Wandering Hearts [Moemon Fanfic]

[Twelveseal]

Do not mess with the Joys. MWAHAHA

[Lycodrake]

...well this won't end well for Aurum or his dad.
Chu...no clue. XP

[ItsaRandomUsername]

Welcome to hell.

[Lycodrake]

Welcome to hell.

Aurum's hell includes coffee burns, naked Chu, and his mother?

[Erlkonig]

Aurum's hell includes coffee burns, naked Chu, and his mother?

That... sounds like hell alright.

[Twelveseal]

[Ready Set]

My ears are ringing. After over an hour of lecturing that I know my dad will experience when he can no longer use the ‘I have to go to work honey’ excuse, I manage to get out of the house. Beside me is a now clothed mouse girl.
Amusingly enough, mom was more pissed at me for stretching the truth a bit than she was for the naked Moemon. Maybe that’s because she was trained to work in the medical field? Or maybe it’s because I managed to get in edgewise that she was a wild Moemon, and that she’d agreed to be my Starter.
Once mom found that out, she insisted I take her to the Clinic as soon as possible. She’ll need to make sure she has her vaccinations and has a thorough cleaning and parasite check. After that, I need to take her to a boutique and buy some clothes for her. That way, she can stop wearing my sister’s and actually get some underwear. Seems like having a tail restricts what you can wear just a bit.
After that, I need to take her back to the Research Center and let them run an aptitude test. If she fails that, even if she’s willing to be my Starter, she won’t be certified and I won’t be able to compete in a Gym. Apparently, they do that as a way to ensure that no one cheats the system in order to get Badges, and also to help make sure that the individual Trainers are treating their partners properly.
It seems a little unnecessary to me, though.

After she passes the aptitude test and I show proof of he rvaccinations and health, they’ll give her the seal of approval, and I’ll be able to start my epic Quest of adulthood.
And here I thought all I’d need was a Starter. Though ,according to mom, all this stuff would have already been handled with an official Starter. They basically just give them to you.
Actually, all this makes me wonder if my parents did this when they were younger? Did they go on Quests of their own? What were their Starters? What kind of adventures did they have, and where are their partners now?

Maybe I should ask when I get back home?

I walk down the road towards town. There’s a bus stop down there, our gateway into the center of town and the Clinic there. I’ll need to see the Nurse Joy there. I think she’s one of my aunts. Apparently, they can give a discount to family members on vaccinations.
My mom and dad have money. I, however, do not, and this is coming out of my travel expenses.
I’m going to need that discount!

