Story Notes:
This is the "other" Runaways story, the long one with more characters, plot, and some other stuff too.Okay, *clears throat* I do not own pokemon, or any of those characters. the events and characters of this story are all fictional and any resemblance to persons live or dead is purely coincidental, and not meant to be insulting.Also, the inclusion of Lucario and wave guidance is all Felix's fault. Go read "Luca"... it's good and it inspired some of this story.Also, categories will be updated as necessary. They will changeAlso, I will be changing the categories as they need to be changed. the main characters are all a bit young at this point for sex, but it will probably show up in some form or another later.Also, if you can guess what the title is talking about I'll give you a cookie! (And maybe a story request, if you want)
Ch. 1 Runaways
Sparks leap from a flint onto dry moss and kindling, and a tiny fire bursts into life and chases the darkness to
the edges of the small cavern. I smiles as I blow on the flame while holding my brown hair back with one hand, and
gently coax it into a small fire. I smile and lean back as I add a couple larger pieces of wood. A poochyena
trots around from the other side of the cavern and sits down next to me. I pet the poochyena with one hand while
sliding the flint into a bright blue backpack. When I pull my hand back out I have a large jar of peanut butter in it.
"I bet that lady is glad we're gone, don't you Rogue?" I say scooping peanut butter out with my fingers and
sticking the big glob in his mouth. Rogue nods and then opens her mouth expectantly. I smile, and scrape another
scoop of peanut butter out of the jar and into the Poochyena's open mouth.
I spin the lid back onto the jar and set the peanut butter aside. Rogue looks at the jar and then back up at
me with a begging look. I just smile as I lean back against my backpack, "Sorry Rogue, but that's all we are
going to eat for now. We only have that one jar and a couple sandwiches." I pick the poochyena up and set her
down in my lap. "We have to make them last as long as possible."
Rogue licks my face and curls up against my chest, and we both drift off to sleep in front of the fire.
A couple days later, both Rogue and I are sprawled on our backs under the massive oak that grew over the cave we
now call home. Our stomachs growl insistently and Rogue whimpers.
"I know, I'm hungry too, but we don't have any more food." I sigh and climb to my feet. "Maybe this wasn't
such a good idea after all. We should probably go home."
Rogue lifts her head sharply at this, and growls.
I frown, "Rogue, we have no food. We will starve."
Rogue leaps to her feet and goes down the tunnel at the base of the oak and reemerges with a long object with a
textured handle. She drops it at my feet and starts to walk away into the woods. I pick up the object, it's a
machete. I frown, "When did..." I look up at Rogue who has stopped and turned to look back at me, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
Rogue snarls and snaps her teeth then makes a ripping motion. I raise my brow, "You mean go out and kill
something to eat."
Rogue barks sharply with a nod before darting off. I sigh and chase after her, What the hell why not?
~0~
The mudkip plays in the shallows, completely care free in the small lake it calls home. Suddenly, there is a loud
splash and Rogue bounds through the water to tackle the mudkip. The two pokémon slide across the surface of the
water as I sprint over with the machete held high overhead. The mudkip yelps and dives out of the shallows
and away into the depths of the lake. We stare at the place where the mudkip disappeared in silence for a long
moment then something in me snaps.
"GRAAAAH!" I scream as I stomp and splash like a mad man shrieking every curse word I know, which is a surprising
amount for a boy of only ten and a half of years old, and even make up a few. I stop suddenly, my face
screwing up into what was probably a comical visage of surprised pain. I step back and in a fit of injured rage
reach down and hurl the large rock that I just kicked on accident, damn thing nearly broke my toe. Rogue watches
the rock sail through the air impassionedly until the rock hits the surface of the lake and sinks with a loud
'sploosh'. She turns back to me with raised brows as if to say, 'You done yet?'
I stand there, machete hanging limply at my side and breathing hard then sigh, "Come on Rogue, let's go look
for some berries or something."
