**When It Pains, It Roars** (finished)

[WritingWithLove]

Briar cringed as he said the word "mother." She wondered if it was possible that mothers could be... nice... Nah!
"Well," she said as she set her empty bowl of ice cream down, "I enjoy long walks along the beach, romantic dinners for two, and gossip." She grinned, feeling something- some feeling- deep in the pit of her stomach. Before she could stop herself, she added, "A-and every night I kinda go around my city and, uh, take care of some of the criminals that the cops've missed..."  

[The Jolly Victini]

"So you're like a superhero?!" B.E.N. asked excitedly, jumping out from behind the kitchen's island counter.  

[WritingWithLove]

Surprised by the new face, Briar moved back until she was completely at Fenrir's side. "If you can think of a superhero who's constantly at battle with the law for trying to serve others, who does unspeakable acts such as..." She couldn't bring herself to say it for fear of being judged, but she had to. "W-who does things like murder and stealing on a daily basis as calmly as if she was going to the grocery store, who never gets appreciated, then yes, I'm the best superhero anyone's ever seen, or not seen, as usually is the case." To lighten the mood, she anxiously nudged Fenrir and added, "Plus I'm single. Side-kicks are always welcome."
She waited for the gasps.
She waited for the anger, and the fear.
She waited to do something incredibly stupid.  

[The Jolly Victini]

B.E.N. started tearing up. All he really wanted to hear was a yes or no, but this lady had answered so abruptly and rudely, he felt like he had done something wrong.  

[WritingWithLove]

Briar saw that the new guy- well, new to her- seemed a little hurt. She felt guilty and said softly, "Sorry if I upset you. I've just kinda had a bad day up until now." She smiled genuinely and said, "The name's Briar. What's yours, cutie?" She said this in a friendly way; she didn't want to offend someone she had just met, especially this little guy.  

[Fenrir Shade]

Fenrir was about to say something when B.E.N. started crying and cut him off. He joined Briar in comforting the furball.  

[The Jolly Victini]

((Yeah, Zie, it'd help if you looked at my characters. Look at B.E.N. and you'll see why. My name's Dakota, by the way you'll need it to find the list.))

B.E.N. sniffled and looked up to Briar. "Buh... B.E.N."  

[WritingWithLove]

((Gotcha covered. wink ))

Briar had never seen anything like B.E.N. before. She could tell that he was obviously sensitive, and she felt guilty for causing him to become upset. Though she didn't know how to exactly go about cheering him up, or cheering anyone up for that matter, she said, "I'm really sorry. I never meant to make you, uh, feel bad."
Ha! See how you cause so much pain? Briar could hear her mother say. Tears welled in her eyes, but she forced them back as she faked a smile and said to B.E.N., "D-do you like ice cream? There's plenty here! Well, you probably already know that..."  

[The Jolly Victini]

B.E.N. seemed to cheer up. "Really?" B.E.N. hopped up into Briar's arms and rubbed his head against her cheek. "Thanks!"  

[WritingWithLove]

Briar giggled and softly pet B.E.N.'s ears. "Which flavor is your favorite?" she asked, hoping to reconcile.
See, Mother? I can be a good friend. she thought to herself with a cheeky smile.  

[The Jolly Victini]

"Chocolate!" the young creature said.  

[Fenrir Shade]

Fenrir, having fixed B.E.N. ice cream before knew that Chocolate was this week's favorite, and was already coming back with the carton. He opens it and gives him a spoon that probably wasn't going to get any use. "Dig in."

((By the way, if you're curious about my characters, they're under Justin. Which I don't see why you would be, there's nothing really that special about them like Dakota's alien race.))  

[WritingWithLove]

((Okay, I've looked through everyone's files at least twice now. hopefully I'll have a bit of a better grip! smile ))

Briar set B.E.N. down next to the carton and smiled as he got to work. "So," she said to Fenrir, trying to get back on topic, "you can control shadows?"  

[Fenrir Shade]

((Oh. Well then, I feel stupid now. Hehe. But you're definitely prepared.))

"Yes ma'am. I'm one of two here that can do so. I can control them as is, but she can go so far as to manipulate them. But I can enter a plane of existence known as the Shadow Realm, as I mentioned earlier. It's connected to all darkness and shadow in the universe. But it preys on your mind. It took me a very long time to master it, and learn to control that realm. I almost went mad several times while doing so. I can enter these shadows and appear anywhere I so wish to go. I can also phase through objects, as you saw with the door earlier. They both are extremely useful and practical. Now, combat wise, it's not as useful as pyrokinetics or anything like that, but I can still hold my own. But obviously stealth is my specialty. Do you have any powers?" explains Fenrir, offering Briar a chair.  

[WritingWithLove]

She gladly took a seat. She smiled cheekily and said, "Powers? Well, let's see..."
She pulled out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket, quickly lit it up and took a drag. She blew several smoke rings in the air before putting her cig out and shoving it back into her pocket. "I can breathe smoke. Not many people around here can do that."
She let the sleeves of her shirt drop around her shouders, and she leaned forward seductively. "I've been told I'm a bit of a temptress. A siren, if you will."
In a flash, she moved out of the chair and held the blade of her pocketknife against Fenrir's back. "And I'm pretty agile and stealthly, and a pretty good shot with a gun... but I doubt you'd want me to demonstrate that here." She flipped her blade back and put it in its holster, stepping in front of him and waiting for a response. She knew that what she could do could never come close to him, but she might as well jest about it; she wasn't one to pout.