a while."
Bolt grins. "Dude, what! That's awesome! Almost like a title for a heel!"
"A heel? I guess so." Said Sia.
The morning quickly blurs into early noon, with cozy warmth from the winter sun grazing the kitchen. As the morning went its own way, so did the table. Bolt slinked himself back in bed, snoring the day away. He's still healing, so Juiced Gym would just have to wait another day or two. Sriracha is buried in her books, eyeing the shuffled pile with a frown. She offers a spot on the couch for Sia, who politely declines. Instead, Sia asks Courage to stay at the table with her so she can hear more about Punchline.
"No...Y-you're serious?" Sia gasps.
Courage frowns. "…Yeah. I almost didn't believe it myself, brah. They're in cahoots with that group, Punchline."
Sia suppresses a growl. "Those stu--boys! They just can't stay out of trouble."
"…Maybe they were tricked? I don't know either brother much, but something's off. I mean, who turns a new leaf, then immediately sinks into worse junk like that, brah?" Courage wiggles an ear. "...That's not even getting into that weird attack the Miltank used..." He shivers.
"Do you know what they called it?" Said Sia.
"…Uhh, the Miltank called it 'Reality'. You were at that meeting earlier today, yeah? It's as bone-liquifying as it sounds, brah. Take my advice as somebody who encountered it firsthand: Stay away from clown-like outlaws for now. We don't need any more mons dealing with that."
Sia bears a wiggly frown. "Easier said than done. My team's not the 'thinking ahead' type. When I first joined them, I learned it the hard way. If Meira wants to do missions, Flint usually just goes along with what she wants."
Courage sits up. "Oh! Well, uhh, maybe sit out the next few missions..." He and Sia laugh together, ending with Courage gazing at her with his soft eyes.
"U-um...Courage?" Sia's tail begins to rise. "I dunno if I said this before, but uhh, t-t-thanks, for helping me out that day. I appreciate it. A lot." Her cheeks burn red.
"...Huh? Ohhh, you mean...? Oh yeah, no problem, Sia!" Courage hops from his seat and carefully stretches. "…You're strong. I mean, you lead a rescue team for a while, and then kept doing missions all by yourself! I still haven't tried the former...but remember, there's nothing wrong with asking for help, brah. Alrighty, I have some errands to run. If you're still here by the time I get back, maybe we could share some Liechi tarts." He raises a limp paw to her.
What's he doing? Oh! Sia dittos Courage's paw, and they paw bump. For a moment, Sia's fur puffs out, but quickly flattens again. "O-okay. See ya later?"
"...In a while."
As Courage passes the couch, Sriracha places a paw in front of him. "Remember: don't do anything strange, Courage. Your 'errands' aren't what most mons consider errands, you need to rest!" The door closes with an audible slap from Courage's tail-fin. "Pah! Even when he's injured, that boy can't sit still long. Hey Sia, come join me! I got some interesting stuff I can show ya!"
"Sure." Sia waddles to the couch, squeezing into the small space left for her. Even that space really isn't enough, as Sia sits upon some of Racha's bushy tail fur. Good thing it's cozy.
Sriracha smiles as she picks up a hefty book from the pile. "Okay, this book's about an unlikely pair of heroes traveling the world in search of a legendary artifact. They need it to defeat some otherworldly evil or something. It's kinda a long read, but I can start over fro—" She looks at Sia, who has fallen fast asleep once more. "Huh. You sure sleep a lot, Sia. Not knockin' ya though, at least you'll never be tired!"
Sriracha looks at the book, then at Sia, then the book once more. She shrugs and follows suit with her guest, it just feels like the right thing to do. For Sia and Sriracha, it feels good to have downtime with a new face for once. Sriracha feels her heart crumble when she thinks about Sia's past as an outlaw. A young mon, forced into a life of crime because of neglectful parents. It'd never happen again if it's up to Mama Sriracha.
Notes: Lots of improvement from the previous version. I like the newer undertones a lot.
(Old Notes) Finally, a chapter focused on Sriracha/Racha! And some backstory on Sia. I wanted to try a chapter with no breaks in pace instead of the usual scene switching I do since this chapter takes place in one location. I think it came out well.