Matt walked through the door of the apartment to find Roxanne wearing only her purple bathrobe, laying sideways on the couch. She was tapping away on her laptop with one hand, as she casually pet Belle’s head with the other. The crimson Absol had a book of her own in front of her, and was nestled against the woman’s chest.
Matt smiled as he walked up to her, sitting at the small opening near the end of the couch. “Any luck in your research?” he asked as he leaned his crutch next to a small table. “Because Applejack was rejected from walking through a portal, so if you have something we can have some form of progress.”
“Hmm?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard him, both she and Belle were apparently sunk deeply into their research.
“I said if you got any luck on your research, because trying to take Applejack through the Distortion World is a no go,” he restated.
“Well, you didn’t really give me much to go on,” the woman said as she stretched slightly and glanced back at him. “There is only one Pokemon who can access the Distortion World, Giratina so that’s a debunked line of searches. The more probable solution is the “one came from the whole ‘nightmare’ angle”, but that has its problems too Matt.”
“Many pokemon have the ability to induce nightmares into others, mostly Psychics or ghost types,” Belle added helpfully.
“So we’re still on square one, huh?” Matt said with a sigh.
“Not quite, I’ve managed to rule out Drowsy and Hypno, if she’d run afoul of them... then we wouldn’t be finding her in one piece,” Roxanne said matter of factly. “They tend to leave profound damage both mentally and... physically.”
“That still leaves a whole lot of other Pokemon that could be our culprits,” Matt said as he rubbed a hand to his forehead.
“Yes, yes it does,” Roxanne agreed as she leaned all the way up, doing her best not to disturb Belle too much as she brought herself over to lean against Matt’s chest. “How did the little mare take it, and what did Giri say about it?”
“Applejack didn’t take it very well... and Giratina was as surprised as the rest of us when she was... shocked away from the portal,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He went to see if he can find anything at her end... so he’s gone for a while, but hopefully be back soon.”
“Well... that’s not helpful,” Roxanne murmured with a frown. “I was kind of counting on him to help out with this, him being so old and all, I thought he’d be able to help narrow the search.”
“I’m sure too... but for now, we need to make Applejack feel welcome at least while she’s with us,” Matt said, reaching down to pull out the Ultra Ball she was in and simply held it in his hand. “She’s depressed and needs comfort.”
“That strangely doesn’t surprise me,” Roxanne said with an empathetic frown. “She must be so scared being separated from her family and friends, stuck in an alien world, and being forced into a Pokeball over and over again.”
“Yeah... which is why I think we should try to make room for her to live here,” he said, glancing up to his wife. “She’s no bigger than a Luxray, so I think she can live here comfortably, the only problem is well... Cres.”
“I’ve already talk to him about it,” Belle answered. “For now he going to mostly stay in the master bedroom... though I did advised him to make amends for whatever is between them. We can’t have them having fights inside the house.”
“No we can’t, I’m trusting you will keep an eye on them?” Matt asked.
Belle nodded her head. “Of course.”
“My little Belle, so responsible,” Roxanne said with a smile as one of her hands left Matt’s chest to stroke her gently. “She was being responsible, wasn’t she?”
Matt smiled and nodded his head. “Yes, she was,” he agreed as he reached out to scratched the Absol across her back, much to Belle’s appreciation.
“Thought so,” Roxanne said with a smile. “So, are you going to bring Applejack out or stick her in the PC for the next month?”
Matt looked at her a bit flatly, but shook his head. “I don’t think that’s really appropriate to joke about.”
“Sorry, too much research with not enough wine,” Roxanne joked. “By which I mean, none at all.”
“Well, we don’t want our little girl to develop any problems now do we?” Matt asked, moving his head away from Belle and over Roxanna’s slightly swollen stomach.
“No, we don’t,” Roxanne agreed with a smile as she stroked a hand through his hair. “Though, what I meant was that you should probably bring her out now dear.”
Matt nodded his head and move his hand away. “Right... Applejack, come on out,” he said tossing the ball lightly in front of the open space in the living room.
