Budding Pack [3-partner Xros Hunt]

With the passing time, and the events of Golden Week, it likely wasn't much of a surprise that digimon weren't as much of a secret as they used to be but a few years ago. Certainly, DATS and the government could do what they could to cover things up - and cover up they did, where possible. However, there was only so much that one could do in the modern age; especially when there were countless people who had already seen the digimon on live news. When you had people talking - be it in hushed tones in person, in writing, and on sites beyond the government's reasonable reach - rumors tended to arise and spread like wildfire. And on top of that...

"Hey, hey - should we get moving, before someone sees us?"

A young girl with bright golden-blonde hair, and sky-blue eyes, would be fidgeting alongside her two compatriots - a darker-skinned woman with long pink hair and a loosefitting jacket, and a tanned young man with a black bandanna and his equally black hair tied up in ponytail. The darker-skinned woman would be quite sleepy-eyed, simply responding with simply a shrug and a noncommittal "Hm," at the fidgety girl's question. The young man, however, would have a spraycan in hand and a mask pulled over his mouth - responding "I'm almost done here - just wait a second..." in a snappy, but otherwise unagitated, tone.

The truth of the matter was, that on top of humans gossiping to one another, there were still digimon who came to Shibuya to cause mischief and make themselves known; and among these digimon would be three holosuited pups: Duchess the Gazimon, Princess the Offmon, and Ruffian the Gaomon. Late into the evening, they would be huddled away in an alleyway - Duchess keeping watch, while Princess was leaned back against a wall and looking ready to doze off, and while Ruffian would be putting the spraycan in his hand to good use in tagging the wall.

With each hiss of the spraycan, a new stroke would be added to a somewhat rough (though almost in the sense that its rough appearance was a stylistic choice,) mural of sorts - the image of a BlackGabumon smashing a pile of TVs with a bat, grinning wildly and mischievously all the whilst. To the right of it, a caption would read in a thick-lettered font and bright colors 'Who's 'not real' now?'

It wasn't the first piece of work that Ruffian had done throughout the city over the past few weeks - all to express himself, to add a splash of color to the city, and to give a big 'fuck you' to the DATS and government; but it certainly wouldn't be the last. He wanted to tag and paint wherever he could, to get as many eyes on them as possible! Enough shenanigans like this, and surely the humans would begin considering digimon with a bit more seriousness!

As Ruffian continued his work though, it seemed that even Princess would eventually get somewhat antsy - her eyes peering at their surroundings warily. "We've been here for awhile now..." She would comment, idly tapping her fingers against the brick wall behind her. "... Surely someone would've seen us, by now...?"

Ruffian, though, would groan in irritation - briefly baring his teeth from under his mask - as he retorted "Well, if we keep bickering, then they'll sure as hell hear us at this rate...!" Shaking the spraycan briefly, he was quick to resume his work - disregarding the fact that the spraycan was likely just as loud - if not louder - than the whispered banter amongst the pups. But even that being said, Ruffian wasn't all that scared of someone coming this way; if they did have any uninvited guests, the trio all had their own methods of dealing with whatever trouble that might arise with.

Princess and Duchess, though, would both share a sigh nonetheless - mutually deciding that arguing with the stubborn Gaomon wasn't likely to get them anywhere. And it wasn't like they were necessarily worried over a potential confrontation going terribly wrong; the three of them were able to protect each other just fine, after all. But such confrontations were nonetheless stressful, and if it turned out that they were found out by authorities, it meant that they would be forced to retreat to the Digital World or otherwise lay low for a little while...

... Which meant that it wasn't too surprising, when the sounds of distant footsteps and chatter would catch the group's attention - causing the trio to freeze and tense up.

"Hey, Anne - what do you think this weird smell over this way is?" called a cheery, almost childish sounding voice. "C'mon, let's go check it out!"

"Ettie, d-don't wander off so suddenly..!" Another voice - this one more serious, but nonetheless worrysome - scolded. "Especially not in a strange place like this...!"