“So, you learned to talk from an abandoned Moemon?”
“Mmm. Deep in the mountains there’s an old Alakazam. No one’s really sure how old he is. He’s kind of a legend to the locals. They say he was once the Starter of a girl who went on to become a great wise-woman. But supposedly, he outlived her. Some people say she became a guardian spirit to all the peoples of the world, others that she sacrificed herself to seal agreat evil. Whatever the case, he’s supposed to carry her blessings and her teachings. Everyone calls him Guru. He teaches anyone who’ll listen how to speak, and can even teach us how to read a little, though his memory’s a little… rusty.” She rubs her nose as she finishes talking about this thing.
“Guru huh? So Moemon have things like that? Ah, hey, do you have a name they call you?” I look over at her. The idea that they really do have names for each other reminded me.
“Ah, nothing a human could say.” She puts her hands behind her head.
“Really? Let me hear it.” She quirks an eyebrow at me. There’s a smug smile on her face.
Suddenly her cheeks turn an odd red and sparks dance from them. I take a step back.
I wait a bit, but she doesn’t say anything, she just looks at me as we keep walking.
“Well, are you going to tell me?”
“I just did.”
“Eh?”
Her face lights up again just like before, like a blinking pattern of neon lights.
“That’s my name.” Huh?
“Wait, you mean that pattern of sparks?”
“Mmm.” No way. There is no way in hell I can do something like that.
“Ah. What does it mean?”
“Hmmm… It translates roughly into something like ‘Daughter of Great Wind and Thunder.’”
“Ahh… Wow. Would those be the names of your parents?”
“No. My people name our children after the world around us. I hatched during a big storm, so my parents called me that.”
“Huh. And here I was just going to call you ‘Chu.’”
“Hmph. That’s mostly just a battle cry. It’s really just a negative word. A denial or a refusal. It means a lot of different things depending on what we’re talking about.”
“Ah, so does this mean you were talking to me when I first found you?”
“Something like that.”
“Ah, so… What were you saying back then?”
“’Get out of my house.’ But not as nice.”
“Why didn’t you just talk to me in English then? I mean, there’s no way a human could understand that spark-speak there.”
“It’s common among the peoples of mountain and forest to not speak to humans. Humans do strange things. They unnecessarily complicate things. They’re cruel to each other and to our peoples. They destroy our homes,t ake our food, hunt us, capture us, kill us. They steal the eggs that are our children. The come into our homes with peoples from distant lands they’ve enslaved and they attack us. Guru teaches us that not all humans are bad. He tells us that there are those who are kind, those who are gentle, those who are wise. But he also tells us that there are those who are not, just as there are those among the peoples who act differently from one another. Even so, for the most part, your people are dangerous to us, so it’s a great taboo for us to speak to you.”
“Ummm… So in other words, you did something you really weren’t supposed to do. Is it okay for you to tell me this? And… Did you just burn your bridges?”
“Burn my bridges? I don’t have any bridges?”
“Ah, it’s a figure of speech. It means that you can’t put your relationships back to the way they were because you did something unforgivable.”
“Hmmm. I wouldn’t say that. It’s possible to go back. I think, if I went to see Guru, he would acknowledge it. But it’s true that I did break the taboo, and that telling you about it, and Guru, was probably not wise. But…”
“Hm?”
“Guru once said that the humans hold a tradition that leads to much pain and suffering among the free peoples. It is a long journey, one which he took part in as a youth. Though he said it could bring great suffering, he also said that it could bring great understanding; of all the peoples of the world, of oneself, and even of humans. He said that though it could bring great evil, it could also bring great good. Such was the price, light and darkness, good and evil. He said that the key to it was in the human with whom one journeyed. I wanted to see this for myself, but I do not trust humans. And then you were there before me. Even though I fought with you, even though I hurt you and you captured me…” She pauses for a moment.
“You healed me of the wounds you caused. You fed me when I was hungry. You set me free even though I was your prey. And when I was in danger, you stood over me. You are not like the others. So, with that traditionb efore me, I made a choice. I chose you.”
“Ahh… Ummm. What do I say to that?”
“’I’m honored to travel with you,’ is fine. Just make sure not to disappoint me.”
“Uhhh. I’m honored to travel with you, then.”
“Idiot.”
“Huh……. So… Can I call you Chu then?”
“That’s fine.” She rolls her eyes. “Since you’re giving me a name in your language, I’ll give you one in mine.” Her face crackles with electricity.
“So… What did that mean, exactly?”
“Your name means ‘The Idiot I’m Traveling with.’”
“Please don’t introduce me as that.”
“Then tell me what you’d like to be called.”
“Ah! I guess I never did tell you my name. But wait, you’ve heard it already!”
“I refuse to recognize the name of someone who was beneath my notice.” Huh.
“Fine. The name’s Aurum Birch. Just Aurum is fine.”
“Aurum. And what does it mean?”
“Ah, that. My first name means ‘gold’ in an old language,a nd the last name is a type of tree with peeling bark.”
“Gold… That is a sacred color to many of the peoples. It’s a good name.”
We reach the bus stop and sit down in the covered stall. At this time of day, we’re the only one’s here. Everyone else is already at work or in town, or heading out on their Quests.
“What is it we’re going to do today?” Her way of talking is a little stiff, almost old-fashioned. Maybe it’s because of where she learned it?
“Ahh… Well, in order for us to start a pilgrimage, we need to go through some things first. First, I’ll need to make sure you’re in good health and have had your vaccinations against things like rabies and such. Then they’ll need to give you a thorough cleaning and make sure you don’t have any parasites.”
“This sounds troublesome.”
“It is.”
“What is a ‘vaccination’?” Urk! This… Could be bad.
“Ummm… Well, there are a lot of diseases that people and Moemon can pick up, so a long time ago, humans came up with a way to prevent people from catching some of them.”
“Mmm. That’s a good thing.”
“It’s a kind of medicine, like that spray we used on you the other day.” She gives me a look that says she’s not entirely grateful for that.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as that stuff does, but it does sting a little. Instead of a spray on an open wound, they take a small needle with the medicine in it and inject it into your arm.”
“I do not like this idea.”
“Yeah, most people don’t. They do it to children before they’re allowed to go to school, that way they don’t catch and spread dangerous diseases. But I’ve been through it, or at least the human version of it, and that involves a lot more shots than what you’ll be getting.” She gives me a dubious look.
“Just… Please don’t fight them. They’re not trying to hurt you. And we won’t be able to go on that journey without it.” I slap my palms together as if praying as she looks at me oddly.
“We shall see.” Oi. I have a premonition.
“And after that? What else with this Clinic require?”
“Mostly, I think they’ll just give you a bath and maybe spray you with something to kill any fleas or ticks you have. They might give you a tablet to chew or swallow that’ll clean out any other parasites. I don’treally know. I’m not used to this kind of thing myself. Ah! But once they’re done, they’ll give me a certificate and a temporary registry card, and we cant ake that to the place I took you before. Then we’ll be one step closer to the Journey!”
“There’s more?” She sounds annoyed.
“Ehh… Yeah, unfortunately. We can’t have you running around in my sister’s clothes all the time, so I’ll need to buy some specifically for you.”
“Why do you humans needlessly complicate things? Clothing such as this,” she gestures at the dress she’s wearing, “serves no real purpose. It interferes with movement, doesn’t protect the body from nature, and doesn’t blend with the environment. It’s not even suitable for intimidation or attracting a mate. In fact, it almost seems to do the opposite.” Erm… That’s actually kind of the point of dresses, I think. Or at least a one-piece thing like that.
“It’s mostly to preserve modesty. Girls wear that to help keep men from staring at them or assaulting them. It’s kind of meant to reduce the attention from the opposite sex.”
“Such an absurd thing. I want to take it off.” She tugs at the hem of the dress.
“Ahhh no, that’s bad. It’s not good to go around in public naked like that. Human males aren't used to seeing things like that, so it can cause problems. But at least when we pick clothes for you, you can get something that fits your interests, alright?”
“Hmph. And is there anything else?”
“Ahhh… Yeah. One more thing. Once we’ve taken you to the Clinic and gotten your clothes, I’ll have to take you back to the place from before. I said it already, but we’ll need to take the certificate and registry card there, and then they’ll test you to make sure you know how to interact with human society safely.” That’s something I’m worried about. She can talk, but I don’t know if she can read, if she knows road signs or traffic laws, common symbols, or even things like how to use basic utensils or a bathroom. No, it’s pretty safe to assume that she doesn’t know most of that, I think.
“What will this test involve?” Hmmm. How to put this?
“Basically, they’ll separate you from me, and check to make sure you know what a bunch of different symbols are, if you know how to talk and read, if you can follow traffic laws, and if you know how to use certain things like eating utensils and bathrooms. I don’t think they’ll require you to be able to write, at least.”
“………”
“It’s a lot, I know.”
“I don’t know a great deal of what you just said.” Shit.
“Mmmm… Yeah. I was afraid of that. Really, it’s kind of amazing that you can talk. Anything else would be too convenient, wouldn’t it? Things are never that easy.”
“Hm?”
“They probably have some kind of training program and classes. They might have a crash course we can get beforehand. Otherwise, we might not be able to get everything done today.”
“As I said, you humans overcomplicate things.”
“Ahhh… Yeah. Ah! But at least it’s a new experience for you! Just think of it as learning something new.”
“Idiot. I am learning something new.” She looks at me with an annoyed expression. I kind of set myself up for that.
“I suppose this isn’t a bad thing, but I expected the Journey to begin quickly.”
“You know what they say, ‘Nothing worth doing is ever easy.’This is just another one of those things.”
“I suppose that’s true. Now if only you could speak such wisdom all the time.” Hmmm. Now it’s my turn to look annoyed.
“Aurum.” She’s looking straight ahead as she speaks, not even glancing at me.
“Hmm?”
“About what that man said before. At the place you took me before.”
“The Research Center? What about it?”
“What was he saying? I understand he was describing the traditional journey and its origins, but he used words I am not familiar with. Can you explain it?” Oh god. She wants to know what that pervert said. Oh shit.
I take a deep breath. This… This could be really bad.

“Basically, he said that the Journey was originally a way for people to grow and develop, learn how to interact with others, and see the world.”Do I leave out the stuff about sex? Do I tell her? Will she notice if I skip it? What will happen if I tell her?
I sigh… I make my decision. I start over.
“Well, what he said is this. The Journey was a way to teach people how to be adults. How to fend for themselves and how to rely on others. It was about learning about yourself and the partner you traveled with and put your trust in. You helped each other, learned about each other, and deepened your bonds. You traveled to holy places against the hardships of the road. Along the way, you learned about yourself and grew stronger, and you learned about other peoples and cultures.”
“Mmm. That is a good practice.”
“There’s a few other things though.”
“Hm?”
“The partner you traveled with… You were supposed to deepen your bonds with them. You shared the journey with them, and everything on it. I guess. Including each other’s… erm… bodies.”
“………” She just looks at me silently. I don’t know if she knew that to begin with or not. “I see.” After a while, she says this.
“And this is normal?”
“Ahh… It seems that way. That’s why we had to wait for them to have a female Starter for me.”
“I see.” She pauses for a bit, then continues.
“We are expected to mate.” There’s no emotion that I can tell in her voice.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Obviously.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about that myself. I didn’t realize that was the case until that pervert told me.”
“Guru told us that such a thing was often part of thet radition.”
“Ah.” So you knew, huh? Or at least had an idea, even when I didn’t. I can’t help but feel a little annoyed.