The ball popped open and the mare emerged sitting on her rump, a disheartened frown crossing her face. She glanced up slightly to study her surroundings, and her eyes shortly locked onto the three of them. Her eyes narrowed slightly upon Belle, showing a deep level of distrust towards the Absol.
“Oh great... more...” the mare said, mostly under her breath.
“Hello there, my name is Belle,” Belle said as she got up from the couch, a smile on her face. “You must be Applejack.”
“Yes...” the mare said slowly as she kept her spot on the rug, her eyes glance back up at the two humans before around the house. “Now where in tarnation am I?”
“The house that you’ll presumably be living until we find you a way home,” Belle replied without a hint of hostility in her voice. “Unless you’d rather stay in the ball,” she added helpfully.
Applejack glanced around the living room once more, a faint note familiarity crossing her face. “I would rather not be sent into that... contraption again...” she said before looking back at Belle. “But the thought of living in a place where Cres lives doesn’t sound all that appealing either.”
“Yes, well it is my hope you can both put aside your differences,” Belle said, still smiling. “After all, it all started because of several misunderstandings, most of which were caused because my dear mate’s best skill is not ‘on his paws thinking’.”
“Hmph... right, ‘misunderstandings’,” Applejack said with a small snort. “If you ask me, he wasn’t confused on what he was doing.”
“That’s your decision,” Belle stated before shrugging. “Of course, I’m obviously biased where Cres is concerned. All I ask is that you don’t yell at him in front of our son. If you do, I will take offense.”
The mare raised an eyebrow but glanced away. “Then maybe you should tell him to keep his trap shut.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Belle replied before glancing towards the rear of the apartment. “Oh, and don’t disturb Ohm.”
“Who?” Applejack asked as she looked in the direction Belle was gazing, only to have her eyes widen slightly at the sight of the large, fierce looking cat whose black and blue fur cast an obvious shadow over himself.
“Ohm,” the Absol said with a nod towards the Luxray. “He’s very polite and mostly keeps to himself so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with him, so long as you remember to do the same.”
“I’ll keep that in mind...” Applejack said as she turned her head away, a feeling of uneasiness creeping down her back.
“Wonderful,” Belle said, nodding her head. “The house is yours to wander although, I’d avoid the master bedroom, Cres and our son are already asleep in there.”
“And where am I going to sleep?” the mare inquired.
“Probably the couch once they’ve gotten to sleep,” Belle answered with a nod to Matt and Roxanne had been watching the proceedings curiously, Matt quietly translating the half of the conversation he could easily understand to his wife. “That’s Roxanne, my Master, by the way.” The woman gave a friendly wave of her hand once Matt translated.
“Yeah... you’re the one who trapped me into that ball...” Applejack said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“And kept you from dying in the middle of the road as I understand it,” Belle interjected.
The mare closed her eyes and lowered her head with a small frown, she really couldn’t deny that. Though before she could say something else, another thing voiced its opinion. Applejack’s stomach growled lowly, upset that it hadn’t been fed for nearly the entire day. Her ears perked up in a bit of surprised, a bit shocked she hadn’t noticed how hungry she was before. The mare’s ears flattened in embarrassment.
Matt facepalmed and shook his head. “Silly me, we never fed you did we?” he said as he began to lean over to grab his crutches. He was stopped however by Roxanne he gently laid a hand on his back.
“Actually, let me handle that, she is my ‘pokemon’ technically,” she told him as she stood up, a slight amused smile on her face.
Matt shrugged his shoulders as he slouched back down into the couch. “If you want to.”
“It’s not that hard to make a salad,” Roxanne replied, shrugging as she gave Applejack a smile on her way by. The mare tilted her head as she followed the woman as she walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Let’s see... lettuce, tomato, carrots, olives, and some olive oil should do well enough,” the woman mused to herself as she began to rummage around within the fridge.
“What exactly is she making?” Applejack asked Belle, her eyes not turning away from Roxanne.
