Tasks and Deeds by: Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
Light cascades overhead, blurred only by the coming and going of the clouds. Its blazen fury somewhat blocked out, creating a red tint to the sky. Seaspray filtered through the air, making the scent similar to the beach, even to those who lived in the sprawling town called "Tucho". Its true name was lost to time, only its nickname remained now and the inhabitants of the borough cared not for such things.
The town was a small one. No formal population was kept as the so-called management was rather hands-off. The population was made up entirely of Pokemon, though the species that thrived in the city were by no means the same. The town's leadership, a Kangaskhan mayor, was always out and about doing public relations. He was by no means the most vested leader but he did what he could to help out the town when he could.
A small market thrived at the center of the hamlet with everything from fresh food stands to little trinkets made by different craftsmen that tried to sell their wares. The stalls were never the same. Only the open-air food stands were something they grew used to since it was more of a necessity than the other things they kept in stock. Still, the many patrons who frequented the shops liked to see the variety offered daily as it kept them coming back for more.
Tucho was home to many families, most of which had settled down there for several generations. Parents who had kids there, sometimes also still had the older generations hanging around. To say the place was beloved, would be an understatement. Tucho was a short distance from the big city but kept a small city vibe despite being only a dozen or so kilometers from Cerulean. Most of the older population that still worked often had to commute as jobs were rare in Tucho.
The small town did have some employment opportunities but many of them thrived on a passing down of the torch. The family business was somewhat of a tradition in Tucho but it also made finding work outside of the small circles of relationships much harder. A singular school existed in the town, which all young Pokemon were expected to attend. The institution had trained countless generations of Pokemon and had gained the reputation of having more success than not.
The youth movement in the town was quite small compared to the city but there were enough young Pokemon in the town to keep things interesting. The more juvenile Pokemon could often be found in the various play areas set up around the town as the older ones would often frequent the adventurer's guild for tasks. At the age of 13, all Pokemon were expected to take up the banner of the guild. It was the communities way of giving back.
The adventurer's guild was a group committed to community service. Tasks were usually ones that were requested by the various members of the town. They ranged from simple ones like trash pickup to ones that took much more time like repair jobs. However, the most notorious tasks were saved for the more veteran students of the organization. These duties were known as rescue missions and they were seen as a coveted missions when they were offered and so they didn't last long before they were snatched up.
Rescue missions involved going into specific locations to find lost Pokemon. More often than not those who went lost were the very folk who claimed to be adventurers. Trekking into areas that would be considered off-limits by those with any sense of common sense. Locations varied from the "forbidden forest" to places like the Dustbury mines and even the occasional cave. Most missions came back successful but there were some times when the rescuer had to be rescued themselves. It was never a failsafe affair.
One day a new opportunity arose. The place where work was listed as a large wooden placard situated outside of the guild itself. The familiar insignia of the guild was emblazoned on the documents that were affixed atop it. Already the crowd in front of it was somewhat large, enough that anyone else who wanted to see it couldn't access it. Some curious kids walking by couldn't help but wonder what all the commotion was about.
Rogziel was a young scorbunny with a hankering for adventure. At 12 years of age, he had yet to graduate from the school to the guild but still had heard enough about it to perk his curiosity. Rogziel wasn't your typical breed of scorbunny as his family had immigrated to the town from Alola. Instead of the traditional white, orange, and yellow coloration Rogziel's family had a brown, yellow, and orange tint.
Rogziel approached the crowd from afar. He wasn't exactly that big for his age and many of the Pokemon crowding the board were much bigger than he was. The scorbunny scowled as he tried to be polite and asked to be allowed through but no one was paying attention to him. Looking closer to the floor, he noticed that there was a big enough space to crawl beneath some of the bigger Pokemon's legs.
Rogziel bent down and began to crawl, not worried about getting his clothes dirty. He took it slow and easy, navigating his way through each of the Pokemon's legs as he made his way towards the wooden peg that he believed was the base of the signpost. Once he was close enough to it, he looked up. The Pokemon closest to the board were far enough from the post that he believed he could squeeze in.
Pushing his way up, he poked his head in front of them. His long ears obstructed their views and elicited some complaints from the people he cut in front of. Rogziel felt himself being shoved out of the way but before he was, he quickly swiped one of the papers on the board. He wanted to try his luck at one of the jobs and didn't care what the job was. Once he was shoved back through the crowd, Rogziel held up the little paper and read it.
