Contents:
Aurora
Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Pokemon Haven: Assisi Farm.
North <N> leads to Field and Streams - Route 11: Farmlands.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. In the forest, the shade under the deep green leaves of the trees is welcome relief from the hot glare of the sun. While at the coast, the sea sparkles in the brilliant sunlight, the waves rolling merrily against the shore.

Taking a walk on a sunny day is always fun. Taking a walk on a sunny day with the one you love is even more fun. There is, something, particularly refreshing about being able to take this walk on a sunny day with the one you love without having to keep glancing over your shoulder every ten seconds with worry. Soki, at least in Peppy's eyes, has seemed to be proving himself every bit as useful as the Growlithe expected; as he walks down the beaten, dusty path that leads to the human's road, Peppy seems to not have a care in the world. His head is held rather high, and he scans the area as far as his eyes can see as he talks. His voice is calm and sure whenever he says anything, as though he doesn't have a worry in the world - the first time he's truthfully felt that way in a long, long while. <So then,> the Growlithe woofs out, tail swish-swish-swishing as he glances over at his partner, Aurora. <So then, um, then, she, uh, well, she snuck on me, and did you ever meet her? The, uh, the Tigrynx, you know, her name is Rix, and I actually met her at the farm over a winter but it wasn't *last* winter, it was before I met... no, wait, it was aft... it was befo... ... yeah, it was like really, really soon after I met you, but before I... uh, we, I guess, we went back up to that place near Celadon, except it wasn't "we" together, it was you and then me... or maybe me then you.> Fingers crossed, let's see if Aurora understands a world of Peppy's hyperactive "story".

Tail wagging eagerly, muzzle raised to sniff at the summer air, Aurora pads alongside her mate as they walk towards the nearby human route. Her ears are pricked up, and as Peppy tells his story she nods at intervals, adding a little growl of agreement here and there where it seems appropriate. When Peppy finally stops and gives his mate a chance to reply, she shakes her head. <I don't think I've met her, no. I might have seen her at the farm, but if I did I don't know who she is...> The Growlithe frowns momentarily as she thinks over her reply, realises that it doesn't quite make sense, and then shrugs. <What happened after that, then?> she asks Peppy.

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Peppy shushes right up once Aurora starts speaking, though his chest tightens and his tail wags so furiously it looks like Peppy's about to burst. He's having a hard time keeping his pace normal and calm, so excited is he to finally feel free of stress, even if it's only for a few hours. Once Aurora throws the ball into his court, allowing him to reply, the dog immediately replies, seemingly without even taking a breath. <Oh, right. Oh, um, okay, then she pounced me, and then I was scared, but then I wasn't because it was Rix, and I knew Rix for a long time, and then she asked how the puppies were, and I said great, and she offered to help with hunting, and did you know...> His voice lowers a little here, and he seems to calm down slightly, if only because he thinks that what he's about to say is wise and intelligent. <... That felines like Tigrynx and... uh, that... the, uh, Meowth! That one! They are better at pouncing and sneaking, while canines like us are better at chasing and hunting?> He seems so overly impressed with the information he learned from Rix, though it's rather curious that he doesn't know this fact for himself. That's Peppy for ya.

<Meowths...> Aurora repeats, then grins. <Oh, yes! They have pale fur and shiny charms on their faces, don't they? I've seen some of them before, but not many...> She nods in reply to Peppy, her expression one of interest. <Well, they're shorter and stretchier than us, so if we were like that then I suppose we'd be better at pouncing. And speaking of chasing...> Her grin becomes mischevious, and her espression looks much less like that of a mother of five and more like she's still a pup herself. Pointing a paw towards a tree that marks a bend in the path a hundred metres or so away, she woofs, <Race you to that tree over there. Last one there... last one there is a Caterpie!> To her credit, she'll wait until Peppy makes a move before she starts to dash.

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

When Aurora starts to describe Meowths, Peppy's pace slows slightly, and he peers at her for a moment, as though trying to figure out what she's referring to. Tigrynxes? Growlithes? Meo... ooh. With an enthusiastic nodnodnod, Peppy woofs a affirmative, picking up his step to its normal speed. He listens in his usual interested if not blank manner, and though his eyes wander about the proximinity a bit, Aurora can be sure he's listening to her point with full interest. .. ... Most of the time, at least. When she invokes a challenge, Peppy turns his head to her, canting it slightly. <Huh? W... wait! Aahh! Which tree? How far is it?> Peppy's not expecting a reply, and unless she feels like stopping and losing the race, Aurora probably won't give one. And so, kicking off his back legs, Peppy sprints across the grass, huffing and puffing and... well, since poor mother Aurora probably hasn't done much running recently, as opposed to the hunting-nearly-daily Peppy, so the male will probably catch up to his mate about halfway through the race. So, what does he do? Slows down a little, totally ensuring Aurora's victory as long as she keeps running.