Rogue starts to follow me out of the lake, shaking herself dry as she does then we both freeze at a furious bellowing.
I turn around slowly to see an enraged feralgatr rising out of the lake with a large gash in its head, and its
eyes are locked on us.
"Rogue. Run."
We both turn and sprint through the trees away from the angry feralgatr. I glance over my shoulder to see if it
was gaining, and it definitely is! I let out a loud yell as I trip over a tree root and tumble to the ground, the
machete flying out of my hand and into the brush.
I roll over, and shoot backwards just barely avoiding the feralgatr's long jaws snapping down where my feet had
been moments before as it dashes forward on all fours. I dive forward and grab the feralgatr around the muzzle to
keep it from opening its mouth. I'd heard somewhere almost all the muscle in their mouths was used for biting
down, not leaving much in the way of opening it. Considering my dad is a pokémon researcher, I should have
plenty of knowledge about pokémon just from hearing him babble on.
Then again, I never was a very good listener.
Whether or not I could have kept the feralgatr's jaws shut becomes a moot point as it whips its head violently
from side to side and I am slammed into a tree. The wind is shoved from my chest and my arms go limp against my
will. I stare up at the feralgatr as it brings one of its massive clawed forefeet back and prepares to turn me into
deli cuts. Then as the claws drop a grey rocket comes in out of left field to slam into the beasts injured head.
"AIIIIIEEE!" I shriek as the claws tear across my chest, shredding my shirt and carving furrows in my body. I roll
over, clutching at my torso as I crawl away from the furious feralgatr as it tries to get a bead on whatever
attacked it. I manage to get to my feet and start stumbling away when I hear a yelp followed by a thud. I
pause and look over my shoulder to see Rogue sliding down the base of a tree as the feralgatr turns on all fours to
move in for the kill.
I don't know what happened exactly, but I sure as hell didn't think it through as I was suddenly scrambling up
the feralgatr's back. I reach the top of the beast and we both freeze in shock. Me because I just scrambled up a
beast that is easily more than twice my size and a hundred times stonger, him because this is probably more
resistance than it has come up against from its prey in a long time. It turns its head and I find myself looking
into its red eyes. I look past the eyes to Rogue as she struggles to stand up and remember I promised Mother.
The feralgatr bellows angrily as blood pours around my fingers buried in its eye sockets. Moments later I am
flying through the air and into the bushes. I slide to a stop and groan as I start to get back up. My hand wraps
around something hard, the machete.
I stumble back to where the feralgatr is still standing, wiping at its face trying to wipe away the pest that is
obscuring its vision. I don't see Rogue anywhere. Suddenly I feel something at my side, it's Rogue. She is
bleeding from a cut on her head but otherwise seems fine. I crouch down and whisper after a last glance at the
feralgatr as it slowly stops clawing at its face, "I think we found our meal."
Then I throw out my arm, pointing away from the feralgatr mind you and shout as loud as I can, "RUN!"
Rouge takes off and I drop down onto my back and pray this works. I feel the earth shake as the feralgatr
immediately charges at the sound of my shout with a furious bellowing. As one foot slams down next to my hip
I stab out with the machete.
The steel blade bites into the softer flesh of the feralgatr's neck and I use all of my strength to hold
onto the blade as it plunges into the beast's throat. The momentum of the animal drives the blade all the way to
the handle and the point juts out the back of its neck as the force causes me to slide along the rough ground. I
can no longer hold on and the machete is ripped from my hands as the massive beast rears back clutching at its
throat with hands too large and clumsy to ever hope of removing the machete. Not that that would help anyway.
I scurry backwards like a startled crab as the feralgatr looks like it is about to fall forward on top of me, but
fortunately it falls backwards against an oak tree and crumples. The way it's head fell slightly to the side it
seems as though it is giving me one final sightless glare before it makes a gurgling noise and dies.
