"Today will be a lot better than yesterday," Brendan spoke, stretching out his arms with a hefty yawn. Athena looked up at him, her head rested on top of the blue blanket his bed contained.
I hope so, she thought, raising her head off of the fabric reluctantly. Yesterday was really boring.
The rain had lasted all through the rest of the previous day, and even managed to stretch to the night. Thankfully, the power had managed to return, but that was when the torchic was already sound asleep due to the insane amounts of boredom she witnessed. With a small yawn of her own, she watched as Brendan lifted himself off of the bed, his hand outstretched for his shoes.
It's only morning! she thought, blinking her eyes. What does he want to do now?
She was too tired to move about so early; even though the sun had risen ages ago, she had only just woken up. Brendan apparently had been up for a while, for when she woke up, he was already moving about in the room. He was even wearing his hat by the time she had her eyes opened.
Interestingly enough, he did not put on his shoes. Instead, he simply held both of them with one hand as he used the other to escort Athena off of the bed. Once she was on the carpet, he made his way out of the room, and toward the stairs. Silently, she followed, and was once again picked up by a single hand as he went down the long staircase. Hopping off of the last step, he placed her back on the floor, before making his way to the kitchen.
"Since today is actually nice weather-wise, we can hang out with May," he said, dropping his shoes next to a chair beside the dining table. "That sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Not really, Athena mentally responded, watching as the human walked over to the kitchen. But I guess being with Damien sounds fun.
For a few moments, she stood still, listening to her stomach rumble as she watched Brendan open the door to the fridge. After what felt like ages of prepping up food, he placed Athena on top of the dining table, giving her a plate of corn to occupy her.
More corn? she thought, eyeing the yellow substance. She couldn't help but notice he had given her a slightly smaller amount than what she had received the day prior. Is that because he thought I wouldn't finish it if he gave me any more?
Releasing a small chirp, she picked up a small pellet of corn in her beak, and promptly swallowed it whole. As she did so, Brendan placed a white bowl on top of the table. Inside the bowl was a strange, white liquid, with brown grains floating in the substance. Sitting in a chair, he bent forward, and scooped a circular utensil into the food.
What even is that? she thought, her eyes narrowing slightly. It looks so gross! Silently, she watched him eat the food, before turning her head back to her own plate. Bending her head, she swallowed down another piece of corn, savoring the taste. This probably tastes a lot better than whatever he has.
After their breakfast, Brendan stood up from his chair, and grabbed hold of the plate and bowl. Stacking the bowl on top of the plate, he walked over to the kitchen, and carefully placed them inside the sink. Once he was done with that, he made his way back to the table, and silently helped Athena back to the floor. As her feet made contact with the wood, she cringed slightly, still not used to the odd feeling of the floor.
His hindquarters plopping down onto the floor, Brendan grabbed hold of his shoes, before promptly shoving them onto his feet. Athena watched with slight interest as he fiddled with a strange lace, strapping it down against the white material of the shoe. Almost mechanically, he did the same thing to the other shoe. Right after that, he lifted himself to his feet.
"Okay, now he just have to wait for May," he said, heading off toward the living room.
Athena trotted after him, trying her best to ignore the horrible feeling of the carpet as she entered the next room. She stopped beside the wooden table in front of the couch, her eyes trained on Brendan as he sat down on the couch. A minuscule wave of confusion washed over her.
Why are we waiting for May here? she pondered. Shouldn't we wait for her outside?
As expected, her mental questions remained unanswered. The human simply played with the rim of his shirt, his eyes glued to the ceiling. Athena looked up. There wasn't anything interesting about the ceiling. However, it didn't take long for a strange noise to come from across the room. Quickly, she looked over at the back door, which stood in the far right of the room. There stood Damien, eagerly pawing against the outside glass of the door.
"Coming!" Brendan called, hopping to his feet and hurrying to the door.
Once he slid open the glass, the tiny mudkip bounded inside the home, getting tiny paw prints of mud all over the carpet as he happily bounced around. A visible, red flower was held in his maw. A feminine figure hustled after him, and as she bursted into the house, Athena recognized the human immediately. May appeared to be panting for breath as she scooped the mud fish pokémon into her arms, much to his dismay.
"Where's Torchic?" she asked, looking around curiously.
"Oh, her name's Athena now," Brendan spoke, turning to face the table the fire type stood by. "Athena, come over here!"
Obediently, Athena stepped out from behind the wood furniture, revealing herself to the trio. Damien looked about ready to explode from joy as he caught sight of her, with his entire frame squirming against his trainer's grasp.
"Jeez, calm down, Damien!" May chided, releasing the mudkip from her arms. "Anyways," she turned to face Brendan, "let's go outside! It's boring in here!"
"May is really straightforward," Athena observed aloud, taking a step back as Damien landed in front of her. But at the same time, she's right. It is boring in here.
