(ACE) The LAVERRE Team

OoC)0 Skip again, Shadow is still moving around on the second floor not saying a word.

The longer he had to stare at this goddamn bitch, the more annoyed he got. Kaneki snarled as he struggled a little against Hide's hold on him, finally pulling his head down with a hiss, struggling to push himself up to his feet despite the riolu pressed against his side. Hide sighed and let go, though he moved to try and block Kaneki again, keeping one paw pressed against the spectreon's nose to stop him from lunging again. Kaneki wasn't having any of that however, flicking his gaze up to Hide with a growl. "Hide, move. She can't get away with hurting Alirah like that!" He protested, trying to duck around the Riolu with a mounting snarl.

The riolu stood firm however, pushing him back firmly. "That's not the point! You'll only cause more fighting, right now we don't need that." He replied back to the spectreon, who snorted at him in disbelief. Of course it would cause more fighting, Kaneki was well aware of that. But she needed proper punishment for hurting Alirah like that! At the very least she should get the same back for what she did to Alirah. Kaneki opened his mouth to voice this, before he shut it again with a hiss, teeth bared. No, of course Hide wouldn't gt it. He loved his beau, he really did, but his niceness was sometimes his biggest weakness.

"Move out of the way." He repeated, tails lashing. He tried to duck around Hide again, shoving his shoulder to the side to dislodge the riolu from him so he could run past, this time fully intending to attack Lazarus to give her the same treatment she'd given Alirah. Hide's stern bark fell on deaf ears this time, claws scraping the concrete to push himself faster, a feral growl ripping from his throat as his eyes locked onto Lazarus' throat, intending to lunge and sink his fangs right into her jugular, to rip her from side to side like a toy and leave her a bloodied mess on the concrete--

“I’m sorry my mommy can be so mean sometimes, mister.” A harsh scrape followed as Kaneki's claws sunk into the floor all at once, haunches lowering hard to kill his speed all at once, dual-colored eyes now suddenly very aware of the kit that was now at his feet, only having been a bare few seconds away from becoming collateral in his attack on the thing's mother. Kaneki loosed a harsh breath that sounded more like a ragged gasp, the previously feral and rabid look on his face overtaken by concern and fear at the possibility of having injured the child. He blinked down at her, his chest heaving as he struggled to slow his breathing from almost running the kit over. “She won’t say it, but I know she’s real sorry too. Please forgive her.”

Hide watched carefully, though he didn't move just yet, knowing that his beau wouldn't harm a child. While he was certainly not the most morally correct person; he knew above all else, Kaneki would never hurt a kid. The spectreon watched Artemis, before his eyes followed the kit as she walked back to her mother, still locked on the small thing's form. Hide had mentioned a kit-- but he'd been to blinded by rage to really notice it at first. Of course he was still absolutely livid about Alirah being hurt, and he wanted to give Lazarus the same as she gave to the umbreon... but he couldn't do it in front of her child. He wouldn't let the eevee suffer the same fate he'd had, seeing his own parent dead in front of him.

He let out a ragged breath, finally looking back up at Lazarus, his gaze narrowing back to a glare. His lip curled but he didn't move forward again, instead only backing away while facing the other ghost. Once he was far enough away from her that she wouldn't attack him back, he turned to go back to Alirah, coming to sit down beside her and start gently grooming the bloodied fur away. The fight was done it seemed, he was no longer interested in Lazarus for now, instead focusing on Alirah and trying to rouse her back to the present.

Hide sighed and rubbed up behind an ear, before wiping his brow. Good... he was glad that Kaneki had calmed down now. Now he'd be easier to talk to, and he wouldn't start a fight they didn't have the resources to fight. Hide sat down on the floor with an exhuasted sigh, leaning back and tipping his head up to the ceiling with a loud, verbally tired groan. "Legends above, that was a mess. Are you guys okay?" He asked the spectreon and her kit, before looking around at their group, giving a toothy grin. "I think we've had more than enough excitment for the day, personally. It's been rough, and the day only just started, too!" He said, tail beating against the dusty ground lazily.

"So, now that we aren't in danger of another fight, can we ask your names? I'm Hide, my grumpy partner over there is Kaneki and well... you kinda met Alirah. We've got two kids travelling  with us as well, Plant and Conan. And a new guy we only met recently as well, I haven't got his name yet, since Kaneki and I only met him this morning and we didn't have the time for introductions thanks to the friendly neighbors in the town." He said, looking around to spot Plant, his ear perked up to listen to the sound of... humming. The tune made him assume it was Conan, eyes closing a moment to sense the area, picking up Shadow closeby as well.

A tense peace fell upon their surroundings with Artemis’ olive branch offering on Lazarus’ behalf. The Spectreon couldn’t say she was pleased with the intervention of her child, having explained far more than once that the kit was to stay out of adult business. But frustratingly, Artie had a way with blending the insufferable traits of Lazarus and the better parts of Kato into something exceedingly stubborn and charismatic, respectively.

And for as young as she was, she certainly knew it.

Lazarus’s eyes moved to the Spectreon, her expression far softer than moments before despite her fellow ghost’s still obvious fury. He was back stepping away from her with a snarl that dared her to try anything again and she knew it— fortunately, Lazarus knew when a fight couldn’t be won. Not that she always erred on the side of common sense when she realized it, but today something urged her to stand down for once. And besides…

Her kit sat quietly between her front paws, nuzzling her little bean sized nose underneath the maternal Eeveelution’s feet as a less than subtle demand for attention.

He could’ve killed you, and I don’t know if I could’ve stopped it…

Laz watched as the ferocious creature she’s sparred with moments before began to softly clean the pelt of the cotton candy colored fox. An audible “aww” left Artemis’s lips at the display. “I bet you feel really bad now.” Artemis commented cheerfully to her mother. Lazarus’ face only scrunched up in reply.

"Legends above, that was a mess. Are you guys okay?" The Riolu was visibly worn and leaned back on his palms as though it had already been the longest day ever. "I think we've had more than enough excitment for the day, personally. It's been rough, and the day only just started, too!"
“I’m good! I’m great! I’m awesome!” The Eevee giggled loudly as though the entirety of the last few minutes were already lost to her imagination. She flopped over with a huff and began rolling around playfully.

“Yeah. ’Tis but a scratch.” A sudden pain shot through Lazarus’ ribcage as though to say don’t you fucking lie.

"So, now that we aren't in danger of another fight, can we ask your names? I'm Hide, my grumpy partner over there is Kaneki and well... you kinda met Alirah. We've got two kids travelling  with us as well, Plant and Conan. And a new guy we only met recently as well, I haven't got his name yet, since Kaneki and I only met him this morning and we didn't have the time for introductions thanks to the friendly neighbors in the town." Their charming spokesPokémon of a Riolu explained.

Lazarus nodded in polite acknowledgment, responding, “Nice to meet you. My name is Lazarus, or just Laz. And this is my daughter, Arte—“
“Dark lord vengeance!”
“Artemis.”

Lazarus’ attention switched from her offspring back to Hide. “Friendly neighbors, you say?” She flipped her paw in mock nonchalance. “You couldn’t possibly mean those funky bitches putting heads on goddamn stakes, could you?” While her words were sarcastic, her overall tone held poorly disguised concern and disgust. “Like some fuckin’ macabre shish-kabob.

“Shish-macabre! Shish-macabre!”

“Thanks, I hate it.”

