Chapter Text
A silent child stood before her.
This would’ve been fine in any other setting, but standing in the middle of the woods and encountering another human being is already jarring enough. This one was a completely silent kid, looking to be about four or five years old with eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul. That made it worse.
Amethyst was alone, just like the child. That made it firewood for a blaze of what the fuck is going on. Though she wanted to run away immediately, the thought also happened to cross her mind that maybe this kid was lost. Perhaps they needed help. Then again, that’s how horror movie characters always got brutally murdered.
Her moral conscience won over in the end. A glance around the area conveyed a lack of other human life. That being said...the child didn’t seem human, either. Amethyst tried to shake the unsettling feeling, blaming it on the situation as a whole. A silent child in the middle of the woods...who wouldn’t be freaked out?
Her pulse began to race as she took a step forward and tried to act calm, speaking with only a hint of a quiver in her voice. “H-hey kid, uh...what’re you doin out here?”
The child’s only response was a soul-crushing stare. There was no movement, no sound, no real answer. That didn’t help the whole “unsettling” thing.
“Heh, not much for talkin? That’s cool. But if you need help gettin home or something, I can help you out...” Another step forward was attempted, but the child now looked...afraid. They backed up a step as well, keeping a close eye on Amethyst.
“Oh, no, hey, no. I’m not gonna hurt you,” a step backward, and she threw her hands up for good measure,”We’re cool here. Uh…” The 13 year old glanced around the area once more, then settled her gaze back on the child, studying their rigid posture and their even harder stare. She wasn’t really sure if that was comforting in any way. “Look, I’ll uh...I’ll sit down. See?”
As Amethyst sat down and crossed her legs, the kid seemed vaguely confused now. After a second, they took a single, small step forward.
“Yeah! See, I got nothin, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Amethyst placed her hands flat on the ground in front of her, a little bolder as the kid displayed a bit more personality. “Come sit with me, kid.”
After a large amount of staring and small, tentative steps, the kid was finally settled in front of her. They leaned forward and seemed to duck their head a little, looking up at Amethyst so she could see the whites of their eyes. Vaguely, she remembered learning about fox-like Pokemon and how they showed submissive behaviors in the exact same way. Was this kid raised by them or something?
“Hey, it’s cool, you don’t have to do that.” She flashed a small smile at the kid, hoping to calm them down or get them to stop doing that or SOMETHING, it was just so awkward. They did end up straightening their back, imitating her own lazy posture as they sat up.
“Uh...so...can you talk?”
When the only response was a blink, she nodded once.
“‘Kay, guess that’s a no. Can you...show me where you live? Do you know where?”
Once again, a single blink. They tilted their head to the side in confusion and seemed to roll their eyes around the area as if to show this WAS their home.
“You live here?”
The kid seemed to smile at that, their eyebrows raising and their body straightening further.
“Yeah? Huh...you got a family?”
They nodded once, just as she had done before.
“They lookin for you? Where they at?”
The child performed the odd eyeroll thing again, and now Amethyst wasn’t really sure what they meant. As she pondered the action, she decided to believe it meant they were waiting for their family, whoever that may be. Perhaps they needed entertainment?
“D’you know how to play patty cake?”
All she got was a long stare.
“Aight, aight, calm down, I’ll teach you,” Amethyst smiled and held out her hands,”Mirror what I do, ‘kay?”
There was a nod of affirmation, and they raised their hands as she did.
This was a terrible idea. The kid learned quickly, and beat her immediately. Their reflexes greatly outmatched her own, which really did impress her. Normally, she always won when her friends were dickin around and challenged her. However, this was also vaguely terrifying.
“Holy crap, kid,” Amethyst looked at them with wide eyes,”You got some skills. Where’d you get em from?”
The kid looked up in the trees. Amethyst followed their gaze.
A few Bug Pokemon sat on the branches above, looking down and cowering back as the child’s gaze hit them. That shocked Amethyst a little; normally, Pokemon weren’t all that afraid of each other, even if they were prey. Were they scared of her or the kid?
“Are...those ones friends?”
The child smiled at her, their body straight and their lips pulled back tight against their teeth.
Her gaze returned to the kid, watching as they seemed to attempt to keep their lips together. That was rather odd, and it forced creepiness back into the situation all over again. Amethyst’s immediate impulse was to break the tension. “Uh...d’you like jokes?” she tried.
A nod from the kid.
“Alright, uh. What do you call an escaped prisoner climbing down the fence and sneering as he escapes?” Amethyst began to smile in preparation, she loved this joke.
They tilted their head to the side in confusion.
“A condescending con-descending!” The 13-year old laughed at herself, even if she didn’t make the joke on her own. This also caused a reaction in the silent child. They didn’t seem to understand the joke, but watching her laugh made them laugh as well.
That’s when she noticed their teeth. Pointed and sharp, just like a fox.
Suddenly, nothing was funny anymore. “GAGHGH!!” Amethyst scrambled backwards, trying to stand but falling on her butt. “WHAT THE FUCK?!”
The child was alarmed now, seeming to cower back at her sudden reaction, but also seemed incredibly alert.
They made a move forward. Amethyst ran.