It didn't sound like these were authorities coming their way - nor did it sound like these were thugs or delinquents. Just normal people, wandering about, who had happened to want to come this way; or at least... That's what they would initially believe, until Duchess began sniffing the air. "It... Smells like some digimon!" The disguised Gazimon would chirp in a hushed tone, glancing over to Ruffian and Princess both. "Should we say hello to them?"

That these were other digimon did make things just a touch more complicated - given that they had to be careful revealing themselves to one another, in the Analog world; especially if, for any reason, things started coming to blows. The second that attacks started flying, their holosuits would fizzle out - and anyone who came to investigate what all the ruckus was wouldn't see a couple of human kids trading punches, but a bunch of digimon clawing and zapping and biting each other instead! But even that being said...

"... Seems like normal folk." Princess would comment with a yawn, not feeling all too opposed to the idea. Making some friends wouldn't hurt, and maybe these two - whoever they may be - could help with keeping an eye out for the actually troublesome folk. It'd certainly give her a chance to actually get some shuteye in peace, in the drowsy Offmon's opinion - and sleep was something that she almost always wanted.

Seeing that the two sisters were on board with greeting these strangers, Ruffian would mull it over for a second, before making a heavy sigh. "Fine, fine." He'd mutter with a wave of his hand, before he began shaking up a new spraycan. "I'm gonna keep working on this, though - you two have fun with whoever those two are."

And with that, Duchess would waste no time in taking Princess' hand - "C'mon, c'mon!" - and making her way towards the approaching strangers, dragging her Offmon sibling along. Surprised, Princess initially would stumble a few steps before her legs actually figured out the concept of actually keeping pace - but the Offmon would nonetheless sigh and smile in a fond fashion. Even if she had wanted to be irritated at Duchess, she couldn't possibly bring herself to feel such - not when her hyperactive sister had such a cheery smile on her face...

... But that being said, what was the story of the approaching duo?

Well, it was safe to say that Anne and Ettie both were a bit in over their heads, in coming to the Analog world. One Strabimon was bouncing off the walls, vibing between all the different new smells, sights, and sounds - whereas the other was honestly a bit overstimulated, and on edge. This was a strange world - even stranger than the places they had wandered through in the Digital World - that seemed to follow rules very differently from even the rules present in the civilized parts of their home world; and it was only thanks to the advice and guidance of other digimon, that the duo would've even known to use things such as a Holosuit to blend in proper.

But even that being said, just because they had their holosuits, didn't exactly mean that they knew how to walk the walk or talk to talk - and how could they be expected to do so, when they didn't even really know how civilized society in the Digital World worked? However, Ettie did as Ettie pleased - and the both of them were equally curious about investigating this strange new world, if Anne had to be honest. Even if they received the occasional strange or confused glance from other humans on the street, they were content to explore and investigate as they pleased!

Thus, explore and investigate they did - traveling along the winding streets of Shibuya wherever they wished. It would get well into the evening, without either pup slowing down (or to be more accurate, Ettie not slowing down despite Anne's attempts to figure out a place for them to stay the night,) until a strange smell would catch Ettie's attention - the young girl pausing in her tracks, and sniffing the air. This scent was a new one, even compared to all of the other new scents that Ettie was figuring out - and it was an especially strange one, to say the least.

Noticing her sister's behavior, Anne would glance back at Ettie a bit quizzically - asking "Is everything alright, Ettie...?"

Instead of properly answering her sister's question though, Ettie would instead follow the scent in the air - wandering towards the entrance to an alleyway, branching off from the street. "Hey, Anne-" She'd begin in a cheery chirp, smiling back at her sister. "What do you think this weird smell over this way is?"

Anne, initially, was a little skeptical about going into an alleyway - they looked to be rather shady places, and the last time they checked one out, they had ran into an honestly somewhat creepy drunkard. (Of course, the majority of the creepiness was partially due to the fact that neither pup really understood the concept of inebriation, and also due to them still trying to figure out how to act around humans; thus making the situation even stranger for them!) As a result, when Anne opened her mouth, she'd initially want to advise Ettie that they go elsewhere...

... But before the more logical of the sister could get a single word out, Ettie was already off - bouncing on in to the alleyway! "C'mon!" She would call, gesturing for Anne to follow. "Let's go check it out!"