Aurora's not completely out of condition, but Peppy does have a definite advantage in terms of fitness - the female's breathing comes faster as she runs towards the tree, legs pumping hard, gaze fixed on her goal. Which is just as well, as it means that she doesn't notice that Peppy is slowing down in order to let her win, and though Peppy means well his mate's pride might be dented if she were to notice. Which she doesn't, which is just as well. She keeps running right up until a few metres before the tree, where she slows down just enough to theoretically avoid crashing right into the trunk - but not quite enough to avoid one of the tree's protruding roots, which sends her flying towards the tree, missing it by inches and rolling over and over on the ground as she lands. A few seconds pass in silence, then she woofs quietly, <I'm okay... I think.>

The sun shines overhead, bracketed by puffy fair weather clouds.

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

After some time Peppy's sprint has settled into a jog, though if Aurora shows any indication of turning her head to look at him he'll quickly set into a quick sprint, just to make it look like he's running his heart out. And Aurora's approaching the tree! She's so close! She's getting closer! She's... she's... tripping, and falling, and... sailing past the tree... tumbling... tumbling... stopping. <Aurora!> Peppy barks out in corner, now switching shifts into a faster-than-full-speed dash, fueled by sudden fright. Through some sort of miracle he manages to (quite accidentally, due to some innate dumb luck) miss every single one of the roots as he flies past the tree (without touching it) and screeches to a stop, just in time to hear his mate mention that she thinks she's okay. But nooo, Peppy isn't going to settle for okay. <Aurora, are you hurt? Is something broken? Are you bleeding, where's it hurt most, do you need me to help you up? Or carry you, I can carry you, we can come home if you want, is something broken?> Somebody's a little overprotective here, isn't he?

Well, Aurora did manage to roll to a stop, her movement stopped by a larger tree root. So she appears not to have done herself too much damage - even if she has managed to end up upside down. Wriggling to try to get her legs back on the ground, Aurora struggles for a few seconds, before sighing, giving up, and replying to Peppy, <I'm okay, nothing's broken, nothing's bleeding, and the only thing that's aching very much is my pride. But, um, could you help me get back on my feet? I can't get my legs back down on the ground...> She wiggles her legs once more, rather feebly, to demonstrate, and then grins at her mate. <Sorry about this.>

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Aurora's apology won't be heard by Peppy, because he yips a quick <Right!> right as she mentions she's sorry. He scans over her body quickly, mind racing for a quick, painless way to help Aurora back up. She's probably long since become too heavy to simply be yanked up by the scruff, and Peppy probably wouldn't have enough strength or height to do it anyway. Dragging her off of the root fails for obvious reasons, mostly because it would be way too painful and bumpy, and would irritate any scratches or bruises the female incurred on her fall. Though Peppy doesn't exactly want to use his muzzle to push Aurora onto her tummy (if only because he's afraid it might hurt her if her fur is snagged on something), he realizes that he very well may have to. And so, with a quick nod, he woofs, <Um, okay, I'm going to, uh, try and push you over onto your legs, but, um, if it starts hurting, like, for whatever reason, um, just tell me and I'll stop and we'll do something else, okay?> Unless Aurora's reply tells him to not even bother with this idea, he'll march a circle around her once or twice, hop to a position on her side, place his muzzle against her fur (ignoring how soft and warm she is - there's a time and place for nuzzling, and now and here is neither!), and start to push into her, concentrating on pushing and not on the pain in his neck from his position.

<That sounds like a good idea...> Aurora replies, trying to lean her muzzle so that she's facing where he is, and consequently ending up talking into the fur on her belly. She gives her legs another experimental wriggle, and then woofs into her chest, <Okay, now give it a go.> When Peppy starts to push, it definitely has an effect - Aurora's legs start to move away from the trunk, heading over her head and towards the ground. Still, while Peppy may be having trouble with his neck in this position, Aurora's back isn't too happy with the situation either, and Aurora winces as her legs get past vertical. <Um, Peppy?> she asks timidly, though since her voice is quiet and her muzzle is almost jammed against her belly, it's doubtful whether he'll hear her. <Could you push me over to the side, now? I can't roll any further back...>

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape.

