//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: New Roof Buddies, also Tsundere // Story: When The Night Crawls // by Hoppa_21 //------------------------------// POV: Narrator Location: Somewhere in the Bridge Harbor District, on a random roof Time: 00:07 “…A chicken?” our ever observant protagonist stated in confusion. However, this was apparently the wrong thing to say as the chicken indignantly ruffled her feathers while directing a fierce glare at him. “I’M NOT A CHICKEN EITHER! YOU STUPID BULL!” “Schon gut! (Alright!) Geez, as if I would know!” Kurt replied rather indignantly before crossing his arms and turning away in a slight pout. He still eyed the new guest of his humble abode warily out of the corner of his eyes. Something the filly did as well. She didn’t even try to hide her guarded expression as the silence between them slowly dragged on. A silence our dear Displaced wasn’t comfortable with. With a sigh he gave up looking offended before setting his hands on his hips. He wanted to look authoritative with this pose but all it did was make him look like a tsundere schoolgirl with pigtails scolding her childhood senpai and secret crush. Well, if you didn’t count the blush Kurt wasn’t sporting. And the missing stockings and sailor uniform. Also yes, this was just a reference. And in case you want any more hints. Her hair is orange and she is one of the ten rivals of a rather easy to irate schoolgirl. At least if you try to get some moves on her Senpai! ...Moving on. Anyway, now thoroughly convinced of his footing and his pose Kurt started his interrogation. “Whatever. More importantly, what are you doing here on my roof?” was his first masterful question. “Well, technically this is my roof.” “I didn’t read your name anywhere on this roof.” She deadpanned. Hard. “You don’t even know my name.” Kurt reeled back in surprise at this remarkably unexpected but well thought out comeback. “Uh…yeah…maybe… Y-You smartass!” “Seriously? That’s the best comeback you can come up with?” *Grumble* “I’m hungry, I’m tired, and I’m cold! What do you expect me to come up with!” whined Kurt as he rolled himself into a ball, the pain overwhelming all of his senses. It felt as if his stomach was cramping and curling up into a ball too, only it was a very painful ball that gets kicked by a whole league of football, or if you prefer the word soccer players. Our protagonist might not have seen it, but the chi-, uh, definitely ‘Not-Cat-Thingy’ casted him a sympathetic look. A look she of course tried to suppress and stamp out, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. She wasn’t a completely uncaring and greedy jerk after all. Alone the way she winced at his pain-streaked face attested to that. In the end she let out a heavy sigh, before getting back to her place behind the metal ventilation stuff, only to emerge a few seconds later with something red and shiny from it. She slowly trotted up to him, eying him warily. Obviously the skepticism of a child, or foal, that learnt to be always on the lookout. But seeing as her new blue room-, or roofmate wasn’t making any sudden moves she relaxed before lowering her head and with that the shiny red object to the ground. Seemingly drawn out of his funk or pained hunger pangs by the movement in his peripheral vision the Nightcrawler turned his head slightly, beholding the new object that was presented before him. He gave a rather eloquent “Huh?” before realization seemed to set in. The object before him was surrounded by moonlight, giving it a certain majestic shine and through that seeming like a holy grail. Especially with the red and shiny peel that presented this incredibly and undoubtedly rather perfect looking juicy goodness of an apple. His eyes were captivated by this true beauty. Albeit not as god-like as a pretzel, even a simple fruit was simply looking divine to him now. Nightcrawler’s gaze then went to the orange filly, who squirmed under his scrutinizing and baffled gaze. “J-Just don’t think that I care about you or anything. I’m only giving you something because it would go bad otherwise!” the little now outed chicken tsundere said in an attempt to somehow weaken the emotions that were bound to follow by this emotionally unstable creature. And she was right. Not that it helped her of course as her tsundere try to solve this was completely ignored by her new blue friend. Another set of manly tears build up in his eyes. He couldn’t believe his luck. This little tsundere chicken cat pony, who had not even a roof for herself (if you didn’t count the one they were on), and who was in a similar situation to him was offering him her food. Food she needed herself. It was so deeply touching! “H-Hey now! No need to get mushy over an apple!” the little foal responded hastily, as she grew uncomfortable because the manly tears