I feel a cold nose nuzzling my arm and I smile, "Well, that went better than expected, don't you think?"
I look down at Rogue's incredulous expression and my smile widens into a lopsided grin. "What? You don't think
I planned it that way?"
Rogue just huffs and starts licking my wounds. I wince as I chuckle, starting to feel the crash portion of my
adrenaline high. My entire body is shaking badly and my wounds are starting to hurt again. I push Rogue's head
away from my wounds but she won't have any of that and just pushes her head back in. I shakily climb to my feet
and stumble over to the feralgatr. I wrap both hands around the handle and start yanking on it. The weapon
refuses to budge.
I growl and put first one foot on the dead animal's collar bone, then when that doesn't work, I bring my
other foot up and plant it on the other side of the blade and put my entire body into it. I can feel it begin
to slide out and I redouble my efforts.
I only have a split second to contemplate just how stupid a move I just made as the machete suddenly stops
resisting and I find myself airborne for the second time. Then my head hits something hard and everything goes black.
-0-
I groan as I come too, and am immediately greeted by a tongue on my face and a little whine. I open my eyes to
find Rogue standing next to my head and giving me a concerned look as the sky behind her is turning a nice
pink as the sun is setting. I must have been out for quite a while.
"I'm fine." I say with a grimace as I sit up and gently rub the pidgey egg on the back of my head, "Just feeling
like an idiot."
Rogue yips with a bemused look on her muzzle. I glance down at her and raise a brow, I can't understand what she
says, but I get the distinct feeling she just said something teasingly. "Fine, like more of an idiot than
usual."
I start to stand up but freeze when I hear a number of warning growls. I look up as a trio of mightyena and a
few poochyena stalk out of the brush to stand between us and the dead feralgatr. I hear a rustling behind us and a
glance over my shoulder shows yet another trio of the large canines, each of them as tall as me.
My left hand starts roaming over the ground looking for the machete as I turn my head back to the front only to
get an eyeful of teeth. I quickly shut my eyes again and wait for the teeth to close around my head or throat.
The mightyena's hot breath blows over my face as it huffs and I flinch. Rogue growls something next to me as I hear
a wet ripping noise. I open my eyes again to see the mightyenas tearing into the feralgatr.
I look down and find the machete before I leap to my feet and shout, "HEY! THAT'S OURS!"
The lead mightyena whirls on me with a vicious snarl that makes me flinch as the others stop and look at me. I try
to keep the machete in my white knuckle grip from shaking
as I swallow, Arceus I am an idiot,
before continuing with as much bravado as I can muster, "We killed it, and we are going to eat some of it."
The mightyena snorts derisively, as if asking how a mere pair of pups could bring down the beast behind it. I turn
the blade so that the mightyena can see the blood on it, and it suddenly seems to have a little more respect for
me, but it isn't about to turn over a meal like this.
Rogue steps forward and I hear a crackle of electricity that causes both mine and the mightyena's gaze to shoot
down to her as energy sparks through her fur. It suddenly occurs to me that I never figured out all the moves that
she hatched with. I turn back to the mightyena to find that three of the others are now backing him up. This is
not looking good, but I am not leaving here without something to eat, and a trophy.
"Listen, we are just two and you are more." I say, my voice cracking as I look to make a deal, "We only want a
pup's share each, and the skull."
At the mention of the skull Rogue looks up at me with a questioning look. I ignore her and focus on the alpha, I
lower the blade slightly, "Your choice, fight and risk losing pack mates, or just let us get a quick bite and
then leave us the skull."
The mightyena considers this for a moment then turns and barks to the others. I grin as a path to the body opens
up. I start walking forward while rogue hangs back for a bit watching as I kneel down and start tearing at the
flesh with the serrated back edge of the machete, working to take a chunk out of the thigh. Before long I have a
bloody chunk of flesh in my hands and Rogue is licking blood from her muzzle as we quickly make room for the
mightyena and their pups to eat, which they do with far less precision than myself and Rogue used. I take a bite
of the red meat in my hand and chew forcefully as I watch the carnage.