A mouse from the woods knew something major like this even when I didn’t.
In hindsight, I realize that I’ve been making some very big mistakes.
There were a lot of questions I should have been asking, instead of just assuming everything would work out naturally.

I look at the girl beside me. Honestly, I don’t know what to say in this situation. That emotionless voice she used… She didn’t let me know either way if that was something she wanted to do, or if it was something she refused to do.
She won’t look at me, so I can’t tell from her eyes. She just stares ahead, not moving closer or further away, even as I turn to look at her.
It’s an absolute defense of neutrality.

Is she telling me it’s my choice? Or is she telling me not to try?
Shit.

As I think these things, the bus arrives. I sigh.
“Come on. This is our ride.”
“Mmm.” She follows me obediently, despite giving the transport a wary look.
“Never seen a bus before?” There’s no sarcasm in that question as I pay the fare. In her case, it might really be true.
“No, I’ve never seen one. But when you were injured, you were placed in something like this, and now you’re healed.” Ah, there’s something much too simplistic about that. She’s drawing connections that don’t exist.
“And also, Guru told us that humans make devices that allow them to travel great distances quickly with little effort. He called them ‘cars.’” Ah, maybe she’s not making a mistake then?
“Yeah, it’s like that.” We take our seats near the front of the bus. At first she doesn’t seem to like the idea as I let her take the window seat, but she stops resisting after a moment and sits. I slide in beside her. “Most people prefer the window side. You get to watch the scenery as you go.”
I’ve seen it all before, but she probably hasn’t even on foot.
“Mmm.” That sound she makes, that vague answer. The tone she used sounded noncommittal this time.
I sigh again. I feel kind of like I’m leading her around again on the first day right now. That empty expression turned away from me is like that. Maybe if I say a bit more?
“You’re right though. This is like a car, but it doesn’t belong to just one person. Anyone can use it for a little money.” She looks at me with the mention of money. I wonder what her Guru told her about that?
“Anyway, the bus moves around to specific locations at specific times, picking people up and dropping them off, that way you can use it to get closer to where you want to go. It’s usually faster and easier than walking. A lot of people use the bus because of that.” Even though there aren’t many in this one right now. At this time of day, people heading back home are pretty rare. As I look around, I can see a couple of pairs of what are almost certainly pilgrims on their Journeys, young people with Moemon beside them.
I can feel my heart beating faster just looking at them. My mouth feels a little dry.
Oh god, I’m going to be stuck here, on a bus, with unknowns like that? I take a couple of deep breaths. Don’t notice me, don’t notice me, don’t notice me.

Someone notices me.

A small hand touches my arm.
I look over to see emerald eyes looking at me with a confused expression. For a second, it surprises me, and I can feel my breath catch. But… The hand stays on my arm, and I calm down. I breathe deeper.
“Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing.”
“…” She looks at me for a moment with a concerned face, but then turns away again. Her warm hand slides off of my arm.
“You’ve had many injuries.” She says it without looking at me, her face reflected in the window as the town flows by slowly.
I know she’s talking about my arm. They’re old, and hard to see, but feeling them is easy. Smooth patches of skin, a different texture from the rest of my arm. Scars.
Some of them, no, most of them were from people. Children can be cruel when they sense weakness. And adults can be cruel when they sense strength.
Once you start fighting, you can never really stop, or you’ll be crushed by the weight of the karma you make. It’s something a child couldn’t understand. Not without experiencing it.
But besides the cuts, gouges, and scrapes of more fights than I can count, there are marks, once deep, like small crescent moons. Anyone could see that they’re bites.

“Why do you fight?” It’s not something I expected to hear from her. She’s still not looking at me, that warm hand resting on one of her thighs. She leans on the window, her chin resting in her other hand. Her look ,I don’t know if it’s sullen or not.
I think. Why do I fight?
When I was young, I fought for myself. Zoned for a school much closer to the center of town, I had to put up with people who didn’t see me anywhere else, people I had no relation to. People who saw a little boy with a strange fear and funny scars. I fought because they thought it was fun to hurt me, to set me aside and make me different. To make me an outsider so they could fit in. I became some petty villain so they could be a hero.
I fought back because it hurt. I fought back because I was angry. Because I was sad and lonely and tired and ashamed. I lashed out with my fists and my feet. I fought like an animal.
And I was beaten down like one. One person alone can’t fight the majority.
I fought because there was no other choice, and I fought dirty because it was the only way. I picked up whatever was on hand and made it my weapon. It just so happened that the first thing on hand at that time was a baseball bat.
Children learn. But they also bear grudges. Once you fight, you can’t stop, or the fall that comes after will never end. So I took on the grudges of the children and became a monster worthy of being beaten by a hero.
Eventually they learned, but when you’re strong, people notice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bitter, broken strength or not. And that…That leads to more fights.

It’s kind of funny. That’s actually how I met Chris, come to think. He wanted to be a hero and take down the big, bad monster. I beat the crap out of him. Funny thing was, he just kept getting back up. And he started laughing after a while.
Shit, he looked like such an idiot back then. Hell, I couldn’t help but laugh at him, and he was just laughing like a dumbass, and we kept beating the crap out of each other. Yeah… Now that I think about it, maybe he really did…

I think maybe he really did beat the monster that day.
I think that was when I started sticking up for people besides myself. That idiot was trying to protect the dumbfucks that always messed with me from… me. He made me realize I was just like those idiots, taking out my own insecurities on them.
“You’re smiling.” Soft words again.
“Yeah. Just remembering something.”
Why do I fight?
“I have to.”
“Mmm?”
“I fight because I have to. Because there are things I can’t leave alone, and things I want to protect.”
“I see.” Is it my imagination, or is there a hint of a smile reflected in the glass?
……………
………
…

[Lycodrake]

Daaamn.
This was goood.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

Balanced character development for both the 'Mon and the Trainer in an update. Skillfully handled there. The part that stood out to me the most was Aurum began internalizing why he was always getting into so many fights and why he has that plethora of scars.

“You’ve had many injuries.” She says it without looking at me, her face reflected in the window as the town flows by slowly.

I know she’s talking about my arm. They’re old, and hard to see, but feeling them is easy. Smooth patches of skin, a different texture from the rest of my arm. Scars.

Some of them, no, most of them were from people. Children can be cruel when they sense weakness. And adults can be cruel when they sense strength.

Once you start fighting, you can never really stop, or you’ll be crushed by the weight of the karma you make. It’s something a child couldn’t understand. Not without experiencing it.

These lines in particular stood out to me.

[Erlkonig]

SHONEN

[Lycodrake]

SHONEN

I was thinking this for a bit.
Then got side-tracked.

