Event End: Back to Nowhere
[ previous ]
LEAVE.
NOW.
…
Shauna: “Mmn.”
Shauna: “Owie…”
Shauna rose back up with a grunt. The smell, sight, and feel of her surroundings had changed, becoming familiar again. She was home.
Dazed, confused, concerned. But home.
[ ID: A grayscale drawing of Shauna frowning and looking genuinely sad. She's shown from the shins up and directly facing the viewer. Shauna's appearance is as described here. End ID ]
Shauna: "..."
For some moments, she thought only of him. As if to grieve.
She inhaled deep. Made a light noise that sounded most like a whimper.
Then she sighed. It was nothing new; she was used to this.
Time to move on.
It was well past sundown by the time she arrived home. The dream mist was light, but present. Already, she could hear noises that were not her own; a garble, a hiss, that came from the shadows just beyond the foliage.
She was lost in thought. The moment they parted seemed really off–she wondered if things were really alright with Valiant.
Arthur: "Shauna!!"
Shauna perked up at the sound of his voice, watching as the Greaphox eagerly enveloped her in a hug.
Arthur: “You're home, you're finally home! I missed you so, so much!”
Shauna embraced him in turn, giggling softly with a tinge of sadness.
Shauna: "Bye, Dad."
When he'd yet to let go, she started to gently push him away.
Shauna: "D, dad… not enough.”
He was clinging to her, stubbornly.
Shauna: “Dad.”
Arthur: “But I–”
Sabrina: "You're back."
Her voice made them both stop short.
Arthur wordlessly let go of Shauna, making away as Sabrina marched right up to her.
The furs on Shauna's back tingled as she met her mother’s eyes. Out of habit, she stood a bit straighter.
Sabrina: "Shauna. Where have you been?"
She crossed her arms, looking over her smaller daughter impatiently.
Some moments would pass before Shauna began to write her response.
Still, Sabrina waited. She tapped her left foot. Her eyes narrow slightly as her gaze shifted further downward, noticing something.
Sabrina: “What is that on your foot…? Is that sand?”
Shauna perked up, confused. Before she could react further, Sabrina raised her voice, speaking more sharply.
Sabrina: “You were at the Lost Sea?!”
Shauna: “!!”
Shauna flinched, her fur further tingling and standing on end. Clutching her parchment close, she rapidly shook her head.
Sabrina: “Hm.”
A pause. She relaxed, looking more bemused than angry.
Sabrina: “Then you were in the desert?”
Shauna shook her head again, considerably slower this time.
Sabrina: “Which is it?”
Sabrina: “There are only two places on the Isle where you could have gotten sand stuck to you. Do not lie to me, Shauna.”
Shauna made a light noise. She stood for a little longer in that startled position, her paws still clutching tight that paper she hadn't finished writing her message upon.
She slowly worked up the courage to continue, when:
Sabrina: “Speak.”
Her mother's voice, sharp like a knife, made her flinch. She withdrew further, her tail coiling against her legs and holding the parchment even tighter against her body. She shook her head insistently, her eyes shut.
Sabrina: “You're telling the truth?”
Though she looked and sounded a little less angry, the Delphox was unmoved by this display. She watched as Shauna nodded even more.
Sabrina: “I see.”
Finally, her expression shifted to that of disinterest. She began to turn away from Shauna, her hands shifting so that one rested on her hip, and the other was outstretched, palm in wait.
Sabrina: “The Plate, if you please.”
Shauna hesitated. But ultimately complied.
She gingerly handed it over, and watched her mother stare at it.
Sabrina: “Hm. So you didn't lose it, after all.”
Her hand gripped the Plate tightly, and the way she regarded Shauna became even more dismissive.
Sabrina: “Run along, then. I'll have you explain yourself more another time.”
Then Sabrina paused. One ear stood up slightly. She turned her head, subtly, slowly, just enough to glance at Shauna’s “guest”, right behind her.
She stared at the rock; and ROCK stared back.
Sabrina: "..."
Once more did the Delphox turn away with a huff, unamused.
Sabrina: "I'm not even going to ask."
The firm thumps of Sabrina's hasty steps were all that could be heard, for a moment. Shauna at this point was just staring at her feet, still clutching the parchment close.
Arthur, having apparently left during that conversation, now returned with a warm cup of tea.
Arthur: “Would you like tea? You look tired.”
Shauna: “No thank you.”
She glumly nodded, her movements slow and timid as she stashed away the parchment and took hold of the tea in both paws.
She didn't drink it. She merely went straight to bed, her eyes downcast towards the murky beverage.
She was still thinking about Valiant when she heard them speak, all the way from the kitchen and table.
Arthur: “M-my love, you know she doesn’t talk-”
Sabrina: “Why didn't you look for her?”
There's that tone of voice she always had when displeased.
Sabrina: “You know that child has the self awareness of a Rindo berry! She likes to wander everywhere, mindlessly…”
Arthur: “Sabrina–”
Sabrina: “Do you understand she could have lost the Plate?”
She spoke even more sharply to Arthur than she ever had to Shauna.
Arthur: “Oh.”
In comparison, Arthur sounded progressively more quiet.
Arthur: “For a moment, my sweet, I thought you may have been worried about her.”
Sabrina: “Worried about h–”
Sabrina: “We both know she is stronger than she looks. It is not her you should be worried about.”
Sabrina: “The Plate, however… that is where you need to understand we cannot have any more accidents.”
Sabrina: “No mistakes, and no ‘experiments’. Do you understand?”
Arthur: “Well, I di–didn’t mean to imply–”
Sabrina: “Keep that girl on a tighter leash, would you? Or by Hestia, I will reduce you to a wisp.”
The pauses between when he spoke got longer and longer.
In which Sabrina grilled into him more and more.
More silence.
[ next ; featuring ROCK from @ask-valiant-victory ]