I glance down at Rogue and gesture with my machete, "Let's go find some berries."
-0-
Later as the sun vanishes completely and night begins in earnest I am gingerly carrying the heavy feralgatr skull,
cleaned of all flesh by the teeth and tongues of the mightyena pack. Rogue is walking a little ahead of me,
taking the lead with her better night vision. She is light on her feet as she trots along the path and both
our spirits are high. Sure, my head hurts and my chest stings a good deal from the gashes across my chest. But
we are alive and our stomachs are full of berries. We will show that woman who the worthless ones are.
We both stop when we come in sight of the cave entrance. A pale glow is coming from inside. Someone is in our home!
I sprint forward and hit my knees outside with a thump. I set the skull down and look inside. There on the opposite
side of the little cave holding my flashlight in its paws is a riolu. But it doesn't look like any of the riolu
images I have seen before; this one has yellow where there should be blue fur. When he sees me his eyes go
even wider and the flashlight starts to shake, "Please don't hurt me!"
My jaw hits the dirt, He can talk!?
I shake my head and grab the skull before I shuffle through the opening and into the open cavern. "I'm not
going to hurt you. Why would I?"
"To try and catch me." the riolu whimpers, "Like all the other trainers I've run into."
I laugh, "Do I look like a trainer to you?" The riolu takes a moment to look me over, then nods. I frown, there
are trainers smeared with blood and wearing shredded shirts? "Well, I'm not. I'm just a runaway."
"Me too." The riolu says, then presses himself back against the far wall as Rogue slips in to sit next to me
with a confused expression on her face. "What is she doing here?"
I glance at Rogue, "She's with me."
Rogue looks up at me and yips questioningly. I look over to the riolu, "What did she ask?"
"She asked how you can understand me." the riolu replies, then his eyes go wide as saucers, "Wait! You can
understand me?!"
I chuckle, "Yeah, because you are talking in human speech." I pause looking from the riolu to Rogue as they
stare at me, then it dawns on me, "You aren't speaking English are you?"
The riolu shakes his head fervently and I shrug and crawl over to start digging in my backpack, "Well, I don't
know."
I reach out a hand towards the riolu, "Can I see that flashlight?"
I feel the plastic handle slap into my palm and I turn the light on the contents of the backpack. A couple
shirts, a book on wilderness survival, scissors, a first aid kit, some antiseptic spray and a couple potions. I
hand the flashlight back to the riolu and take out the antiseptic. I strip off my ruined shirt and wince as it
pulls off some of the scabs over my chest and I start bleeding again. Taking a deep breath, I fiercely rub my
chest with the bloody fabric, painfully stripping off the rest of the scabs.
I shut my eyes and grit my teeth as I immediately spray the antiseptic across my entire torso. I whimper at the
sharp burn followed by the mellower bubbling sting of the antiseptic working. The smell of it fills the cave as I
lay back against the backpack.
"What happened to you?" the riolu asks in awe of the wounds.
Rogue yips something and I raise a brow as the riolu turns to stare at the skull. "You picked a fight with a
feralgatr?!"
I chuckle, "Not intentionally." I pause before wiping my chest off with a wipe from the first aid kit, "My name's
Danny, and that is Rogue."
The riolu looks at me, "I'm Gin."
I smile warmly reaching out a fist, "Welcome to the club, Gin."
Gin reaches out to bump his paw against my fist, but frowns, "Why would you want me in your club? I'm a freak!"
I chuckle as I shut my eyes and relax. "Gin, we don't discriminate. Besides, there are people who would kill to
get their hands on you. Regardless, you are one of us as of now. Your one of the Runaways now."
"The Runaways?" Gin asks in confusion.
I open an eye to look at him, "Fine, I'll make a better name tomorrow, but it'll do for now. Turn off the
flashlight and go to sleep."
