before I was an orphan boy...

[tearsofademon]

Who: little!Sion, little!Ryner, and their collective Pokemon
Where: their house in Ecruteak
When: May 12, during Time Crisis
Summary: what happens when two little boys wake up in a mysterious house together with a few dozen mysterious (and confused) critters
Rating: let's go with PG because they are tinies but, well, this is still LOLH
Log:

It's strange to fall asleep in your own bed and wake up in one twice the size that you know isn't your own, in an unfamiliar room.

It's perhaps even stranger to wake up in that bed to find another unknown child sleeping next to you in that bed.

And perhaps even stranger still, all the mysterious animals that maybe bear some resemblance to those in story books if you squint. Like the pink puffball. Or the two cats with scythe-like horns.

...But it's also strange, but it somehow feels like it's okay. Even if he can't explain why. So for now, he just blinks.

Comments

[dreamsofahero]

Even before he fully woke up, he could feel something was wrong. The fact that he's sleeping on such a nice bed, for starters. So nice, in fact, that he immediately freezes at the notion, instead listening without making any sound himself as he abruptly wakes.

He can hear breathing, which means someone else is in the room. What are they doing? Are they waiting for him to wake up? But he can't pretend to still be asleep forever, especially when he can hear and feel someone else on the bed with him. Did that mean......

He swallows a little, eyes squeezed shut, still not moving. No, he seems to be fine, he'd feel it if someone had beaten him or anything. Gradually, he manages to calm his racing heart a little, then finally stirs and opens his eyes, carefully sitting up as he glances around the room.

Then he freezes again as his wide, apprehensive eyes lock with the other person's. A boy of perhaps a similar age, clearly dressed in fine quality nightclothes.

So this is some noble's house after all...

[tearsofademon]

So his sleeping companion has stirred! He might not know where he is or where his parents are or why he's here or why he feels like it's okay when there's no reason for this to be okay, but they can figure it out together, right? He might even have answers.

(Lessons about being wary around strangers - you never know who might want to target him for either side of family line, after all - come to mind, but he, with his child sensibilities, dismisses them immediately. This boy looks to be his same age, after all.)

So with a friendly smile, he breaks the silence.

"Hi!"

[dreamsofahero]

"Hello."

His answer is prompt and polite, of course, but he doesn't dare say more than that. Not yet, at least. It's better to play it safe and speak only when spoken to. If even then.

Because he has no idea what's going on, and that's plenty terrifying in and of itself even without imagining the possible implications.

[tearsofademon]

"I'm Feruna. What's your name?"

The pink puffball seems to perk up at that, for some reason.

("Fairy?" Rose is confused, and kind of worried honestly. First her dear partner is shrunk, now he's introducing himself differently? The last time the second one happened... She shoots a desperate look toward the Absols.)

But surely this other boy is just shy. Shy is okay. And he's probably nervous about being somewhere weird, right? So the best approach is to be friendly, clearly.

[dreamsofahero]

"Sion. It's nice to meet you."

Again, polite and to the point. He's doing a good job not letting the extent of his nervousness be too obvious, but obviously some must surely be leaking through. Not that that's necessarily a bad ting.

Still, though, it means he's trying to keep an eye on as much as possible out of the corners of his eyes even as he politely keeps his focus on the other boy. Which means that, under the circumstances, he can perhaps be excused for not immediately noticing when one of the white, scythe-horned creatures gives him a particularly intense look before carefully getting to its feet.

[tearsofademon]

"Nice to meet you too, Sion!"

He then finally takes a really good look around the room, taking in the fixtures and the books and the general layout. This isn't a room that would fit in back home...

"So... do you have any idea where we are?"

Probably not, let's face it, but might as well ask.

[dreamsofahero]

He shakes his head at the question.

"No, I don't know. It isn..." he trails off as movement to the side catches his attention, then freezes when he sees what it is. One of the white creatures with the strange, curved horns is approaching him, not overly quickly, but at a steady and determined pace nonetheless. He remains frozen in place, eyes widened in surprise (and perhaps a touch of fear), but he knows there's something he can do... And there's the strangest odd sense of familiarity nagging at the back of his mind, too, like a dream he can't quite remember.

Not that he has much time to try, as it's only moments before the creature's standing before him. It lowers its head, impressive horn and all... and gently nuzzles him, soft white fur brushing against his cheek.

"Ah..." The surprised sound comes out unwittingly and before he can stop himself.

[tearsofademon]

"Hee~ I don't know what it is, but I think it likes you," he says with a big smile.

In fact, there are a lot of creatures around the room, aren't there. Or at least, a lot for a child who's used to just having his parents around. Maybe a guest or two, but rarely.

He almost reaches out to pet the creature nuzzling his new companion, but the pink thing gets up before he can do that and stands in front of him, seemingly sizing him up.

(Well, he doesn't know what an Absol is, so he's probably not possessed by another ghost from Johto, in any case. If it's that he's forgotten, that's bad too, but...)

So he reaches out toward the pink thing instead, seeing if it'll accept being petted on the head. "Oh hi! Is this your home?"

