Pokemon: Blood Curse

Chapter 5: Princely~

"Ugh, I'm so tired... To think I need to make dinner, too," Marce's exasperated sigh reached Mel's feline ears, and leaned her back against her seat. Exhausted, the faint murmurs of pokemon cries echoed through the sunset as she sat there almost limp and laid her head back against the top of the chair. Very tiredly she peeked at her friend and gave her a faint smile, as she watched Mel clean her paws with an occasional glance in return. "What sounds good tonight? I bought some noodles so I might make some spaghetti, anything different you want? Since I know you don't eat human food," she questioned and gradually stood so she could make her way to the stove nearby.

Poke' Kiblets, please? I heard from one of the Pichus that recharges your generator thing, that they ate some recently from a generous human that passed by some days ago. It must be a new brand, I've only ever heard of a few but not that. With slight interest, Mel answered, and observed the brunette as she finished pouring water from her faucet, into her large pot.

"I've never heard of it. Well, I guess that's one thing I can try and look for next time, so... How about your usual favorite instead?" After Marce asked, the pot was soon placed onto a burner and a lid on top to help the water heat up quicker.

Yes, I'd love that- thanks. Happy, she was, the feline's tail flailed with delight after her poke' cry escaped her lips.

Quiet now, silence, which seemed to have lasted a good few minutes until a kind smile graced the brunette's lips. "By the way..." trailing off, she paused for a moment before continuing. "Thanks for helping Hornet," Finally, after thanking Mel, she quickly put the noodles in after the water came to a boil and stirred it until they started to soften a little.

I didn't do much. He seemed to catch on quickly during his fights, I rarely had to suggest anything; he seems like a natural. A little curious about their new friend, Mel's voice sounded as though she was a little intimidated by the sudden progression in the bug pokemon. However, voices echoed, and she couldn't help but bend her ears behind her like most cats do and eavesdrop on them. A protector of their treehouse, a huntress at night, it was difficult to ignore such sounds when it was close to nighttime and the voices were close. Marceline... I hear a human below our home and a faint murmur of a Blaziken. This time, her head turned to look through the screen near the table and sent sharp glares in their direction. Friendliness was overridden by caution, so she decided to step closer and peer down to see if she could find anyone.

"W- What? Seriously?" Quickly, she left the pot there to cook and hurried to Mel's side. With her palm pressing against the screen, those hazel hues looked down in hopes of finding anything but she only ended up putting a small dent into it. "Hold on, I'll go check. Stay here, okay?" With that said, her best friend watched her race from the platform to her front door, so from the ever-growing caution she did the same and trailed after her.

Past the brunette and down the tree she scaled, which nearly knocked the woman over onto her butt. A gasp escaped the moment she caught herself with a hand on the wood rails, it was only enough to stop her from falling face-first onto the floor. On her knees, she remained, albeit shocked that Mel would as reckless as to knock someone over on her way past and so, with a lift of her eyes she crawled closer to the edge. Mel? You're usually not like this, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Her thoughts, full of concern echoed and peeked over the edge of the platform where the start of the tied rope sat.

Down the branches, the feline leaped skillfully down the tree and landed in front of Meigu who stood next to his Blaziken. "Whoa! Hey! Um..." The nervous, muscular man trailed for a moment then backed up, after he jumped from her sudden approach and felt sweat trickle down his tan skin. "I'm sorry, do you live here Liepard? Alone? If so, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just jogging and caught up to Torch here, he wasn't supposed to go into the forest!" Unease settled onto his face upon hearing a low warning growl from the feline and gulped at the radiating intensity he felt.

A cautious step forward, Mel kept her glaring slits on the buff man with a twitch of her curled tail. This human is invading our home! Through her pokemon language, she spoke and glanced at the Blaziken who appeared to be a bit thicker with muscle than most of his kind. Tell your human to leave! This time, her claws began to glow and her pawns ground against the surface rapidly.

On the platform, Marce stood up and crouched on the edge to watch the display, however, once she saw that Mel preparing to attack, her body moved on its own and reached a hand out in desperation. "Mel, don't!" Her yell was cut short the minute she heard wood cracking, the very sound drew her eyes to it and watched as the edge she stood on began to tear. Oh no... Fear filled her mind, for she had no time to try and run.