I feel Rogue sidling up on my right side as Gin turns off the flashlight and curls up on my left, his head resting
on my shoulder. We are going to do it. We are going to live out here and prove that witch wrong.Chapter End Notes:Yeah, Gin just got kinda thrown in there at the end, and my dialogue needs work among other things.
Constructive criticism is wanted because improvement is hopefully going to be made
the edges of the small cavern. I smiles as I blow on the flame while holding my brown hair back with one hand, and
gently coax it into a small fire. I smile and lean back as I add a couple larger pieces of wood. A poochyena
trots around from the other side of the cavern and sits down next to me. I pet the poochyena with one hand while
sliding the flint into a bright blue backpack. When I pull my hand back out I have a large jar of peanut butter in it.
"I bet that lady is glad we're gone, don't you Rogue?" I say scooping peanut butter out with my fingers and
sticking the big glob in his mouth. Rogue nods and then opens her mouth expectantly. I smile, and scrape another
scoop of peanut butter out of the jar and into the Poochyena's open mouth.
I spin the lid back onto the jar and set the peanut butter aside. Rogue looks at the jar and then back up at
me with a begging look. I just smile as I lean back against my backpack, "Sorry Rogue, but that's all we are
going to eat for now. We only have that one jar and a couple sandwiches." I pick the poochyena up and set her
down in my lap. "We have to make them last as long as possible."
Rogue licks my face and curls up against my chest, and we both drift off to sleep in front of the fire.
A couple days later, both Rogue and I are sprawled on our backs under the massive oak that grew over the cave we
now call home. Our stomachs growl insistently and Rogue whimpers.
"I know, I'm hungry too, but we don't have any more food." I sigh and climb to my feet. "Maybe this wasn't
such a good idea after all. We should probably go home."
Rogue lifts her head sharply at this, and growls.
I frown, "Rogue, we have no food. We will starve."
Rogue leaps to her feet and goes down the tunnel at the base of the oak and reemerges with a long object with a
textured handle. She drops it at my feet and starts to walk away into the woods. I pick up the object, it's a
machete. I frown, "When did..." I look up at Rogue who has stopped and turned to look back at me, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
Rogue snarls and snaps her teeth then makes a ripping motion. I raise my brow, "You mean go out and kill
something to eat."
Rogue barks sharply with a nod before darting off. I sigh and chase after her, What the hell why not?
~0~
The mudkip plays in the shallows, completely care free in the small lake it calls home. Suddenly, there is a loud
splash and Rogue bounds through the water to tackle the mudkip. The two pokémon slide across the surface of the
water as I sprint over with the machete held high overhead. The mudkip yelps and dives out of the shallows
and away into the depths of the lake. We stare at the place where the mudkip disappeared in silence for a long
moment then something in me snaps.
"GRAAAAH!" I scream as I stomp and splash like a mad man shrieking every curse word I know, which is a surprising
amount for a boy of only ten and a half of years old, and even make up a few. I stop suddenly, my face
screwing up into what was probably a comical visage of surprised pain. I step back and in a fit of injured rage
reach down and hurl the large rock that I just kicked on accident, damn thing nearly broke my toe. Rogue watches
the rock sail through the air impassionedly until the rock hits the surface of the lake and sinks with a loud
'sploosh'. She turns back to me with raised brows as if to say, 'You done yet?'
I stand there, machete hanging limply at my side and breathing hard then sigh, "Come on Rogue, let's go look
for some berries or something."
Rogue starts to follow me out of the lake, shaking herself dry as she does then we both freeze at a furious bellowing.
I turn around slowly to see an enraged feralgatr rising out of the lake with a large gash in its head, and its
eyes are locked on us.
"Rogue. Run."
We both turn and sprint through the trees away from the angry feralgatr. I glance over my shoulder to see if it
was gaining, and it definitely is! I let out a loud yell as I trip over a tree root and tumble to the ground, the
machete flying out of my hand and into the brush.
