When the second change in his life came, Riley could at least state with pride that he didn’t freak out like he had with his first change. Though, honestly, the first change was a bit more drastic than this one.
Actually, Riley handled this quite well. He was in the teen stage now! He was taller, and stronger, and had gorgeous long hair! It delighted him beyond measure. Having already accepted that he would never be one of those with the bulky muscles, what he did have was a little more visible, and only hid the strength that all riolu had. He felt... like he could do so much more!
He’d woken in a bed that just barely fit him and pajamas that were uncomfortably tight. His first instinct had been to think that everything had shrunk around him! Then, he’d woken up fully, looked closer at himself, and gazed in awe at the new body. Really, he didn’t look much different, but, it was enough for his mind to gain a confidence boost! Maybe people would pick on him less now that he was grown!
He pulled on his old shirt, which was tight and short, but was better than nothing, and wrapped a blanket around his hips to cover what his shorts no longer fit. He was brimming with delight when he stepped out of the bedroom.
It was the reactions of everyone else that made him less certain of the change...
He walked into the kitchen to see Thomas and Thomas’ family at the breakfast table. There was a clatter of silverware as they caught sight of the teen. At first, Thomas jumped up with excitement and ran to give Riley a hug. Yet, when he realized he only came up to Riley’s chin, Thomas’ excitement waned. “You’ve.. really grown, Riley.”
Riley was too confused by the change of attitude to respond, but Thomas’ brother laughed. “Don’t worry, shortfry. You’ll catch up to him soon enough~” Was his height so bad? Thomas’ sister grinned and walked over to touch Riley’s cheek. “Well, at least you’re still cute~” Thomas’s father strolled over, looming intimidatingly over Riley. The adult snorted, and headed out to work, dragging his daughter along despite her complaints. Thomas’ mother just sighed softly, and commented on the need to buy Riley new clothes. Riley looked at Thomas, but the boy was looking down, as though ashamed of something.
After such an unexpected reaction, he was afraid to go see his own family, and wasn’t disappointed. He had changed into some of Thomas’s brothers’ clothes so that he could wear something more fitting, and headed out to the cave... Their reactions were about the same...
'You really so ashamed of what you are that you want to be even more human?!' his father scowled. His mother huffed and shook her head, remaining silent. His sister burst out in a laugh, and teased him about the long hair. His brother... well, despite laughing at everyone else’s comments, he was probably closer to the reaction Thomas had. There was a slight disapproval, but... still a hint of respect. Swifty had always been the family member that Riley got on best with. 'Got any new moves with that body?' the riolu sibling asked.
Riley finally smiled, giving his brother an appreciative grin. “I’m sure there are. You’ll see!” Everyone would see! He could and would be stronger now! He could do things for himself, and for others. Maybe.. maybe the other poke-humans like himself would accept his change easier than his family? His... his friends... The ones he wanted to be able to help. Now, maybe, he could.
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 10:35 pm
~Teen Stage; Skill Learned! 'Force Palm'~
A large fist slammed into his cheek, and his own fist slammed even harder into his opponent’s nose with Counter before dropping to one knee. Gods, everything hurt... How had he gotten into this mess? Blinking sweat from his eyes, Riley looked over at his brother sitting on the sidelines, and then quickly away. Oh, yeah. That’s right...
His brother had been bugging him more than usual to train as of late, so Riley had finally agreed. Anything to get Swifty to back off! Swifty hadn’t told Riley the details though; so, there Riley was, facing another pokehuman, another teen. Another, much larger and stronger pokehuman teen. The other guy was a machoke, one of Swifty’s training friends, and he was built as though sculpted from stone. Riley was sure he looked like a wet noodle compare to that guy! Swifty just grinned, and, before Riley could make excuses and run, had called the start of the battle!
Rather terrified of the towering machoke, Riley was instantly at a disadvantage despite his brother’s encouragements. His best move was Counter... which, while effective and a big damage dealer, didn’t really matter when the damage he was taking was so much more than what the tougher machoke giving; and the machoke’s Revenge move was a killer. Despite the power of his hits, he was pretty sure they felt like mosquito bites to the giant, compare to the boulders he felt like he was being socked with.
A hard punch sent the riolu flying, landing on his back with the air knocked out of him. He managed a quick glance at his brother, silently pleading for the fight to end. Then the machoke was on top of him, pinning him down while swinging punch after punch. His arms were trapped by the machoke’s legs, preventing any Counter attack. Was this training or a fight to the death?! He was getting good at martial arts, but that didn’t help when his legs turned to jelly and he was being sat on...
Swifty watched the fight with growing concern. He’d thought Riley might be ready to advance, but his brother was just getting his a** kicked. He was about to call the fight when his machoke buddy suddenly went flying. Eyes wide, he laughed as his pal thudded to the ground at least thirty feet away. He walked over to Riley, tail swaying contently. ’Nice Force Palm hit, bro.’
Riley just looked up at the sky, trying to catch his breath again. He could barely move... but when he did, he looked at his hands with surprise. He had felt that surge of power. Able to throw a big, heavy guy like that machoke that far with his first, rather panicked and desperate attempt? And, if he practiced... it would only get stronger and more accurate. Panting heavily, he looked over at Swifty with a strained smile. He knew his brother just wanted to help him become stronger, but he couldn’t move now! He didn’t want to outright tell his brother he didn’t want to be trained anymore, but he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.
Swifty laughed at his brother’s pathetic state and called his friend over. The machoke brushed a little dirt and blood off of himself, and then rather roughly picked the smaller fighter up to carry back home. Swifty knew he would have a little explaining to do about Riley’s battered state, but at least there was a new ability to brag about, right?
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