Why… does it hurt…

She could hear… something. Voices. What were they saying? Were they fighting? She needed to get up and intervene— to help. But her body was so heavy. Her eyes just wouldn’t open.

It was quiet again. Did everyone leave? Was she alone, was she dead? What an awful afterlife if so… she’d lose her mind in a hurry at this rate. Maybe hell really did exist, and maybe it was a lot different than the fiery abyss she’s seen portrayed.

It hurts so much…

Her heart was thumping. What was happening? She was getting so scared— she still couldn’t make her body move, even to open her eyes. It was like her body was dead and her mind was still aware.

Is that possible?

Suddenly she felt a familiar presence nearby. She couldn’t explain how she sensed it but she knew it was there, and slowly her heart started to ease its frantic beating. She felt gentle swipes upon her pelt, further easing the crushing dread of the preceding moments. She finally was able to part her jaws and let out a heavy sigh as her eyes cracked open. It was blurry but there were shapes around her. She recognized scents— but not all of them. As Alirah’s sight cleared, she locked onto the nebulas billowing around the ethereal ghost across from her, reigniting her fight or flight response in an instant.

Alirah bolted up on unsteady paws and stumbled away from her attacker clumsily, ultimately tripping on herself and crashing back down to the floor. A long, feral whine left the Umbreon’s mouth as she tried yet again to stand up, only to fall back over.

By some miracle the fighting stopped, the drawn blood that splattered the floor seeping into the air with its metallic touch but not growing in size or amount from further strikes. Plant's massive eyes were jittering back and forth between Ali and the new Spectreon, struggling to remain on one for more than a few moments as fear for the other drew them back. Despite the cease fire at play the space was still unbelievably tense, making it difficult to simply draw in breath as the other Pokemon attempted to speak more calmly. The pink Umbreon still had not risen, and while Plant's cries went unanswered she was certainly not being ignored as Kaneki turned his attention to her.

In place of violence Hide offered introductions and civil conversation, a good sign as the charismatic Pokemon got relations started off on a much better footing. By another miracle the Spectreon responded in kind, her gruff demeanor not fading even when giving their names. A frightening lady, the young Pokemon thought, but by the squealing Eevee beneath her he was tentatively hopeful there was kindness beneath that gritty exterior. Still, he found it impossible to join their conversation; it was all strained adult talk and just felt awkward, with Artemis' input being acknowledged but dismissed.

Letting only slow, shallow breaths puff in and out of his like maw he put his faith in Hide to keep things under control, and instead let all focus turn back to Alirah's fallen form. Kaneki's grooming seemed to be helping; not only was her fur losing the red staining the Umbreon was finally starting to rouse. A meek smile creases at the edges of his lips, wet eyes sparkling with hope, but something was wrong. In a sudden motion she shot upright, stumbling and falling back to the ground in a fumbling heap. A shivering whine came from her in place or words that made his spine run cold, and the small smile died away faster than he could speak up. "It's okay, it's okay!" He pips, waving his hands about and hoping she would settle down. What was happening, was she hurt worse than they thought?!

Another sound bounced against his eardrums, a peachy, "Found you!" Head snapping around to spot Conan marching up to them, Plant had all but forgotten their game and that the other Eevee was not with them. Oaks help them, this was no time for games anymore. For better or worse the other fox seemed unaware of the stress surrounding the space, approaching his fellows curiously rather than with fear. "Kaneki, what's wrong with Alirah?" He asks, attention settling on their friend rather than the new Pokemon. While the question was not asked of him Plant could not stop himself from responding, "She got hurt." It was the simple truth, the blame being left out of his comment as his ginger gaze slide back toward the starry Spectreon at fault.

While Kaneki was tending to Alirah, Hide was more focused on calming his thundering heart. Or fourse, he was glad that no one else was seriously hurt... but he would be lying if he said he hadn't been worried. Less for Kaneki, and more for the other ghost. While he never wanted to be the one to point it out.. it was scary when his beau fought someone else. Kaneki felt too deeply for people sometimes, and that spiralled very quickly into an over protective nature that bordered on manic. Hide had bared witness to many savage attacks on other pokemon in the name of defending Hide from whoever it was... and very rarely would Kaneki leave them alive afterwards.

He looked over at the space-themed spectreon, looking her over with worry, brows pinched. How much damage had Kaneki done before he'd pulled them apart? Was she seriously hurt and playing it off for the sake of appearances? His eyes flicked to the kit, mouth curling up into a smile to try and shake off his twisting thoughts. Of course, he wanted to be the one who was always okay-- he couldn't be worrying after all, if the cheery one in the group was worried, then everyone else would get scared. “I’m good! I’m great! I’m awesome!” Hide's smile pulled into a cheery grin at Artemis's confirmation, and he gave her a joyful thumbs up, eyes closing and head tilting. "That's great to hear! I'm glad you're feeling awesome."

“Yeah. ’Tis but a scratch.” One eye cracked open to look at lazarus, and his grin fell back to that slightly tight smile, both eyes opening to fix her with a stare, chocolate gaze flicking along her sides, then back to her face. Liar. You're hurt, but you won't show it. He thought, the corners of his mout twitching down slightly in a grimace, before he plastered his cheeriest grin on to cover it, ears flicking up and shaking his body out to give the false impression that he was glad to hear that she was doing just fine.

"That's fantastic. I was worried when the two of you went rolling over the ground, it looked pretty painful y'know? Glad to hear you aren't badly hurt." Hide replied, head cocking to the side to look back to the rest of their little group, sighing out a soft coo of concern when he saw how Kaneki was trying to rouse Alirah. Poor thing... how badly hurt would she be when she woke up? He didn't have the time to really see the extent of her injuries earlier... Hide hoped they weren't too bad. The thought also brought forth the worry about how they'd get those injuries fixed, too. How badly was she hurt? It had to be pretty bad... the other ghost hadn't been kind at all when attacking her.

Was it just a spectreon thing to be so vicious when attacking others? Kaneki was the same too, he was very violent when he attacked others, and inflicted as much damage as he could in a short amount of time. Hide sighed, shaking his head. Maybe it was a ghost thing.

Kaneki watched his beau from where he was sitting down beside Alirah, his tails still lashing angrilt against the floor, but his focus was on the pastel umbreon at his feet. One spectral ear twitched to keep listening to the mother and her kit, but really he couldn't really have cared either way. What was it with everyone and annyoing him today?

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lazarus, or just Laz. And this is my daughter, Arte—“
“Dark lord vengeance!”
“Artemis.”

Kaneki glanced up at the two of them briefly at the interaction, his gaze soft and fond for a moment, mismatched eyes watching Artemis at the other ghost's paws. He opened his mout to respond, but when his eyes travelled back up to Lazarus's face, he snapped his jaws shut and grumpily forced his eyes away. "Whatever." He spat out with a growl, though he briefly flicked his eyes back down to Artemis, his gaze softening once more.

It'd been such a long time since Kaneki had seen someone so young. Even when he'd lived with his old friends, the orphan they'd all looked after together was still somewhat jaded to life on the streets. it'd been... so long since he'd seen such innocence. The only other person who reminded him of that kind of sweetness was the umbreon who was currently at his feet. The spectreon crouched down to continue cleaning the blood off from Alirah's coat, finding himself cringing at the taste of the poor umbreon's blood on his tongue.