Trees passed in a blur, her noisy footsteps crunching leaves and twigs as she made a break for the path she had strayed off of. All she wanted was to go in the woods and find some cool objects to keep, she didn’t want this!
Then, she saw the kid running next to her, somehow making eye contact. An animalistic scream escaped her mouth as they tackled her to the ground, pinning her down with a strength she didn’t expect the child to have. Their eyes looked excited now, as if they were simply playing a game of tag. That’s when she noticed their...tail. It was gray and fluffy.
Amethyst screamed even louder and struggled as hard as she could to escape this creature’s grasp, but it was all for naught. As she flailed and struggled with her hands, she happened to grab its tail.
A black, prismatic void seemed to materialize around the child. It was clear around the edges, and some sort of Pokemon cry resonated from inside. When the blackness dissipated, what stood upon her body was a real, honest to god Zorua.
Though she now gripped the grass beneath them in fear, she looked up at the blackish fox Pokemon and studied it all over. It seemed ready to play, wanting to continue their previous game of chase.
Instead of reacting like a normal person and shoving it off, Amethyst began to laugh. Hard. Raucous, breathy joy filled the air around her as she realized she wasn’t going to die.
But, her joy was short-lived. Her pulse quickened even more, then everything went black.
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When her eyes finally opened, it was getting dark. That wasn’t too alarming, it had been evening when she set out upon her venture in the woods. A couple of berries were laid next to her arm, seemingly just Cheri berries. Although she had forgotten what their use was, she was grateful all the same.
Slowly, she sat up, looking cautiously around for the Zorua. There was little chance it wouldn’t stick around, and as she considered the situation, she would’ve been dead if the Pokemon had wanted her to be. Plus...the berries were a cute touch. When a few leaves rustled on the ground nearby, the Zorua showed its face slowly, pattering up to her with a few more of them.
“Are...these for me?” Amethyst asked carefully, pointing at the berries that had already been laid by her body.
The Zorua sat and laid the new berries down in response, looking up at her with a small wag of its tail.
“Uhm…” The kid looked down at the offering, picking up the small, red berry and scrutinizing it between her forefinger and her thumb. “Do I HAVE to eat it?”
The Zorua stared at her, glancing between her mouth and the berry.
“I’ll...take that as a yes.” Another once over of the berry proved it was most likely okay to eat. Once she did, a spicy flavoring washed over her tongue like a tidal wave, oddly painful yet also extremely enticing. “Oh...damn, wow,” immediately she ate the rest, suddenly feeling more limber and able to move than before.
Amethyst stood up slowly, dusting herself off and looking at the fox Pokemon with a small, nearly cautious smile. “Hey...thanks, pal. I...owe ya one.”
The Zorua stood with her and made a small yipping noise, bouncing on its forelegs excitedly. Amethyst happened to notice the red boot-like markings that were common among the Pokemon breed, but also noticed a few stray red stripes just above the mark. Huh.
“Somethin up, dude?”
The Zorua turned in a circle and started to patter in the direction Amethyst had previously ran in, leading her to the path she had walked off of. Apparently, it hadn’t been far off when the Pokemon managed to bring her down. That brought the unsettling feeling back, but the way it sat by patiently, watching and waiting for her to follow somehow gave her the impression that it really, truly didn’t mean for her to pass out. Once she approached, it put a single paw on the path, looking up at her with an almost...longing expression.
“What? You can come with me if you wanna, but it’s probs not as cool as the forest.” Truth was, she didn’t know it well enough yet, either. You could never trust anything these days, and who knows where this Pokemon came from exactly?
The Zorua looked down as if contemplating its options. The paw was removed from the dirt path, settling neatly by its twin. The Pokemon looked back up at her, then glanced at the road as if to tell her to go home.
“Aight, aight, I get the message,” she couldn’t help but chuckle. It almost seemed like it had been around people before, with how well it managed to get the point across. That...might be a bad sign. Nevertheless, she asked,“Want me to visit?”
The Zorua nodded once, seeming to smile. It looked a little awkward, but like before, it got the point across.
“Then I’ll be back tomorrow night,” Amethyst smiled, taking a step away from the Pokemon. In the process of turning around, a thought occurred to her, and she returned her gaze to it. “Mind if I bring a friend…? She’s chill, you’ll like her.”
The Zorua’s posture straightened as the Pokemon wagged its tail. That was a yes.
“Mmmkay, cool. See you then, lil dude,” Amethyst smiled once more and waved a few fingers at the creature. Soon after, she was on her way home.
The 13 year old’s mind worked hard as her footsteps were muffled by the surrounding foliage. This Pokemon didn’t follow her on her way home, yet it seemed so friendly. It almost seemed willing. Perhaps it didn’t trust her, either. What happened to it?
If this Pokemon had been around humans before, these humans might have been humans from other regions. Maybe it was a runaway, or perhaps it was abandoned. That was truly a bad sign; she had always been told how dangerous other regions were, how terrifying foreign people could be. Rough, heathens, always ready to attack… The Zorua, however, seemed afraid of her too. She recalled how stiff, how alert it had been when they first encountered each other.
In short, this was a lot, and her mind was having a hard time processing every bit of it.
Maybe Vidalia could offer some help once she got home.