Background Music

Chapter 2

Kiera stared back at her reflection through her bedroom mirror. A red, plastic faceplate covered the majority of her face. A yellow, crown-like crest centered the top of it, and gray piece tapered down from her muzzle. The Vulpix had a gray lumpy blanket billowing down her back with jagged pieces of gray cardboard attached to the cloth. To top it all off, she sported four black bands, one for each leg. She had to admit that she was really glad that she had taken Shiku up on his offer. The mask was completely worth it! Of course, she and her mother had put together the rest of her costume, but the fire fox was still impressed by the outfit. "Oh my!" a Ninetales exclaimed while entering Kiera's room. "I am honored that such a magnificent legendary would visit my humble home!" she fawned with an exaggerated bow. "To what do I owe the honors?" "Unlimited desserts will probably be enough," the small, brown fox played along in a meek voice. "I would hate to put too much trouble you." "Ah, but you won't find that here!" the Ninetales sighed in fake sadness. "You must be looking for Legend Fest." "Indeed, I am!" Kiera declared with a toss of her head. "And I must head out at once! My comrades of honor await me." "Oh?" the yellow-furred fox inquired. "Well, you'd best stay with them, then. It's dangerous to go out alone these days. No offense, Your Highness, but you do seem to be a good deal smaller than most Entei I come across." "I come of the mini variety, but we're just as capable as the large," Kiera replied in a matter-of-fact tone. This caused an amused snort from the Ninetales. "Be careful all the same. Legendaries are considered very rare, and some pokémon wouldn't be able to resist snatching up something so valuable." The yellow fox's red eyes furrowed thoughtfully, and it almost looked like she was reconsidering on letting the Vulpix go out unsupervised. Of course, this did not go unnoticed by her child. "Don't worry! We'll be fine, Mum! LOTS of kids are going by themselves this year! Besides, they do it every year, and nothing ever goes wrong!" Kiera raced down a well-worn path, sending up little puffs of dust. The setting afternoon sun cast red and orange shades across the slowly darkening sky. The Vulpix was only a short distance away from Oak Tree Bend, the place where she was supposed to meet up with her friends. The excitement of anticipation fizzed through her, spreading a tingling sensation that she felt all the way to the tip of her tails. As she topped a hill, she could see a large oak tree with three forms underneath the shade. Grinning, she pelted downward at full speed. Soon, she skidded to a stop inside of the leaf darkened area. "Hi, guys!" she greeted them almost breathlessly. "Hey!" Shiku beamed back. "I told you we'd look great!" The Shinx's head adorned a black helmet that covered his ears, forehead, and nose. Two bumps, centered the middle of the mask, and two white knobs crested the top of it. A set of blue whiskers in the shape of an X with a pair of long fangs hanging down covered his muzzle. He also wore a lumpy, purple blanket in the style of a cape. Kiera turned to Keegan and Maya. "Both of your costumes look really neat, too!" Maya was almost unrecognizable in her apparel. The Emolga was wearing a Victini costume with only her mouth, eyes, and tail showing. Keegan wore a costume as well. The Poochyena was fitted in a Black Kyurem suit, but he was more recognizable since his entire face was sticking out. "Neat doesn't even begin to cover it," the fluffy canine barked. "Mine is fully AWESOME!" "Ooooohh" Maya exclaimed, her black eyes shining. "But not as awesome as Nola's!" Kiera turned around to see what the Emolga was gawking at. "Woah!" the Vulpix gasped. Nola was approaching and looked like an entirely different pokémon! Instead of her normally light-brown color, the Eevee's fur was predominantly white. Her head fur was spiked up even higher than usual and was a light green color. All four of her legs and paws were the same shade of green. A red bandana was tied around her neck with the ends tied loose and big. "I've never seen a Mew look like that before!" Keegan playfully started in. "And aren't they supposed to be...pink?" Nola rolled her brown eyes. "I changed my mind, Genius." "How'd you get your fur like that?" Maya breathed. "Momma dyed it," Nola grinned. "But it comes out in the wash." Shiku stared down at his own blue paws. "I wish my mom would've dyed my fur yellow," he sighed wistfully. "Oh, and with black stripes, too." "I always thought that Shaymin were supposed to look like salad hedgehogs," Keegan teased once more. "I'm obviously Shaymin's sky form, you dork!" Nola scoffed. "We should be heading off to the festival, don't you think?" Maya asked hopefully. "I want to play the games as soon as they're open! And I want to ride the rides, and win prizes, and jump in the bouncy house, and watch the parade, and stuff myself with sugar, and EVERYTHING!!!!" the Emolga squealed with glee. Kiera cocked her head. "Is this your first time going to Legend Fest?" she asked the overjoyed Emolga. "Not exactly...." she drawled. "But I didn't really get to do that much before. That's why I wanna go so badly this year." "It's too early for it to start, now. They won't start it until it gets night out," Nola pointed out. "But we could go watch them finish setting it up, and there's some cool decorations we could look at while we wait." "Well, that's better than nothing!" Maya shrugged. "Let's go right now!" With a jump, the Emolga was off and running down the dirt road. Kiera blinked and charged after the fleeing squirrel. "Wait, we're supposed to stay together!" she called out. "Teehee, then you'll have to hurry up and catch me!" the Emolga giggled without slowing down. Kiera heard pawsteps echo behind her as her friends raced after the two running pokémon. A good while later, all four of their tongues were lolling and Maya was still running strong. It was at this point that Keegan decided that he had had enough. Putting on a burst of speed, the Poochyena sped up and tackled the Emolga into the ground. "Geh off, yuh guishin me!" Maya protested while squirming beneath Keegan's weight. "Slow...down....then," Keegan panted. "You're makin' us...all tired." "Fine," Maya grumbled. "Jus' geh offa me." While the two pokémon picked themselves of the ground, Kiera took the time to take in their surroundings. The path had taken them by a forest with towering trees and thick undergrowth. If the Vulpix really focused in, she could hear various, unidentified noises dwelling within. Then, fallen leaves began to crunch with loud crashing. Kiera jumped back, an uncertain growl forming in her throat. In the corner of her eye, she could see sparks and the snap of electricity that surrounded Shiku's paws. Nola crouched down and lashed her fluffy tail back and forth. Keegan and Maya rigidly stood facing the sound if the noise. A dark gray paw reached out and pushed back a frond of obstructing greenery, which was soon followed with a surprised grunt. The paws owner turned out to be a dark-blue furred Lucario who stepped out in the open. "You bunch took me by surprise," he chuckled with a deep voice. "Didn't quite expect to see so many legendaries in this place." "Who are you?" Keegan growled back. For all his brave front, Kiera could still see the glint of nervousness shining in his eyes. "Name's Rahms" the Lucario stated with his paws slightly raised in a sign of surrender. "And I'd take it very kindly if you would spare me, Kyurem. I'm not looking for any kind of trouble. Just passin through to a festival." "Legend Fest?" Shiku pipped up. Kiera winced at this, hoping the Shinx wouldn't give much more away. "I reckon," the Lucario shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "Unless there's some other festival for legendaries going on that I'm not aware of." Hmm, the first two chapters seem suspiciously on the fluffy side. I wonder why that is....