Contents:
Aurora
Obvious exits:
North <N> leads to Overgrown Lands - Route 11: Off the Route.

A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's warm and there's a slight wind from the southeast. In the forest, raindrops patter against the leaves, and glisten like silver beads on their deep green surfaces. The wet tree trunks have darkened from grey to brown. While at the coast, the rain dances on the surface of the playful blue ocean gently.

Rain, snow, sleet, and hail doesn't deter a determined dad from doing his duties. Peppy, the father of the group of Growlithe in the Assisi Farm, has never failed to at least try to bring back a Rattata for his growing family to eat, no matter what the weather is like. This day, however, is something new. Peppy has not moved a muscle since he got home late last night, and, eyes still shut, he doesn't look like he's going to get up and be particularly active anytime in the next few hours. What's up with this? Doesn't he have a family to feed? Is he just going to let them starve because it's a little rainy outside? None of the five energetic (make that four energetic and one totally tuckered out - Flame has huddled himself in his corner, not just to keep away from his sibling, but because he's so exhausted that he's still sleeping late, just like his father) puppies seem to mind, however, because there is a Rattata right there in the corner, most of it devoured from all angles. This is the fruit of not Peppy's labor, but his son, Flame's. And even as dad lies there snoring away, a small but proud smile marks his white-furred face.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Since Peppy's the one who's been outside, getting rained on and attacked by Rattatas and all manner of fun things - along with Flame, of course - it's Aurora's turn to be awake and looking after the non-tired-out pups. The four of them are wide awake, playful and generally eager to run around the barn and play in piles of straw, and are proving to be so much of a pawful for their mother than she seems to have barely noticed the drizzle outside. Usually, this sort of weather would have her rather depressed and worried, but right at the moment her concerns are more of the type of "find the puppy" - Dakota has suggested hide-and-seek, and Aurora's currently busy with the seeking part. For a set of growing pups, they certainly manage to hide themselves well, and their mother's just flopped onto the floor for a moment to rest and think about where they might have concealed themselves.

Maybe it's the sound of giggling from a nearby puppy, or maybe it's the noise and stirring up of the straw Aurora makes when she collapses onto her stomach, or maybe it's just that Peppy's been sleeping for long enough already that his brain has finally decided to kick him into the world of the living. Whatever the case, Peppy, grumbling tiredly and yawning once or twice, peers blurry-eyed around the barn, making sure everything's okay. There's a couple Pidgeys on the rafters, a still conked out Flame, a really, really tired looking mom, and a bushy tail sticking out from behind a haystack, wiggling and waggling intently as the tail's owner giggles about her perfect hiding spot. Peppy grins sleepily at the sight, stretches his neck up as high as it will go, and lets loose with a long six second yawn, complete with brisk head-shake and tail wag. Instead of saying anything to announce that the zombie has risen from the grave, Peppy, using way too much effort, pushes himself up onto all fours, and makes his way to the corner. Eat first, talk later.

Unsurprisingly, considering that Peppy is the closest moving object, he catches Aurora's attention almost immediately, and she excitedly calls, <Found you!> before the identity of the Growlithe she's spotted registers on her brain. When it finally does, she sighs, her tail drooping back between her legs, and she woofs quietly, <Afternoon, Peppy.> She stands up, slowly, and stretches just as Peppy has just stretched, though her yawn doesn't last quite as long. That done, she takes a few steps forward - and freezes, as giggling comes from behind one of the blocks of straw. A smile crosses Aurora's face, and she starts to creep up on the place where the giggling's coming from - the tail sticking out from behind it is, of course, another clue as to who's doing the giggling.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Eek! Peppy jumps into the air half a foot or so, jerking his head around in all directions frantically before finally setting his sights on his mate, panting and gasping for air. Though the male Growlithe doesn't -completely- understand why the heck Aurora scared him, he does as least have the sense to realize it was an accident. And look, now Peppy's wide awake! <Um... hi, Aurora!> he greets, cheerfully enough, trying to look cool even as his hair stands on end and his tail stiffens with surprise. He glances at the Rattata, glances at Aurora, grins uneasily, and proceeds on his journey to find some breakfast. Lunch. Snack, what have you. The puppy, instead of getting quieter as her mom approaches, giggles a little louder, though the sound of a <Sshhh!> from another female behind or inside the haystack quiets the first one down a bit. Looks like two of the pups (Karen and Dakota, the latter being the giggler) have both decided to use this giant haystack as their hiding spot, as Aurora may soon find out.

Aurora slinks along the ground towards the haystack - well, she does her best attempt at slinking, but her tail's waving in the air and is a sure sign to anyone behind, next to or near the haystack that she's coming. If they looked out, that is. Once she's a few feet away from the haystack, Aurora stops, glances up at the tail that's still visible behind the straw, and then stands up straight, with a grin. <Found you!> she calls once more, and starts into a fast trot, running around and behind the stack of straw to try to chase out whoever's hidden themselves there.