I roll over, and shoot backwards just barely avoiding the feralgatr's long jaws snapping down where my feet had
been moments before as it dashes forward on all fours. I dive forward and grab the feralgatr around the muzzle to
keep it from opening its mouth. I'd heard somewhere almost all the muscle in their mouths was used for biting
down, not leaving much in the way of opening it. Considering my dad is a pokémon researcher, I should have
plenty of knowledge about pokémon just from hearing him babble on.
Then again, I never was a very good listener.
Whether or not I could have kept the feralgatr's jaws shut becomes a moot point as it whips its head violently
from side to side and I am slammed into a tree. The wind is shoved from my chest and my arms go limp against my
will. I stare up at the feralgatr as it brings one of its massive clawed forefeet back and prepares to turn me into
deli cuts. Then as the claws drop a grey rocket comes in out of left field to slam into the beasts injured head.
"AIIIIIEEE!" I shriek as the claws tear across my chest, shredding my shirt and carving furrows in my body. I roll
over, clutching at my torso as I crawl away from the furious feralgatr as it tries to get a bead on whatever
attacked it. I manage to get to my feet and start stumbling away when I hear a yelp followed by a thud. I
pause and look over my shoulder to see Rogue sliding down the base of a tree as the feralgatr turns on all fours to
move in for the kill.
I don't know what happened exactly, but I sure as hell didn't think it through as I was suddenly scrambling up
the feralgatr's back. I reach the top of the beast and we both freeze in shock. Me because I just scrambled up a
beast that is easily more than twice my size and a hundred times stonger, him because this is probably more
resistance than it has come up against from its prey in a long time. It turns its head and I find myself looking
into its red eyes. I look past the eyes to Rogue as she struggles to stand up and remember I promised Mother.
The feralgatr bellows angrily as blood pours around my fingers buried in its eye sockets. Moments later I am
flying through the air and into the bushes. I slide to a stop and groan as I start to get back up. My hand wraps
around something hard, the machete.
I stumble back to where the feralgatr is still standing, wiping at its face trying to wipe away the pest that is
obscuring its vision. I don't see Rogue anywhere. Suddenly I feel something at my side, it's Rogue. She is
bleeding from a cut on her head but otherwise seems fine. I crouch down and whisper after a last glance at the
feralgatr as it slowly stops clawing at its face, "I think we found our meal."
Then I throw out my arm, pointing away from the feralgatr mind you and shout as loud as I can, "RUN!"
Rouge takes off and I drop down onto my back and pray this works. I feel the earth shake as the feralgatr
immediately charges at the sound of my shout with a furious bellowing. As one foot slams down next to my hip
I stab out with the machete.
The steel blade bites into the softer flesh of the feralgatr's neck and I use all of my strength to hold
onto the blade as it plunges into the beast's throat. The momentum of the animal drives the blade all the way to
the handle and the point juts out the back of its neck as the force causes me to slide along the rough ground. I
can no longer hold on and the machete is ripped from my hands as the massive beast rears back clutching at its
throat with hands too large and clumsy to ever hope of removing the machete. Not that that would help anyway.
I scurry backwards like a startled crab as the feralgatr looks like it is about to fall forward on top of me, but
fortunately it falls backwards against an oak tree and crumples. The way it's head fell slightly to the side it
seems as though it is giving me one final sightless glare before it makes a gurgling noise and dies.
I feel a cold nose nuzzling my arm and I smile, "Well, that went better than expected, don't you think?"
I look down at Rogue's incredulous expression and my smile widens into a lopsided grin. "What? You don't think
I planned it that way?"
Rogue just huffs and starts licking my wounds. I wince as I chuckle, starting to feel the crash portion of my
adrenaline high. My entire body is shaking badly and my wounds are starting to hurt again. I push Rogue's head
away from my wounds but she won't have any of that and just pushes her head back in. I shakily climb to my feet
and stumble over to the feralgatr. I wrap both hands around the handle and start yanking on it. The weapon
refuses to budge.
