Anais slept comfortably in her bed, while Barry found slumber on the air mattress. Well, it wasn't quite comfortable. She struggled to sleep that night, yet couldn't understand why. Meanwhile, her cousin's snoring was so loud, she would've thought it was playing from a radio with a busted volume dial.
Hey Anais?
Yeah?
Struggling to sleep?
Yeah…
Wanna know something cool?
Yeah…?
Okay, don't tell anyone - and don't abuse it! But Barry's chest feathers have some magical manifestation powers.
…What do you mean?
Think of something. Anything.
Umm, I dunno, a salt shaker?
Reach into his feathers.
The Sylveon wasn't sure why she entertained the Legendary that refused to leave her alone. Regardless, she moved to the side of the bed, and reached down to rummage through her cousin's vast chest feathers.
Anais felt something, and pulled it out. It was a salt shaker. Complete with salt half full.
"What. The. Fuck."
…
THAT SYLVEON
Hello again everyone! Sorry about the wait. I've been stupidly busy with work. Like, almost ridiculously busy. However, that's hardly an excuse! I hope you enjoy reading the 61st chapter of That Sylveon, and let me know what you think!
Thank you to everyone in the That Universe discord server. Seriously. I don't think I would've made it far without you guys. Thank you. I mean it.
LuanOTP doesn't own anything that Nintendo owns.
…
Three pairs of eyes in an open grass field stared each other down in what Barry's Father would describe as an "Alolan Standoff".
Anais knew that she had to move first. Of course, knowing the Zoroark particularly well gave her a social advantage over Raidon, surely. The Sylveon opened her mouth to speak, not before taking in a brave, deep, breath of courage.
"Chloe, wh-"
"Raidon?" interjected the Zoroak, in a louder and more authoritative register. "What are you doing here with her?"
The fairy type felt a section in her stomach churn with bitter distaste. However, she kept quiet, and keenly concentrated on Raidon now that the focus was on him.
Still in shock by the immediate twist of events, Raidon couldn't help but muster the sounds of either a balloon being gently deflated, or perhaps the squeak of a scuttling Plusle.
Anais pushed herself to take the initiative. Staring deep into the Zoroark's eyes, she resorted back to repeating her previous statement.
"Chloe, why are you here right now?"
The dark type clearly had no problem issuing a dirty look at the Sylveon, who responded with a muted gasp.
"This is a public park, Ani. I can be wherever I want in this place." retorted Chloe, before turning her attention back to the Luxray, whose mind had just about finished restoring itself. "Now, Raidon, how do you know this girl?"
The fairy, unamused by being referred to as "this girl", pouted frustratedly.
Awkwardly, Raidon took his eyes away from the Zoroark. "Umm… Anais, goes to my sch-"
"We're dating!" shouted the Sylveon, although a second later, she began to regret blurting that out, evident by a tomato coloured blush that appeared on her cheeks.
For once, Chloe's seemingly unbreakable demeanour fell victim to an expression of surprise. However, it didn't take long for her usual, blasé, coy smile to return. She placed a hand on one of her voluptuous hips, yet refused to take her eyes off of Raidon.
"Wow, Raidon. So outta all the fish in the sea, you reel her in?" she said, moving a little closer to the duo, but especially toward the electric type. "Good for you, dude."
Anais furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes. "What? What is that supposed to mean?"
The Zoroark didn't say much in response. She simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Whatever you want it to mean, Ani. You're a catch."
The fairy felt her face twitch.
Raidon, feeling the tension in the air, asked the question that had been lingering in his head for a while, especially now that he felt comfortable with speaking aloud. "So, um. How do you guys know each other?"
Anais and Chloe both looked at eachother, making deathly eye contact, waiting for who was going to break the news to the Luxray first.
"We're cousins." they said, almost at the same time. One of their voices sounded much more disdained than the other.
This came as a shock to the electric type, so much his ears shot up and his jaw dropped to the floor.
"Wait, for real?" he mumbled loudly. "That's pretty cool!"
Once more, Chloe shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, gauging the Sylveon's reaction to her indifferent gesture. "Mhmm. I'd say. We've known each other since we were kids - Ani's just like a little sister to me." Chloe said, as she reached a clawed paw to ruffle Anais' hair. However, the fairy moved away, growling beneath her breath.