I- It's using Hone Claws? With another gulp, Meigu took a step back again and nodded. "Alright, we'll-" before he could even answer, a yell echoed above their heads and they all looked up to see Marceline falling. Her yell had turned into a quick scream, no one had time to react until a stream of light shot out from one of Meigu's pokeballs and a silhouette leaped into the air after her.

She felt arms curl her legs and torso up but her eyes remained shut from the fear of feeling impact, yet none came. Only a brief halt in the air after a pair of arms cradled her and descended safely back down.

W- What? No pain? Who's holding me? Very slowly. Struggling, her hazel eyes opened to her own thighs that were held up by a blue arm. Huh? This time they moved up and stared into astonished, reddish-orange eyes that she could easily get lost in.

They looked so calm despite the surprise in them, it was hard not to stare, she didn't even notice the faint pink tints on the pokemon's cheeks when he realized she was gawking too long. "O- Oh! Sorry, put me down please and thanks," A little frantic and flustered from the embarrassment, she felt his arms move down for her to stand onto her own feet and looked up at his abnormally tall height. A blue Gallade? Wait... A thought occurred, for she recalled what Meigu said and that it had something to do with meeting his other pokemon.

Good, no harm done. Relief, despite the faint flushes on his cheeks, the Gallade's pokemon language resonated through her ears as if he spoke plain English.

"Prince! Nice catch! Neither Torch nor I were able to react in time, it all happened too fast. Is she okay? Hmm, hold on..." the buff man stepped closer with confusion furrowing his brows, and took notice of the brown locks on the woman, so had Torch. "Miss Shade?!" When he saw her turn to face him, he nearly tripped over his own feet from his sprint towards her and began to check her limbs for any damages.

"What are you doing?" mumbling, sweatdropping, Marce felt a little annoyed by his antics and didn't even notice one of Torch's eyes twitching at his trainer.

He worries too much... It's so annoying. Mumbling, Blaziken figured he couldn't be understood by anyone except the other pokemon and grumbled irritably. However, in the corner of his eye, he saw the brunette staring at him, he couldn't help to do the same and moved his blue eyes to her curious ones. Why is she staring at me? As if on cue, in midst of Meigu's frantic search for any wounds, her hazel eyes snapped away from his and stepped away from his trainer.

"I- I'm fine, really. Sorry about Mel, she's very protective of our Treehouse and Hornet's nestled up there," Nervous, she was almost caught red-handed when she heard Torch's words and quickly jumped to explaining. Her finger pointed up to where Hornet dangled and the awkward smile she had proved to Meigu how she felt.

"Sorry for the intrusion, too, Torch and I were jogging and I chased after him because he ran into the forest. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then! I'm going to continue jogging. Prince? Since you're out, are you going to tag along?" A curious brow lifted, his brown eyes peeked over at his shiny Gallade, and was about to leave.

With a close of his eyes, a regal vibe radiated from Prince as he walked over to his trainer and ignored the threatening glare from Torch. Just when the buff man started to jog, both pokemon behind him gave her a quick, curious glance before catching up to their trainer and leaving the woman there.

It was hard for her not to sigh, the thought of those three nearly exhausted her... Well, mostly Matsuo considering how energetic he is. "Why were those two staring at me? Torch? And I believe that Gallade's name was Prince... They kept staring at me like I was something so foreign to them. I heard Torch talking and only for a moment, I heard Gallade too, I just hope I didn't scare them. I hope... They didn't catch on that I heard them speak," quiet words, worry etched onto her face before she turned and looked at the dangling rope; that was until she remembered the noodles. Oh no! Crap! Her mind became frantic and rushed her way back up the rope as fast as she could.

Moments later, after getting back inside, she stood in front of the stove purely relieved that the noodles didn't overcook and become mush. The Spaghetti was almost done, all she had to do was add the sauce and meatballs. "Mel? Is it possible to feed Hornet in his current state?" As she asked, she finished up the food and prepared a couple of dishes of pokemon food that Mel loved.

Yes, I think so. They usually don't eat in that form though, I wouldn't suggest you do so. Feeding him might make his evolution more difficult. Her best friend explained and began to bathe her paws near the table, she could already smell the delightful scent of her favorite food being poured into her dish.

