Home Sweet Home

[AmbushCat]

*In a location that really shouldn't be connected to the Muffinverse but somehow is anyway, an Umbreon-boy-that-looks-like-a-girl climbs out of a shadow given off by a bush and turns to wait for the person following him. The temperature here is considerably more tolerable than it was back at Muffinville proper.*

[Whatevr89532]

Shortly after, the Eevee-girl Whyte walks up the staircase as well. Noting the difference in temperature, she removes the coat she has on and hangs it over an arm.

((I didn't really bother to establish what she was wearing, but well, if it was cold she'd obviously wear a coat.))

[AmbushCat]

*The area around them seems to be a general middle-class neighborhood, filled with ranch-style homes and fair-sized yards. An aged Rottweiler, chained up outside the house next door, perks up and wags its tail when Swift and Whyte appear. As for the Harrison home, it seems to be fairly generic: red-brick exterior, well-maintained, a few bushes and plants, a basketball hoop in the backyard, a sign bolted next to the door...

*...and a two-seat glider on the front porch, with Amber sprawled out over it and looking thoroughly relaxed. Despite the temperate weather, she's still wearing her standard gray pants and sweater. She seems to be asleep, or at least close to it; when Echo arrives, he reaches up and paws her nose without getting a response from her.*

Swift: *amused* You can take the human out of the cat, but you can't take the cat out of the human. *speaks up* Boss? We're here.

...! *eyes flutter open* Huh? ...Oh. Hi, Swift. Hi, Whyte. Thanks, Echo. *yawns widely and tries to get up* Timer on the stove should be going off any---EEEEE! *rolls sideways and falls off the glider onto the porch* ...You didn't see that.

*Judging by Echo's facepaw and Swift quivering with suppressed laughter, they most certainly did see that.*

[Whatevr89532]

Whyte quietly sweatdrops a bit. "Hi there. So um, this is your house?" she says, trying to force the awkwardness away with an easy question.

[AmbushCat]

*stands up, dusting herself off* Sure is, be it ever so humble.

Swift: *rolls his eyes* Pffft. Don't give her that. If you were any prouder of this place, you'd be putting "my house is smarter than your honor student" bumper stickers on the car.

*eye twitches* ...Your snark levels are high today, Swift. I actually have no idea how to respond to that.

Swift: *grins* You can start by letting us in, boss.

Ah... right. Please, come in. *reaches over and opens the front door*

[Whatevr89532]

"Thanks," Whyte nods, heading inside. "Nice to see you again, too. I don't think we've met since the whole stored power thing..."

[AmbushCat]

*The home is well-decorated and speaks well of its occupants. Considering that most of what the Harrisons have is high-quality without being garish, the average on-looker probably wouldn't realize that the family is loaded without knowing of Amber's life. Off to the right of the front door is a nice kitchen, painted white, with an enlarged photograph of the entire family (Pokemon and all) hanging on the wall near a window.

*The living room directly before Whyte and Swift has fluffy white carpeting, which looks like it's waging an active war against Echo and Eebon's fur: despite having been vacuumed recently, there's still numerous black hairs visible. A three-seat couch, a loveseat, and two chairs are arranged a safe distance away from a big-screen television. Evidence of the kids' presence has been left everywhere: a video game system of some kind called a "Chronosphere", a few comic books, a Florida Panthers cap, a cat toy under the couch, and so forth.*

*Swift immediately excuses himself upon entry and heads for the bathroom. Amber, meantime, leads Whyte to the kitchen and gestures at one of the chairs meaningfully.*

I understand that's been working pretty well for you? Swift tries to watch your matches when he can, and he likes to regale me with the details.

[Whatevr89532]

"Yeah, it helped out. I got stomped by Ark for a bonus, but I even manged to surprise him a little bit...I think. I've kept up with learning fighting moves, doing speed training and stuff..." Whyte pauses to scratch an ear briefly. "Um, I guess you heard what happened to Clyve probably?"

[AmbushCat]

*snorts back a laugh* Yeah. I thought it was funny when Calli stuffed her into the road. ...Er, no offense intended.

[Whatevr89532]

"No, that is pretty funny in retrospect, especially since she kinda deserved it at the--wait, you know Callista?" Whyte shakes her head around a bit as if to force it to clear, her ears flopping along with it. "Err, one thing at a time. I was going to mention, whatever those blue witches or whatever did made Velcy way stronger and tougher, which on top of the whole clever, dirty fighter thing Clyve already had going makes her a pretty difficult opponent. I've taken a couple of losses, like she's a real rival at this point. Really does help the motivation."

[AmbushCat]

So I understand. *smiles playfully* Though watch your back---you might have a second one on your hands pretty soon. Want anything to drink, by the way? We've got water, lemonade, Dr. Pepper, Oran juice, strawberry milk...

[Whatevr89532]

"Lemonade's good," says Whyte. "Sugary, but not a soda, so...also, I'm glad berry juice wasn't the first thing you mentioned. That kind of stuff's not bad, but I really like being able to have human food and drinks now."

[AmbushCat]

Lemonade it is. *gets up to grab a glass and the drink in question* And I have a pretty good idea what you're talking about. Both Swift and Shiver started getting a hankering for fruit punch once they got human forms of their own.

[Whatevr89532]

"Was it similar for you? I mean, since you were a cat, orrrr, are a cat?" says Whyte. "Oh wait, I thought Shiver's human form was just an illusion?"

[AmbushCat]

*Amber places the now-filled glass before Whyte and sits back down, periodically glancing over at the stove's timer.*

Well, not really... sort of? My birth species has many of the same tastes as humans, though they're meat-eaters at the core. We can safely eat fruit and vegetables, but it intends to be an acquired taste unless we have all three types of teeth and the digestive system to match.

As for Shiver's human form, it's a solid illusion, meaning it has physical mass. The more she used it and read about it, the more of its functions she was able to replicate. By the time she first met you and Clyve at that restaurant, she had eating via proxy down pat: any food her illusion ate became no different as if she was eating it herself.