Blood, gore and death were all things familiar to Kaneki. If anyone had lived his life, they'd understand, too. He got this far being so desensitized to viscera that it was simply something he lived with. But, no matter how used to it he was, the taste of blood on his tongue when it belonged to someone he considered close made him sick. It was sobering, something that dragged him solidly back to earth from his bloodlust high, because once his friends and family were hurt, things were serious. There was no time for mania when people he loved were in danger.

“Friendly neighbors, you say?” He blinked to look back up at Lazarus, one ear flicking at the mention of the pokemon that had attacked them. Did they know anything about them? They clearly weren't with those pokemon, the way they were acting confirmed that at least. “You couldn’t possibly mean those funky bitches putting heads on goddamn stakes, could you?” Kaneki hummed, eyes lidding. "No, I figured those were the faeries." He huffed out, voice thick with sarcasm. His comment got a snort from Hide, who tipped his head back to give the spectreon a raised brow.

At least he is joking around, Hide thought. Joking meant he was starting to relax a but more. What was good, things were settling. His poor nerves couldn't take more excitement, really. “Like some fuckin’ macabre shish-kabob. Hide's ear twitched at a stifled, but still audible cough that masked Kaneki's laugh. He grinned slyly back at him, getting an embarrassed glare. Similar humor at least. That was a bonus. “Shish-macabre! Shish-macabre!” Even Artemis's attempt at joining in was amusing to his beau, and Hide's tail wagged in content as he observed the two ghosts starting to settle back down around each other. “Thanks, I hate it.”

Their peace was broken in an instant when Alirah came too and awoke with a start, skittering back along the floor in a blind panic. Kaneki was immediately on his feet, following after Alirah with concern, crouching himself between Alirah's line of sight and the other spectreon, bodily blocking her view so that she could just see hsi familiar coat and face. "It's okay, it's okay!" Plant's hurried consolation was quickly followed by Kaneki weaving himself around Alirah to nudge his face against her side to keep her standing, a forceful purr rumbling up from his chest. "Look at me, Alirah," he murmured, his voice soft, soothing.

"Look at me, you're safe. You're safe, okay?" He soothed, his tails wrapping protectively around her side as he kept his shoulder blocking her view to Lazarus, glancing back at the space spectreon briefly before looking back at Alirah, his focus on her for right now. Sorting this shit out could wait, his focus right now was entirely on the terrified umbreon he was holding up from collapsing back on the hard floor.

"Kaneki, what's wrong with Alirah?" The spectreon looked up at Conan, before looking over at Hide, a silent conversation held between the two of them when their eyes met. He was too focused on Alirah to answer Conan right now, but Hide was better with kids, he'd be able to explain it better right now. "She got hurt." Hide stood up to come over to Conan, crouching down with a warm smile. "Plant's right. Ali got a little hurt, is all. Don't worry, she'll be just fine okay? Kaneki's looking after her to make sure of that."

Finally, the specter’s frayed nerves were settling. She held her paw up in front of her boredly, tipping a small rock between her toes absentmindedly meanwhile Artemis tumbled around her feet in clumsy somersaults. Lazarus’ paws were noticeably steadier and no longer shaking with anger and adrenaline, she noted to herself as she continued her meaningless activity.

A sharp gasp took the feline by surprise and she accidentally dropped her stone to the floor with a click! Click, click… despite her failed efforts to catch it. Her attention turned to the cotton candy Umbreon, along with every other eye in the room as she shot up with a panicked start and didn’t calm much from there. Her seizure-like movements only ceased when the other Ghost- rushed to her aid by steadying her form with his own and offering words of comfort.
"Look at me, you're safe. You're safe, okay?"

She snapped her eyes away from Kaneki as he turned to stare her down. His body obscuring her view of their interaction only served to egg on her nosiness so the fact he almost seemed to have a sixth sense of when her gaze intensified on them genuinely shot a chill down her spine. What the fuck was this guy?

"Kaneki, what's wrong with Alirah?" The group’s resident Eevee inquired.
"She got hurt." Replied not Kaneki but a fellow youth— Snivy. Lazarus saw something of an uncomfortable glance at her from the child, to which she opted not to respond to. She hardly thought words could ease the child’s mind at this point. Artemis would probably spit on someone’s face for less.

Lazarus subtly butt-scooted further away from the ragtag band of survivors, feeling the weight of the room beginning to suffocate her. Like, there was a REASON everyone knew not to fuck with a mother Ursaring. Did she always get the full story before she chose violence on behalf of her child? No. But could she hold her head high and say she had always made the best decisions she could in the heat of the moment? Also no.

I can’t fight like this— I can’t fight like this. Dammit… dammit!

Her ears were ringing so loud— were those voices? Was that Plant?

She shot to her feet with an alarmed bark, preparing to launch an assault in defense of the child. Was she going to win? No. She knew that. She couldn’t even win in a more lucid state. But that didn’t matter. She took in a quick but deep breath and launched a frantic and cracking, “Pleaaasseee!!!” in a last ditch effort to appeal to the attacker’s humanity before laying down her life.

She didn’t want to die.

Alirah pinpointed the blurred shape of the galactic Eeveelution— before her wobbly legs could muster the strength to charge at her, a sudden woosh had her once again reeling and beyond spooked. She nearly tipped over again until a warm and familiar presence steadied her, purring words she couldn’t quite grasp but the sound was more than enough to assure her she was safe— Kaneki was there.

Her muzzle briefly upturned into a relieved smile, then quickly twisted into a grimace of anguish and pain. Her chest heaved with sobs and she buried her face into the fur of her hero, opening her mouth to speak but it was just a garbled up mess of syllables and hiccups.
"Look at me, you're safe. You're safe, okay?"

She nodded, stifling her wailing in Kaneki’s protective embrace. “Hur-hurts…” Ali whined, nudging her face deeper into the Spectreon’s fur.

The pastel Umbreon remained that way until she was confident she could face down the situation again without breaking down. She pulled away from the Spectreon with a steady exhale, and then lurched forwards again with a grateful hug. “I don’t know what I would do without you and Hide… thank you.”

Alirah peeked around the room, assessing the state of things. Her eyes fell onto the female Spectreon and her expression noticeably soured before she turned her attention to the children. “Big sis is fine, don’t worry. How are you two doing?” She wasn’t lying from a certain perspective. Was she in an incredible amount of pain? Yup. But was she going to die? Probably not.

She turned back to Kaneki, letting her gentle demeanor fall back to one of confusion and discomfort. Quietly she whispered: “Why is she still here?”

Instead of Kaneki answering him, Plant answered first "She got hurt." The snivy responds and it made him wonder who or if she accidentally got hurt. Looking at the ground by Alirah, there seemed to be nothing that could have said she slipped or something fell. "Plant's right. Ali got a little hurt, is all. Don't worry, she'll be just fine okay? Kaneki's looking after her to make sure of that." That was a bit more relief but still what could have gotten her hurt? Conan looks at Hide wondering if he knew anything, then to Plant, then to the other eevee which he stopped and looked at. In his mind, a bit of ticking happened before he realized that this was a girl. Oh boy, how was he going to present himself? The only two girls he has had interaction with was Alirah and his mother. His heart was beginning to race a bit. What does he say, what should he do? Alirah help! Conan’s mind was screaming out wanting help to talk to the other eevee. For something like talking to another girl, it was tough since she was a child like him.

Conan then sees the starry spectreon doing something that only a child would do. This brought up the question of why adults do odd things. ”Why is she doing a silly thing?” Referring to the other Spectreon. Looking back at the other eevee he then finally says something to her. ”H-hi.” He was beginning to blush a little. What was this feeling he was getting? He’s only a kid but he’s already feeling an emotion he hasn’t felt before.Was this something like love? No, Conan shook his head. It wasn't that. only other thing he could think of is that this was a new friend. Someone to add to their hide and seek game.

