Delia tried very hard not to over spice the stew she was making for dinner. While she could handle heat in her food, Ash was never really a fan, and she certainly didn't want to upset her guests. It had been a long time since her house was full, not since Ash was very little and the Ketchums were still alive, did it feel full.

If only she could enjoy it, because it was very clear she had abused children under her roof.

Riley may be in his twenties, but Delia couldn't see him as a grown man when he was curled up on her sofa fast asleep, his face green with bruises. He looked too much like Ash when her boy was little and had taken a bad tumble in the Professor's pastures. Bruises and scrapes on his skin with grass stains and dirt in his clothing. Delia was sure that the imprisonment would forever affect Riley, even if it didn't seem like it right away. No one lives through something like that without some kind of trauma sticking to them. However, it was his reaction to how Delia wanted to take care of him that made her really worry.

"It's fine." "You don't need to do that." "I don't want to be a bother."

Delia bit her lip and started to cut vegetables with a swift blade, the repetition of the task soothing. Bother. She shook her head. The boy was her nephew in simplistic terms! He could never be a bother! Especially, after everything he went through. He needs to be a bother! Family took care of one another…It was almost like Riley wasn't taught that.

It was even worse when Delia met Amanda. Granted, the middle-aged woman was probably a little to forward when they met, she really should've asked before she hugged. However, her niece's reaction to the contact was very telling. The young woman stiffed and refused to meet her gaze afterward. Almost as if she was scared of Delia, and didn't want do anything that might cross the older woman. When Delia apologized, Amanda those two dreaded words her brother kept repeating.

"It's fine."

It almost made Delia mad. Clearly contact was not fine for Amanda, yet she still said it was. Boundaries were understandable, healthy even. Delia might've accepted the short response if it weren't for the almost fearful look in Amanda's eyes. This wasn't just some case of, "oh I'm not a tactile person", this was something else.

Come to think of it. Riley wasn't used to embraces from family either. He flinched when Delia checked him for fever…

Hummm…

"Is everything alright?"

Delia abruptly stopped her chopping at the question. Her brown eyes flicked back, finding knight that she had roped into helping her prepare dinner by peeling the potatoes, watching her with curious eyes.

"Of course, why wouldn't they be?" Delia answered.

"Well, your soul is projecting waves or righteous fury," Sir Aaron said carefully.

"Reading a soul without permission? Isn't that rather invasive Sir knight?" Delia teased, feeling her rage mellow slightly at the concern.

Sir Aaron chuckled, "My apologies, Lady Ketchum, it just seems to be bothering you."

Delia rolled her eyes playfully, before her face saddened, she sighed, "She never hugged them."

Sir Aaron paused his potato peeling, "Pardon?"

"Their mother, Amanda and Riley, she never hugged them."

"How can you be certain?" There was genuine confusion in his voice.

"Don't tell me that you, a man who can literally read the emotions off of someone, haven't picked up on how stiff they are around me?" Delia turned to look at him with a raised brow.

Sir Aaron was silent for a moment, "I've picked up on rather, worrying behavior from Amanda, but nothing in relation to you…"

She sighed through her nose, "Okay, let me explain. When I was pregnant with Ash I picked up these books on child psychology…You know what psychology is right?"

"Amanda is a 'psych student', and from I've browsed from her books, I believe it's the study of the human mind?"

"Yeah, basically. Well, in that I learn a lot about how easy it is to mess up a child as a parent. And I'm, not sure if it's neglect or abuse, but something happened to both of them regarding their mother, and now their wary of me because of it."

"Why would they be wary of you?"

"It's probably a defensive mechanism, I'm Ash's mother, and they only have experience with their mother as how to behave around a mother."

"That is…concerning," Sir Aaron said.

Delia could only nod in return. Her thoughts slowly drifted back to her newly found niece and nephew, and she silently vowed they'd have a place here. Family they could count on. Family was such a fragile thing, so easy to break, so hard to make. By mew, Delia would keep hers safe.

Lucario was not jealous. He certainly wasn't. He was far to mature for that…even as he watched the pup wrestle with the younger adult.

It had become very clear that Riley's auratic match was far more playful than himself and that was very appealing to Riolu. If the two of them ripping up the grass and yipping with laughter on Madam Delia's property was anything to go by.

"Bree Umber (you frown any harder and I'll start reading your soul by default)," Umbreon purred from where she lounged in the shade.

"Lu Ca (I am not frowning)."

Umbreon raised a brow, her disbelief both expressed auraticaly and outwardly, "Umber Um Bre (you really shouldn't be jealous. Lulu was like this with all the new hatchings. He won't steal your baby from you)."

Lucario growled, "Car (The pup is not mine)."

A that disbelief was back once more, "Eon Umber (sure, let me know when you stop swimming in denial)."

The shadow wielder got to her paws, stretching her back with a purr before trotting over to the wrestling duel before them. Lucario didn't need to hear the exchange between Umbreon and Lulu to know that the aura Pokémon didn't agree with the shadow wielder's interruption. Pichu and Pikachu were quick to distract Riolu, pulling the pup anyway for another game. While Umbreon lead the young adult back over to the shade where she was previously relaxing in.

"lu car lu (you didn't need to stop us, I was fine)," Lulu said sitting beside the shadow wielder he had for a sister.

"Bree Bree (you can make that call when a third of you isn't wrapped up in gauze)."

"Cari lu (I know what I can handle. I'm not a pup)."

"Bree (neither am I)."