proved simply to be too manly for her little frame to handle. “DANKE! (THANKS!)” Kurt exclaimed loudly as his arms suddenly made a wide bow before they clamped back together in the middle, his hands hereby wrapping around the small body of the orange pony. Her eyes turned to pinpricks and she tried to escape, but no one escapes the Nightcrawler! She had to learn this the hard way. Kurt immediately pulled the pony to his body rubbing his cheek against her soft furry one as he cuddled the ever loving daylights out of her, much to the fillies chagrin. All the while a chorus of ‘Danke’ followed this loving embrace-cuddle. “Alright! Alright! I get it!” she said irritatedly as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp but it was no use. In the end she ceased her struggles and resigned herself to her fate as living pony cuddle pillow. This went on for about five minutes, until Kurt had enough cuddles for the day and set her back down to take the apple from her. The filly immediately distanced herself, lest she was about to suffer under another cuddle barrage. Kurt himself didn’t mind as he munched on the small perfectly red apple. The taste reminded him of the apples in the small garden of his grandmother. No pesticides or any other strange stuff were used on this apple he could tell. This was no ordinary apple straight from the supermarket, this was some first class quality stuff. Not that you couldn’t find quality in a supermarket, but the stuff in the private gardens normally always beats the stuff in the supermarket for obvious reasons. That was also the reason that it was gulfed down fast enough to give Fili-Second a run for her bits. At the end of the small apple carnage only the core remained. Kurt patted his stomach satisfied. It certainly did stove off his starving problem. Of course he would undoubtedly feel the hunger again in the morning, but at least it meant he could sleep peacefully now. He then squinted at the remaining core in dissatisfaction. “Say, do you have any garbage can here?” Kurt asked as he never took his eyes of the core. The filly rolled her eyes. “Geez, let me think if I, a homeless filly, have a garbage can so that the ponies from the city administration won’t sue me for pollution.” “…So, do you have one?” “Celestia, no! I don’t have a garbage can!” Kurt shrugged. “Just asking.” The filly let out an annoyed sigh, before awkwardly glancing around, not really knowing how to start this. “…So, what are you doing here? You don’t exactly look like you come from around here. Or that you are homeless.” “I was robbed and now have to make do with what I have left. Let’s say I at least have a way to communicate with my family. I really don’t know what I would do if I would lose that. Well, it would probably positively destroy me, leaving me an empty husk, filled with sadness and regret,” he said ignoring the oxymoron an emptiness filled with sadness and regret would be. Not that the filly was thinking about that, as her reaction was quite different than the raised eyebrow many would give him. No. The ‘Not-Cat-Thingy’ winced. ‘Maybe she experienced the same fate?’ concluded Kurt masterfully, already feeling the urge to cuddle the little furry being comfortingly again. However, he staved it off in favor to ask her a question. “What about you? Don’t you, you know, have a-“ “A family? Nah, I don’t have one. That’s why I’m out here. It’s nice since nopony is bugging me about school, brushing my teeth or things like that.” “Amen to that! Though education is really important. Sadly most teachers aren’t managing to make the stuff all that exciting. Not to mention the stuff in school you learn and never need again in life.” “Yeah. Who are you telling this? I have learned more useful skills here on the streets. I can take better care of myself than most grown mares.” “Really?” Kurt asked in wonder and slight awe to which she nodded with puffed out her pride swelled fluffy chest. He really had to hold himself back not to cuddle that cutesy pony right then and there again. However, he also couldn’t help but feel a little sting at one of her statements. A statement who he couldn’t say amen to. “I think you are wrong with one thing though,” he said, making the filly raise an eyebrow with him in interest before he continued, “Family. You should never underestimate the power of family. And I’m not even talking about only blood related bonds. Family can be everyone you get close too. This bond can bring you farther than you would ever reach on you own. You shouldn’t abandon it.” The little filly was surprised by these words. Not because of the content, no. Normally she simply would have rolled her eyes at such a cheesy and ‘uncool’ talk. It was the way he said it. The incredible conviction he put into that statement. The conviction that he not only believed every word