I growl and put first one foot on the dead animal's collar bone, then when that doesn't work, I bring my
other foot up and plant it on the other side of the blade and put my entire body into it. I can feel it begin
to slide out and I redouble my efforts.
I only have a split second to contemplate just how stupid a move I just made as the machete suddenly stops
resisting and I find myself airborne for the second time. Then my head hits something hard and everything goes black.
-0-
I groan as I come too, and am immediately greeted by a tongue on my face and a little whine. I open my eyes to
find Rogue standing next to my head and giving me a concerned look as the sky behind her is turning a nice
pink as the sun is setting. I must have been out for quite a while.
"I'm fine." I say with a grimace as I sit up and gently rub the pidgey egg on the back of my head, "Just feeling
like an idiot."
Rogue yips with a bemused look on her muzzle. I glance down at her and raise a brow, I can't understand what she
says, but I get the distinct feeling she just said something teasingly. "Fine, like more of an idiot than
usual."
I start to stand up but freeze when I hear a number of warning growls. I look up as a trio of mightyena and a
few poochyena stalk out of the brush to stand between us and the dead feralgatr. I hear a rustling behind us and a
glance over my shoulder shows yet another trio of the large canines, each of them as tall as me.
My left hand starts roaming over the ground looking for the machete as I turn my head back to the front only to
get an eyeful of teeth. I quickly shut my eyes again and wait for the teeth to close around my head or throat.
The mightyena's hot breath blows over my face as it huffs and I flinch. Rogue growls something next to me as I hear
a wet ripping noise. I open my eyes again to see the mightyenas tearing into the feralgatr.
I look down and find the machete before I leap to my feet and shout, "HEY! THAT'S OURS!"
The lead mightyena whirls on me with a vicious snarl that makes me flinch as the others stop and look at me. I try
to keep the machete in my white knuckle grip from shaking
as I swallow, Arceus I am an idiot,
before continuing with as much bravado as I can muster, "We killed it, and we are going to eat some of it."
The mightyena snorts derisively, as if asking how a mere pair of pups could bring down the beast behind it. I turn
the blade so that the mightyena can see the blood on it, and it suddenly seems to have a little more respect for
me, but it isn't about to turn over a meal like this.
Rogue steps forward and I hear a crackle of electricity that causes both mine and the mightyena's gaze to shoot
down to her as energy sparks through her fur. It suddenly occurs to me that I never figured out all the moves that
she hatched with. I turn back to the mightyena to find that three of the others are now backing him up. This is
not looking good, but I am not leaving here without something to eat, and a trophy.
"Listen, we are just two and you are more." I say, my voice cracking as I look to make a deal, "We only want a
pup's share each, and the skull."
At the mention of the skull Rogue looks up at me with a questioning look. I ignore her and focus on the alpha, I
lower the blade slightly, "Your choice, fight and risk losing pack mates, or just let us get a quick bite and
then leave us the skull."
The mightyena considers this for a moment then turns and barks to the others. I grin as a path to the body opens
up. I start walking forward while rogue hangs back for a bit watching as I kneel down and start tearing at the
flesh with the serrated back edge of the machete, working to take a chunk out of the thigh. Before long I have a
bloody chunk of flesh in my hands and Rogue is licking blood from her muzzle as we quickly make room for the
mightyena and their pups to eat, which they do with far less precision than myself and Rogue used. I take a bite
of the red meat in my hand and chew forcefully as I watch the carnage.
I glance down at Rogue and gesture with my machete, "Let's go find some berries."