“I believe it’s a salad,” Belle answered simply. “I don’t much care for them, no meat and all, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
The mare eyed the Absol for a moment before, a small discerning look crossing her face before she glanced back at the woman. Roxanne didn’t take too long to make the salad and when she was done she set it down on the floor in a bowl in front of Applejack, a smile on her face.
“There you go, Applejack, enjoy,” she said before she walked back to the living room. The mare looked down at the bowl with suspicion, lowered her head and sniffed at it.
“You watched her make it, it’s not poison,” Belle said with a deadpan expression, the mare’s attitude beginning to tire out her cheeriness.
“Sorry if I want to make sure,” Applejack said a bit dryly as she sat on her rump and picked up the bowl with a hoof. She glanced around the room. “You got any place for me to sit while I eat?” she asked. However she began to notice some of the stars from Belle, Roxanne and Matt. She frown a bit in confusion. “What?”
“How are you holding the bowl with just a hoof?” Matt asked, his voice filled with a bit of awe.
“That... is a very good question,” both Roxanne and Belle said simultaneously.
Applejack glanced between everyone once again. “What?” she asked in a demanding tone.
“You don’t have any digits attached to that limb,” Belle said blankly. “You shouldn’t be able to physically do that without some sort of adhesive substance at the very least!”
The mare glanced at the bowl in her hoof then back at the Absol. “So I can hold a bowl, it’s nothing fancy to stare at me awkwardly about.”
“Are you a psychic type?” Belle inquired with a frown. “Then again, you don’t seem to be using your mind to do that, there’s no energy around the bowl itself...”
Applejack looked at the Absol with a puzzled frown before shaking her head. “Look... is there some place I can just sit down and eat that isn’t on the floor?” she asked.
Belle stared at her for a further moment before nodding to the table against the wall. “That… should work...”
“Thanks....” Applejack said as she place the bowl on her back and walked over to the table before moving it on top.
She glanced back at three who were still looking at he, and she let out a short sigh before turning her head away and tried to ignore them. The salad was... okay, to say the least. It wasn’t anything like she was used to, the taste wasn’t as flavorful, and the lettuce wasn’t very crunchy. But it was food at least, and what goes down to her stomach was okay by her book. She glanced over her shoulder one more time, seeing that Matt and Roxanne had ceased in staring at her and were talking to each other. Belle on the other hoof was gone, apparently deciding that things were calm enough for the moment, though Applejack saw her tail disappear into the bedroom.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she turned away as she resumed in eating her salad in peace.
The white Absol lay in the bed that he and Belle shared with a small, worried frown on his face. What if Applejack yelled at Belle? What if she threatened her like she had him so many times? What if she attacked her? Cres shook his head at the last one; Belle was fully capable of fighting Applejack, killing her if she had to really. That line of thought was of course assuming that Emilia or Ohm didn’t intervene first, which was in and of itself an almost non-existent posability.
Still, the thought of his beloved mate being forced to suffer beneath the mouth of the incredibly annoying Applejack was... well, it was enough to make Cres’s teeth grind together in anger at just the slightest imaginings.
The door opened slightly as Belle walked in, only to close it behind her with one of her hind legs. She let out a small sigh as she came up next to Cres and lay down. “Paranoid isn’t she?”
Cres nodded his head and leaned over to nuzzle Belle. “I’ll slit her throat if you want me to my dear,” he told her. “Just say the words.”
Belle looked at him a bit flatly. “Cres... if you ever say something like that again, I will zap you.”
“She deserves it,” Cres replied dourly. “But anyways, how paranoid is she at the moment? I’ve been doing my best to tune out her voice.”
The crimson Absol let out another sigh as she stretched out her legs and back. “Well, she immediately distrusted me when she saw me, though not acting like you probably did, I showed that I can be friendly if she is too.” She settled back down and shifted her body around on the bed. “I introduced her to Matt, Roxanne, and Ohm, telling her not to disturb him. Her reaction was... well, she a bit more than a bit uneasy upon seeing him.”