"Yeah, but she's really fun!" he squeaked, spitting the red flower in front of her. "This is for you!" Athena looked down at the plant. Judging from the appearance, she was capable of noting that it was a lily.
Didn't he give me one of those before? she pondered.
"C'mon!" Damien chirped, drawing her away from her thoughts. Hesitating slightly, she stepped over the flower, following the mudkip.
May was already halfway through Brendan's backyard by the time Athena and Damien made it to the stone patio. Hopping out of the house, she looked around the vicinity as Brendan shut the back door behind her, before promptly hurrying to join his friend. Damien quickly followed him, releasing strange noises that resembled joyful chirps.
The yard isn't that big, she noted, making her way across the stone patio. And the stone feels even weirder than the wood! With a small hop, she quickened her pace. Once she made it to the grass, she sighed in relief, slowing her pace just a bit. That's better.
The grass was just a bit damp from the previous rain, but it wasn't drastically dangerous. She only had to look out for the mud which, unfortunately, seemed rather abundant. Her eyes darted up toward the rest of the group, where they were running around, chasing each other. Not wanting to be left out, she took a step forward, only to have her foot land in a pile of mud.
Ew! she mentally squealed, immediately stepping backward. Desperately, she tried to shake the mud off of her talons. That's so disgusting! How do they stand this?!
She looked back up at the group. None of them seemed drastically dirty, aside from Damien, who was practically covered in mud from head to toe. That was to be expected of him, however. With a deep breath, she continued onward, this time hopping over the patch of mud she previously fell victim to. Once she was beyond the vile substance, she scurried ahead, swerving around whatever mud patches that laid ahead of her.
Tripping over her own feet, she landed onto her stomach, releasing a squeak. Scrambling to her feet, she stared down at her feathered chest. It was covered in tiny blades of grass and wet clumps of dew alike, much to her horror.
How do I clean this off? she thought, immediately bending her head down to preen her feathers. This is so gross-
Her thoughts were cut off as a force slammed her onto her back. Looking up, she stared with widened eyes at Damien, who had pinned her to the ground.
"What are you doing?" he asked in his high-pitched tone. "Let's have some fun!"
Hopping off of her, he gave the torchic some room to lift herself back onto her feet. Shaking off her feathers, she looked over at him.
"What do we do?" she questioned, her vision straying off toward May and Brendan. The two appeared to still be chasing each other, going in circles. Brendan was in the lead.
"We can play tag!" Damien offered. Without a moment to lose, he swatted his paw against Athena. "Tag!" With that, he was off.
Heaving a heavy sigh, the chick pokémon sprinted after him. As she ran, her talons scraped against the earth, causing loose blades of grass and piles of dirt to spray behind her. Almost expertly, she swerved around patches of mud, however, Damien did not. His rather awkward running form ran straight through the piles, causing the vile substance to splatter everywhere. He had little to no grace, needless to say.
Speed boost activating, she finally managed to catch up to him. Brushing the tip of her wing against his skin, she said, "Tag!"
Instantly, she darted off toward the other direction. However, Damien did not follow suit. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, happily watching the two humans ahead of him with a small wag of his tail fin. Athena, too, eventually paused, her vision placed onto them. May had Brendan pinned to the ground, her hands rested on his shoulders as he protested against her weight.
"May, get off of me!" he complained, his fingers wrapped around her wrists.
"Make me!"
"No!"
"Then I won't get off!"
Athena watched the two struggle for a bit, before something caught her eye. Damien bounded at her, pinning her to the ground once again.
Ow! Catching her breath, she looked up at the male. "Damien!"
"Let's play wrestle!" he squealed, pawing at her face with his muddy paws.
The torchic squeaked in response, her legs kicking at the air frantically as mud began to plaster on her features. His hind paws dug into her chest, causing her wince from the contact. This hurts!
Despite her squeaking and protests, Damien did not fully budge. After a few moments, he placed his front paws onto the grass, yet his hind paws remained on her stomach.
"Let's play a different game!" he suggested, his tail fin wagging eagerly.
"Like what?" she asked, her breath short. Please suggest something that doesn't involve me being tackled.
"I don't know!"
They didn't have much time to think. A shadow fell upon the two, and soon did May's hands grab the mudkip and yank him off of the torchic. Brendan followed her movements, only this time he chose to pick up his own pokémon.
"You sure you gotta leave?" the male human groaned, turning to face May. "We haven't been out here long."
"Yeah, Dad says we need to research around noon," May said, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry."
Athena blinked. They hadn't been outside for too long, and already did May have to leave. I wonder what she has to research?
"Well, Damien, say goodbye!" May piped up, smiling down at the mud fish pokémon she held.
"Bye, Athena!" he squeaked, waving his one free paw with a beaming smile.
With that, May turned away and left, hurrying over to her own yard. Brendan stood there for a few moments, wistfully watching his friend leave, before turning around and heading back to the back door of his home.