"At least, when she behaves..."
Hey, Reader! That's right, it's me, Arceus again. Do you wanna play a game? Too bad, you don't have a choice. What will Anais do?
Will she:
Yell "Dropkick!" before drop kicking Chloe
Yell "Headbutt!" before headbutting Chloe
Take her anger out on Raidon and scratch the fuck outta him
Answers on a postcard, please.
Raidon, who was staring at the illusion Pokemon's glimmering irises, cocked his head to the left. "Well, um. That's swell." he replied, albeit not entirely knowing how to. He then felt two paws clutch onto his forearm. Glancing to his left, he found Anais gripping his arm possessively.
Chloe shrugged her shoulders in her usual fashion, before eyeing the Luxray intently. "So, Rai, you comin' home or what?"
Blinking and shaking her head, Anais bellowed so greatly, she even interrupted the narratio-
"WHAT?!" she had nearly screamed, causing some Pokemon far off in the distance to turn their heads in shock confusion. From the way Anais had reacted, one would have thought a murder had taken place in broad daylight. She turned to her cousin intensely. "What the fuck are you talking about, Chloe?"
Blase as per usual, nonetheless consistent in getting under Anais' skin, the illusion Pokemon folded her arms just below her bosom. "Huh? You didn't know? Raidon lives with me 'n' Pop."
The electric type with the same name gulped as he turned to look at his girlfriend. Anais' pearly baby blue irises were engulfed in flames of deathly ire. Looking closely, Raidon was almost certain he could see his future in the reflection of her eyes.
Things were not looking good.
Through gritted teeth, the fairy just about managed to hiss out a question. However, it sounded like a grave threat.
"Raidon. What is she talking about?"
Once again, the spotlight was on the Pokemon with the gleaming eyes. Though at this point, the only thing gleaming about him was the fear in his expression.
"I… um…" he began, his tongue struggling to form the sentences he had played out in his brain. "I-It was after everything that had happened at the pier, a-and…"
"Wait… The pier? Huh? Do you mean, th-"
"Alright, alright." butted in Chloe, carelessly waving her claws about. "This sounds like a conversation you two need to have when you're not in front of me." She then leaned to one side, raised an eyebrow and put her paw on her voluptuous hips. "So, are you coming home or no?"
Before Raidon had a chance to speak, Anais had leapt up defensively.
"No, he isn't going home with you, Chloe. In fact, he's actually staying the night at my house." confidently spoke the Sylveon, seemingly catching the dark type off guard by way of her widened eyes that sparkled in the emerald light from the field.
"... I am?"
"Yes, you are, Raidon." commanded the Sylveon. The slumping of the Luxray's shoulders signified his succumbing to the spontaneous change of plans.
"Oh. Well, I guess so."
"Yeah, yeah, swell." Anais then looked at her cousin dead in the eyes. "So anyways, bye." bluntly deadpanned the Sylveon, standing up and pulling her boyfriend along with her momentum.
"Welp, bye, then." responded Chloe, sounding as if she was completely unfazed by the couple up and leaving mid-conversation. "See you later, Rai."
Raidon was hardly able to say farewell before he was dragged along the grassy carpet. He brought himself to his feet soon, as the illusion Pokemon became smaller and smaller in the distance. This made him realise just how fast Anais slew him across the field.
"H-Hey, Anais!" yelped Raidon, feeling his arm go numb from his girlfriend's tight hold on him. "Could we slow down a little? You're gonna yank my arm off!"
The Sylveon in question slowed her pace to a halt, heavily breathing once she realised how hard she exerted herself just to get away from the Zoroark. She let go of the Luxray, as she doubled over to catch her breath.
"Whew, geez. I'm knackered from that." huffed the seemingly unfit electric type. "So, um… We left pretty quick there. Is everything alright?"
Anais gazed at her boyfriend, as if he had grown a second tail. "Alright? I'm fucking livid!"
Raidon shrunk in his spot. "Umm… so you're not alright?"
"No, Raidon. I'm not alright!" cried the Sylveon, to the point it sounded like she was pleading. "Chloe just… isn't the person I wanted to see right now. I hate her."