[Twelveseal]

[Breakfast]
We get off the bus three blocks from the Clinic. It’s the closest stop. It’s hot, and the air is humid from yesterday's rain, making me wish I could take the bus’s air conditioner with us. The streets are quiet at this time of day, even though Beech Wood is mostly urban.
Everyone’s at work or at home right now, so most of the people on the street are pilgrims with their partners or loafers. I can feel my shoulders tighten as I see the people with their Starters.
I feel that warm hand on my arm again, reminding me to take a deep breath.

“Why?” Her voice is quiet as we stand beside the bus stop.

“When I was little, I got lost in the woods, far from home.I was attacked by Moemon, and almost eaten.” She looks at me in surprise, a finger tracing the curve of an old bite. The indentions from the teeth are still there, just slightly, revealing that it wasn’t a human mouth.
“I’ve been like this ever since. One’s I don’t know.”

“I… See.” Her voice sounds both surprised and sad.

“Then why Journey?”
“To get over it.”
“Mmm.” She nods her head faintly. Her hand falls away.
But every so often, as we walk towards a place that will be filled with things I fear, her hand brushes mine.

A reminder.
…………….
……….
…

The Clinic is crowded.
Needless to say, it’s an unpleasant feeling. Even for someone without my problem, being stuck in a crowded room with a lot of strangers, all in a place that’s primary function is to take in the sick and injured, can be an immensely uncomfortable experience.

The air is cool in here, almost uncomfortably so, but I’m sweating.
I try not to look at the people here directly.
I check in with the receptionist. Unsurprisingly, it happens to be Nurse Joy. In any other profession besides law enforcement, having a nearly identical woman working at every facility, all part of the same family with the same last name, would immediately make anyone suspicious.
I have long considered the fact that no one seems to notice this when it comes to Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies to be highly suspect. They all have the same height, build, skin tone, hair color, eye color, facial features, and they even sound alike. There’s almost no difference between them, even when moving to regions with dramatically different environments. Literally, there are fewer differences between the Joys than there are between Moemon of the same Breed. The same is true of the Jennies.

It’s not natural.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” The cheery woman who looks just like my mother, but with longer hair and nurse outfit, opens with that line.
“Ummm… I’m Aurum Birch. I think I should have an appointment scheduled?” Mom said something about that following the lecture of doom this morning.
“Ah! Miranda’s son! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you! Let me see here…” She checks the computer screen behind the desk.
“It seems you’re a bit early. Your appointment is at nine, I’m afraid. Would you like to wait?” Hrmm. What time is it, exactly? I take out the Moedex thing the pervert gave me yesterday and flip it open. Not quite eight yet… Hey, wait, is this thing accurate?
“It’s about ten till eight, right?”
“Yes!” Such enthusiasm.
Hmmm. There was a café on the way here… And I wound up skipping breakfast because of hell lecture… Chu ate something out of the fridge. Not sure what exactly, but something, but she might still be hungry.

It’s an expense I don’t need, but I’m hungry.
And I don’t want to stay in this room any longer than I have to.

“We’ll come back in an hour.”
“Okay~! I’ll mark that you checked in.” Just then, someone comes out of the back room, a patient being dismissed.
“Ah, excuse me. Mr. Mercer! It your turn~!”
“Uhh… Yeah. You seem busy, so we’ll just get out of your way.”
“Ah, see you later, cousin~!” Ah, so that’s how this one is related to me. Must be the daughter of an older brother or sister if she’salready a Nurse.

I think.

It’s messed up, but they all look alike. I can’t tell my relatives apart.

“Come on Chu, let’s get something to eat.” Her eyes light up at those golden words.
As we walk back down the street though, she tugs on my arm.
“That woman…”
“Looks like my mom, right.”
“Yes, but… Even under the smells she wears, she smells the same.” Smells she wears? Perfume? Or maybe she smells like chemicals and antiseptic?
“Well, they are related. She said she was my cousin, so she’s the daughter of my mom’s brother or sister. Actually, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met that one before. I didn’t really have a reason to go to the Moemon Clinic until now, so even though I see it every time I’m on the square, I’ve never really gone in.”
“Mmm.” A questioning sound. “But smelling so similar…”
“Let me guess. It’s not normal, right?”
“Mmm.” Figured as much.
“They’re all like that. My mom’s from a really big family. Each and every woman from it looks exactly the same. You almost never see differences. My aunt Janice is the only other one I’ve seen that doesn’t follow the mold. She lives up on the coast, and has a deep tan. Even related to them, I think it’s weird.” I pause and sigh.

“But no one ever seems to say anything about it.”
“Humans are strange.”
“In this, I have to agree.” No, strange doesn’t cover it. There’s something going on there.
“It seems like it’s been that way for a long time, though.”
“What about the men of the family?”
“Heh. We all look pretty normal. I don’t look that strange, do I?”
“Mmm. But…” She leans in close, and I feel her soft bodypress against me in the middle of a public street. “Uhhhh…” There’s a faintsound coming from her, and then she pulls away.
“Your scent is… different.”
“Did you just smell me?”
“Of course.” She says it like it’s not strange at all. Maybe it isn’t. At least, not for her, anyway.
“Wait, are you saying a smell weird?”
“Mmm. A little. But it could be normal. I don’t know human smells that well yet.” Huh. I wonder what the significance of an odd smell is? It can’t be awesome sex pheromones, or I’d have gotten laid already.

“Hey. Do I stink?”
“No. You smell… Comfortable.” Comfortable has a smell?
“What does that mean?”
“You smell like people.” Plural? I smell like different people? Should I worry about this? Does it mean my smell changes?
“And what does that mean?”
“You smell like people. Family.” Huh. I guess… That’s good? Whatever.

We stop at the café. Rather than going in, I lead her to an outdoor table and we sit. There are already laminated menus held in place with a magnetic clip stuck to the wrought iron table. A wide umbrella stationed in a hole in the table’s center keeps the sun off, a light breeze making it’s cloth tassels shift.
She’s poking the magnet. It’s cute, but why is she… Oh.

“Is it weird?”
“It feels strange. Kind of tingly.”
“Heh. It’s a magnet. Do you like it?”
“Maybe.” I wonder if something like that might make a nice gift? I think there might be a shop in Fall’s Ridge that sells special stones and gems. I’d have to ask Chris or Fargo. They’d know more about that kind of thing.

I take the menus out and take a look. We’re still well into breakfast service, so… Hmmm.
Ahhh… There’s a meal mom could agree with. I’ll get that a sa silent apology for the Cup Ramen. It doesn’t hurt that it looks good, too.
“Do you have any idea what you want?” I look up from themenu.
Uhhh…
“It’s upside down, Chu.” She flips it around.
“You can’t read at all, can you?” She blushes and glares at me.
Shit.