"Plant's right. Ali got a little hurt, is all. Don't worry, she'll be just fine okay? Kaneki's looking after her to make sure of that." Whether he was being gentle for their sake or not Plant tried his best to stay calm. He knew what he saw, the blows, the blood, but the energy of the room was settling, and no matter how static his nerves felt the atmosphere was enough to smother his reactions. Watching Ali carefully he felt immense relief as she managed to stand, and stay upon wobbly paws with help from Kaneki. "Look at me, you're safe. You're safe, okay?" It wasn't the most graceful of motions but she was up, and that was enough for him to believe she was okay and they would be okay.

Until the sounds started.

Crying, sobbing, nuzzling, a tender moment all too... nostalgic..? Something about the scene gripped at Plant's chest, a thick, palpable weight that was all too familiar. His own breath caught in his throat, choking him with a similar sensation to Alirah's muffled sobs. Reaching out gingerly with his small hands he wanted to help her, to do something and just.. be there for her, but as she cried into their companion's pelt the small Pokemon felt infinitely far away, and pulling his hands back toward his chest. Looking down, Plant tried to tune out the sobs but his mind just wouldn't let him, the moist sniveling painfully familiar along with a desperate need for contact. The noise alone was enough to make his skin tingle, to have unease taunt him with a want to be held and comforted as well.
But he was not the one who was hurt and needed that comfort.

Awkwardly, his hands start to work at one another, desperately needing something to busy himself while the Umbreon regained her composure. Letting his eyes search for anything to occupy his mind he darts between those in the space. Artemis was tumbling about, seemingly unphased or perhaps just over the situation already. Was she accustomed to it? Did her 'mother' do this so often it was normal, or was she just too young to realize how strange the air felt? Watching a moment longer Plant wishes to share in her energy, to feel as relaxed or at least de-stress as easily as she had. But no, other than a curious head tilt her simple amusement gives him no relief. With a tight chest he looks up, watching as the adult slowly pushes herself away from them. Was she.. uncomfortable as well? You started it! It was a disconcerting enough thought that his gaze was quick to shift away again and land on the other Eevee.

Out of the three kids Conan seemed the most curious, asking them collectively, ”Why is she doing a silly thing?” Much like the first Eevee he acted wholly unbothered by the situation, interested to know what occurred but not at all concerned by it. He wanted to know, to be in the loop, but the anxiety Plant felt seemed alien compared to the two foxes. Was it some kind of Eevee thing he didn't know about, that they could adapt to a situation with ease? Or.. Is it just me..? Was there something different about him, something bad or broken that he just.. just couldn't be normal like these two? His quick breaths hitch, pausing as the air balls in his throat and his eyes go wide with pained realization. Was something wrong with him??

“Big sis is fine, don’t worry. How are you two doing?”

Alirah's sweet voice speaks over his internal panic, the sound an instant relief as he turns to face her. Kaneki had helped clean her wounds, but her face still showed the pain, the hurt, the wound, the aftermath of situation. Rattling in his chest the Snivy's heart physically hurts, and he pushes his small hands against it as the corners of his mouth pucker in a sob. With glossy eyes barely holding back tears he does his best to keep his voice steady, but its a pitiful effort and the ring of his own words are embarrassingly cringe. "It'll be okay if you're okay." He sobs before turning away from any face. Sycamores help him, he had to keep it together.

While he would've loved to do nothing more than keep staring daggers into Lazarus, Kaneki had far more important things to worry about in his mind. The spectreon hummed out soft soothing sounds to calm Alirah down from her frightened state, standing strong for her as the pastel umbreon sobbed into his dark fur. While he was focused on Alirah, his tails curled around the umbreon soothingly, watching Lazarus from the corner of his vision. She looked uncomfortable-- good. Kaneki wanted her to make sure she knew what she'd done and felt like shit because of it.

“Hur-hurts…” The ghost heaved a soft sigh that almost peaked into a fond laugh at the end, leaning his head down to rub against Alirah's cheek, eyes closing for a fraction of a second. "Of course it does. But you're alive at least, and that means you can heal." He said with a hum, finally letting her pull away, only to huff out a surprised breath as he was pulled into a hug by the pastel fox, eyes widening for a moment before he relaxed, a smile barely gracing the spectreon's mouth.

“I don’t know what I would do without you and Hide… thank you.” He playfully swatted at her side for that, shaking his head. He didn't need the thanks; he was only doing what he'd said he would do; protect his own. Alirah was family to Kaneki, so were Conan, Plant and Hide. He'd protect all of them with his life if it came to it, there was no need to thank him for it. The spectreon shifted his eyes back to Lazarus now that Alirah had composed herself, though he still kept himself between the other ghost and the umbreon he'd pulled under his protection.

His eyes narrowed as Lazarus scooted away from them, tails lashing twice before he sat down, head held high as he stared her down, eyes glaring holes into the other ghost. She looked like a scolded dog, scooting away from them as if she wasn't the one who started this whole mess. Of course. Can't even take accountability for her own damn actions. Kaneki thought with a huff, only being jerked from his stare-down as Hide came up to his side to push the spectreon's shoulder.

In a stark difference to how he acted with Lazarus, Kaneki was easily pushed over by Hide, letting the riolu push him around like he was a sack of potatoes, rolling onto his side and swatting at the orange furred canine. Of course, Hide knew what he was doing - breaking his fixation on Lazarus to get the spectreon into a more amicable mood. It worked, sort of. He was still concerned about the other ghost of course, but he would put that aside for now to let his beau harass him.

Hide ruffled his hands up Kaneki's black furred side, humming a little at some of the scrapes he felt there. He'd gotten pretty banged up before his fight with Lazarus... how many of these were from here and how many weren't? ”Why is she doing a silly thing?” Hide's ear twitched and he looked up at Conan, letting out a soft chuckle to try and alleviate some of the tension in the air, though he kept checking over Kaneki to see what new scrapes the ghost had gotten since their escape from the boutique.

"Whoo, it it tense in here or is that just me?" Hide laughed out, finally standing up once he'd ruffled up Kaneki's head, getting a disapproving but playful growl from the ghost as he swatted the rilou's paws away. "She's probably just feeling a little awkward Conan, I'm sure everything will settle in a bit right?" He said, looking over at Lazarus and Artemis with a grin and a little wave of his paw, tail wagging lazily.

“Big sis is fine, don’t worry. How are you two doing?” Hide glanced over his shoulder to look at Alirah, giving her a deadpan huff, brow raised as he mouthed out the word liar to her. She was as bad as Kaneki was! Hiding her pain and injuries for the sake of others. He sighed heavily, coming over to the pastel umbreon's side. He looked her over, giving a slight wince of the state of how she was, but instead crouched down beside her, wanting to get a look at that bite on her neck.

"You're as bad as Kaneki," he whispered softly to her, his voice tinted with amusement. "He also hides when he's hurting for the sake of others. But don't worry, everything's all good now." He said with a grin, before his ear twisted around at the sound of Plant's sob of relief, his kind chocolate eyes moving to look over at him. "It'll be okay if you're okay." Hide's chest twisted at the tone, and he closed his eyes once Plant turned away, only opening them when he heard the familiar sound of Kaneki pacing his way back over to them.