"You hate her?" Raidon asked, clearly surprised. Even uttering the word made him wince. "Hate is a strong word, Anais. Especially for your own cousin."
"Well I'm sure of it. If you haven't noticed, Chloe will take any chance to belittle me when we're in front of other people."
Raidon sat there, and thought about it. He didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Sensing how clueless her boyfriend was, the Sylveon continued.
"Well, she'll often interrupt me, and speak over me when I have something to say. I'm pretty sure she did it a couple times just then!"
The Luxray scratched at his chin. "Umm… Maybe? I didn't see it happen though."
"Ugh, for real? What about the way she calls me 'Ani'? You know that'd piss me off, I already hate being called Ann."
"Umm… I don't know, I thought she had always called you Anais."
Anais stomped the grassy ground below her impatiently, making the Luxray feel a little bit unsafe now. The fairy's cheeks were flushed with anger as she fuelled her tantrum with memories of the
"For real, Raidon? It's as if you weren't even there! But you see, this is exactly why I hate her. She'll do all of this shit, and not even a single person would bat an eye." the fairy exclaimed. "She'd be able to pull the wool over Arceus' eyes for all I know!"
Hey now, don't get me involved. I'm already in hot water with those insurance scams.
"But anyways, that's the least of my worries right now. What I wanna know is what the fuck you're doing staying at Chloe's house. Literally none of that makes sense to me."
"Oh, um… You're right. I haven't exactly told yo- Huh?" trailed off Raidon, as his eyes drifted down to the back of his forearm, which was no longer the baby blue and electric yellow stripe pattern he remembered. It seemed to have some thin, tangential ruby lines running down to his paw. "Oh, oh geez! Why the heck am I bleeding?"
The Sylveon inspected her boyfriend a little closer, and noticed the wounds that had been opened out of pure hatred.
"Oh, shit! I must've scratched the fuck out of you!"
Congratulations to everyone that successfully guessed answer 'C'! DM LuanOTP#5525 to receive your prize!
Raidon looked at his fairy type significant other, with a face as if to say "You think?". Anais, who once had the ferocity of a Salamence, now looked at her boyfriend with the sheepishness of a newly hatched Togepi.
"Okay, um. I'm really sorry, Raidon. We need to go and get you patched up." suggested the Sylveon, reluctantly slithering her ribbon-like feelers around his arm to halt the bleeding. "Gross… Let's get going from this place. Oh, and you better remember to tell me - in detail - what the deal is between you and Chloe, or I'll just have to find out myself. Promise?"
Raidon nodded, albeit wincing once he felt the pressure on his forearm. "Yeah, yeah, 'course. I'd like to tell you when we get a moment alone, though. By the way, should we go to a hospital for this?"
"Okay, well… Nah, it's not that deep… Just a little bit of…" Anais glared at her boyfriend's arm. "...Blood. Anyways, let's go somewhere we can actually, y'know, chill."
"Your house? That's where we're staying the night, right?"
Anais cumbrously rubbed the back of her head, inhaling awkwardly as she struggled to utter the truth.
"Um, okay. I'll be real, I only said that you're staying at mine because I didn't want Chloe taking you away from me, since you're living together, or something. I don't know how I missed that. Anyways, I doubt my parents would let you stay over and all…"
The Luxray looked down at the jade patch of grass between his legs. "Oh. So, what was our plan?"
Deep in thought, Anais looked up at the sky as if her answer would rain down from above.
Raidon watched his girlfriend use 100% of her brain, and felt tingly on the inside, seeing her candidly bite her lip and stick her tongue out while she brainstormed. Her adorable profile almost took away the fact that he was on a slippery slope toward bleeding out.
"Okay, I know. Follow me."
Anais turned around so her back faced the Luxray. The latter hadn't much of a choice but to follow suit - the fierce grip on his forearm brought him to his knees. He accepted his fate as he got a face full of grass, and an ass full of friction burns.
…
The duo travelled down a residential street a few ways from Evergreen High School, albeit not too far from Anais' house. They took a sharp left down a road that looked like the sun had been beating down on the fried concrete since the dawn of time.
They turned once more, and found themselves outside of a seemingly bang average two-story house. However, whoever was decorating the front yard surely requires a pay rise. Colourful flowers guarded each side of the pathway leading to the main entrance. Impressed, Raidon walked closely behind the confident Anais, who had thankfully let up her grip on his arm. At least the pressure discouraged the bleeding.