-0-
Later as the sun vanishes completely and night begins in earnest I am gingerly carrying the heavy feralgatr skull,
cleaned of all flesh by the teeth and tongues of the mightyena pack. Rogue is walking a little ahead of me,
taking the lead with her better night vision. She is light on her feet as she trots along the path and both
our spirits are high. Sure, my head hurts and my chest stings a good deal from the gashes across my chest. But
we are alive and our stomachs are full of berries. We will show that woman who the worthless ones are.
We both stop when we come in sight of the cave entrance. A pale glow is coming from inside. Someone is in our home!
I sprint forward and hit my knees outside with a thump. I set the skull down and look inside. There on the opposite
side of the little cave holding my flashlight in its paws is a riolu. But it doesn't look like any of the riolu
images I have seen before; this one has yellow where there should be blue fur. When he sees me his eyes go
even wider and the flashlight starts to shake, "Please don't hurt me!"
My jaw hits the dirt, He can talk!?
I shake my head and grab the skull before I shuffle through the opening and into the open cavern. "I'm not
going to hurt you. Why would I?"
"To try and catch me." the riolu whimpers, "Like all the other trainers I've run into."
I laugh, "Do I look like a trainer to you?" The riolu takes a moment to look me over, then nods. I frown, there
are trainers smeared with blood and wearing shredded shirts? "Well, I'm not. I'm just a runaway."
"Me too." The riolu says, then presses himself back against the far wall as Rogue slips in to sit next to me
with a confused expression on her face. "What is she doing here?"
I glance at Rogue, "She's with me."
Rogue looks up at me and yips questioningly. I look over to the riolu, "What did she ask?"
"She asked how you can understand me." the riolu replies, then his eyes go wide as saucers, "Wait! You can
understand me?!"
I chuckle, "Yeah, because you are talking in human speech." I pause looking from the riolu to Rogue as they
stare at me, then it dawns on me, "You aren't speaking English are you?"
The riolu shakes his head fervently and I shrug and crawl over to start digging in my backpack, "Well, I don't
know."
I reach out a hand towards the riolu, "Can I see that flashlight?"
I feel the plastic handle slap into my palm and I turn the light on the contents of the backpack. A couple
shirts, a book on wilderness survival, scissors, a first aid kit, some antiseptic spray and a couple potions. I
hand the flashlight back to the riolu and take out the antiseptic. I strip off my ruined shirt and wince as it
pulls off some of the scabs over my chest and I start bleeding again. Taking a deep breath, I fiercely rub my
chest with the bloody fabric, painfully stripping off the rest of the scabs.
I shut my eyes and grit my teeth as I immediately spray the antiseptic across my entire torso. I whimper at the
sharp burn followed by the mellower bubbling sting of the antiseptic working. The smell of it fills the cave as I
lay back against the backpack.
"What happened to you?" the riolu asks in awe of the wounds.
Rogue yips something and I raise a brow as the riolu turns to stare at the skull. "You picked a fight with a
feralgatr?!"
I chuckle, "Not intentionally." I pause before wiping my chest off with a wipe from the first aid kit, "My name's
Danny, and that is Rogue."
The riolu looks at me, "I'm Gin."
I smile warmly reaching out a fist, "Welcome to the club, Gin."
Gin reaches out to bump his paw against my fist, but frowns, "Why would you want me in your club? I'm a freak!"
I chuckle as I shut my eyes and relax. "Gin, we don't discriminate. Besides, there are people who would kill to
get their hands on you. Regardless, you are one of us as of now. Your one of the Runaways now."
"The Runaways?" Gin asks in confusion.
I open an eye to look at him, "Fine, I'll make a better name tomorrow, but it'll do for now. Turn off the
flashlight and go to sleep."
I feel Rogue sidling up on my right side as Gin turns off the flashlight and curls up on my left, his head resting
on my shoulder. We are going to do it. We are going to live out here and prove that witch wrong.Chapter End Notes:Yeah, Gin just got kinda thrown in there at the end, and my dialogue needs work among other things.
Constructive criticism is wanted because improvement is hopefully going to be made