"Looking for some help getting rid of some garden pests. Peaceful methods of removal are preferred. Contact Beatrice if interested."
Rogziel shrugged and decided that it was worth a shot. He knew that Beatrice was one of the local farmers in the town. She was often visible in the market square so he figured that starting there would be the best way to determine which farm was hers. The scorbunny dusted his knees and legs of the dirt he had accumulated and began to make his way back to the market square. The distance to the middle of the town wasn't far so it didn't take him long to make his way back.
The boy could smell the scent of cooking food as he approached but as he had eaten recently, it didn't spike his appetite at all. He made his way to the market square and began to look around. Only a few vendors tried to beckon him over as it was pretty busy out since it was the weekend. Rogziel continued to look around, recognizing only a few people but not seeing who he was looking for. Eventually, he got the idea of asking where Beatrice could be found.
He was told that she was near the edge of the Bazaar, the Miltank was easily recognizable since she was one of the only of her species outside of her family. Rogziel made his way to her stall. The smell of fresh produce became more prominent once he had gotten close enough to it to see it. The woman stood alone at the stand except for one of her kids who was roughhousing with some pigs behind her.
"Oy, Child. What brings you here?" She asked once she noticed she had a possible customer.
Rogziel pulled out the small piece of paper and showed it to her. "I saw your request and thought I'd give it a shot."
"Oh? Aren't ye a wee bit young for guild work?" She scratched her chin. "I suppose it is simple enough, even for a wee one like yerself."
The scorbunny rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am. I would like to help."
"Very well. We have an infestation of beetles. The little beasties be eating cabbage and lettuce harvest. Get rid of 'em. Just don't kill them or I'll have yer hide." The woman was a bit of a pacifist and didn't like to hurt creatures regardless of the harm they might have caused.
Rogziel nodded. "Anything else I need to know?"
"There are gloves ye can use in the shed. Just make sure to put em back. Now off with ye." She said before pushing him to the side to tend to a customer who had approached her stand.
The scorbunny made his way to a small structure, which he assumed was the shed she was talking about. It was pretty warm outside and bright enough that he regretted not wearing a hat. He approached the small building and opened the door as it creaked to the side. Rogziel peered in and looked for the gloves. There were all sorts of tools, most of which he didn't recognize. Once he found the gloves he took a pair and headed back to the farm.
Rogziel headed over to where the cabbage and lettuce crop was. He assumed this is where he thought the beetle infestation would be since she mentioned it. Sure enough, the things were flying all around the crop fields. The scorbunny walked towards them, coming up with a plan in his mind as to how to relocate them. Perhaps, if he moved one or two cabbages the beetles would follow suit.
He entered the swarm of insects. The little critters not seeming dissuaded by his presence continued to feast away at one of the heads of cabbage. The thing had been almost entirely devoured but most of them seemed to be focused on the single cabbage and one right next to it. Looking at them, the two heads appeared to be rotten. Rogziel picked up one of them the insects raced around him in protest, wanting him to drop their treat to the floor.
Insects didn't bother the cub as he had grown up picking them up and the idea of touching them didn't bother him at all. Rogziel picked up both cabbages and brought them over a fence that separated the area from the wild growth beyond. One could tell which area was tended to and what was not. The beetles quickly scattered back towards the two cabbages and Rogziel swatted what remained of them away.
He walked back
over to the area where he had picked the two cabbages up. A few beetles were still straggling behind looking for their brethren, but Rogziel went out of his way to deliver them to the others. Once the whole lot of them was relocated, he figured the task was done but wanted to double-check. He went around the various fields of the farm and looked at the plants. Some flies swarmed but no remnants of the beetle infestation remained.
The scorbunny made his way back over to where Beatrice was. The cow pokemon was still taking care of the stall and currently occupied so he patiently waited behind her until she was done talking.
"Alright, ma'am. Your infestation is taken care of." The boy said with a smile.
She looked at him warily. "So quickly, eh? How'd you like some extra work? I will pay ye for it."
"Sure, if you like. I came to help anyways." The cub nodded happily, already thinking of what he could do with a few extra poke bucks.
The woman pointed back towards the shed. "How about ye water the plants and pluck the weeds? That should take ye a while."
Rogziel nodded and went back to grab some trash from the storage area he went to earlier. He was still wearing the gloves so he took the only plastic black bag he could find and headed back outside. It was still high noon and he was getting hot, hoping the nice woman would deliver him some water soon. The scorbunny began to toil in the gardens of the crop fields going from square to square plucking out what he considered to be weeds.