She turned and mischievously winked at Raidon, before she knocked on the door in a specific pattern.
Moments later, the door opened from the inside, albeit slowly. A pair of eyes emerged from the decreasingly opaque shadows. A tall silhouette belonged to them - much taller than Raidon.
As the afternoon light dawned on the Pokemon opening the door, Raidon was pleased to find a Lopunny at the residence.
"Umm… Hi guys?" meekly spoke the normal type, leaning against the door frame.
Anais stuck her tongue out. "Hey, Lola~ Could we come in? We just need a place to chill… For the night. Blep."
"Uuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm…" leaked Lola, sneakily peeking over her shoulder. "Yeah, um… I kinda got company, Ann."
"...Is it Barry?"
"I mean, yeah, but…" Lola's focus seemed to shift away from the fairy and onto the electric type. "Oh fuck! What the fuck happened to you?!"
Raidon wondered why everyone seemed to be staring at him.
"Oh… I mean, I'm not handsome or anything, but I don't think I'm that bad, Lola."
"Fuck me, Raidon - She's talking about your arm!" interjected Anais, blushing faintly when she realised what had come out of her mouth.
The Luxray's eyes fell to his arm, which now had blood matting his fur, painting it a dark, blackish-crimson.
"Oh, shoot…! Yeah, um… It was because of An-"
"He fell down some stairs!" butted in Anais.
"Yeah, I fell down some… Wait, what?"
The fairy shot her boyfriend a dirty look, before he unwillingly and silently cooperated.
"I-I mean yeah! I fell down a flight… Or two."
"Damn, Raidon! You must've fell down an elevator shaft! Hurry up 'n' come in!"
…
The duo had spent a few minutes inside Lola's house. Specifically, they all sat in Lola's room. The host of the house sat on her bed beside her best friend. Meanwhile, Raidon and his Blaziken buddy Barry sat at Lola's desk, where piles of work were neatly stacked and set away to the side.
Barry stuck his tongue out as he carefully wrapped a bandage around his friend's forearm. Pulling on the bandage to ensure it was taut, the Blaziken ran a talon through the trimmed beige feathers above his head. "Phew, all done."
Raidon lifted his arm to his face, and smiled at the look of the bandages obscuring the consequences of his transgressions against his girlfriend.
"Man, thanks a lot for patching me up!"
"No worries! Um... There's a staircase to the left of Lola's room. Just um, watch out, okay?"
At first, Raidon thought he was joking. However, once he got a good look at Barry's profile, he realised that the Blaziken was unfortunately being completely serious.
"Oh. Well thanks for the heads up, I guess."
The Luxray took the time to examine Lola's room - he hadn't imagined he'd ever step foot in here. The carpet was the same shade as the fur of the host of the house. The cream coloured walls contained a really neat - albeit specifically messy room. The desk that he sat at had haphazardly stacked sheets of trigonometry, Pokemon history, and Kantonese. That's right, Kantonese. However, sitting across in another corner of the room were a pile of weights for dumbbells. The more he looked around, the more Raidon realised that Lola truly was just Barry from an alternate reality, where he's a Lopunny. Now he had to draw up an idea how she got into this dimension.
Ummm… You're welcome?
"..."
"So, um… You fell down some stairs, huh?"
Anais nodded, folding her paws over one another in disappointment. "Yeah, he did. dumbass..."
Raidon meekly dipped his head. "Not my finest moment." he admitted, before facing a perturbed Lola. "Seriously though, Lola - I really appreciate you helping me out. My arm was killing me."
The Lopunny rested an arm on Anais' shoulder, much to her annoyance. "No worries, dude. Although, I'm a little curious - those look like scratch-scratches. You sure you didn't tango with a Sneasel or somethin'?"
Shaking his head, the Luxray told another white lie. "It turns out, there was a bush full 'a' thorns."
"...In the staircase?"
Raidon glanced at Anais, who returned daggers. He then glared at Lola deathly seriously in the eyes.
"Y-Yeah, someone had some potted plants in the staircase, and well… You can probably tell what happened next from there."