How the hell is she going to pass that test? No, how would she even study for it?
“You humans complicate things too much!” Ah, she’s mad.
“Maybe… I should order for you?” She liked eggs, so maybe that’s a good way to go. They probably have something with eggs on here… Ah! This should work. And, since she seems like she eats a lot, maybe an extra egg? I’ll get an apple, too, just in case. If she doesn’t eat it, I will. I like apples, after all.
We wait a bit for a waitress, and I give the order when one stops by. Chu looks kind of sullen. She keeps poking the magnet, even after I put the menus back. I guess she doesn’t like it when she finds something she can’t do.

“Eh… We’ll teach you to read.” It might take a while though. That’s what’s worrying me. She seems like she’s a quick thinker, so I don’t think it’ll take too long, but… Learning to read isn’t something you can just pick up overnight.
I sigh and lean back, looking away from her to look at the city. A simple metal fence separates the café’s patio from the sidewalk and the paved road. Maybe it’s that boundary that makes it a little easier for me to relax?

People walk by in the warm morning sun. A cool breeze whisks away the heat. The air feels damp and heavy. The vivid green of trees and grass, the bright hues of flowers and the fluttering of butterflies. Theplanters around the square look lively. The sound of voices and quiet talk, the rumble of engines as cars drive by. The people pass by with their own places to go, their own lives. The courthouse with its big clock dominates it all, but it’s an old building from a bygone era. The whole square feels old, like someone plucked it from a sepia-toned photograph. And yet it’s definitely modern. The color and sound, the movement…

“This place is alive.” Her voice finishes my thoughts.
“Not like the forest. But it is alive.” It’s a statement. I just nod to her without turning my head. This place… This place is my home. If we start this Journey, how long will it be before I come back? Will I be able to return? There’s always a danger with traveling.
And there’s always a chance that I’ll find some reason to stay somewhere else.
There’s a sense of loneliness there, a premonition of homesickness. I wonder if she feels that.

“Do you think you’ll miss it? Your home that is.”
“Mmm. I might. But I cannot expect great change to come to me. The mountain does not change. The forest does not change. Only the people change. If I wish to see for myself, then I must see for myself. Anything else is foolishness.”
“Hmm. You’re right. I can’t expect things to change for the better on their own. If I want something, I should do it myself.”
“Mmm. Ah!” I turn back to see the waitress come back withour orders. That was fast…
Not that I’m complaining.
She leaves our orders with a smile and takes off to wait onthe next customers.
I look at our orders while I think that the service hereisn’t too bad.

A bowl of oatmeal smelling of maple and brown sugar with slices of apple, cranberries, and walnuts, a few links of breakfast sausage, a small wedge of soft white havarti cheese flecked with dill and a big glass of orange juice for myself. Fruit, grain, dairy, meat, it’s fairly well balanced.
Her meal is a bit heavier on the protein. Both scrambled eggs with melted cheddar cheese and a light chipotle seasoning and a side ordered plain fried egg, for one, a half-dozen strips of applewood smoked bacon, hash browns with onion and ham chunks, a sliced apple and a large buttered croissant. There’s a big glass of milk with her meal. I ordered a pair of Sets on the menu and added a fried egg and an apple for hers. She seemed to like the ham sandwiches the other day, so pork seems like an acceptable choice. Though maybe I should have ordered her the spinach omelet instead? I don’t know if she likes greens.
Hers looks like a lot of food, but I have a feeling she’ll eat it all.

“You seemed like you liked ham and eggs, so I got you that. Not sure if you’ll like it, though.”
“Mmm. We’ll see.” She picks up a strip of the thick cut bacon and takes a bite. Her eyes pop open in surprise as she chews it. Seems like she likes that, at least.
“Ah, while I’m thinking about it, do you know how to use the silverware?” Not that it’s actually silver. It’s probably stainless steel.
“…”
“I guess that’s a no. It’ll probably be on your test, since it’s a sort of common etiquette.” I show her the fork, knife, and spoon. I’m no genius when it comes to more elaborate setups. It’s not like I deal with salad forks and soup spoons and shit. I can tell the difference between a regular knife and a steak knife. Ask me the difference between forks or spoons, and you’ll get snark. Maybe, if she fails, I can bug Fargo about that stuff but at least I can show her the basics and how to use them. Actually, now that I think about it, the meals we have work pretty well for this. The fried egg can be cut, and the oatmeal demands a spoon.

It doesn’t take her long to get the hang of it. Like I said, she’s a quick thinker, and it looks like it carries over to learning, too. Heh, I even remember to show her how to use a napkin to keep food out of your lap.

She may not eat like a lady, but it could be a lot worse.

The meal itself is pleasant, if uneventful, and the check is only slightly painful. She seemed to like the scrambled eggs a lot, which makes me wonder if she likes spicy food. The hash browns looked like they were the biggest failure, and she still ate them.
The milk was probably the biggest surprise. Apparently, she likes milk quite a bit.

I can also now say that I’ve seen a mouse with a milk mustache. And that I also taught said mouse how to use a napkin.

By the time breakfast is finished, we need to start heading back. I tipped the waitress as I felt appropriate and we headed off.
“Money again.”
“Hmm? Yeah. Pretty much everything in human society is connected with money one way or another. It either makes money, consumes it, or does both to some degree.”
“It seems like another complication you humans made.”
“Ahhh… Yeah. It probably wasn’t like that originally. I think it was more about making trading easier between people who had different goods or skills. But then people kept trying to find ways to get more of it than other people.”
“Greed.”
“Unfortunately. They say that money is the root of all evil.”
“Guru said that it was the form of greed.”
“Basically. It’s not really evil, I don’t think, but people have made a lot of ways to use it to abuse other people for their own benefit.”
“Mmm.”
“Anyway, let’s get back. They should be about ready for us.”
……………
………
…

- - - Updated - - -

Guess who finally felt like posting. Sorry for the long absence folks.

[Lycodrake]

Huh. I wonder what the significance of an odd smell is? It can’t be awesome sex pheromones, or I’d have gotten laid already.

Do I spy poking fun at a bad fanfic concept? XD
Also glad to see this update! Definitely get the feeling that Aurum is slightly creeped out and unnerved by the Joys.
Family reunions must be awkward. Also any attraction he might have to a girl with pink hair. XP

[Twelveseal]

Indeed. He's just lucky that, for some reason, males in the Joy family rarely inherit the hair color. Though red hair is surprisingly common, and his auburn actually has reddish highlights, he dodged the bullet of being born with a pink head.
Plus, he'll probably always associate pink-haired girls with his mother, so that might be kind of squicky for him.

As for the pheromone thing... That's actually a thing in Moemon. Some of the Moves use pheromone's as a mechanic, and on rare occasions humans will have a similar ability. It just happens that it's not something Aurum has. Actually, I can think of a character that might have that ability... He might appear at some point in Wandering Hearts, but he's kind of getting his own story.