Over, came Marce, with the dish and placed it on the floor in front of her with her own plate of spaghetti. In the chair she sat, feeling the relaxing breeze waft through the screen, and inhaled the lovely aroma of her food. "How'd you know that? Well, considering you hunt almost every night I wouldn't put it past you if you knew a few things about other pokemon," A fork-full of noodles soon entered her mouth as crunches echoed in her ears each time her friend would chew her food. With a simple nod, Mel agreed and continued eating.

As time passed, the risen moon soon fell over the horizon. They both ate breakfast and went about their morning watching T.V shows in the living room, on the top floor, until Marce's hazel hues peaked over at the time on the wall. "Mel! I gotta hurry, Matsuo invited me to watch his spar remember? It's going on twelve o'clock!" Her yell wasn't loud, it was more panicked and a little hushed.

The Liepard didn't have time to answer, for she watched her friend bolt for the stairs and head for the main floor. Marceline, am I to watch over the treehouse again?! Loudly the feline howled out her language and trekked the stairs after her, worried for her friend's safety.

"Yes! I'm mostly concerned for Hornet's current defenseless state, so please keep an eye on him if you can and make sure none of the flying pokemon wants to munch on him for lunch," The woman felt dread at the thought of Tailow, Pidgy, and other flying types trying to eat him. It pained her with having to leave him all alone, so she thought it'd be best to leave Mel to his protection instead.

Understandable. I'll try and keep an eye on both, just make sure you stay away from any other humanoid pokemon, please. The last one I hunted down and defeated, was the one that kept spying on you during your high school years remember? A sigh escaped Mel's lips after a sweatdrop trickled down her head.

"Yeah, I remember..." trailing off, Marce gave the feline a nod as she continued to stuff potions and other things she'd need while she is there. "I think it was a haunter... I can't remember if my parents said what pokemon it was, though," it was sad to think about because no matter how much she pondered on it, she couldn't remember which pokemon it was. For all she knew, it could've been a long-lost friend that she parted from or more.

Finally, after she stuffed her cellphone into her jacket's pocket, her wallet was placed into one of her pouches. I can't remember either, it's been a long time since then. After Mel's reply, her feline body stretched with her butt lifted into the air so her back could bend and flex. It felt nice, especially when her paws reached out across the floor.

"Well, alright then. I'll see you later I need to meet up with Matsuo. You know... The man with his Blaziken and Gallade from yesterday?" Just as she was about to reach for the door, Mel's eyes shot open with pure, comical, devastation in her slits and instantly snapped out of her comfortable stretch.

Marceline, don't go! It's dangerous! Quickly, her friend raced after her only to be too late, for she just missed Marceline the second she reached the edge of the platform and watched her descend the rope. To the side, her slits peeked over at the dangling Kakuna in the branches and returned to the brunette's backside. Fear, worried for her friend's safety, she just wished there could be someone that could keep her safe while she was out...

This time she decided to wait for her at the edge and laid down near the top of the rope, not once letting her focused gaze falter from where the path was.

At the battleground, near the gym, Marceline wandered over to a bench on the sidelines and sat down. Alone, she was, no Hornet or Mel to keep her company or safe. To be honest, she was beginning to feel more attached to Hornet considering how much he loved riding on her shoulder and now it just felt naked. A heavy sigh left her lips when she patted her one shoulder, it was hard not to smile at the thought. Hornet, you're weird... A good weird. Her thoughts echoed quietly as she stared upon the empty field surrounded by protective railings.

"Ah, you made it! Hi, Miss shade!" Her eyes blinked at his voice before they moved to the side to see a sprinting Meigu and his friends out alongside him. Far behind him the brunette noticed the same blonde trainer from the gym and stood on one end of the field, occasionally fiddling with her pokeball.

"H- Hi... I see- you kept Torch and Prince out of their pokeballs," With a finger directed to his pokemon, Matsuo halted just in front of her and placed his hands on his hips. Torch and Prince both stood on either side of him, they didn't seem to notice that they were staring too much.

"Yeah... I thought about what you said and you're right. It does feel like I strip too much of their freedom. So, if they want to be out then they can, I won't pull them back in their pokeballs. I'll only put them back in if they misbehave or if I need to for security reasons... You know what I mean?" His closed-eye, toothy grin, and his words were enough to send pink tints onto Marceline's cheeks.