"...Someone planted a thorn bush…? Inside of a building?"
"Um, you know, that was ages ago anyways. What have you two been up to?" butted in the Sylveon of the group, sensing her boyfriend stuck in a rut.
Lola leaned past Barry, and pulled a nail filer out of her desk drawer. "Parents are out, so Barry's stayin' the night here." she explained, much to her best friend's intrigue. "We were about to spar in the garden, before you guys came out of the blue with Raidon needing hospital treatment."
"Oh, sick! Can I watch?" said Raidon, bouncing up and down before wincing a little bit.
"Mmm… Nah, nah, let's do something that we can all enjoy." replied the Lopunny, Raidon sadly looking at the brown carpet between his paws. "Hmm… Do you guys wanna-"
"Truth or dare?"
Everyone looked at Anais, who had cut in line to expel her amazing idea to the world.
"What? Why are you guys lookin' at me like I'm a Shiny?"
The room was then filled with groans of distaste and rumbling discontent.
"Eugh, come on guys, don't be anal about it, it's not like any of you guys are shiny."
"Yeah but, it's still kinda rude to say that." Barry clarified. "You know, some of my best friends are Shinies."
"Look, do you wanna play or not?"
Generally, the consensus of groans said yes. However, Lola's stomach rumbled as if to stop them in their tracks. Everyone looked at the Lopunny in surprise and shock.
"What? I'm hungry!"
The Sylveon pouted. "This is your house, Lola. You can eat whenever you want."
"Okay, okay, cool. Let's just play downstairs."
One by one, each Pokemon stood up to leave the comfy room. Barry left first, followed by Raidon, and Anais. Once Lola got to the door, she stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the foyer, calling out to her peers.
"Hey, I'm gonna use the bathroom. You guys can chill in the lounge."
Raidon and Barry continued on without much of a fuss. However, Anais was stopped in her descent by an assailant grabbing onto her highly sensitive tail. She let an inward shriek as she turned around to stare at Lola, who was beckoning her to head into the bathroom with her.
Anais made sure that her boyfriend and first cousin were out of sight and in the lounge before she had followed the Lopunny back up the stairs.
The Luxray and Blaziken entered the lounge - a nice, spacious room with similarly cream coloured walls. Photographs of a happy family lined the walls. Raidon stopped to ask his friend a question concerning one that seemed to have three of the same Pokemon on it.
"Hey, Barry - come see this."
Barry walked over to the electric type staring at the framed photograph. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Maybe I'm goin' crazy, but does this picture have three Lola's in it?"
The Blaziken peered at the picture after taking a step back. "Well I'll be! You're right! Maybe Lola cloned herself!" he said. Barry took another step back to be certain, but then changed his mind once he had a better look. "Wait, no, no - Those are her sisters."
"Oh… Lola has sisters?"
"Yeah, yeah. Um… Lori. She's really nice! And another named Layla!"
"Crazy. Well, that's nice. Are they here?"
Barry scratched his head. "Umm… Probably not. I would've seen them around. Lori always comes to greet me when I come over!"
"Ah I see. Y'know, dude, now that I'm looking at it a little closer, they look pretty different. Lori's got darker fur than both of 'em."
"Wait - What?" the fire and fighting type stammered. "No way - Lola's got the darkest fur."
"Umm… Dunno, man. Lori's looks the darkest." responded Raidon, fairly calmly and confidently, which worried the Blaziken a little.
Frantically, he took another step back from the photograph, and felt his pupils dilate once he realised the issue he faced.
"Umm… Umm…"
Raidon turned away from the picture, and gawked as he watched Barry go through an epiphanic moment of realisation. For the first time, he was almost certain he saw the Blaziken sweat. Now what the heck is going on with that, ARCEUS?
HEY! I'M already on the line to this insurance company. Why are the on hold songs so shitty?
"Hey, Barry? Are you okay?"
"I-I think I may be in trouble… I don't think I can tell those two apart."
The Luxray pawed his chin. "Huh? Really? It's not that hard, right?"
Barry's panic began to decrease, as the reality stood in the way of what could be a very serious ordeal.
"Well… I guess not. I don't have much to worry about anyways, since it's not like Lori's here anyw-"
*THUD*
The front door opened and slammed with a swing of gusto. The two teens turned to the entrance, seeing a Lopunny, powerfully standing with her hands on her hips.