Lucario sensed some tension forming and decided to cut in, "Ca lu rio lu (I trust you both are not going to follow your human's examples, and have a cold war between the two of you)"

"Bree Umber Bree (please, Mandy and Riri shit is their shit to deal with)."

Lulu's ears flicked in a confused manner, "Car Cari (there's a cold war between them)?"

Lucario leveled a slightly unimpressed look with the younger aura Pokémon. It was no secret that Amanda was not fond of her brother, and that Riley, from what little time he had spent conscious, was completely unaware of his sister's detachment. But his auratic partner too?

Umbreon sighed, "bree….(like Pokémon like trainer…)"

"lu (what?)"

"Car Ca lu lu (Amanda has clearly expressed distaste for her brother, Lulu)."

The younger gave a small moan, "Rio car rio (is that nickname really sticking?)"

"Umber Um Bree (We're going to need a way to differentiate you two somehow. We all know that Riri is going to want to stick around to further his training. And I know you'll want to try the whole telepathy thing.)"

Lulu sighed reluctantly accepting his cruel fate.

Amanda practically growled at the textbook chapter in front of her. One moment the sentences were making sense and the next the words stumbled and swirled into a string of nonsensical letters and symbols that she easily lost the plot of. She sighed, fingers rubbing her eyes that felt oddly sore. Frustration at her lack of progress regarding her college work welled up inside of her. She had read far longer and more stale textbook chapters before! Why was this easy assignment giving her so much trouble!

A gurgle bubbled up in her stomach, that was quickly followed by a hollow feeling inside. Amanda paid no mind; she was used to studying hungry. The hunger would motivate her to push farther in to her studies. Some people had the luxury of taking a break to eat, but Amanda wasn't one of them. If she took a break, she would lose focus and all progress she could make. Her stomach screamed again for food.

"You know I can hear you from here," Ash said walking into the kitchen.

Her cousin was dressed in PJs and had bed frazzled hair. The lights had been turned off and the windows were dark. Amanda glanced at the clock on her laptop screen surprised to see it read 12:34 am. She had lost time again.

"I'm fine," Amanda said.

She had to be. They were going to leaving for Ryme in the morning, and she was driving to the train station (thank you Professor Oak for getting the tickets), so there would be no time to catch up on her master's degree.

Ash leveled at her with an unconvinced look, "Yeah, no. I remember you didn't have any dinner or lunch today. C'mon you need to eat something."

Her cousin opened the fridge and pulled out a container of broth.

"I thought your mother didn't want you cooking?" Amanda raised a brow.

"I can heat up stuff in the microwave, I'm not helpless."

"You don't need to do that," Amanda insisted turning back to her digital textbook, "I can wait until breakfast."

"You really think I would let anyone in my mom's house go hungry? C'mon what would Riley say if he knew you were starving yourself," Ash said setting a bowl of broth in front of her and then gesturing to her sleeping brother on couch.

Amanda huffed through her nose, "He wouldn't care."

Ash tilted his head in a way that looked puzzled, "What? But he's your brother?"

She sighed, "You don't have siblings Ash, one moment you think they'll always be by your side, but in the end, they'll just stab you in the back. Riley doesn't care if I've eaten or not, he hasn't cared about me in thirteen years."

"That can't be true. He seemed really worried about you in the tunnels and was happy to see you."

"He was delirious with pain, with in a week he won't hesitate to leave again."

The words were covered in barbs, almost getting caught in her throat and painful to speak. Though Amanda wasn't surprised by it. The truth always hurts. She learned that a long time ago. And she wasn't going to be holding back.

"Well, maybe he'll surprise you," Ash said, "Night Amanda."

"Goodnight," Amanda said on reflex.

Her grey eyes drifted towards the couch where her brother slept like he was dead. He might as well be dead; Amanda was certain they wouldn't stay in contact after this was all over. Even if they would be going back home.

If her brother was like she remembered him, Riley would taking going home as a trip to be excited and nostalgic about. For Amanda it was something to dread. Mother would be pissed at her for taking off so suddenly and there's nothing she could do about it. At least Amanda might get to see Constance and Carter again. The twins were the only thing she felt bad about leaving behind. They were still sweet kids, and she might have a few more years before they want nothing to do with her either.

Everything else involved in going home made her stomach twist. Amanda felt bad about playing dumb earlier when Riley mentioned the necklace. She had known exactly what he was talking about, but honestly, she didn't want to touch the topic with a ten-foot pole. The Necklace had been a family heirloom, her grandmother had left it in her will to Amanda, said it was to be passed down from Grandmother to granddaughter. At first glance, it was expensive, gold and emeralds weren't all that cheap, but it certainly wasn't flashy. The story behind it was one of their ancestors had a foreign bride who brought the charm with her and refused to allow any of the men in the family handle it. She never had any daughters, so the charm ended up in the hands of her eldest granddaughter. Hence the tradition.

Maybe Mother had been bitter that she was part of a skipped generation, and that's why she had taken the necklace. Not that Amanda hadn't cared at the time. She had more conflicting issues to deal with. So, what if her mom took a piece of jewelry to smooth over relations with one of their neighbors after Amanda ruined a ten-year long friendship.

Amanda sighed, she needed sleep.

A/N:

Hello everyone!

Mama bear delia ladies and gents

SO, even if Lulu didn't want to change his name he'd have to cause by pack rights, Lucario is higher in rank than him.

Hummm…I wonder who that foreign bride was?