he said, but would actually stand in with his life for it. It probably also was because of the fact that he usually was a goof. Of course our filly here only had known him for roughly 10 minutes max, but even then she could already see that serious talk wasn’t something that she could expect from him often. She was stunned enough by his words that she didn’t answer him for a full minute. At least until a confident smirk spread across his face. “It seems I really am more creative than you give me credit for! Maybe even superior to you in that aspect!” Orange here simply snorted, “In your dreams.” Kurt simply grinned, not phased by her attitude. He actually found it quite nice. ...And also a bit cute. God knows he was a sucker for all things cute and fluffy. And he also wasn’t ashamed to admit, or even indulge in these urges. But still… He couldn’t help but feel saddened to see such a cute little thing on her own. Sure, it may sound cheesy as hell, but in his opinion everyone should have family to lean onto. Just the thought of being alone like that… He couldn’t bear it. Seriously not. Take away his pretzel, his yellow clothes, heck, take away everything he owns, but let him have his family, and he would still be moderately happy in a way. ...Even though he would genuinely mourn said pretzel. It didn’t come as a surprise that he couldn’t simply let things stand like they were. “You know, you aren’t half bad. So why don’t you join my family? Maybe I could take care of you.” Scootaloo however simply snorted. “Take care of me? I have lived for many years on the street and can take care of myself. I would rather say that it looks more like I need to take care of you.” Kurt huffed indignantly as he crossed his arms. “Well, I take offense to that, Miss Chicken.” “I already told you to stop calling me that!” “Alright, Miss uhhh… Did we ever exchange names?” “Oh, right,” she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Well then, let me begin!” he said as he stood up, one hand at his hip, while another one pointing forward. “I am the one who crawls in the night! The one mutant that is feared by all who….uh…annoy me? Yup, I’m Nightcrawler!” he finished with a flourish of his hand. The ‘Not-Cat-Thingy’ snickered. “Wow. That’s so lame! You really aren’t good at this are you?” Kurt huffed. “I’d like to see you do better!” “I could, but unlike you I’m not begging for attention and don’t need to prove anything.” He grabbed his heart in feign hurt. “Ouch. You hurt my feelings!” “Mare up!” she teased with a cocky grin before composing herself, “Anyway, I’m Scootaloo.” “That’s actually a cool name. Better than Mane-iac, that’s for sure.” A cocky smile formed on her lips. “You better believe it. And my name will one day be known by all of Equestria!” Our protagonist puffed his chest out proudly before proclaiming, “So will I!” The smile of the filly turned into a smirk. “Oh yeah? Well, I bet I’m going to make it first.” “That’s a bet I gladly accept,” Kurt proclaims with puffed out chest as they both looked at each other in determination, before they grinned and started to chuckle softly. The chuckling was only interrupted as Kurt suddenly yawned tiredly as his jaws stretched widely. Despite his canines being on full view though Scootaloo didn’t mind, considering she wasn’t a chicken. Well...at least not a chicken in that sense. She had met other races before and knew it was just a normal part of who they were. Kurt being ever the oblivious fella didn’t notice Scootaloo’s non-existing reaction to him showing his canines. Instead he rubbed his hands against his opposite arms, shivering a little. “It’s so cold! How am I supposed to sleep out here!” Kurt whined with a little sniffle, making Scootaloo roll her eyes. “That’s life. And as long as you don’t have a roof to live under you should get used to it.” He then looked her up and down. His eyes roaming over every fluffy spot of her diminutive and rather warm and cuddly looking body, filling Scootaloo with unease. “...You know. You do look rather warm and cuddly,” he finally said after a bit of silence. Scootaloo instinctively jumped back and out of reach, as to not be entrapped by this creatures strong arms once again. “Don’t be like that! I heard it is perfectly normal to sleep in the same place if outside in the cold without tents and for survival! Nothing is wrong with that!” “So you really are saying what I thought you would say. The answer is NO! I’m not being your cuddle pillow for the night! What do I look like a plushie?!” Kurt scratched his chin, “Actually…” Scootaloo groaned, seemingly annoyed by his statement. Kurt however ignored this and simply continued to make his points that supported his idea. “You would profit from it too, you know. It can’t be healthy for a kid to sleep out in the cold.” “I’m telling you no! There is no