[Lycodrake]

Indeed. He's just lucky that, for some reason, males in the Joy family rarely inherit the hair color. Though red hair is surprisingly common, and his auburn actually has reddish highlights, he dodged the bullet of being born with a pink head.
Plus, he'll probably always associate pink-haired girls with his mother, so that might be kind of squicky for him.

Neat info to learn.
Thought so, yeah.

As for the pheromone thing... That's actually a thing in Moemon. Some of the Moves use pheromone's as a mechanic, and on rare occasions humans will have a similar ability. It just happens that it's not something Aurum has. Actually, I can think of a character that might have that ability... He might appear at some point in Wandering Hearts, but he's kind of getting his own story.

Looking forward to when it gets shown more and whenever this "mystery" character will appear.

[Twelveseal]

Like I said, not sure if he'll appear or not. He's technically someone else's OC, as is his Starter, they've just been modded to fit the setting at his request. Not sure if he wants them to show up in the story or not...

[Lycodrake]

Like I said, not sure if he'll appear or not. He's technically someone else's OC, as is his Starter, they've just been modded to fit the setting at his request. Not sure if he wants them to show up in the story or not...

Ah, alright; that sounds fair. Doesn't have to include him, but if you do get permission I'd think it'd be neat to see a bit of contrast.
Of course, that's kind of a moot point given that we've already been introduced to at least two rivals with rather different personalities compared to Aurum. XP
tl;dr - kk, plz sir can we have some moar?

[Twelveseal]

Yes Oliver, you can have some more. Maybe later today. I need to put the thing through the wringer that is the Lair and fix the formatting after its butchery is done.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

No complaints here, officer.

As for the Joys and the Jennys looking alike, my theories are leaning towards either in-depth, multifaceted conspiracy laden with dark family secrets, or that it shall forever remain a mysterious, albeit funny yet rather creepy when you get down to the brass tacks on-going joke like it normally is.

[Twelveseal]

[Seasons]
I find myself back in a cold, crowded room that makes me tense. I don’t know any of the people here, and I certainly don’t know their Moemon.
Let’s just get this over with.

Nurse Joy takes us into the back room. If I was just here to have Chu healed, they have machines for that in the lobby. It can’t deal with everything, sure, but they’re supposed to be capable of analyzing the genetic structure of the patient with a computer file of their unique traits, like tattoos, scars, or piercings, and perform a full structural repair.
How do I know this? Fargo once explained it to me, believe it or not. Apparently, they’ve looked into ways to adapt the technology to humans, but there’s a theoretical wall or something there that prevents it fromworking on us. I’m reminded of what that pervert said about scientists simply not knowing how Moemon work.

But still, how did we develop technology like this if we don’t understand them? I don’t get it.

We walk past rooms that look a lot like they belong in a hospital, filled with the smells of antiseptics and metal. It’s all very clean. Most of the rooms are full, which strikes me as a bit odd.
“You have a lot of patients.”
“Oh my, yes. This time of year, we’re always quite busy.”
“Something to do with the pilgrimage rite?”
“Yup~! There are often complications when Starters and their partners first pair off. Many people are requested by the Research Center to come in for a check-up just to make sure everything’s going well. Others need to have specific information regarding unique medical conditions their new partners may have, so they’re sent here to receive the proper medicines, information, or training.” I see. There were a lot of people around my age in the waiting room.

“Right this way now~!” She leads us into an empty room withthat same enthusiastic voice.
“The doctor will be with you shortly.”
“Ah, thanks.” And then my cousin is gone.
One of these days, I’m going to find out just what’s up with my mom’s family.
I sigh and sit down in a chair while Chu looks around theroom. Is she sniffing things? I can see those big ears of hers twitch as she moves around the room. I wonder why she’s doing that here? You’d think she’d check out my house first, but she didn’t.
“Hey, why are you smelling everything like that?”
“This room… There’s almost no smell to anything here.”
“Ah. That’s probably because they sanitize everything here. That way, if someone’s sick and being treated, it won’t spread to the next room or the next patient. And also probably so the smell of one Moemon won’t upset another one.” As I witnessed firsthand the other day, not all breeds of Moemon are compatible. Some will try to kill and eat others, as disturbing as that thought is. The idea that something with a human shape is eating something else with a human shape fills me with a deep sense of revulsion. Even so, it seems like it’s pretty common.
Different Breeds compete for food, resources, habitat and territory, mates, and the like, or even try to eat each other outright. It’s survival of the fittest.
Or at least, that’s what I thought, but with Chu’s Guru and the way she talks about the peoples of the mountains and the forests, that might not be the case.

But is that something I’m allowed to ask her?

There’s a lot I don’t know about the way the world works. I guess… That’s part of the point of the Journey, isn’t it?
There’s a knock on the door, and it opens to reveal a tall man with thinning red hair and a hawk nose. “Good afternoon Mr. Birch and…”
“Chu.” He chuckles at my answer.
“I see. I’m Doctor Anthony. A pleasure to meet you. Well then, let’s get down to business, shall we? It seems like you wanted to have her through standard adoption procedures?”
“I guess.”
“So I take it she’s wild then?”
“Yeah. Umm… Chu.”
“Mmm?”
“Please cooperate with him, alright. We’ll get through this faster that way.”
“Mmm. Alright.”
“Ah, she can speak a little. That’s good. That makes things easier.” Eheheh… A little? Yeah…
“Now then, first I’ll check your eyes, ears, nose, and throat. I’m going to use this little thing here, and there’s going to be a light.” He holds up a device that I don’t know the name of. It’s a little magnifier with a light on it and a cap to focus where it’s looking.

He checks her eyes, even though she flinches back a bit, looks in her nostrils, raises her ears and looks inside them, and along their long inner surface, paying special attention to her eartips, and has her open up and stick out her tongue as he checks her mouth, throat, tongue, and teeth. She gags a little as he takes a sample from the back of her throat with a long swab. That ends up in a plastic baggie.
He takes her temperature with an ear thermometer and takes her pulse with an armband. He has her describe pictures in detail from a wall scroll he unfurled. It takes me a second to realize thathe’s actually using it to check her vision, a test designed for Moemon that might not be able to read. He turns off the lights and has her do the same to another scroll, checking her night vision. He has her sniff various sealed jars taken from a cabinet and writes down her descriptions on a clipboard, then has her compare them to another set. After that, the lights come back on.
He places a special set of headphones on her head and has her raise her hand when she hears a noise from that side.

It’s a lot more complicated than I thought already. It’s like a physical. Really, it is a physical.
After a while, he turns the lights back on and has her take off her dress and checks her breathing directly with a stethoscope, both from her chest and her back. I remember the pervert trying that, but this man doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions at all. Even when he checks her genitals and I turn red, he seems unfazed.

I wonder how many times he’s done something like this? Is this something you just get used to?