Droplets splash in puddles at mid-day.

Mm, nothing like eating from a Rattata you didn't catch yourself. Instead of feeling guilt or something for munching away at the food Flame caught (mostly) by himself, Peppy actually thinks the Rattata's flesh is much more tasty than usual, as it's got a special seasoning this time - pride. The two hiding girls don't see Aurora coming, of course, because they're far too scared to poke their heads out lest the Growlithe who is "it" see them and come running. Dakota, ever the agitated soul, is off like a light the -exact second- Aurora can even finish the word '<found>', practically bowling Karen over in the process. <Ack!> Karen barks to the air as she tumbles back, falling into the haystack. With a growl, she pops to her feet and steps off two steps in Dakota's direction, yelping <Hey, that wasn't very nice!> She seems to have forgotten all about her mom, too busy getting angry at her retreating sister, and unless Aurora goes out of her way to *not* touch her, she's going to easily catch Karen.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

One of the rules of the game is, of course, that the person who's hiding has to know that they've been found, but it's rather hard to let them know this when they're hurtling away from you at an appreciable speed. For the moment, Aurora ignores Dakota, and leans her head down towards Karen. After a few seconds, her nose prods Karen's shoulder enough that the pup looks up, baffled, and then woofs an exasperated, <Oh, no fair!> and trots to a halt, sitting down with an annoyed expression on her face. Aurora grins an apology, but stays moving, as Dakota's still on the run, heading at high speed towards another stack of straw. Actually, it looks like she intends to collide with it head-on. Perhaps she's going to see how high she can jump over it, or something, but to Aurora's eyes it doesn't look too safe, and she in turn runs to try to cut Dakota off before she jumps.

Ha ha! Karen was simple bait to throw her mother off, a simple decoy to slow Aurora down long enough that Dakota can escape! Nobody can catch her! And now she's going to hop right over this haystack! Her speed increases! Her eyes narrow! Her mouth curls up into a grin, and... she... trips over a loose board and goes tumbling into the strawstack, yelping a "Growli?!" of surprise. Thankfully, her clumsy stumble over the board slows her down considerably as she collides with the haystack, and she finds herself halfway wedged into the pile, her lower torso struggling and flailing to get her head and neck out. Little yips of frustration and surprise (thankfully, Aurora will likely recognize through the muffled noises that they're not sounds of pain) echo from inside. While Aurora is distracted, one of the puppies - Briska, by the looks of it - has decided to creep over to a brand new hiding spot, one where, judging by the confident look on his face, he thinks Aurora will never find him. It's behind his dad. Slipping in beside Peppy, Briska whispers a <Shhh!> to the older Growlithe, who stops chewing for a moment to just peer at his son for a moment. Unfortunately, there's one crucial flaw in Briska's plan; he's taller than Peppy and is, therefore, easy enough to spot.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's warm and there's a slight wind from the southeast.

Well, at least Dakota didn't end up flying through the air and hitting the wall, which is something to Aurora to be thankful for. And, from the sound of the puppy's frustrated yips, the only thing Dakota's hurt is her pride. Still grinning, this time from amusement rather than apology, Aurora woofs, <Hold on, Dakota, I'll help you out of there...> and moves forward, sitting on her haunches and holding Dakota's hindquarters firmly so that the pup can pull against the straw. If that doesn't work, pulling the haystack apart with her paws may be the only option, though it's unlikely that the puppies will be happy with this as it would deprive them of a good hiding place - one that someone has already taken, judging by the surprised gasp that comes from behind it as Dakota hits it. However, since Aurora's attention is focused on rescuing Dakota, she doesn't notice Dusk is hiding behind that bale, and nor does she notice where Briska's got to.

Maybe, maybe, maybe if she stays *really* quiet, Dusk won't be uncovered as Aurora helps remove her daughter from the haystack. Huddling closely into the straw, holding her breath to make her presence as undetectable as possible, Dusk listens closely to the signs of struggle, resisting the urge to giggle at Dakota's grunts and growls of anger as Aurora helps to yank her out of her prison. Given that Dakota's thrashing like wild with her upper extremities and Aurora's holding on tight, the smaller female should be removed from the haystack with considerable ease. Stumbling back a couple feet, she blinks, peers up at Aurora, shakes fiercely to dislodge the straw sticking to her fur, and grumbles. <Guess that means you caught me,> she says flatly, obviously none-too-pleased with being the second one caught. Dakota's grumpy voice proves to be too much for Dusk, and, unable to contain herself, the pup falls over into the straw, giggling loudly at her sister's misfortune. She quickly stifles herself, but probably not quickly enough. Briska is too busy trying to explain (very quietly) to his dad why he's using him as a shield, but unfortunately doesn't quite know the words for it. <G...gaaame,> he woofs uncertainly, squeezing one eye shut as he thinks. <You... here, Briska here, so mama see you no me?> Peppy, unfortunately, can only blink, shake his head, and ask his son to repeat that.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