After giving Hide a greeting by headbutting his chin fondly, the spectreon took a seat beside Alirah, tails curling around the pastel umbreon's ankles in a protective and reassuring gesture to show that he was there, and he was willing to back her up. “Why is she still here?” The spectreon snorted out his response as a distasteful growl, the white gaseous mane around his neck and chest flickering in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He grumbled out, mis-matched eyes only breaking contact with Lazarus as Hide elbowed his side, hissing out a sharp, "be nice," at him, the riolu sitting down beside his beau. "She apologized for her actions, but she did live here before we came here for shelter. I know tensions are high right now, hell, I just had to pull Kaneki off her or else he would've killed her..." Hide said softly to Alirah, reaching his other hand up to rub gently against Kaneki's side.

"But she knows this area, better than we do I'll bet. Living with a kid in this place has gotta be rough... so I'd say she knows the lay of the land well enough. With those creeps outside of the factory, we need all the allies we can get..." Hide said, getting a disapproving snort from Kaneki. "And let her attack someone else, Hide?" He argued back, his response getting a stressed sigh from Hide, the riolu shaking his head.

Of course Kaneki would be unhappy with the idea... but they needed more friends, not enemies right now. "And where would we go, if we made foes with her? We've got two kids to worry about, 'Neki. We can't make more enemies, especially with how well fortified this place is. I know you don't like the idea, but this is the best bet. It was an awful way to make first impressions I know... but we gotta work together here or else we're all in trouble."

Feigning disinterest was never a skill of the nosy Spectreon— even as she stared off into the darkness of the factory, her eyes continued to list back to the Umbreon and her ghostly companion. She could see their mouths moving but couldn’t quite catch what they were on about. God, how fucking annoying.

"be nice," Hide scowled at the inaudible conversation, which could only mean good things. Sarcasm. But despite her knee jerk reaction being to scale a metaphorical high horse and not only match their behavior but even exceed it… man. Pink over there was being the absolute fucking poster child for adorably innocent and lovable— hell, even her small stature only added to her charm. The damn thing made Lazarus’ pelt crawl with her sugary sweet behavior, even down to the kind demeanor she displayed to the kids.

I want to hate you.

Lazarus slumped down to the floor, taking a more relaxed posture. She was thoughtful for once and it showed on her thousand yard stare… did she invite these people? No, obviously not and the idea they felt entitled to her space was making her pelt bristle with irritation. But they could be useful… the more bodies in the Factory meant more distractions for attackers while Laz escorted Artemis to safety, should the worst happen.

The idea was admittedly fucked and Lazarus loathed the very idea of being the team coward, but if cowardice saved her child then so be it… not like it would be the first time, anyway.

“So, welcome to my quarters,” Lazarus spoke as more of a warning than a greeting. “There’s a lot of space here so we could probably coexist peacefully if y’all are in need of a place to stay.”

Lazarus stretched her front legs out lazily, giving the false impression of boredom. “The terms are simple. Don’t do stupid shit, don’t cause harm or trouble to me or my kid, and take care of yourselves.”

Meanwhile, Artemis had taken to pressing her tail to her nose in a sort of mustache-like shape and exaggeratedly making mouth gestures as her mother spoke, puffing her chest out haughtily to over exaggerate authority. She then, in her best Lazarus impression added, “And I’m the mayor, so if you don’t do what I say, you’ll never work in this town again!”

She broke out in giggles and fell over with a poof of dust billowing around her. Arte rolled around a bit more until she saw her twinsie making his way towards her. The Eevee bolted up with jarring speed and grinned almost maniacally at Conan with excitement as he, after hesitating, offered: ”H-hi.”

Artemis popcorned playfully, squealing, “Hi, friend! I’m Artemis! But you can call me Arte! Or Artie! Or Missy!”
She threw out her paw to shake his then immediately put it back down before finishing the act, opting to instead example the Eevee’s face closer than she probably should’ve. “Your cheeks are kinda pink! Are you cold? You must be cold! Are you sick? I can get you a blanket! Do you want a blanket? Are you contagious? Are—“

“ARTEMIS.”

The Eevee paused on the spot, slowly rotating to her mother who was giving the look. Artemis’ face morphed into an expression somewhere between mischievous and downright evil as she then gave a thumbs up and practically melted onto the floor and took off rolling towards the Snivy. She stopped short of him and asked a single question:

“What's it like having hands?”

((Skip Alirah. Can’t think of anything she really needs to say or do. And I can’t stop throwing up so im taking the L this time))

Conan was kind of shy but he knew that this was the eevee that would be a new friend to play their hide and seek game. That's if he can get over his shyness and talk to her. “Hi, friend! I’m Artemis! But you can call me Arte! Or Artie! Or Missy!” He shakes her paw before he noticed the other eevee pointing out his blushing. “Your cheeks are kinda pink! Are you cold? You must be cold! Are you sick? I can get you a blanket! Do you want a blanket? Are you contagious? Are—“ Oh Arceus, he’s really blushing now and there was no way he could talk to a girl without help. If only he listened to his ma back when things was peaceful and fun. What does he say, what does he do? Inside his mind he was shouting for help from Kaneki and Alirah. Conan didn’t know what to say since this girl was outside the ones he knows.

Shadow looks around a bit more until he sees the others. Not getting close to them yet, he started looking at another machine. What is this and what do humans use this for anyways? Huh, what does this thing do? The Charizard pushes on it but nothing happens. With no power, it is basically useless at the moment. Shadow shrugs and moves on to the others. As Shadow walks to the others, he seen another spectreon and another eevee. Looking at Conan though, the charizard could only guess what is going on with him. If only one word can describe this, its likely that Conan is shy to talk to this girl. He talks to Alirah just fine but maybe he hasn't had any other eevees his age that he's talked to before or met. Then again Shadow never really had any siblings or met any females of his species before either.

Conan tried to ask Shadow but not a single comprehensible word would come out. ”Beckalaba.” Oh no, he’s broken. The eevee couldn’t hide this from anyone. If he had brothers and sisters, he’d be picked on. Luckily he doesn’t, even then, it wouldn’t stop him from thinking about that. Conan went over to Alirah to show her what he looks like. This feeling he was having wasn’t going away any time soon. The eevee didn't llke this shy feeling but it was a part of meeting a new pokemon.

Something was wrong with him.

Something was wrong with him. Pushing his hands together Plant silently panicked at the thought. Was he not normal?? Rubbing his fingers together the Snivy knew he had not necessarily lived a normal life, but that didn't make him different, did it? He looks gingerly at the Eevee's again, what with Artemis' beaming reintroduction to herself and Conan giving a goofy smile. Why didn't he feel so hearty, what was he missing? Why was he sitting inside his own head and not trying to make friends with these new Pokemon?

“So, welcome to my quarters. There’s a lot of space here so we could probably coexist peacefully if y’all are in need of a place to stay.” Lazarius' tune suddenly changed, the entirety of the adults' conversation being missed as he fretted, and it finally reached an amicable decision. Her demeanor was already coming off differently, the aggression in the air all but faded as she visibly relaxed before them. Despite her lax posture though the Snivy still didn't fully trust her or feel comfortable in the space. Minutes before she was viciously attacking his dear friends, and that was not something he would soon forget.  “The terms are simple. Don’t do stupid shit, don’t cause harm or trouble to me or my kid, and take care of yourselves.” Terms, like rules? Shouldn't Alirah and Kaneki be making those? Were they not becoming friends..? A knot balls up in his stomach; he didn't want to be friends with her. As long as we don't have to go outside with those monsters again.. If it meant staying in the safety of this place.. then he would listen.