He has her turn around and checks her back, her tail, and even her anus. I’m honestly amazed she hasn’t fought him, but the worst that’shappened so far is that she’s squinted her eyes closed and blushed. No thunderous doom has befallen this man.
He’s used swabs to take samples and even trimmed small bit of hair, all of which have gone into individual plastic bags. He’s checked her joints and fur, around her eyes, everywhere.
“You can put your dress back on now.” He says it with a gentle smile, and she climbs back in. It’s strange, she didn’t like it before, but now she seems more comfortable in it. Maybe this experience is teaching her modesty? That’s probably for the best, even if it means I don’t get scenery like this morning anymore.
“How old is she?” He asks me this thing. How am I supposed to know that? Oh, right. Ask her. Durr.
“Uhhh… How old are you?”
“I am sixteen seasons.” Seasons? As in spring, summer, etc…?
The doctor looks like he’s unsure, too. Does she mean years,or…
“Do you mean years?”
“Seasons. This is the season of growing. Soon will be the hot season. Then the season of feasting, and after that, the cold season.” So she really means seasons. So, sixteen by four is…
“You’re only four years old!?!”
“Sounds about right.” Doctor Anthony seems to think this is normal.
Chu looks at me like I’m an idiot. Holy crap, she’s four. That’s not right. That’s… Oh god, I was getting turned on by a four year old.
“You seem surprised?” Doctor Anthony looks at me with a smile.
“Well, I thought that since she looked… you know… human… I just thought she’d be around the same age.”
“It’s a common mistake for people who don’t deal with Moemon often. Their life spans are much shorter than a human’s, even though they appear similar. Or, well, some of them are shorter, anyway. It varies a great deal from one Breed to the next. The Pichu family usually only lives for about forty years or so, less if they don’t Evolve to a Pikachu. Though I’ve heard Raichu can live to be quite old, sometimes twice that age.
“And how many seasons are you?” Her voice surprises me a bit. Hmm… Seventeen times four is…
“Sixty eight?” Her eyes bulge.
“Ah.” That’s all she says. I guess she made a similar mistake. Heh.
The doctor chuckles again.
“Now then, I’m going to need a blood sample. Once the lab results have come back, we’ll see about your vaccinations. I might as well get the blood sample now.” He preps a needle, cleaning it with alcohol. He has a small, wrapped alcohol pad on the counter and a long rubber tube.
He wraps the tube around her upper arm and has her pump her fist a few times until a vein stands up, sanitizes the area, and then he draws a blood sample.
I worried about how she’d react to that, but she seems fine. He did warn her there’d be a small pinch, but you never know. Soon enough her arm's untied, the site’s wiped, and he’s got a small bandage over it. Seems liket hey don’t bother with that Spray for something that minor. I wonder how expensive that stuff is.

“Alright, time for the urine sample.” He fishes out a small plastic cup from the cabinet under the sink. I have a premonition.
“Pee in a cup, huh?”
“Basically.” Crap. I don’t even know if she knows how to use a bathroom yet. Actually, why do I have the sudden worry that she may have used a corner of the guestroom? Mom’s going to kill me if she did that…
“Uhhh…”
“If she’s still unsure about restrooms, you can help her. The bathrooms here are handicap compatible, so there should be plenty of room.” He says this with a completely innocent face, but I’m blushing.

“R-right. Come on, Chu.” This… Is going to be awkward as hell. I sigh. This was something that definitely would be on that test, so I have to make sure she knows it anyway.
He tells us where the nearest restroom is, and I lock us in.

This big bathroom makes me think of a prison cell.

“Do you know how to use a bathroom, Chu?” She tilts her head at me with an odd look.
“I bathe there?” Oh god, literal translation.
“Ummm. A toilet?”
“No.”
Oh hell.
“Hrmm… How to explain this… What do you do when you need to relieve yourself?”
“I rub myself.” You… Wait. Oh god. Now… Now I have a mental image, and…
“Calm down, calm down… Deep breaths…” She looks at me strangely.
“Not… Not that kind of relieving yourself.” Hey, wait, does this mean she’s actually experienced? Uh…
Ask later. Not now.
“When you have to piss or shit.”
“Ah. I find an out of the way place or a communal site. Something with a bush, tree, or soft grasses nearby, and release there.” Ah. Bear in the woods, huh. This might not be so hard.
“Ok. A bathroom, toilet, or water closet, whatever the hell people want to call it, is like a communal site. It’s an out of the way place where you can do that kind of thing. You release into that.” I point at the porcelain throne in the corner. “When you’re done, you use this paper to clean yourself instead of leaves or grass, and you put it in that thing, too. You push this lever, and a jet of water washes it down a pipe.” I push the lever and she blinks at it weirdly.
“Noisy.”
“Uhhh… Yeah. When you clean yourself, don’t put too muchpaper in before you pull the lever, otherwise it’ll clog and there’ll be trouble. Most people have these in their own homes. My house has two, one on the top floor and one on the bottom. Anyway, you need to keep your clothes and, uhh, tail, out of the way, otherwise they’ll get wet or dirty. After you’re done, you need to wash your hands here, using soap and water.” I demonstrate the sink.
“That’s basically it.”
“Why do you humans insist on complicating simple things?”
“This one’s for convenience and cleanliness. Deal with it. Also, this time, the doctor needs a urine sample from you.” She quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Basically, you need to piss in this cup instead of in that toilet over there, but you need to do it there to avoid making a mess on the floor. Also, you need to avoid overfilling it. See, it has this little fill line here? Anything more than that goes in the toilet.”
“Tch.” Don’t give me that look, we have to go through this mess.
“I hope you need to, because otherwise we’re going to be here until you do.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t released since last night.”
“Ah, you did that before coming back to my house.”
“No.” Uhhhh… Wait a sec.
“You didn’t do that in my house, did you?”
“Under it.” I blink. Repeatedly.

I ain’t cleaning that shit. Literally.
“Please use the bathroom and toilet from now on.”
“Mmm. So long as I am in your cities.” Ah… Actually, she has a point. I might end up doing something like her method out in the woods…
That’s a slightly uncomfortable thought.
“Anyway, let’s get this over with so we can get out of here.”
“Mmm. This will be in the way.” She promptly pulls the dress over her head and drops it on the floor. While I’m too stunned to do anything, she takes the cup from the, grabs her tail in her other hand to pull it out of the way, squats over the toilet, and pees in the cup.

Why am I staring at this scene like a pervert, and why does she not seem to care?
“Here.” She hands me a cup filled with light yellow, body temperature liquid as the rest noisily drains into the toilet bowl.
Some primitive instinct allows me to simultaneously watch her and unerringly cap the cup in my hands. She wipes herself, flushes, and washes her hands like I showed her while I still stare at her.

And only afterwards does she put the dress back on.