The rabbit worked his tail off for about an hour, working up quite the sweat until Beatrice showed up with a cup of lemonade for him.
"Keep up the good work and I'll reward ye' kindly." She said with a calming tone.
Rogziel wiped the dirt from his face and drank the sugary drink down with a big smile on his face. He continued working on the various fields until it started to get dark. He knew his parents would be upset with him if he stayed much later so he went up to the door to let he know she was done. When Beatrice answered the door, she greeted him with a large prewrapped tray of chocolate brownies.
"And as promised…your payment." She held out the small tray to the cub, waiting for him to take it.
Rogziel was expecting some form of cash but wasn't about to turn down treats. "Thanks, ma'am."
"And…of course." She handed him a few bills followed by some coinage that she had been keeping in her drawers for some time.
Rogziel smiled more warmly since he now got more than he expected. "Thank you! I will come back if you need more work done."
"Certainly, I will always leave the work on the guild placard. Feel free to stop by again." She waved to him and then went back inside.
Rogziel stashed the cash into his pocket. He didn't have a wallet or coin purse, so he hoped it wouldn't fall out. It was getting dark out and he hoped his parents wouldn't be worried about him being out all day. He wiped his forehead and began to walk his way back to his house. His place was on the other side of the Miwai river, over the bridge so he knew he had a bit of a walk before he was home.
Rogziel whistled to pass the time, glad that he had done a good deed. The scorbunny gazed into the skyline, the sun completely blocked out by its descent and some clouds. It was somewhat cool for the first time all day. The boy made his way home and was greeted by his mother who waited for him impatiently at the door with her arms crossed.
"Why are you home so late? You didn't tell me about any playdates. I've been worried sick." The lithe cinderace folded her arms awaiting an answer.
Rogziel showed off his tray of brownies. "I helped Beatrice over at her farm. It was some work listed at the guild."
"You're not old enough for that. I know you want to do guild work but you need to wait. It's good you helped her but people could take advantage of you if you're not careful." The boy's mother approached him and patted him on the back.
The boy looked down on the floor, seeming disappointed at her response.
"However, seeing as you brought home some nice treats, I will let you off the hook. Besides…I know Beatrice is a fine person. So you did a good job." She kneeled and kissed her son on the cheek.
"Thanks, mom," Rogziel said handing off the tray to her and trotting off inside.
Rogziel's home was a humble one, a two-bedroom house that was situated on one of the small islets of land that sprouted off He had his room since he was an only child.
"Hang on, mister. You're a mess. Strip your clothes and go take a shower, please." The mother realized he was dirty once he stepped into the light of the house.
The cub nodded as he wasn't one to put up much of a protest.
"And make sure you take off those nasty shoes. They need to be hosed down." The cinderace said with a stern tone.
Rogziel did as he was told, stripping down to nothing but his boxers and socks. The boy headed inside, already feeling the difference in temperature between the inside and outside. He made his way to the bathroom, which was shared among the entire family. Upon peeking inside he found that it was empty and wasted no time in turning on the shower. The water didn't take long to heat up and he stripped the rest of the way before stepping in.
Rogziel never took that long in the shower as the static electricity his body generated, always bothered him a bit. He had never gotten used to it and it always flared up around water. This time was no different, but since the cub's body was sore he spent a little more extra time than he normally did in the bathroom. He allowed the water to relax his body, not bothered as much by the static of his own body.
It took him a little bit longer to clean his body since there was more dirt and sweat that had dried up throughout his fur. Once he felt clean enough and shampooed himself, he stepped out to dry his soaked body. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Some fresh pajamas had already been dropped off for him. It seemed his mother had already taken care of the issue before he could even think about it.
Rogziel changed into his pajamas, his stomach rumbling reminding him that he needed to eat. He walked back out towards the living room and saw his mother walk in the direction of the kitchen. The boy sniffed the air, hoping that food would be ready, only catching a whiff of something faint. The whole family was vegetarian so it wasn't like the meals had that strong smell, that often.
Just as he was entering the kitchen, his father looked over at him.
"Oh, I'm glad that you came. I was just about to call you. Dinner is already ready." The man said delivering a few plates to the table followed by some empty glasses.