“Your cheeks are kinda pink! Are you cold? You must be cold! Are you sick? I can get you a blanket! Do you want a blanket? Are you contagious? Are—“ Artemis' bubbly string of questions pulls Plant's attention back to those near his age. Realization that he was the only one wondering off in thought among them tightens the knot and makes the grass type feel sick but he tries to keep a forced smile upon his snout. Conan muttered something incoherent before awkwardly stepping away from them and leaving him alone with the dark-pelted Eevee. While he was confused before Plant was now utterly lost with none of the social cues making sense to him. His hands continue to rub awkwardly across the same spots, though he didnt notice the action until the scales along his wrists started to burn from the friction.

Without the other kid to keep her attention Artemis rolled her way toward him, a jolly gesture that truly looked like fun. If only he had the will to join in, but before he could even humor the thought her journey was over, the game ended. With bright eyes she looks up at him and asks, “What's it like having hands?” The question was unexpected, mostly because it wasn't something he had ever really thought about. They were just kinda.. there. Pulling them away from each other Plant looks at his hands and suddenly realizes how much they ache from his worrying. Were they what made him different...?
He wanted to answer her, really he did, but all he could think of was "I dont know" and that was disappointing even to him. Looking at the Eevee and her little round beans he tries to visualize himself as her, with round toes and paws, but even then it was a struggle. Even with a quadrupedal body or occupied limbs his vines still acted as secondary hands so he was never without them. "...Its really easy to carry and hold things." He eventually explains, as that was one thing he had noticed with Conan. The corners of his mouth crease awkwardly as he lets his vines slide free, and gently flicks their ends in front of Artemis. "Especially with a second pair!"

Kaneki didn't want to argue with Hide when he knew the riolu was right. But that didn't mean he had to like the idea of playing nice with these two. The kid the could give a pass to; they were young and didn't know any better. But he'd already gotten off on the wrong foot with the other ghost, one that he was not about to patch up himself any time soon unless he had to. Kaneki lifted his head high as he watched Lazarus from over Hide's shoulder, twin colored eyes narrowed into a suspicious glare.

What was going through her mind right now? Would she be stubborn against them staying here, or would she let them stay? Did Alirah have anywhere else they could go if Lazarus decied she didn't want to share? Would they go anywhere? Kaneki didn't have any issues with fighting for a safe place to live or stay; he'd done it his whole life after all. But fo course with so many kids, a bigger group with more adults to keep watch would be safer. Ugh. He hated this. He hated the fact that their safey and the chance to have a place to live for now since losing the boutique rested on this frankly annoying spectreon and her kid.

His ears flicked and twitched as he thought, his eyes still watching Lazarus with a frown as he waited for something to finally settle on a decision. He wouldn't be happy with it no matter what, so it may as well be the better of two evils anyway. He'd ratehr deal with this annoying duo over trying to fight through that insane hoard outside again; it was too dangerous out there.

“So, welcome to my quarters,” You know what, forget that, he didn't like her or her bullshit attitude. Kaneki's hackles raised immediately at the tone in Lazarus's voice, standing up in his place and getting ready to reply back with his own hissed snark. He opened his mouth to reply back only for his mouth to be covered by Hide's paw, jerking back and giving the rolu a glare. He shook his head and mouthed the words zip it to Kaneki, getting a loud huff from the spectreon.

They were lucky he was more like to listen to his beau over their annoying tone.

“There’s a lot of space here so we could probably coexist peacefully if y’all are in need of a place to stay.”

Never mind, he was going to say something.

Hide hissed at him again as Kaneki stepped forward, his twin tails waving the riolu off with a snort. Hide threw his hands in the air in response, before cover his face and shaking his head. Of all the stubborn things, why did Kaneki have to be so bullheaded? "Did that peaceful part of that decision come before or after you attacked Alirah with no warning?" Kaneki commented dryly, tipping his head to look Lazarus in the eye, holding her gaze challengingly. He would play nice, of course, he wasn't interested in another fight. But he wasn't about to be ordered around like some dog either.

“The terms are simple. Don’t do stupid shit, don’t cause harm or trouble to me or my kid, and take care of yourselves.” Kaneki snorted loudly, tails whipping back and forth before holding high above his back in a confident curve. Oh so if they didn't cause problems, they were the ones allowed to stay? What if her kid caused trouble for them? What if she caused harm to them? Kaneki's eyes narrowed, pacing up towards Lazarus unflinchingly as she stretched her paws out, stopping a few feet away from where she was.

"We shouldn't need to worry about those terms, I highly doubt any of us have intentions of causing harm to you or your kid, and we're more than capable of providing for ourselves. But if you feel the need to set such stubborn terms and a divide between us, then I'm setting a few of my own." He said to Lazarus, ear flicking back as Hide trotted up to his side, the fighting type's own ears twitching back to show his nervousness at the situation. He would always back up his beau of course, but he wanted to avoid another fight between the two ghosts.

"My terms are this; if we cannot cause harm or trouble for you two, then the same goes for us. You may have been here first, but that doesn't give you the right to attack us for no reason." Kaneki stated, eyes down on Lazarus with a slight squint. "And if you have a problem with something we're doing, speak up. I won't have unaired grievances causing a problem later on, because you wanted to sit and stew on it instead of actually using that mouth for something useful and talking to us."

Hide made a face at Kaneki's words, coming to push him off to the side to get him to back away from Lazarus and her kid. He resisted Hide at first, but finally turned to walk off and return to Alirah's side. Hide watched him go to make sure he wasn't about to turn around and come back, before turning back to Lazarus, plopping down to a sit in front of the other spectreon.

"I'm sorry about him, he's a lot." Hide said with a sigh, giving Lazarus a goofy grin, scratching at the back of his head, beneath one of his ears. "Please don't take what he says wrong, he means well, but he's very ah... intense around people he doesn't quite trust yet. It comes from a good place, I swear, you guys just got off on... a very bad foot." Hide mentioned, his ear twitching as he listened to Artemis and Conan interact, tilting his head slightly to watch them from the corner of his eye.

”H-hi.” Hide's eyes squinted in amusement at poor Conan's attempt to say hello, glad that the stressful introduction hadn't at least squashed his somehow oblivious spirit around these kinds of things. At least he was still trying to keep things lighthearted between the two groups. “Hi, friend! I’m Artemis! But you can call me Arte! Or Artie! Or Missy!” Of course, Hide was more than aware that he'd just invited himself into Lazarus's space, but at least he was confident enough that if she decided to attack him, he could get off a protect fast enough.

Besides, being here meant that it stopped Kaneki from coming over here to instigate a fight.

Hide stifled a snicker as he watched Artemis stick her face in close to Conan's, adjusting how he sat in order to watch the two of them a little closer, his chocolate brown eyes watching the two eefees with fondness in his gaze. It had been a while since he'd seen kids just being able to be kids, so it was nice to see here. “Your cheeks are kinda pink! Are you cold? You must be cold! Are you sick? I can get you a blanket! Do you want a blanket? Are you contagious? Are—“

“ARTEMIS.”

Hide jumped at the sudden call from beside him, placing a hand over his heart with a rough breath out. He glanced up to see Kaneki staring at him from across the room by Alirah's side, giving his beau a grin and mouthing out the words I'm okay to him. He could see Kaneki's face clearly didn't buy it, but he settled back down into a content loaf, eyes squinting as he watched the kids all interact with each other from over where he sat.