(...She won't say no to that.)

[dreamsofahero]

He's still obviously surprised by it, but the creature continues to nuzzle gently at him, even sitting down pressed up against him. It reminds him a little of a puppy, though it's obviously far too big to be that. That, or almost as though it's trying to reassure him...

"Um... This isn't yours, then?" The house they were in, the strange creatures, any of it.

[tearsofademon]

Since the pink unknown creature - seriously, what even do you call an oval with arms, ears, and a tail? - doesn't seem to shy away, he starts scritching her behind the ear that doesn't have a flower on it. She seems to enjoy it.

"Nuh uh. This isn't my bedroom, or mom and dad's. It feels safe, though."

Not that he can explain why. But it does.

[dreamsofahero]

"I've never seen any place like it."

Still erring on the side of politeness, of course. Though the strange creature is still very insistently nuzzling him, even going so far finally as put its head in his lap. He's surprised at first, and would pull away but for the fact that he's uncertain if that would upset it somehow. After a moment's hesitation, though, he tentatively, almost warily, reaches out a hand to start lightly stroking the soft white fur.

(... That's better.)

[tearsofademon]

"Me neither."

He thinks for a moment, as he continues to pet the pink thing. Dad's warned him about people who steal kids and hold them until their parents pay money (or not, and worse things happen), but... that can't have happened, right? Dad would have stopped them. Or he would have noticed, and he'd remember that.

Besides, if that was the case, why would he feel safe?

"But it's nice. This bed is really big and comfortable."

[dreamsofahero]

He can't argue with that, but he still hesitates to give an opinion either way. For that matter, he hesitates a little before finally asking a question.

"Do you think it's all right for us to be here?"

Particularly, is it okay for him to be there, a place like this could only belong to a noble, after all, and he knew he certainly didn't belong in some nobleman's manor.

[dreamsofahero]

It was dusk. At the moment, he was alone (aside from the white, scythe-horned creature that refused to leave his side, of course) after having managed at some point to wander off while Feruna was occupied with some of the house's other resident creatures. When he spotted the glow of red sunlight streaming through a west-facing window, however, he'd been unable to resist going over to have a look out of it.

This wasn't Roland, nor any place he'd ever heard (or dreamed) of, but even so, the setting sun here still painted all the landscape with its crimson fire.

And just like the sunsets he knew, he found a certain something soothing about that, as he stood at the window watching it.

[tearsofademon]

He had been playing a variant of tag with a few cat-fox-things that all had different colors but looked like they could be related? If you squint anyway? The black one with the gold markings had been especially insistent, but now he was tired out.

So he was wandering the halls a bit, too tired to play more but too curious not to explore, when as he turned a corner he spotted Sion looking out the window... and stopped, unsure. Did the other child want to be alone, or would he like the company?

[dreamsofahero]

Who knows? He's certainly not paying much mind to his surroundings right now... Though there is, perhaps, just a hint of what might be a smile in his expression.

The white scythe-creature who's naturally seated on the floor at his feet, however, glances over and cocks its head, almost as though inviting him over.

[tearsofademon]

Well, if the scythe beast says it's okay..

He comes a little closer. Quietly, so as not to disturb him if he's looking for quiet, but with a look out the window to see what he's looking at.

[dreamsofahero]

Just the sunset, really; other than that there's nothing to be seen. He's definitely absorbed in it enough though that he doesn't immediately notice that someone's approached him...

[tearsofademon]

It is a gorgeous sunset, isn't it. When he figures out that that must be what Sion is looking at, he walks closer to the window to get a better view...

"Ahh..." and can't help but let out a small sound. It's beautiful.

[dreamsofahero]

He's startled when he realizes someone else is there.

"..."

Should he say anything? Or should he just keep quiet and hope that he wasn't doing anything wrong....?

[tearsofademon]

Oh, he startled him. He didn't mean to do that.

"Ah, sorry! Were you... I can go, if you want to be alone."

He liked the other child's company, but that didn't mean Sion wanted his, after all.

[dreamsofahero]

Now this put him in a dilemma. He wasn't used at all to being asked what he wanted. Not by anyone other than his mother, at least. Not to mention, what did he want, anyway? Other than the start of carefully-laid plans for a distant future, it wasn't something he typically gave much thought to. He simply didn't have that kind of luxury, and most of the time it would be an exercise in wishing for the impossible, anyway.

"... It's okay..." he said quietly--half-mumbled, really--at last.

[tearsofademon]

"You're sure?" He didn't want to intrude, after all.

But he stayed anyway, looking back out the window. "It's really pretty though. I can see why you seem to like looking at it."

[dreamsofahero]

He gave a small nod, though whether it was that he truly didn't mind, or that he didn't dare refuse, was hard to say.

"Yeah..." he murmured, still gazing out the window himself, though he gave the occasional sidelong glance or two to the other boy.

[tearsofademon]

"It's just like the ones at home," he comments, because he wants to be friendly, he wants to make small talk. "Except from this house, instead."

The brilliant observations of a four year old.