Rogziel decided to make himself useful and serve everyone drinks. Usually, the family always had some form of fruit juice so it was pretty easy to assume what to give everyone. Once everyone was served, the whole family joined at the table. They discussed the usual topics, with nothing being off-limits since they were rather close. When everything was all finished up, Rogziel tidied up since it was normally his duty to clean up.
His mother retrieved the brownies that the cub had brought home earlier in the week. They were already cut up so she reached in with some napkins before delivering them to each member of the family. Rogziel wasn't a huge fan of chocolate but wasn't about to turn down a treat since it wasn't a regular occasion that he was given one. He bit into it, the thing was cold but still decadent enough to make his taste buds tingle.
The small treats were consumed in no time with Rogziel finishing up by cleaning up whatever mess was left behind. His mother and father returned to the living room to relax and read some books. Once the boy was finished he returned to his room, feeling rather full. He looked out the windows into the sky. The night was lit up with stars and the moon making natural light seep into the dark room.
Rogziel didn't turn on his lights as he preferred to be able to star gaze whenever he wanted to. The boy continued to gaze into the sky thinking to himself of what he could get into. Wondering if any of his school friends would be available to have fun with. He laid down and closed his eyes, allowing himself to rest. It had been a long day so it didn't take long before sleep overtook him.
Rogziel dreamt that night of making it to the Pokemon league. He imagined himself in the same form he was, not wanting to evolve. The scorbunny without a trainer seemed to overcome the odds much like the Galarian champ himself. When the boy awoke, he did so without the dream coming to an end. It was much like most nights where he only remembered bits and parts of it but still, the dreams made him grin more often than not.
Rogziel got out of bed without an alarm as it was still the weekend and he was used to getting up relatively early. The cub stretched and yawned before hopping out of bed. Looking at the clock confirmed that it was still very early in the morning. He skipped his way into the living room, seeing no signs of either of his parents. He assumed that they were still asleep and decided to make breakfast for himself.
It wasn't the first time he had made himself the meal as it had grown more independent over the years. Rogziel liked having mixes of fruit in the morning along with some juice and cutting fruit wasn't all that difficult. He made himself some cut-up oranges and bananas, topping them off with some apple juice. He was never a big breakfast person so he didn't spend as much time at the table as he did during other meals.
Once he was done, he made his way back into his room to change out of his pajamas. Rogziel made a quick stop in the bathroom to brush his teeth and relieve himself. The cub wasted no time in his effort to get outside. He hadn't bothered looking outside to see what the weather
looked like and rain didn't bother him. Rogziel changed into some casual clothes, picking whatever was on top of his wardrobe.
Rogziel made his way out of his room and put on his shoes. They were the same ones from yesterday and felt a little soggy as he touched them. He shrugged and made his way out the door before locking it behind him. Looking out into the open, it was bright and warm out. The scorbunny could make out only a few clouds as he thought about what he could do with his free time for the rest of the day.
The cub decided that he would take the day for himself. He wondered if anyone would be over at the park. The town's park was on the outskirts of town but was a place the youth visited often since it had everything from a skate park to a lake where kids could come and do whatever they wanted with very little supervision. Rogziel made his way to the park, thinking about what he could do at the park.
The walk to the park was a little far from his house since it was on the other side of town. He skipped on the way to the park, whistling to pass the time as he made his way through the various alleys towards the park itself. Traffic was pretty light as it was still early and many people hadn't gotten up yet. Rogziel made a pretty good time and found himself at the park right as the gates were about to be open.
Rogziel found himself waiting a few moments, hoping that park staff would come along before long. Eventually, a few pokemon strolled in from the streets on bikes. One of them was a boy who he recognized from school, an ice-type fennekin who was from the area.
"Oh hey, Pent. Coming to the park as well?" The scorbunny asked the smaller boy.
Pent nodded and smiled, glad that he saw someone he recognized. "Yup."
"Cool. We can hang out then. Did you have anything in mind?" The bigger boy asked his friend.
Pent shook his head. "I was probably going to go to the skate park. Did you wanna come?"
"Sure, but I didn't bring a board with me." The rabbit said shrugging.
"Don't worry, I didn't either. I just intend to use the parks." The fennekin began walking towards the back of the park.
Rogziel followed him despite knowing where the skate section of the park was. The two walked for a bit, neither saying much of anything. Eventually, they arrived back at the asphalt area of the park with the pits, dips, and ramps to indicate that it was for boarding or skating. There was a single wooden shack near the spot where the greener area gave way to the more commercial one.