"Whuf, you've got a startling yell, has anyone ever told you that?" He asked Lazarus with a little chuckle, looking back over at the shiny colored eevee as they rolled across the concrete towards Plant. A part of Hide was glad; he wanted Plant to be able to talk to other kids, he seemed so out of sorts without Verglas, and Hide's heart ached for the poor kid.

Maybe having someone else to talk to like this would help him. Hide sure hoped it would at least.

“What's it like having hands?” Hide looked down at his own hands, spreading the fingers out and then turning his paw over to curl them back in. It was hard to explain that, expecially for someone who'd had them their whole life. They were just... there. He placed his hand back on the ground to lean back on, watching the kids interact while he relaxed from the stressful morning they'd all had.

Kaneki watched Hide over near Lazarus with a wary stare, but after a bit his eyes returned to watching Plant and Artemis. Poor Plant seemed out of sorts, not that Kaneki could blame him. Of the three kids, Kaneki could relate the most to how Plant seemed to be feeling. Alone in a world that had been far too cruel with little to no respite. "...Its really easy to carry and hold things, especially with a second pair!"" The spectreon's mouth curved into an easy smile as he watched, settling down more comfortably into his chosen loaf, eyes squinting in content.

Perhaps even with their abysmal start to this meeting, things could settle down here and actually work for now. While Kaneki was not the type to hope for anything, he at least was grateful for the period of calm befre the next storm that he was sure would come.

"Whuf, you've got a startling yell, has anyone ever told you that?"

Lazarus let out a laugh that teetered between being obnoxious and just plain annoying. With the smirk not leaving her face, she shrugged and responded: “Well yes, but never quite so politely. Occupational hazard of being a mother I suppose.”

Her gaze softened, listing over to where her child gleefully interacted with the other two kids. “Deceased parents, I assume?” She sighed. “Better than the other way around. Losing a child is unbearable.”

Artemis’ interaction was thankfully lightyears more lighthearted. Despite the Eevee’s questionable methods of socializing as usual, the Snivy was still open to answering what had to be in the top ten strangest questions she’d asked in the last hour.
"...Its really easy to carry and hold things." Plant responded.
Artemis’ eyes shimmered in awe at the idea of finding a rock and not having to chip her teeth carrying it— could she grow hands, she wondered. What if she glued them on?
"Especially with a second pair!" Plant chimed as a pair of vines appeared suddenly.
The Eevee threw her head back and let out a high pitched squeal in excitement and then whipped her head back to normal posture with a wide grin. “You can carry FOUR rocks?!” She paused, as if double checking the math on her toes to make sure. Her borderline maniacal grin disappeared for the seconds she counted, then reappeared practically fast enough for everyone in the room to feel whiplash. “FOUR!”

Lazarus sighed heavily at the antics of her offspring. “Sorry about her,” she called over to the children. “She doesn’t meet other kids very often.”

How was she so… calm?!

Alirah’s paws still shook with adrenaline aftershocks and every ache reignited her dismay at the spacey spectre. And yet Lazarus lay there as cool as a cucumber as if none of it had just happened. Ali found herself fixated on the female with a disgust nearly foreign to the pastel fox.

Every few moments Lazarus’ gaze would shift to meet hers and uncharacteristically Ali remained steadfast in her hard stare when otherwise she would’ve darted her eyes elsewhere in awkward embarrassment.

“So, welcome to my quarters,” Lazarus announced. Alirah’s expression soured evermore at the sound of her voice. She watched Kaneki out of her periphery rise to his feet and quickly be hushed by Hide’s quick paw upon his muzzle.

“There’s a lot of space here so we could probably coexist peacefully if y’all are in need of a place to stay.”

?!

Alirah’s sight quickly shot to Kaneki as if to say, “can you believe this?!”
"Did that peaceful part of that decision come before or after you attacked Alirah with no warning?" Kaneki spat at the blatantly hypocritical female. When she met his threatening stare with disregard, Alirah could’ve rolled her eyes if she weren’t wary of a second assault.
“The terms are simple. Don’t do stupid shit, don’t cause harm or trouble to me or my kid, and take care of yourselves.”

Oh, ever the diplomat…

Kaneki strode forward, stopping only feet before the aloof female. "We shouldn't need to worry about those terms, I highly doubt any of us have intentions of causing harm to you or your kid, and we're more than capable of providing for ourselves. But if you feel the need to set such stubborn terms and a divide between us, then I'm setting a few of my own."

"My terms are this; if we cannot cause harm or trouble for you two, then the same goes for us. You may have been here first, but that doesn't give you the right to attack us for no reason." Kaneki stated firmly. Lazarus continued her disinterested stare but Ali was beginning to notice the way her whiskers twitched when he approached, the slight poofing of her fur… she was intimidated, and doing her best not to show it.

"And if you have a problem with something we're doing, speak up. I won't have unaired grievances causing a problem later on, because you wanted to sit and stew on it instead of actually using that mouth for something useful and talking to us." With that Hide began to herd the indignant Kaneki away and back to near where Ali was occupying.
"I'm sorry about him, he's a lot." Hide sighed but maintained his playful demeanor somehow. "Please don't take what he says wrong, he means well, but he's very ah... intense around people he doesn't quite trust yet. It comes from a good place, I swear, you guys just got off on... a very bad foot."

That was an understatement…

“ARTEMIS.”

Alirah sucked in a gasp at the abrupt volume, being entirely too fixated on the mother to even know why the child was being scolded. Her eyes briefly flicked over to her group’s children to assess their state— she wasn’t terribly concerned about Artemis. It was abundantly clear if so much as a fly buzzed near the youngster, there would be hell to pay. Conan seemed… flustered? That made sense… it must’ve been strange getting to know fellow children in a world where adults were definitely the majority. Meanwhile Alirah made a note to check in with poor Plant as soon as the situation allowed— with all the hubbub, it was easy to lose focus on the tragedy suffered by the little guy so recently. Gods she hoped he wouldn’t resent her for that.

"Whuf, you've got a startling yell, has anyone ever told you that?" Hide commented.
Lazarus laughed and suddenly Alirah knew what it was like to have her ears run along a cheese grater. The sound irritated her in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
“Well yes, but never quite so politely. Occupational hazard of being a mother I suppose.”

Laz turned her attention to the kids. “Deceased parents, I assume?” The Spectreon asked. “Better than the other way around. Losing a child is unbearable.” Alirah gritted her teeth.

Has she lost children before? That still doesn’t make it okay…

“Sorry about her,” Lazarus exclaimed to the group of children. “She doesn’t meet other kids very often.”

Ugh. Being around this chick was making Alirah’s stomach turn with anxiety. The cotton candy fox slowly rose to her feet and with a pained gait, made her way to a quieter spot where her vision wasn’t cursed with the shape of that creature. She flopped down lazily and began counting pebbles on the floor.

Shadow listened to what Kaneki said to the other spectreon and it sounded like a standoff between the two. "My terms are this; if we cannot cause harm or trouble for you two, then the same goes for us. You may have been here first, but that doesn't give you the right to attack us for no reason." They right now didn't need another fight especially after that crazy marowak tried to kill them. Even then, Shadow blames himself for the tension between him and Kaneki. Hopefully he can salvage what he can and work together with him. "And if you have a problem with something we're doing, speak up. I won't have unaired grievances causing a problem later on, because you wanted to sit and stew on it instead of actually using that mouth for something useful and talking to us." The Charizard then shook his head at the fact he hasn't calmed down yet. He didn't even bother trying to interrupt Kaneki this time. It was better to let him calm down first. Shadow looks directly at the female spectreon with his eyes glowing when he heard that she attacked one of them. The fire type couldn't trust her until she proves herself to be trustworthy.

