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"GET BACK HERE, KID!"
A deep, booming voice echoed through the streets of Lumiose. Several bystanders turned their heads, some from cafe benches, some from the sidewalk, some from Lumi Taxis, all staring at a small, dark-clad blur weaving through the numerous people on the sidewalk. It was clearly a small child, though nobody could tell what he was holding. The large man, an owner of a small bakery beloved by locals, tried to follow, but couldn't keep up with the child's speed, nor the ability which he dodged pedestrians.
"Sorry"s and "Excuse me"s were heard in various places amongst the crowd that had soon gathered as the man tried to keep up with the black blur. Some others even tried to catch the kid, but he sprung away at the last second, eventually sprinting away and ducking into a few alleys that connected to each other. The child breathed heavily against a wall of brick and mortar, holding whatever he had stolen to his chest as if it were invaluable, trying to focus on the sounds from outside the alley. He heard cursing from who he presumed to be the bakery owner, maybe around 10 feet away, and signaled by the various footsteps getting quieter, him and the crowd of people who had nothing better to do with their afternoon had dispersed.
The child's knees crumpled as soon as he felt he was safe, hitting the hard ground with a dull thud. He hissed through his teeth, but ultimately had to suck it up. His name was Corbeau. He had dark purple hair, yellow eyes, and wasn't older than 7. That's all that could be known about him for now. Only a select few even knew his name, despite many seeing him in the streets. They just pretended not to. Seeing a struggling child, dirty and ragged, tugged at their heartstrings, but helping him would dig into their wallets. They'd frown and pity him, and then walk away.
Corbeau sat down on the grimy concrete without much complaint. He had been in worse places, and at least it was dry. Comfortable? No. But bearable. He looked at the pastry in his shaky hands, a pain au chocolat. He had walked into the bakery behind a family and saw it being taken out for another customer. His stomach rumbled as he looked at it, both then and now. So he took it. Wasn't the proudest of it, but there weren't many ways to keep yourself fed when everybody turned you away. Corbeau took a bite, and then another, and another and another and- half of it was already gone.
His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the almost-demolished pastry in front of him. He was torn between following his stomach and devouring the whole thing like a wild beast or following his brain and savoring it, since there was no telling when his next meal would be. In the middle of deciding, Corbeau had heard what he could only describe as some kind of chirp from within the alley, not far from him. He immediately flinched violently, eyes shooting open as wide as saucers and the pastry being held against his chest in a protective cage. His pupils darted around the alley, frozen in place.
A red blur had peeked from behind a dumpster across from him, and Corbeau gasped, feeling like his heart might stop. Then he blinked once, twice, and huffed. It was just a wild Venipede. He glared at the small, red bug, shooing it away with his hand. But it just inched closer, causing the young boy to tense. Wild pokemon within the city were generally harmless, but the environment around him wasn't the most comforting, nor did it help that he had food the wild Pokémon probably didn't.
"No, hey- go." Corbeau muttered. His actual voice was a bit weak, but his tone was firm and authoritative. His words didn't matter to the Venipede, of course, as it kept creeping toward the boy, its numerous legs barely making a sound on the concrete as it did.
As it got closer, Corbeau got to look at it more. He had certainly seen Venipede before, enough to learn their names. This one was... smaller. Enough to tell without looking at it next to others of its kind. Like the runt of its litter, if it had a litter. It might have had a litter, a family, if the mother Scolipede didn't follow her instincts and leave her offspring to fend for themselves shortly after laying the eggs. He pushed that last thought out of his head and ignored how it made his stomach twist painfully.
It seemed the assumption he made earlier about the Venipede wanting food was right, as it looked up at the pastry caged in his arms almost longingly. Corbeau grimaced. He didn't want to give his food away, this was his first "meal" in days, there's no reason to. But there is a reason to. The Venipede laid down on the ground and looked at him all sad and pathetic like it was actively trying to appear that way.