"Awh, hey Barry!"
…
Anais was led into the fairly expansive bathroom by her best friend of many years, shutting the door behind her. Lola went straight to the mirror, looking deep into her own hazel eyes.
"Okay, Lollipop - why am I here?"
The normal type mindlessly plucked a few loose hairs out of her eyebrows, replying, "This beef between you 'n' Raidon. What's going on?"
The colour was sapped from Anais' face. "Sorry, what? How'd you know that… Raidon and I…?"
Lola stopped what she was doing to stare at the fairy dead in her eyes.
"Umm… you serious? Ann, we've been friends for years." she said, turning back toward the mirror. "Knowing that something's up with you is the easy part."
That's kinda scary.
You think that's scary? Ask Arceus what he was up to sixteen years ago exactly.
Anais caved, admitting her emotions, "Okay, fine. It's just… He's staying over with Chloe right now - I guess there's something going on a home for him, but anywa-"
"GAH, FUCK!" yelled the Lopunny, plucking out a particular hair with a bit too much force. "Sorry, did you say Chloe? As in your cousin? The kinda sucky one?"
The fairy nodded defeatedly.
"Arceus man. That must suck." Lola murmured, giving her friend a brisque and lazy embrace, but an embrace nonetheless. "That's so random too? Out of all the places to stay, why there?"
Anais threw her paws up in the air as if she was poked in the back by a police officer. "Exactly! That's what I'm sayin'!"
"You guys gotta talk sometime, y'know."
The fairy sighed, "Yeah, you're right. I literally only just found out about this, though, so…"
Lola shrugged her shoulders, after stretching her arms. "Well, if I know you're gonna sort it out soon, then I ain't got much to worry 'bout anymore." the Lopunny said, pointing at the door. "Let's go join the others now."
"Mhmhmhm. Alright, fine."
The duo left the bathroom. Not soon after shutting the door, they both heard a thud that wasn't because of their actions. Lola and Anais glared at each other in puzzlement, before the latter followed the host down the stairs to investigate.
Turning into the lounge, Lola found her slightly altered replica harmlessly making conversation with her boyfriend and cohort respectively, Barry and Raidon.
Lori turned around, gasping as she laid her eyes on the Sylveon. "Oh! Anais!"
The Sylveon forced a warm smile, responding, "Hey, Lori! It's been ages!"
"I know, right! Damn, you've really grown." the Lopunny responded, handing both the fairy, then subsequently, her younger sister, a quick yet tight hug. "Hope you've been alright."
Lola returned the hug, but with a bit less enthusiasm. "Um, yeah, hey Lori. We'll be taking the lounge."
Lori shrugged her shoulders, on her way out of the room. "Yeah, fine by me."
"Oh and uh, you wouldn't mind if these guys spent the night, right?"
The elder Lopunny halted immediately, turning around. "O-Oh! You're staying the night, Barry?"
Barry perked up, not expecting to be called on in a conversation that didn't concern him. "U-Um, yeah, I am!"
Lori cocked her head and beamed, putting on her pearly whites for display. Damn, are they bright. "Great! Make sure you guys play safe, then!"
The normal type left the room, leaving behind Lola and her friends.
The deafening silence was soon broken by the host of the house, Lola, clasping her paws together.
"Alright, let's play! Who wants to start?"
…
The four sat around a wooden table on some of the pillows stolen from the couch. After disagreeing for minutes about who should start, the Lopunny decided to take initiative.
"Okay, okay, lemme go first." mumbled Lola, staring at Anais with half a banana in her mouth. "We'll start off with you, Ann. Truth or Dare?"
Anais scratched the top of her head. "Umm… Truth."
"Why don't you tell us what's in that book in your room?"
The Sylveon squinted at the Lopunny. "...Which one?"
"You know… The book that's hidden under your bedroom pillow? But otherwise hidden behind your bookshelf on Saturdays because that's when your Mom cleans your room?"
Anais began vibrating in fear.
"Okay, fuck that - I'm doing the dare."
The room erupted in laughter and applause in Lola's ease to break down the Sylveon. Munching on her banana, the Lopunny grinned smugly.