Somewhat caught off guard by being given no chance to respond, Anne would initially splutter a bit wordlessly as she tried to find her thoughts - but it didn't take long until she would default to the reasonable action of actually following after Ettie. "Ettie, d-don't wander off so suddenly..!" She'd call after her sister, jogging on after the other. "Especially not in a strange place like this...!"

Thus, it didn't take long until Ettie and Anne would both meet Princess and Duchess - the two sets of sisters immediately coming to a stop, as they spotted one another. Though their body language mutually read surprise and uncertainty, the sisters - especially Ettie and Duchess - were nonetheless curious about one another; prompting them to slowly, and carefully, approach each other.

"Hello! Who're you...?" Ettie would first speak up curiously - wondering whether or not it'd be too strange, to sniff these two people. Eventually though, her deeply-ingrained instincts would win out as her go-to; and as Ettie sniffed the air, she'd come to realize something... "... You guys smell like us!"

This realization would certainly get Anne's attention - these two people smelled like them? Like digimon? Though she had a better hold on her own instincts, Anne would decide to sniff the air as well - coming to the exact same realization that Ettie did. Not only did these two smell like digimon - but they smelled like canid digimon, just like themselves!

Ettie and Anne weren't the only ones investigating scents, though - for Duchess would sniff the sisters in turn, and giggle, nodding to the disguised Strabimon duo. "Yep! My name's Duchess, and I'm a Gazimon!" She'd confirm with a cheery grin, before gesturing to Princess, and adding "And my sister here is Princess - she's an Offmon!"

Princess, upon being indicated, would simply nod and wave in greeting - to which Anne nodded and waved back. Were their respective sisters paying more attention, it was likely that they would've noticed the instant kindred spirit that Anne and Princess saw not only in one another, but in Ettie and Duchess too - the two calmer sisters, who had to keep their hyperactive siblings out of trouble one way or another.

Nonetheless though, Ettie would be practically beaming as Duchess introduced herself and Princess, and was more than eager to do introductions as well. "I'm Ettie! And this is my twin sister, Anne; we're both Strabimon!" She'd respond to the Gazimon, grinning and giggling giddily. "What brought you two here? Are you two investigating the weird scent we smelled over here, too?"

"Weird scent?" Duchess, initially, would be a bit puzzled - wondering what the scent that they were talking about was; neither she nor Princess remembered smelling anything out of the ordinary! However, as the sounds of a spraycan's hiss resumed in the background, it would suddenly click for the sisters - "Oh!" Duchess would chirp in realization. "That must be Ruffian's spraycan stuff - he's been doing, uhm, one of his paintings again!" She'd explain - before adding, upon realizing that neither Strabimon would know who Ruffian was. "Oh, and Ruffian's a Gaomon, by the way! We're a couple of sisters and a friend, all just kinda sticking together!"

"Mhmm," Princess confirmed with a slow nod, before yawning. Sleepy...

Ettie, though, would perk up at hearing that there were a good number of canid digimon hanging together like this... Almost like a pack! "Oh, oh, can we join you three?" Ettie would ask almost automatically - grinning widely. "I wanna see this painting stuff! And me and Anne have been wanting to see the world and form a pack - maybe we could be a pack, all together!"

Anne couldn't help a bit of a blink at this. Just asking to join a bunch of strangers and form a pack, like that...? Neither Duchess or Princess seemed to bode any ill will, sure - but that was rather forward of Ettie! Princess, too, seemed mildly surprised at this, if the slightest rise of her eyebrows implied anything.

Duchess, however, was more than happy to take this in stride, without even thinking to hard on it. "Sure! Let's go introduce you two to Ruffian, then!" She would chirp - wasting no time in taking both Ettie's hand and Anne's hand - before skipping on back down the alleyway, both Strabimon in tow! "Wh- Hey..!"

Princess, meanwhile, simply sighed and followed after; knowing better than to try and convince Duchess otherwise, when she was set to a task.

As the foursome headed back to where Ruffian was though, they were quick to see that Gaomon had decided to expand upon the mural that he was working on; the pile of TVs that the BlackGabumon was smashing now turning into a wall of them, that was looking ready to topple the other way! He was just starting on what looked to be someone trying in vain to hold up the wall - although as he heard the approach of the group, he'd glance over at Ettie and Anne, before raising an eyebrow. "... So who the hell are these two?" He'd ask Duchess and Princess.