The rabbit and fox walked up towards it, realizing the wooden shutters had yet to be opened yet. The two looked confused at one another. A few moments later they heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Hey, little dudes. Here to shred up the paves?" A toned teen Salamence walked towards them from behind.
Pent turned around and waved to the older male. "Yup"
The fennekin was a regular there but had never seen him before. Still, it didn't matter much as both of them needed equipment.
"Alright, yo. Lemme get set up and I'll get you squared away." The blue dragon made its way to open the front of the shack before stepping inside it.
Rogziel and Pent crowded under the wooden awning, waiting for the Salamence to pick them up a board. It wasn't long before he popped up again.
"Here ya go. Make sure to return em before you leave." The dragon held two rather generic boards, one in each of his hands.
The two cubs took hold of the boards and chimed in together. "Thanks."
They trotted off together until they reached the asphalt, tossing the boards on the surface allowing them to trail off without them.
"Game of skate?" Pent said with a smirk on his face.
Rogziel confidently smiled back. "You're on, foxy."
This wasn't the first time they had played the game. The idea of it was to imitate the trick of the other person or do better than them. The person who slipped up got a letter. The first to spell out skate would lose. Both boys were competitive so neither was about to turn down something they considered themselves adept in.
"Rock, paper, scissors; to see who goes first?" The fox asked holding out his paw with the intent of starting the game.
Rogziel followed along and ended up coming out on too, so that meant he would be the first to go. He hopped on his board and headed towards one of the pipes before popping his board up on it to grind along the rail. A simple enough trick, but one that required some level of familiarity to pull off. Pent followed up quite easily as he was far from the most novice skateboarder and landed most tricks without issue.
The two continued sparring with each other. Neither seemed to give into the game, continuing it for well over an hour until the first letter was finally given out. A kickflip out of a bowl landed Pent on his behind and with it, he was one letter behind. Pent shook it off as no big ordeal and smiled at Rogziel before picking himself up. They stopped for a moment to fetch some water as neither had a drink for quite some time.
At the water fountain, Pent couldn't help himself and squirted the other boy. The sparks of electricity flew from the scorbunny's cheek as he smirked at the smaller boy. Once they had both hydrated themselves, the two cubs returned to the boards as they had grown bored with skating for the day. They had all but forgotten about finishing the game and neither mentioned it again once they had walked away from the paved area of the park.
"So what do you want to do now?" Pent asked since he had technically picked the first activity.
Rogziel pondered for a moment. "Well, I didn't bring my swimsuit so the lakes are a no. How about the slides?"
"I haven't gone down the slides in a while. We could do that." Pent hadn't done it since he was younger and secretly hoped he wouldn't look silly while doing it.
Rogziel smiled and began to head towards the area of the park where it veered off into a sand pit. There was plenty of younger pokemon about, most of which were swinging on the 6 seats set at the center of it all. On the outskirts of the pit were the slides and various tunnels that were designed for kids to crawl through. The moment they approached the play area, some of the nearby parents watching their kids eyed them warily.
Rogziel noticed the wayward watching as being stared at didn't bother him. He led towards the slide area and coaxed Pent up to join him. The two went down the slide together, and they laughed for no particular reason other than sheer ridiculousness. One of the parents got up to complain.
"You boys are too big for this area. Go somewhere else or I'll call security." The Kangaskhan woman warned them sternly.
The scorbunny rolled his eyes. "Come on, Pent. We're not welcome here."
"Oh, well. Maybe we can just do a hike or something?" Pent suggested as the only other areas in the park were picnic ones, the sports area, and the lake itself.
Rogziel looked back at pent, seeming surprised with the suggestion. "Sure, I suppose."
Pent hesitated a moment. "Well is there something else you have in mind?"
"Hmm…how about the jungle gym or perhaps some tether ball?" Rogziel was much keener on the exhilaration of sports than the relaxing atmosphere of a nature hike.
Pent shrugged. "Sure, that sounds fine."
Rogziel smiled again, happy that his friend had agreed to the suggestion. The two made their way towards the sports and recreation area of the park. When they arrived they found that some other Pokemon were around. From the looks of it, they either appeared to be older teens or younger adults. Rogziel and Pent stopped by at the water fountain to get a drink before making their way over to the tetherball courts.
Rogziel stepped on one side of the metal pole and Pent went to the opposite side. The two began to toss the ball around, neither understanding the point of the game nor enjoying it all the same. Eventually, the ball got tied up around the pole and they lost in untying the thing. The two looked around at various people playing sports ranging from volleyball to tennis, but neither cub had the equipment for the latter.