So weird... He actually took it into consideration? Why is his smile so difficult to look away from, anyway? Nervous, her hazel hues looked to the side to avoid his smile and couldn't stop the faint blush that threatened to worsen. "Yeah... I do. I brought some water and stuff just in case you guys need it," She thought it'd be wise to change the subject and pulled out a water bottle from one of her baggy pockets in her jacket.

"Thanks! I really appreciate it!" The poor dude couldn't stop smiling, he was just happy she showed up and even brought some stuff with her to help. "You didn't have to though, the pokemon center's not that far from here and I brought some potions with me just in case," What he didn't know, was that his two friends on either side of him both had faint pink tints on their cheeks.

Torch, who stood wide-eyed at the brunette, couldn't stop staring at her slightly flustered face. However, for Prince, he seemed to keep his regal and dignified behavior despite the fuzzy feeling he felt after noticing her averted eyes and faint, crimson cheeks.

Hm... I wonder if I can make her smile somehow. Maybe if she watched me fight, I could do something silly? I can sense her emotions right now, she feels a little uneasy for some reason. A more quiet, deep, calm, and cold voice resonated from Prince as he spoke. His reddish-orange eyes bore into her suddenly curious ones when she glanced over at him for a few moments, it was as if she heard him. However, he simply brushed it off and thought of it as an examination than anything else.

Silly? You? That's different... I bet if I perform unique moves, she'd find it more amusing than silly crap. This time, it was Torch's turn to speak in their pokemon language. He and Prince both ignored their trainer's conversation with her as they drowned them out and sent challenging glares to each other. With someone as tall, weird, and blue as you, I doubt she'd see anything silly in you. A huff of air escaped his nose holes after his arms crossed, for he found the Gallade near him to be rather annoying.

Say that again, I dare you... Those calm reddish eyes soon glared daggers at the Blaziken near him and sparks between the two in the background began to fly. Prince wasn't one to simply let someone belittle him, so with a rough turn, he marched over to Torch and inched his eyes close to the Blaziken's.

"Miss shade, what are you star- Hey! You two, stop fighting!" With both, muscular arms, Matsuo huffed with anger and stood in front of them. It was a bit difficult but he managed to push them both back with a lot of effort using his palms, which resulted in stopping their dispute. "I don't want any excuses about who started it, just stop; both of you! Now... That trainer's been waiting for a spar. Let's not keep her waiting okay?" He put on his best, cheerful grin to brush away any tension in the air and it seemed to have worked, for both pokemon let out a breath of defeat and nodded.

"Sorry about that, Miss Shade! We're going to start the battle now okay?" In a hurry, he was, as he bolted for the other side of the battleground, which made his pokemon follow after with a light jog and a glance or two back at the brunette.

"Alright," Simply put, Marce was a little relieved that they left, she felt so overwhelmed by three people surrounding her as if she were the new girl in school. "Thank the lord," it was hard not to sigh, but she did nonetheless, and reached into her belt's pouch to pull out a small bag of chips. "I wonder why those two were arguing over... 'Making me smile'. Why do they want to see me smile so bad, I don't get it. We literally, just met," just before she bit a chip in half, that thought lingered in her mind and her attention glued to the two trainers on the battleground.

"Go, Macho!" over the blonde's head, a pokeball was thrown and a beam of light streamed onto the ground. Within that second a silhouette formed and illuminated, eventually, the radiance of the silhouette faded to reveal a Machamp with braces on his wrists.

His cry echoed for a short moment after his arms flexed and two of his fists pounded into his other two palms, that confident grin was enough to prove his eagerness.

Fighting braces, they're meant to help with fighting-type moves. Alright... That means I'll need Prince for this. In his mind, Matsuo concluded and moved his brown gaze to the abnormally tall Gallade to his side. "You're up, Prince!" His own confident grin appeared, albeit just as excited as the blonde's Macho.

A simple nod was all that he received and he was quick to take his place across from Machamp. This will be over in two minutes... Prince's mind echoed for a moment with his blades now extending to their full length and taking a stance.

"Macho, use Close-Combat!" As soon as the blonde ordered her Machamp, the said pokemon burst into a full sprint and a barrage of fists aimed toward the blue Gallade.