way, no how that I will sleep while you are embracing me!” “Bitte? (Please?)” Kurt said softly while using his most feared puppy dog eyes on the little filly, coercing her into giving in and being his soft cuddle pillow for the night. Of course she tried to fight it, she truly did, but somehow the more he stared, the more she felt compelled to oblige. She didn’t know why, or more accurately how he pulled it off, seeing as he was a grown male, but he somehow managed to make the puppy dog eyes believable on him. She almost didn’t notice how hard she was biting her lip as she tried to stay strong. Just short before she could draw blood she broke down. “ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Just stop looking at me like that with those damn eyes of yours!” she practically begged, as Kurt started to cheer over his victory like a foal that just got the permission to stay up late at night, or stay home alone. Only that it pretty much was the opposite he was cheering over. To sleep now with a cuddle pony pillow by his side. “Perfect! Now that this is done let’s say our prayers for the night!” he said while clapping his hands together. “Lasset uns beten! (Let us pray!)” “Meine Augen fallen zu. (My eyes are closing.) Lieber Gott, gib süße Ruh! (Dear God, give us a sweet rest!) Deine Engel halten Wacht, (Your angels are keeping watch,) gib mir, uh, uns eine gute Nacht!” (give me, uh, us a good night!) He then hesitated for a moment before looking other his orange-furred ward. “Habe Acht und pass auf das Huhn auf mit deiner Macht! (Be aware, and take care of the chicken in my care!)” [‘in my care’ is wrongly translated since he said ‘with your might’ but it rhymes, so...] “Amen. (Amen).” As he finished up Scootaloo could only furrow her brow at him in confusion, “Weird.” Nightcrawler huffed, crossing his arms at her, “It’s not weird!” he then grinned devilishly at her, “You know what’s weird?” Scootaloo looked up at him with a raised sceptical brow before shaking her head. “That such a cute thing like you isn’t being cuddled!” With that his arms clamped around her once again. She should have been prepared for this, but her confusion over his gibberish prayer was dampening her reflexes and making sure that the blue being could grab her and press her firmly against his leather-covered belly. She squirmed under his strong arms once again, but of course couldn’t escape him just like last time. Nightcrawler yawned loudly eliciting her own cute yawn only a moment later making him grin. Scootaloo felt her face heating up, not only at the terrible timing of her yawn, but also to be treated as a plushy by this crazy stranger. Sure, she had agreed to it, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel embarrassed by her current position. “Seems it is bedtime, I believe the word was, for the two of us,” he mused as he lay down with his head on his backpack. He then turned the little fluffy body of the filly around so that her warm back was pressed against his barrel, before yawning again. Scootaloo huffed, but didn’t say anything as she simply tried to make herself comfortable. Something that much to her chagrin seemed to be rather easy in the creatures grip. It made her briefly wonder what exactly he was, but then again it wasn’t important and also not really polite to ask things like that, so she simply laid there in her own slight grumpiness of her body being abused as a plushie. However, despite her annoyance, she couldn’t help the small smile that was edged on her muzzle. It was a rather nice feeling of warmth and comfort that this position provided and was certainly more comfortable when she gave it credit. Especially compared to her normally lonely and cold nights. Not that our little tsundere filly would actually ever admit it. But in the end it wasn’t important as the day came to a close and the two cuddled closer for warmth, and in case of Kurt for fluffiness as they peacefully drifted to sleep. And so a bond between these two most distinct of characters was formed. Normally you would expect me now to proclaim how incredibly important and how it was destiny for these two to meet and bring forth great a many accomplishments. Of course I won’t tell. It is an unwritten story. Anything can happen. Maybe their accomplishments might not be as great as you would expect, or maybe chicken, uh, Scootaloo won’t be as important. One of them could die for example. Just so to show you how everything is possible. No one knows. Far less the beings that are talked about now. They only focused on the warmth they spend each other in this cold night. And maybe also about their deal. About how they would at least try to show the world their colors and gain meaning. Everything was open in this most magical of nights… … … ... ...Yeah, I know that last sentence was cheesy as hell, shut up.