“Good, he’ll eat her faster then I will if she tries to hurt Matt or Roxanne, or Xav,” Cres replied with an astute nod. His fur stood up as a small jolt of electricity zapped him from Belle’s blade as she lightly touched it on the base of his neck. “Owe, that was uncalled for Belle.”
“I did warn you before hand,” she said, lifting her head back up. “I know you probably harbor grudges against her my mate, but now is not the time to plot behind her back. It was hard enough convincing her that the food we gave her wasn’t poison, I don’t need to add her worrying that my mate will murder her as she sleeps to the list.”
“I was just saying that if she tries to do something with neither of us around that Ohm would be able to stop her, I wasn’t plotting anything,” Cres said with a frown.
“Then say it that way instead of the other,” Belle instructed. “For they both hold different meanings to others minds.”
Cres let out a sigh. “Sorry my love... you know I don’t really think that much when I speak.”
“I know... which is why I’m trying to teach you to be mindful of what you speak then,” Belle replied. “So again, if you say anything like you did before, I will zap you.”
“That doesn’t seem very loving of you,” Cres told her with a nudge of his hips against hers. “Hardly something a good mate would do.”
Belle smiled slightly. “A good mate would tried to make sure her partner doesn’t make too many enemies because he couldn’t control his tongue. Remember what happened when you insulted that Corphish when we were making our way through Kalos.”
“... I got hydropumped through a sand dune,” Cres replied sourly. “How was I supposed to know that talking about how much I liked buttered Krabby would offend it?”
“You didn’t, but the point is you still need to watch what you say and how you say it my dear,” Belle said, giving him a small nuzzle. “For you don’t know what they can do to ‘bite’ back.”
“I suppose,” the Absol stated doubtfully. “But I do know what Applejack can do, and it primarily consists of nagging, bullying, and shouting.”
“All of which can be ignored and don’t need to repay in kind,” Belle said as she moved her head up. “For if you do, you’re just making the fire of her anger bigger Cres, and right now we need to reduced its size not make it worse.”
“Or we could just take her out into the wild, let her roam around aimlessly until she either starves to death or gets a better attitude,” he replied.
*Zap*
A higher voltage of electricity coursed through Cres, as Belle’s blade touched his neck once again, causing some of his fur to stand on their ends.
“Stop that!” Cres said irritably. “If I’m not allowed to speak freely around you my love, then I’m sure these thoughts will come out when I’m around her instead and that would be counterproductive wouldn't it?”
“Not when I hear some anger in it Cres... plus you know Matt would never do that,” Belle replied lifting her horn up.
“I know... he’s far too good of a person,” the Absol agreed with a scowl. “Honestly, he’s the only human I’ve ever known who could put up with someone like Applejack.”
“And why is that such a bad thing my dear?” the female Absol inquired.
“I suppose not,” Cres said flatly, staring into the bed. “I just... I hate her so much Belle... she was so awful to me, so unreasonable... such a salope.”
Belle looked at him dryly. “I’m restraining myself to zap you for using that word Cres... but you just need to put your anger against her aside. I doubt you can hide here in the bedroom forever.”
“I’m not hiding,” he defended. “I’m making myself tactfully absent so as not to cause an incident.”
“Yes, and you’re doing so by hiding in the bedroom,” she remarked. “No matter what you called it.”
“At your suggestion,” he reminded her dourly.
“True... but hopefully it’s only temporary. It would be better if you and Applejack could find a way to put aside your differences,” she said.
“Probably, but it probably won’t actually happen,” Cres told her before letting out a sigh and giving her a nuzzle. “Whatever else happens, I love you Belle.”
“I love you too,” she nuzzled him back with a small smile. “Now... if you’ll excuse me... I need to take a small nap.”
“I shall guard you then my sweet,” Cres replied, setting his head down.
“Thanks,” she said as she lay her head next to his and let out a deep breath.
Cres moved his head a little closer to hers, and let out a sigh, whatever challenges Applejack put in front of him, at least he’d have his Belle beside him to help face them.