<Sorry about that...> is Aurora's reply to Dakota's annoyance at being caught, along with a hopefully reassuring, <You did well, Dakota.> Now that Dakota's no longer in trouble, Aurora starts to pay attention to the noises around her again, and at this point more giggling catches her ears. Eyes bright, ears alert, Aurora moves quietly and peers around the side of the haystack - and stares straight into the face of Dusk, who gulps quietly, woofs, <Ooops...> and dashes off in the opposite direction, Aurora following her at a steady pace.

Darn her sister for being so funny! Darn her, darn her, darn her! So are the thoughts of Dusk as she dashes along the perimeter of the barn, limbs pumping as quickly as they'll go, more focused on running fast than on watching where she's going. Huff, puff! Huff, puff! Over to Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. <Mama!> Briska cries rather loudly, no longer as concerned with keeping himself hidden behind his dad as he is concerned about making sure Peppy understands what he's doing. <Mama... uh... look! Me!> He then shakes his head quickly. <No look me want me,> he expresses, before peering up at his dad, hoping that Peppy has a clue. Unfortunately, his hopes seem to be in vain, as Peppy, peering at Briska funny, squints at him and opens his mouth, likely to say that he still doesn't follow. Now, Dusk, who is peering over her shoulder at mother, doesn't realize that she's on a collision course with the two males in the corner, and Peppy and Briska are too busy looking at each other to pay any attention to the freight train heading their way. Needless to say, unless Aurora gets a hold of Dusk quick or otherwise alerts any one of the three to the impending crash, there's going to be a kaboom! Going to be an earth-shattering kaboom!

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Aurora's also concentrating on running fast, but unlike Dusk she's also watching where she's going, and her eyes widen as she notices the fourth hidden puppy looking rather, er, un-hidden next to his father. That only takes a second or so for Aurora to realise, and the next second is taken up realising which way she and Dusk are heading. Then another second is devoted to panicking about the fact that they're going to collide in one big Growlithe heap, and finally Aurora puts on a burst of speed, trying to catch up to Dusk and nudge her in the side before she gets to Briska and Peppy. Drawing almost level with Dusk, Aurora bends her head down to try to nudge Dusk in the hindquarters, but she might not be able to reach... or Dusk might not notice, since she's trying so hard to run away.

Unfortunately, the odds are against Aurora. Instead of slowing down as the poor mother intends, Dusk instead, noticing that Aurora is catching up to her, panics slightly and steps on the gas, turning her head to the front only a moment too late.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)

Miraculously, Aurora manages to avoid tumbling into the pile of Growlithe bodies by skidding to a halt and somehow avoiding tripping over her paws. Still, the experience leaves her breathless, though probably not as breathless as Peppy and the two puppies, who she looks at for a while, and then grins at broadly. <Er...> She hesitates for a moment, and then leans over to briskly tap Dusk and Briska with her nose. <Caught you both!> she says triumphantly, and then sits down on her hindquarters and adds, <Um, maybe next time you should try to aim at the straw rather than your father...> and finally she closes her eyes and gives into helpless giggling. It's only funny when you're not the one tangles up in a heap of fur and limbs, it seems...

A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's warm and there's a slight wind from the southeast.

Peppy and the other two Growlithes remain a mass of blinking bodies for a good few moments. Peppy, lying on his back at the very bottom of the pile, is the one being crushed by the other two, but he's too surprised to do anything about it. The first non-groan-of-pain movement comes from Dusk after she gets tagged; she gives a <Hey!> of dismay as she pops off the pile, grumbling under her breath. Briska, large and fluffy enough to have taken the least pain from the whole ordeal, takes Aurora's tagging him considerably better than his sister, and he simply growls out a good-natured <Aww!> before bouncing off of his dad and trotting over to Dusk, presumably to try and cheer her up. And then there's Peppy, still peering at the ceiling, paws dangling in the air. He doesn't look like he's in pain, but he does seem, to say the least, winded from the tackle. Man. After the pups are all grown and gone, Peppy needs to try out for the football team; given all this running around he's been doing and bashing he's been taking, he'd be perfect! Once Aurora starts to giggle, Briska does as well... not because he gets the joke, but because mommy is happy, so he should be happy, too! Dusk, on Briska's nudging, hesitantly joins in, and even Peppy snickers a little as he gets back up to his feet. Man... who knew hide-and-go-seek was a contact sport?

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze, so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving!)