"Aha, knew it! Okay, let's see you do a handstand!"
The Sylveon groaned, much to the amusement of her audience. However, shock and awe circuited about the lounge once everyone had realised and witnessed that Anais was indeed capable of performing the handstand. By standing on her two front paws and using her feelers as pillars to balance on, Anais proved to canine-kind that handstands were now a part of their arsenal.
"Okay, in all fairness," struggled the Sylveon, as she gently lowered herself down. "I've been practising that for awhile."
Raidon glanced down at his paws, then he looked at Anais' feelers. Something just didn't seem fair.
"Raidon. Truth or dare?"
The Luxray's heart skipped a little when he heard the Sylveon call his name. Looking into her eyes, he was a little more glad to find a smile come his way.
"Umm, truth." he replied, rubbing his paws in anticipation.
"So, have you had anyone before me?"
Raidon furrowed his eyebrows. "By that… You don't mean to eat, right?"
Anais made a face. "No, Raidon. I don't mean to eat."
"Oh. Well in that case, no. Well, not technically, but… Ah, it's hard to explain. I probably wouldn't count it."
"Wait, what!? Who?"
The Luxray shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry Anais - that's another question!"
THAT BITCH!
Coming to a Fanfiction near you.
"Yeah, sorry Ann, man knows his rules."
Anais scowled at the Lopunny, but complied nonetheless. Sitting back on her pillow, she watched Raidon continue with the game.
"Guess you're next, Barry. Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
Raidon's eyes widened with the Blaziken's surprising confidence. "Oh, darn - I had a really interesting truth lined up. You guys got any suggestions?"
Anais butted in before Lola had a chance to breathe. "I got one!" she yelled excitedly, before leaping off her pillow and toward the window that owned a good view of the street. "See that Salazzle across the street?"
Barry scooched up next to the Sylveon. "The one with the guitar case?"
"Yeah, him."
"Okay, what about hi- wait… It's a Salazzle, so it's gotta be female, right?"
Anais glared at her cousin, as if he had three eyes. "Are you serious? That's gotta be the dumbest, ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There can be male Salazzles, Barry!"
"W-What!? But I read online that-"
"Guys!" screamed Lola, clapping her paws together. "The Salazzle is getting away, hurry up and tell the dare, Ann."
"Okay, okay - All you gotta do is tell that Pokemon that you're Brendan Bursyamo, and give 'em an autograph…" Anais reached into the Blaziken's beige feathery mane. "on this handkerchief."
Barry held the handkerchief in his talons. "W-Wait, when did you have the time to sneak this into my feathers?"
Anais pawed at the Blaziken hurriedly. "Come on, Barry, GO, GO, GO!"
The blaze Pokemon jumped to his feet, and rushed out of the house as if he left the oven on.
Three Pokemon coddled around the window to watch the Blaziken in action. As much as the silent ambience was killing her. Lola had to say something.
"So, um… Ann? About the Salazzle thing…
"I realised…! I just can't stand him being right all the time."
…
Barry sped to catch up to the Salazzle, until he was a few feet away from them. They had a small guitar case in one hand, and slowly trudged down the pavement due to the weight of the instrument.
"Hey, um… Excuse me?" said the Blaziken.
The Salazzle turned around, making eye contact with the taller Pokemon. Straight away, the toxic lizard's face lit up.
"Hey, you're Barry, right? Barry Bursyamo?"
The Blaziken froze. "W-What? How'd you know?"
The Salazzle giggled, covering their mouth with one of their hands. "Um, I'm pretty sure I've seen you around my high school, and everyone goes on about how you're the son of that crazy famous battler. Plus, you're dating someone called Lola, right?"
Barry was taken aback at how much others knew about him, and how little he knew about that.. Meekly, he nodded his head. "Umm, yeah… I am… all of those things."
Sticking her hand out for a handshake, the Salazzle introduced herself.
"I'm Sarah, by the way."
Barry shook her hand, still recovering from the surprise of how the turntables turned.
"I'm Barry - aw shoot - you already knew that."
Sarah giggled again, albeit a little louder. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Barry."
"Nice to meet you too." The blaze Pokemon pointed at her guitar case, gawking, "You play guitar? That's pretty cool!"