Corbeau's head hit the brick behind him, taking a deep breath in through his nose and breathing it out through his mouth. Against his better judgement, he tore a small bit off the end of his pastry and tossed it onto the ground in front of the small bug-type, a scowl on his face as he did so. The Venipede immediately stood up, its eyes opening fully and its antennae on the top of its head perking up. It let out a happy sound, Corbeau could tell, and immediately started munching on the sweet, buttery bread. The scowl on Corbeau's face soon melted into a neutral expression, though what he was actually feeling was anything but. He was happy with his decision, and the two ate in peace until there was nothing left.
A full day had almost passed since Corbeau's last meal. His stomach was yelling at him, but he didn't have many choices. He could only really ignore it for now. Of course, this was never a good idea. It just left him exhausted and, in lack of better terms, feeling like shit, even if that feeling wasn't at all new. Corbeau eventually made his way to a local park, taking advantage of the shady spot created by a nearby tree, sitting under it instead of playing with the other kids.
Corbeau had learned a long time ago he'd rather, more like he was destined to, watch other kids play from the sidelines. He didn't have an issue with it, he told himself, bringing his knees to his chest and holding them there. He learned it the hard way when he tried to play on a playground with another child. He was blonde, outgoing, and then his mother dragged him away from Corbeau.
In the middle of dwelling on the past, even if it really wasn't that long ago, he felt something nudge his shin. Again, he flinched violently, but quickly recovered when he saw a familiar face, or more like a familiar Pokémon. The Venipede from yesterday was following him, apparently. He could tell by its size. But it wasn't empty handed, as on the hump on his back laid a sitrus berry. Corbeau looked at the snack, then at the insect, then pointed to himself, brows furrowed in disbelief. The Venipede moved its back, causing the berry to roll off of it and onto the grass below, crushing a few stalks as it rolled in front of Corbeau. He had to take a beat to process what was happening, but despite that, quickly took the berry in his hand.
"Thank you." Corbeau whispered. It was mainly to himself since he wasn't sure the Venipede could even understand his words. It's eyes still closed at him as if it were smiling, which Corbeau didn't anticipate. He took a bite: first sour, then sweet, then just a bit bitter. He didn't mind it. As Corbeau quickly finished off the sitrus berry, he didn't seem to notice Venipede's movement beside him. The little bug had started to scamper up the tree Corbeau was sitting on, and...
"Ow! What the-" Corbeau cut himself off, rubbing his head and staring wide-eyed at the pecha Berry now in his lap. He looked around for Venipede, head sweeping to his left and to his right rapidly in confusion before looking up at the tree. It was a pecha tree, Corbeau didn't even notice before, and the Venipede had just dropped one of the berries growing on it on his head. Corbeau wanted to glare, to scold, but was forced to take cover with his arms as Venipede returned to the depths of the leaves, more and more pecha berries dropping all around him.
"Hey, quit it!" Corbeau yelled up at the Venipede now descending down the bark of the tree. He rubbed his head for a second more before feeling another thing bump up against his shin. One of the pecha berries from the tree, nudged by Venipede's little head. Corbeau's demeanor immediately softened, understanding the gesture, surprising from just a little Pokémon; Corbeau had fed Venipede, and now Venipede is feeding him. Venipede started nibbling on one of the pecha berries it had fetched, and Corbeau took another from the grass, taking a bite. It was pure sweetness and juice. Refreshing, but not his favorite. If you asked him, he preferred the sitrus berry. But, Corbeau looked down at the Venipede, munching happily on one of the several pecha berries on the ground. This Pokémon had shown more compassion to him in his life than any one person. He'd just say he liked both equally, because both were from Venipede.
He smiled. Genuinely, for what seemed like the first time in a long while. He thought over that realization, what a sad sentence. Corbeau shook his head, content with eating berries with Venipede for now.