Peppy has his eyes squeezed shut when he's pushing Aurora, so he doesn't see the very, very uncomfortable position he's forcing her into. "Grr... th.. grrrrth!" he growls as he pushes with all of his might, determined to prove his oh-so-manly strength and help the girl he loves out of a predicament! ... When she starts to speak, however, he blinks open his eyes, and almost boggles at the nearly head-standing Growlithe. <Gah!> he barks, starting back with a jump, before peering left, right, then back at Aurora quickly. <Sorry, sorry, really, really sorry, okay, um, I'll, uh, uh, um...> Moving very quickly now, he practically jumps to her side, tail wagging out of anxiety rather than joy, and proceeds to... well... kind of push on Aurora's legs with his shoulder, digging his paws deep into the ground as he attempts to move her over on her side. It's far from the most effective method, and might even hurt a bit if he's not careful, but he's panicked. And a panicked Peppy provides problems.

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Aurora's back is already starting to twinge from the position she's been pushed into, so Peppy's change of position doesn't hurt much more - if anything, the shift of pressure takes the load off her back, and she sighs quietly with relief. <Thanks,> she murmurs, as she starts to move over to one side. With this movement, her muscles don't protest nearly as much, and so Peppy will find it a fair bit easier than before to push her over to the side. In fact, if he gives her one or two good shoves, she's likely to topple right over onto her side.

And believe you me, that is a huge, huge relief for Peppy, to know that he's not going to accidentally break her back and turn what was merely a tumble into a full injury. <If I can... just...> And sure enough, with one final extra push, Aurora should find her legs falling down into a far more comfortable position, and should she rotate her torso just right, it'll look more like she fell asleep on her side than anything else. Retreating backwards a couple steps, Peppy looks over at his mate, peers at the tree, growls slightly at it (how dare you hurt her!), and asks, rather cautiously, <Is that better? Are you okay?>

Wince, twist, stretch, wince again... Through a series of contortions, Aurora apparently manages to get the worst aches out of her back, and after a last little gasp she closes her eyes and breathes out heavily. <That was really silly of me, to suggest a race,> she comments, eyes still closed. <What would have happened if I'd hit the tree? I might have hurt myself, and then I wouldn't be able to look after the pups...> She opens her eyes a crack, and turns her head a fraction to look at Peppy. <I won't do it again, I promise,> she says to him, and then closes her eyes. With a sigh, she adds, <I think I'll lie down here for a bit. Walking might ache.>

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Once Aurora is finished stretching her pained back, Peppy plops down on his haunches, though if only because Aurora's started speaking and hey, you don't need to be walking in order to have a conversation, right? He expects a silly, fun little comment about the goofy athletic position she was in, but instead she... says she shouldn't have raced? <Bu...> Peppy starts to speak, though once Aurora continues he hushes right up. No interrupting the smart one. As she speaks, Peppy's eyes widen slightly, as though he didn't realize that indeed, she could have been hurt a lot worse, and he peers over at the tree again, though this time not with anger... more like fright. Will trees join the long list of things Peppy is deathly afraid of? Perhaps. <Are... are you sure you're okay?> Peppy half-whimpers, his voice soft and almost scared, as though he's not quite so sure she's all right. He gets up off of his rump, approaching his mate timidly, peering over her body as though expecting to find something. <... Really sure?> The last comment is a whisper - hardly a breath on the wind.

Watt? July already? You must be 'lion! Bingo! (Saving!)

Opening her eyes to talk to Peppy again, Aurora notices the expression on his face as he looks over at the tree, and then at her, and shakes her head. <Please, don't look like that. I'm okay,> she woofs to him, and then rolls over onto her belly. <I just need to be careful, now that we've got pups to look after... I'm not a puppy myself anymore.> She climbs slowly to all fours, wincing a little as she gets up and her spine makes a quiet click. <But I'm strong enough to survive nearly rolling into a tree, so I should be okay.> This last sentence is accompanied by a grin, and she leans her head towards Peppy's, to try to nuzzle and reassure him. <Don't worry, Peppy, I'll be fine.>

Though Peppy smiles gently at Aurora not being a puppy, his eyes give him away; he's still a little concerned over the well-being of his mate, and... and... and that little crack he heard coming from her isn't a good thing, is it? Before he can open up her mouth and ask her what that was... well, she's managed to get up into enough of a position that she can give him a gentle nuzzle, a very, very comforting gesture from where Peppy is standing. He nuzzles right back into her, his smile a little more sincere now, pretty much putty in her arms and willing to believe her when she says she's perfectly fine. <Well...> he woofs after a moment, his voice just a little shaky from the jittery feeling in his chest, <All right. If you want...> And he looks over into her eyes, cheeks bulging into a very happy smile. <We'll just lie here in the grass until you're ready to go.> And he doesn't even have to wait for her A-OK before he slides down onto his belly, plopping his chin upon his paws, tail wagging happily.