Macho's attempt made both Meigu and Prince smirk, for they both knew that going head-on like that would be more beneficial to them. The buff man didn't have to give his Gallade any orders, he knew he'd evade them and observed as he did so.

Left, right, effortless, with a close of his reddish-amber eyes he moved his head and feet around to avoid all of the punches; like a feather in the wind or a leaf in a gentle breeze, elegant he was as he dodged. At that moment, there was a short pause in the woman's Machamp when he pulled a fist back to catch his breath. "Now, use Psycho Cut!" Upon hearing his trainer's command, those calm, reddish eyes snapped open and he leaped back an inch to get a good view of the Machamp.

The blonde couldn't help but gasp when she saw flurries of psychic waves shoot from Prince's long blades, as they swiped relentlessly through the air. "Dodge it and use Bulk Up!" Her hand swatted out to the side with seriousness forcing her eyes to narrow, she had to act, and fast.

Macho did exactly that, he did his best to leap backward and avoid all of the cuts but one of them managed to cut his shoulder. As soon as he felt the sharp sting he winced and managed to find a moment to himself, to use the said move. All four fists clenched tightly and with a release of energy, an aura surrounded him as his muscles flexed a bit more than usual.

"Ah, nice! You took my advice!" A large, toothy grin exposed Meigu's delight, even more so when chuckles escaped him. "Prince, put him to sleep!" As if on cue, his words reached the Gallade's ears, and watched as those amber-like eyes glowed. A strange wave resonated from his body, as soon as his gaze connected with Macho's and sent the fighting pokemon into a deep slumber, for he fell onto his backside into an endless snore.

"That's not fair! Macho, wake up!" The blond trainer's words fell upon deaf ears as he laid there unresponsive, she didn't even have time to snap him out of it and saw more waves of Prince's Psycho Cut soar after him. "No!" Cut after cut, the Machamp received and was soon down for the count.

In a rush, she knelled to his side with his pokeball out and patted his head. "Rest well, you did great," Reassurance laced her gentle words before a beam of light reeled him back inside the red and white sphere. "Fine then, I have one more pokemon..." trailing off, racing back to her spot, she pulled out another pokeball and stared back at Matsuo. "You're as good as ever, I admit, teacher," This time she tossed her pokeball up and down, catching it each time. "Come on, Chichi!" Out from her pokeball, formed Mienshao, who wore a focus sash around her neck and took her stance.

"Come back, Prince. Time to let Torch have a spotlight, alright?" Matsuo, who gestured with a thumb pointed next to him, watched as the said pokemon approved and walked over to where he was once; albeit with a glare at the Blaziken on his way over.

Hahaha, see I told you... You didn't even get to try. Now, let's see if I can pull it off. Torch would be smirking right now if his beak showed more expression, his pride boosted after watching Prince fail, and began to flex his clawed fingers as he reached the center.

Your stupidity will be enough to make her smile, not your tricks... The Gallade's eye twitched after he folded his arms, he found it annoying at how easy it was to blow up Torch's head. However, upon hearing the pokemon's words, the Blaziken comically fell onto his backside with a leg flinching in the air.

Huh?! If you wanted to pick a fight with me, you should've done so earlier! This time Torch stood back up in a heated mess and allowed flames from his wrists to burst. His hilarious but awkward stance and the comedic backward fall seconds ago, were enough to make a giggle echo on the sidelines.

I don't even have to try to pick a fight with you... You do it most of the time, anyway. A simple shrug from Prince with a close of his reddish eyes, he averted his head and ignored the fuming chicken in the field.

"Torch? Why are you angry all of a sudden?! Sheesh, I need to see what I can do about your anger issues... Well, anyway, are you ready? I hope that fall didn't hurt your back," concerned, Meigu's brows knitted when he took a step forward but was relieved when he saw his best friend furiously face the Mienshao and huff out a breath. He couldn't help but feel confused about the situation, nonetheless, he readied himself and focused on the blonde.

Torch's blue eyes couldn't help but glance confusedly in his peripherals, at the brunette, for he found her timing rather strange when she giggled out of the blue. Heh, maybe I'm just imagining it. She probably laughed at my sudden fall or something. Now, finally focused again, his hues returned to the girl's pokemon, and took his own stance; all seriousness returning onto his rugged face.