Corbeau was certain the Venipede was following him now. Case in point: the small bug trailing behind Corbeau as if the Venipede had found his mother Scolipede. The pair wandered throughout Lumiose, as there typically wasn't much else to do. Window shop, get the occasional pity stare, eavesdrop on people's conversations and the drama in them, that kind of thing. More recently he had heard something about "they" being roommates. He wish he understood. Corbeau was just thankful Venipede could keep up with him, he appreciated the incredibly rare company on his daily walks.
Of course, just because there was usually never anything going on doesn't mean there's never trouble in Corbeau's life. His little legs didn't get him as far as he wanted to on foot, and he ran into the exact person he never wanted to see again. Or, less "ran into" and more "casually passed by."
"That's the scamp that robbed me yesterday!" Corbeau flinched at the volume of the man he suddenly heard, and his heart dropped as he turned around to see who it was. It was the owner of the bakery he had stolen from yesterday. The man towered over him, and despite being the owner of a bakery, was incredibly intimidating to the small boy. Easily 6'2, a thick brown beard, and sharp, bushy brows that hovered over green eyes that pierced right through Corbeau.
In situations like these, the fight or flight reaction kicks in. Sometimes Corbeau would fight, but he knew he had no chance. He did the smart thing, and attempted to run, but yelped when the man caught the collar of his only shirt. Corbeau squeezed his eyes shut and kicked his feet, now feeling the absence of the ground under him. The man grabbed Corbeau and lifted him like he was a feline. Corbeau continued to squirm and opened his eyes in a panic, pupils darting to the Venipede below.
Venipede looked genuinely scared for Corbeau. Even if he was just a Pokémon, you could see it in its eyes. Fear. For his new friend's well-being. It was apparent that Pokémon had that similar fight or flight reaction, but Venipede? Venipede froze. Corbeau's heart sunk in empathy for the small Pokémon, and because he wasn't sure anyone else would help him. Corbeau felt a hand grab his face and turn it in the direction of the bakery owner's.
"I don't take kindly to kids robbing my store because they felt entitled to a sweet treat." he muttered in Corbeau's face. Calm, dangerously so. Corbeau kept writhing in his grip, there wasn't much else he could do, and the owner had the audacity to laugh at his attempts of escape. His eyes darted around him, and of course nobody chose to help him. When bystanders heard the word "rob," he he instantly became just a disgruntled kid in their eyes, with the owner enacting some sort of justice for the boy's transgression. His eyes burned and tears brimmed in them at the realization.
Venipede stared up helplessly initially, but at the sight of Corbeau's tears, Venipede snapped out of whatever trance he was in, springing to action. The bakery owner wasn't paying attention to him right now, just to Corbeau. Venipede forced his little legs to move, closer and closer to the bakery owner's legs.
"You cost me money- AGH!" the bakery owner interrupted himself with a shout, dropping Corbeau right onto the concrete and doubling over down there himself in pain. Venipede had used poison sting on his ankle, and the wound already looked nasty. Corbeau tried to push himself up with incredibly shaky arms, ignoring the pain from his scraped knee and face. He sat up, panting already from the shock of what just happened, scooped up Venipede in his arms and ran. Nothing else mattered, just getting him and Venipede to safety.
Corbeau took extra measures to get him and Venipede away from that man, that district entirely. He ran until his legs felt like jelly, Venipede never leaving his arms. The sun was starting to set by the time he started to slow down, ducking behind a nearby café. His chest heaved with heavy, quick breaths, the small bug in his arms waiting patiently as he collected himself. The small boy looked at the bug, looking up at him. Corbeau could tell he was concerned, even if his face looked blank to the average person. He shook his head, trying to calm the small bug, and himself.
"I'm... I'm okay. Thanks to you." he mumbled, still a bit shaken. This was the second time he had given his thanks to somebody. He never had anybody to thank prior to this. Venipede snuggled into Corbeau's chest at his words, and Corbeau couldn't help but hug him back. He had a feeling he wouldn't let go of Venipede for a long time.