"I'm Ettie!" Ettie wasted no time in introducing herself - even if she wasn't the one who had been directly questioned. "And this is my sister, Anne - we're both Strabimon twins!"

As Ruffian looked to the duo, he'd end up locking eyes for Anne for a few long moments... At least, until he noticed just how similar Ettie and Duchess were, in their excited demeanors. This is when he would come to the realization, that oh no, there was two of them now. Hopefully, Anne would be able to keep the two from bouncing off the walls and blowing their cover - although Ruffian had to admit that he also, frankly, didn't care for Anne's vibes.

Ettie, on the other hand, would end up garnering some more positive attention from the delinquent Gaomon, as she shuffled up next to him to admire the painting that he had been working on. "Woahhh..." She'd murmur in awe, eyes lighting up curiously. "You did all of this?"

His ego being stroked, and feeling his inner big brother well up, Ruffian couldn't help but grin confidently from under his mask. "Hell yeah," He'd respond, as he continued on the mural - working on what looked to be some faceless DATS and government individuals, who were struggling to keep the TV wall that the BlackGabumon was beating with its bat from toppling. As he worked though, he'd nod to a few spraycans and masks in a bag, set next to him. "Wanna give one a try? Take a can, shake the hell outta it, then point and spray it at that empty bit of wall over there. Show me what you can do." He'd mention to Ettie - before adding "Don't forget a mask, by the way. You'll get sick, if ya breath in too much of these fumes."

Trying out spraypaint sounded like fun! "Okay!" Ettie would waste no time in grabbing one of the masks to put them on - even as Anne remarked to herself "Should we really be painting the walls like this...?" - before getting straight to work on trying to pick out what color she wanted. Hmhmhm... There were a nice range of colors here - although... She'd soon decide to pick out one of the black spraycans, and waste no time in getting to work on a wall on the opposite side from Ruffian!

Taking a break from his work, Ruffian - as well as the other pups - would quietly watch to see what Ettie would paint with the spraycan; although it was quickly obvious that Ettie didn't have much of a clue what she was doing, beyond the fact that she was painting! Her work would be even rougher than Ruffian's own, due to inexperience - though she was unafraid to get dirty to accomplish her goal, using her fingers to smudge the undried paint in certain ways as she pleased while she worked; oblivious to the numbers of eyes on her.

By the time that she would finish though, Ettie would whirl around with an excited "Ta-da!" as she gestured to the painting. "Look, it's our mama, Anne!" Indeed, as the pups looked the painting over, they would soon realize it to resemble a black-furred Garurumon-X; even if crudely painted, like a child might.

Anne and Ruffian were both mutually amused and endeared at this - Anne patting Ettie on the head, "Good job." as Ruffian, too, would remark "Heh; nice work, kiddo." with a grin across his face. The praise had Ettie excitedly fidgeting - the excitement rising until she'd let out a little "Arf!" as her Holosuit spontaneously fizzled out; the hyperactive Strabimon's tail wagging wildly!

Duchess, picking up on this excitement, couldn't help a "Yip!" of her own, bouncing closer to wrap her arms around Ettie - giggling cheerily. "Let's be friends, Ettie, Anne! I bet we'll have tons of fun together!"

"Yeah, yeah!!" Ettie exclaimed in agreement, giggling happily as she hugged the still-disguised Gazimon back. "Let's form a pack, all five of us!" Glancing over to Anne, she'd add "What do you think, Anne?"

Blinking a bit at being put on the spot, it'd take a second for Anne to respond - glancing over to Princess and Ruffian both, her gaze lingering on the sideeye that she'd get from the Gaomon, before glancing back to Duchess and Ettie both. "... Sure, yeah." She'd agree with a smile - nodding to them. These pups didn't seem all that bad - even if Ruffian seemed like a troublemaker. And even for as sudden as the idea of them forming a pack was, it seemed that they'd nonetheless be sticking around each other for some time; so why not?

Who knew what the future might hold for the five of them, after all...?