Conan shook his head and snapped out of it. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't met his other siblings before all this started. Though he knew that Artemis isn't related to him, maybe they can play some games together as long as they don't get into any trouble. He seen Kaneki a bit upset and hoped he'll be happy again soon. Once he is, then he'll ask Kaneki if he wants to play something that doesn't require them to run or move around. Conan always like I spy. It was a simple game that would help him identify stuff. 

The Eevee went over to Alirah and smiled to her to show he's okay. "Alirah? are you okay? I can stay here with you if you want?" After that, he laid next to her and placed his paw on a pebble. It was pretty small and smooth but it wasn't like the ones back home that he could find some that had little shiny spots when the sun beams onto them. He then moved a pebble over to Alirah. It was a pretty looking pebble and it looked like something worth sharing. "Here's a pretty pebble Alirah. Do you like it?" Conan asks.

Shadow sees the other Spectreon talking with Hide hearing what she's saying. Occupational hazard? Sounds like claws being brushed against a steel type's carapace. But to each their own I guess. Still, I should keep an eye on her in case she mistreats Conan, Plant or any others. With that, the Charizard walked over and found a place to lay down. He was somewhat tired and decided to take a little nap.

((Going to skip with Plant. He's feeling awkward from Artemis' intensity [and the adult chatter] but plays into it by picking up some small object around them with his vines and tossing it between them and his hands.))

The face Hide made at the sound of Lazarus's laugh was somewhere between having smelled something awful and sucking a lemon. His ears flicked back at the sound of the laugh, stubbly hackles on his shoulders sticking up. He quickly smoothed them down by clearing his throat, chocolate eyes watching Kaneki from his peripheral. Of course he knew his beau was watching him like a hawk, so any uncomfortable body language from the riolu would set him off as well.  And he was pointedly trying to avoid another fight between the two ghosts.

“Well yes, but never quite so politely. Occupational hazard of being a mother I suppose.” Hide chuckled softly alongside her comments, his own laugh far more warming and welcoming than the mother's own had been. At least his sounded genuine despite his concern for her wellbeing - and maybe mental state, too. He followed her gaze to the sight of the kids interacting, orange furred tail beating dust away from where he was sitting as it wagged lazily, leaning back on his hands with a long breath out.

“Deceased parents, I assume?” Hide's ear twitched, and he hummed out a noncommital answer, brows furrowing. He didn't actually know a lot about the two kids. He knew that Plant had come to them with Verglas, the undead snowver seemingly being his only friend before coming here... and Conan, well... he didn't know much about where he'd come from either. The kids were as much of an enigma to Hide as Lazarus and her own kid was to him, even after spending so much time with them.

His own parents were long gone, and so were Kaneki's. Kaneki's own family life was three parts tragedy and one part horror, the only reason he was sure that the ghost had survived - almost, anyway - was because of his loyalty and connection to Hide. His mouth pulled into a frown, his eyes flicking down to the ground. This was always a horrible train of thought, one he had to quickly shake his head to try and chase away. He didn't need to be thinking about that right now; he needed to be strong, to be aware in case soemthing started to rile the troops into a fight again.

“Better than the other way around. Losing a child is unbearable.” Had she lost someone before? A child? Hide blinked over at Lazarus, ears flicking up and twisting towards her as he opened his mouth to say something, before closing it again, unsure of what to say in response to that. "... I don't know about that." He said, before looking back over at Kaneki, remembering how torn apart the little eevee had been when his mother had died. He was gutted, and a part of Hide believed that Kaneki had never actually recovered from it.

"I don't have much say in it I guess... these guys are the only kids I've had to look after in a long time... but I still remember the grief of losing my parents. It's something that doesn't go away, just lessens overtime." He mentioned softly, shaking his head. "Losing anyone close to you is painful, whether they're a child, parent or... more than just friends." He added softly, his eyes still over on Kaneki as he talked, watching as the spectreon watched the kids interacting from where he was sitting, those twin tails of his curled either side of his body to hide his paws. "It's not something I want to live through again, that's for sure."

Kaneki scanned his eyes between Hide and Lazarus, before switching his attention to the kids as they all talked. He couldn't hear what Hide and Lazarus were talking about, and frankly he didn't care. He didn't want to hear that annoying ghost's voice anymore than he needed to, and just looking at her was enough to get his fur bristling again. The only solace he took from it was that he knew she was intimidated by him.

The ghost hadn't missed how her fur poofed out and body tensed when he approached. She was scared of him - good. If she was scared, she wouldn't try anything stupid while he was around. “You can carry FOUR rocks?!” He blinked at the sound of the child's voice, his head lifting and eyes flicking over to where the voice had come from, the aura of disgust about having to look at Lazarus disappearing, instead switched with concern and fond amusement at the sight of the kids interacting together.

While he may not like the adults, kids were Kaneki's soft spot. He was dangerously protective of kids, determined to give them a better life than Kaneki himself had ever gotten. His life was horrid, and he didn't want to watch someone else go through that same tragedy. He had already been concerned about poor Plant and how withdrawn he was, but seeing him interact with the other kids at least gave Kaneki some hope for him. At least he could still be somewhat of a kid.

“FOUR!” The excitement was almost overwhelming even for Kaneki, and he blinked, a fond smile on his face before he cocked his head to the side to watch, settling into a content loaf beside Alirah. He wanted to make sure she was safe after all, and Hide was more than able to look after himself, so he wasn't concerned about him sitting so close to Lazarus. At least the kids were enjoying themselves for now.

His relatively okay mood was soured at the sound of Lazarus's voice, and Kaneki's smile fell, glancing over to her as the other ghost's voice rang out, “sorry about her,” Kaneki snorted lightly with a roll of his eyes at her words, “she doesn’t meet other kids very often.” Just like her mother didn't meet people often either, he assumed. He huffed softly under his breath, but the movement beside him quickly got his attention, looking up with a concerned blink as Alirah got up to move elsewhere.

Rising to his feet along with her, Kaneki trotted after Alirah with a worried frown, coming to sit down beside the pastel fox once she'd found somewhere else to lay, settling himself down into another loaf beside her, eyes down on the small umbreon with a frown. He wasn't sure what to say at the time, so instead one of his gaseous tails circled around her, shuffling closer until his side could press against hers, offering a soft purr to help calm Alirah's anxieties.

"Alirah? are you okay? I can stay here with you if you want?" Kaneki blinked up at Conan as the little eevee came over to them, ears twitching slightly while his dual colored eyes scanned back to the rest of the group, now a little further away so he couldn't see them as well. "It's been a long morning." Kaneki told Conan quietly, looking down as the little eevee scurried around to look at pebbles to bat over to Alirah.

"Here's a pretty pebble Alirah. Do you like it?" Kaneki chuckled softly, gently nudging Alirah with his shoulder at the sight of it. "It's very pretty. How about you go play with the other two, Conan? I'm sure poor Plant needs the reprive from the energy of Artemis. Alirah just needs some rest for now." He asked the little eevee quietly, reaching a paw forward to pull the pebble he'd knocked over to Alirah, watching her with a furrowed brow. "... are you okay?"