"Want to join them in volleyball?" Rogziel suggested as he had no other ideas in mind.
Pent shrugged and the two trotted off to one of the many volleyball courts. They looked around for a moment, searching for a possible area they could team up. Rogziel spotted two girls who were playing by themselves.
"Hey, do you guys wanna do teams against us?" Rogziel suggested upon approaching them.
One of the sprightly eevees responded and pistoned her arm. "Sure, you're on."
The scorbunny set himself on one side of the court and the fennekin nearby on the other side of the same square.
"Ready, then?" The same girl said seeming ready to spar off with the two boys.
Rogziel held a thumbs up and Pent did the same. With that the girl went ahead and served, starting with a simple underhanded one. The bigger boy lurched forward just a bit to send the ball hurling back towards the other side. The girl's sister responded in kind, trying her best to attempt a spike. The spike going fast enough to speed past Pent who simply wasn't prepared for it.
"1-0" One of the two girls announced happily.
Pent retrieved the ball, not seeming bothered by missing the serve. He passed it over to Rogziel to do the service since he had never done it before. The scorbunny did his best attempt at an underhanded serve as he lobbed it forward back over the net. The two Eevee sisters were more than ready to return the ball to the boys. This time the ball went back and forth a few times before ending up off bounds, outside of the regulation lines.
"1-1" Rogziel announced proudly as he was the one who scored the point.
The game continued like this for a while, with the girls more or less maintaining a small lead throughout. The lead only increased to two for a short while before
it was evened up again. Once the girls got to 10, they happily announced that they were the winners. Rogziel and Pent approached them, shaking their hands as they had been taught to do in team sports.
"Nice game. We should play again soon." The scorbunny suggested before trotting off the court.
It was getting near noon now and the sound of rumbling in the two boys' stomachs reminded them that it was lunchtime.
"Want to get some food?" Pent asked as the idea came to his mind.
Rogziel nodded and the two walked out of the park. There was a small picnic area in the center of the park that often gave out snacks to the people who wanted them. Neither boy had brought money with them so they didn't have a choice in the matter. The picnic area of the park was under a huge wooden pavilion. With exception of the bathrooms, it was the only place with a standing building in the entire park.
Rogziel and Pent filed into the line that led towards the pavilion. It wasn't a very long line so they were able to work their way through it in very little time. When they got to the front of the line, they were each given a choice of sandwiches. Both boys were rather fond of PB&J and once they saw the sight of the jelly oozing out of the bread, they had no desire for the other choice at hand which was a much healthier choice.
The cubs took a single small bag of chips, and juice once they were offered it. It was a small meal for most but for the two boys, who were used to school-sized lunches, it was enough to satisfy their hunger. The friends made their way to the end of one of the many picnic tables, where some of the seats were vacant. The area had a few centralized fans.
They sat down together, neither saying much of anything. Both boys were hungry enough that they were entirely focused on eating their meals. It didn't take them long to get through the meals as they were rather small. Once they were finished, the two of them sat there for a few minutes just sipping away at the juice cartons they had been given. Some of the park staff were walking around with garbage bags, to make sure no one tossed anything on the floor.
Once they finished their meals, they got up and disposed of what garbage they had. Rogziel looked over at Pent and grabbed his shoulder.
"Want to go swimming?" He suggested as he was feeling hot and wanted to cool off.
Pent cocked his head awkwardly. "Uh…I didn't bring a suit. Did you?"
"No, but we could go in our shorts. I don't think it would matter as long as we don't go naked." Rogziel shrugged not seeming to be bothered about having soaking wet pants.
The fennekin smiled. "Sure, that sounds good."
The two began to walk together back towards the lake. On the trip back, noticing a thin line of traffic going towards the lake. It didn't deter them, instead, they picked up the pace to get there before the crowd. After they arrived at the lake, the two of them stopped near a fallen down tree to sit down and removed all of their clothing from their shorts. Both cubs looking toward one another but not being bothered by the semi-nude nature of the moment.
Rogziel was the first one to burst towards the lake, making no delay towards the water in front of him. The scorbunny catapulted dove right into the water, taking no account of if it might be shallow or not. Pent wasn't far behind him, the fennekin being slower about it since his body sometimes frosted up the water if he didn't control his own body. Pent made slow methodical steps into the shallow end, before being splashed by the other cub.