"Aha, yeah. I'm on my way to a music lesson."
"That's really cool, y'know."
"Thanks a lot… Hey Barry, could I ask you something?"
Barry dipped his head.
"You're on the battling team, so does that mean you're friends with Raidon?"
"Oh yeah, we're definitely good friends."
"Ah, great." she mumbled, almost as if she was speaking to herself. Putting her hands behind her back, Sarah looked to the pavings below her, then to the sky. "So… Could I ask you another question?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Do you… Wanna exchange numbers?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Barry replied, "I don't see why not. Do you have a pen?"
Sarah nodded, reaching into her case and handing him a pen. Barry signed his handkerchief with his personal phone number, then handed it to the Salazzle.
"Well, here you go."
"Thanks, a lot, Barry." said Sarah, taking back her pen with the handkerchief. "Well, I suppose I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you later!"
The two bid each other farewell. Barry turned around, and crossed the street to go back to Lola's house. The door was open, to his surprise. He walked into the lounge, and was the centre of attention to a gathering of Anais, Raidon and Lola.
"Hey, nice one, Barry! I saw you hand her the autograph!" announced the Sylveon, waving her paws in the air.
While the others cheered at his success, Barry's eyes shot open in disturbing revelation.
"Oh OOPS! The autograph! I completely forgot to give it to her!"
Raidon narrowed his eyes. "Huh? But we saw you hand it to her?"
Barry shook his head.
"Ah, naw. She asked nicely, so I gave her my number."
Lola stood up from the pillow, and gripped the Blaziken firmly by his shoulders.
"I'm sorry - You WHAT?!"
Assessing the situation around him, the gears in Barry's head began to turn.
"Hmmm… I'm beginning to think that my actions have consequences."
…
Okay, that'll about do it for this chapter. You'll have to find out what happens next! I hope you guys can rest assured, no matter how long it may be between updates, I will not forget about this story! I'm really looking forward to seeing this through.
-LuanOTP
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"Thanks for walking with me to work, Cass."
Cassidy weakly smiled at her husband, as they both stood outside of the office building where his shift for the day would start. Or as he'd describe it, "the hellhole sequel from school".
"C'mon, Julley! Lighten up - Just one more nine hour shift, then the weekend!" the ice type cheered, squishing her husband's cheeks, contrary to the Umbreon's dead, zombie-like expression.
"I know, I know. I can't wait to come back home." Julley moaned, opening the glass doors to the building.
"Mhm. When you get back, I'll put Julius to bed, and maybe I can send Anais out to the Bursyamo's. Let's cuddle, 'n' enjoy a movie or something."
Julley smiled, saying, "That sounds nice, actually. Thanks, Cass."
"No worries!" The Glaceon sang, planting a kiss on the dark type's cheek. "See you after work, Julley!"
"Aha, see you later."
Julley waved goodbye to his wife, before entering the doors to the building. Traversing through the hallways, the Umbreon lazily greeted any colleagues on his way to his working level on the forty-first floor.
Once he had gotten out of the staircase, he walked into his office, smelling that dreadful, clean-office smell that reminded him that his shift had just begun, and he had many hours of mind-numbing work ahead of him.
As he turned into his aisle of cubicles, he heard someone clear their throat from behind him. Julley turned around, eyeing a Honchkrow with a particular glint in his eye.
"Hey, Jull-bone? Could I see you in my office?"
The Umbreon hadn't even the chance to sit down before being apprehended by his manager. Huffing, he nodded, and followed the big bird to his office.
Haines went around his desk after shutting the door in on the both of them. "Take a seat, why don't ya?"
Julley sat down, though not quite feeling at ease. "Thanks. S-So, um… is everything alright?"
Hopping into his plush, leather office chair, Haines performed a choreographed swivel before stopping to face the Umbreon. "Well, aren't you gonna ask me how the rest of the date went with Alice?"
Now that he thought about it, Julley hadn't really known how the rest of the night had played out. All he knew is that he wanted to get out of that restaurant as quickly as he could.
"..."
"Oh, I guess I hadn't, um… How did the date go with Al-"
"I PUT MY DICK IN HER-"
Haines held his wings around his beak such that to maximise amplification of his voice in his already small office.
"COOOOOOOOOOOOTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"