Normally, people pay for this kind of show.
After some modicum of sense returns, I wash my hands too, and we leave the bathroom that now has a magical feel to me.
“Didn’t that bother you,” I say after giving the sample to the patiently waiting doctor. He leaves as the conversation starts.
“No. Why should it?”
“Um… Most people aren’t used to having others watch them do those kinds of things.”
“Mmm. But that’s only something natural. There are no ‘bathrooms’ where I come from. We release when and where we must. That’s common sense. It’s not unusual to have another watch us. In fact, sometimes, it is apleasant feeling for both. It’s safer if someone is watching you than if you were alone and unprotected.” Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess… We aren’t really used to having to worry about our safety while we use thebathroom. But… It’s not like your defenses are up when you’re taking a shit. Unless you’re Batman. Then your defenses are always up.
“Mmm. Besides, some of us enjoy watching others, or being watched.” Ehhhh!?!
“Th-that’s what we call a fetish.”
“Hmmm. So it has a name among humans.”
“Sort of. There are a lot of different fetishes. Those are just two of them.” Oh god this conversation is going in a weird direction. I am seriously not qualified to talk about this shit.
“Maybe… Maybe you should tell Professor Sequoia about that kind of thing. I have a feeling he’d appreciate it.” Not to mention know more about it than I do.
“Mmm. I see no reason to.” YES!
“Anyway… Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long. I think that’s everything they’ll need. Next up would be the shots and pills I think, and then a de-lousing and bath.”
“De-lousing?”
“Ah, like I said, where they kill your fleas and stuff.”
“Mmm. I’ve never had a problem with parasites.”
I quirk an eyebrow. But… Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her scratching, either. Is it possible she’s clean?

After a while, the doctor comes back with a sheaf of paper in hand.
“Good news! Chu’s in good health. No signs of serious healthconcerns, or long-term conditions. Actually, her scent recognition is above normal for a Pichu. It seems like she might not hear as well in her left ear asher right, but it’s not a major concern.” Her ears twitch in surprise at that. So… She has a good nose, but she might have some minor hearing problems? With those rabbit ears?
“Her fur is in good condition, so her diet’s healthy, for the most part, and it doesn’t look like she has any long term injuries. No damage to her reproductive organs.”
“Damage to her… Is that normal?”
“You see that sometimes in wild ones. They’ve mated with something that has too much of a size difference or was too violent with them. Usually, the handler, that would be you, prevents that kind of thing in tame Moemon.” Ah… Whoa. That’s not something I even considered.
“She doesn’t show any signs of infectious diseases, and the few scars she has are superficial. Really, the only oddity is that ear of hers. Not that it's anything to worry about.” He points at the tip of her left ear, the black fur there splitting into three small tufts. I guess that's unusual?
“What about parasites? Fleas and stuff?”
“Ah. Electric types almost never have external parasites.Their bodies generate enough electricity to discourage or kill biting pests.The tests didn’t show any signs of ringworms, heartworms, tapeworms, or other internal parasites either, but I’d suggest having her take the cleansing medications anyway, just in case.” The hell did you manage to live in the wild and not end up infested? Hell, I found you hiding in the dirt under my house!
Maybe Mickey really is watching out for this one?

“The nurse should be here shortly with the vaccines and medications. Once she’s finished with that, you should be ready for a bath. So don’t worry, you’re almost done here. Once you’ve finished, you can pick up your temporary registration card and your certification at the front desk. Is there anything I’m forgetting?”
“Ah, no. I think that’s it.”
“Great! Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Sure.”
And the doctor’s gone. He seems like he’s busy, so I guess he can’t help having to run off. I quietly wish the Professor was more… professional, like him.
Shortly thereafter a nurse who is not named joy comes in carrying a tray with four syringes and ampoules, a glass, and two small pill bottles.
“Huh. There are more than I’d expected.”
“More of these things?” She asks me.
“Yeah. Those are what prevent you from catching diseases.”
“I see.”
She doesn’t resist as the nurse draws the vaccines and injects her, two shots in each arm.
“Does she have to swallow those things?” I look at the pills.
“Unfortunately. She’ll need to take two of the first one, and one of the second.” The nurse runs a glass of tap water as she says this. I know some people are revolted by the stuff, but, well, water is water to me. I don’t think Chu would disagree here, either.
Chu swallows the medications obediently and finishes off the glass of water anyway. I guess neither of us has had much to drink today.

After that, the nurse leads Chu off deeper into the building while I’m ushered back into the waiting room. I tense up immediately, wishing I could just wait in the office. I sit in a corner and stare at the floor, focusing on it, blocking out everything around me.

I can feel my hands shaking slightly. I close my eyes and block it out. I just sit there, not listening, not looking, trying to block myself off in my own little world.

Before… Before I could stand it. I had support. Now…

I want to get up and run, but my body feels like it won’t move. I can hear the sound of feathers ruffling. A voice with an in human tone. I smell something animalistic. I smell smoke and ozone and something that reminds me of mountain snow.
I take deep breaths, try to force myself to relax. How long have I been like this, sitting here? How long will I be here? My sense of time distorts.

I jump when a small, warm hand touches my shoulder. Her hair is damp, her skin a rosy pink color. It seems like they gave her some slippers. I wonder if they gave her underwear. I feel some of the tension leave me at her touch. She’s not smiling, but she’s looking at me with those emerald eyes. There’s something gentle in them.

I don’t think she understands. No, I’m sure she doesn’t. But she knows. She listened to me, and I start to realize that I trust her already.

I feel like that’s something that happened too quickly.
But maybe that’s a good thing?

I let out a sigh and rise. We check out at the front desk. Nurse Joy gave me a good rate, like my mom said she would. We pick up the certificate showing she’s had all of her shots and is in good health, and the temporary registration card, and we leave. It seems like she can keep the slippers. To be honest, since she had been running everywhere barefoot, I didn’t really think shoes were needed. The foot that had held me down in the darkness last night was callused and strong, even if it was small.

Altogether, it’s been about an hour and a half since we came back, between the examination, testing, and her bath. The next stop is the local mall. There’s a boutique in there that specializes in clothes for Moemon.We’ll need to take the bus again, but we shouldn’t have much of a wait.
Still, while I’m thinking about it…

“Did you like getting a bath?”
“Mmm… It wasn’t bad, but…”
“But?”
“I am not certain about being submerged.”
“Eh?”
“My people do not get along well with water. It interferes with speech, so I find it inconvenient.”
“Interferes with… Oh, the spark-speak thing. But I’m assuming there wasn’t anyone to talk to like that, right?”
“Well… No, but it still makes me uncomfortable.” Huh. Sounds like she just doesn’t like getting wet to me, but maybe I’m wrong. After all, from what I’ve seen, she manages to stay clean somehow despite being wild. It’s not like she was filthy and mud-covered when I met her. I wonder how she does that.

“Whatever. Now we just need to wait for the next bus again.”
“Mmm. What’s next?”
“Next is shopping. We’re going to pick up some clothes of your own.” And I pray that you don’t have expensive tastes.
……………
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[ItsaRandomUsername]

Not sure if I've mentioned it before or not, but Chu and Aurum's chemistry is something that you've got down pat. It really works and I'm always grasping at updates because its just so fun to read.