"Come on, slow poke. What are you afraid of?" Rogziel said before swimming off once again.
Pent smirked before diving in after the other boy, some frost shards forming near the surface of the water where he entered it but quickly melted away. The fennekin followed after the other boy but since he was underwater, he couldn't see at all. Before long he surfaced for air and once again was assaulted with a quick splashing by the other cub. The fox pushed the water back, creating waves of his own as the two met in a deadlock of water going back and forth.
Eventually, they stopped, after they realized no progress was being made one way or the other.
"Want to race to the end of the lake?" Rogziel suggested with a smirk, feeling confident he would win.
Pent nodded eagerly as he was just as keen on getting even from earlier. "You're on."
"On three then…one…two…three." With that, the scorbunny shot off from the shallow end.
Pent followed right after, trying to keep up by stroking as fast as his arms would allow him. Both boys were athletic enough to keep up with one another. The two began speeding down the length of the lake, occasionally craning their heads whenever they came up for air. The fennekin eventually pulled ahead, despite his shorter body not giving him any sort of advantage.
When they came to the end of the lake, the fennekin was the first one to finish the lap. Pent had emerged victorious and realized it the moment he looked back and saw that Rogziel still wasn't finished Pent had pulled ahead by a few meters and watched Rogziel finish. Pent patted the other cub on the head, feeling rather good about himself as the other boy emerged from the water.
"Guess we're even now, huh?" Rogziel said trying to redeem himself a bit.
Pent shrugged it off as no big deal. "Mhm." He flopped back into the water and began back stroking in no particular direction.
Rogziel followed and the two swam in tandem, parallel to one another. Luckily there weren't many people in the lake so they didn't have to worry about running into people. Once they grew tired of swimming around, they made their way back to the shores in the direction they started from. The two boys exited from the water, both of them soaking wet but neither having a malfunction of their abilities for a change.
"Guess we should dry off now?" Pent asked before shaking his fur.
"Right, but we don't have towels so we will have to wait to try out naturally." Rogziel shrugged, not seeming to be bothered about walking around soaked.
"Well, we can't put on our shoes until the water dries so I guess we'll hang around here for a bit." The smaller boy said before making his way over to the fallen-over tree where they had stashed their clothes.
Pent lay down on the dirt, underneath the trees, allowing the breeze to pass through his fur. He tried to relax on the floor, completely sprawling out his body, looking up to the sky which was somewhat obstructed by the trees above. Rogziel eventually joined him. The two sat there on the floor for some time, neither saying much just enjoying the moment. It was sometime before either of them budged, their fur matted from laying down on the floor.
When they finally got up the sun was just going down. Rogziel was the first to budge from his relaxed position, dusting himself off of the dirt that had accumulated from the being dried into his fur. He helped Pent up who followed suit. The two boys looked up, realizing it was somewhat late.
"Alright, see ya tomorrow at school?" Rogziel asked since the weekend was now essentially over.
"Yup, the park should be closing soon anyways," Pent said before the two sat down together to put on their socks and shoes.
The two walked together out of the park. Already some of the park staff was busy with the cleanup. The distance to the exit wasn't far from the center of the park so it didn't take them long to travel there. At the exit to the park, they waved to each other and went their separate ways as they lived on opposite sides of the town. Rogziel felt happy he had got to hang out with a friend, even if it wasn't planned he preferred doing stuff with his peers as opposed to being alone.
Rogziel made a good time going home. This time finding that neither of his parents was waiting for him at the door. The boy made sure to shed his clothes at the door since he assumed his parents wouldn't be happy if he tracked dirt through the house. Just like the night before, he made sure to clean up before worrying about dinner. The cub once again forgot a change of clothes, this time having to go through the house in naught but a towel.
After changing into his pajamas, he joined his family for dinner. The story of his day with his parents before cleaning up and retiring to his room to wash up for the night. Dinner was a reheated pasta dish from the other night. His parents weren't really in the mood for something ornate, but none of the family was picky so no one complained. Once the meal was over, Rogziel did his usual cleanup before retiring from his room.
It had been a long day and he was tired enough to not dilly-dally around before bed. He made sure to set his alarm, as school was early in the morning and he didn't want to wait. Closing the door and turning off the lights he pounced into his bed, his body recoiling against the springs. Eager for another day the cub pulled the sheets over him, it wasn't long before sleep overtook him.
