In the Back Alleys

Mei crept in the back alleys of Castelia City, not wanting to be seen by any trainers. Her stomach growled audibly. I can't believe I've been reduced to this... She thought as she rammed into a trash can, knocking it over. She started to rummage through the trash, searching for anything edible.

"Huh. Another alley-cat." A voice purred from above.

Purrloin leaped down onto a nearby garbage can and flexed her claws. "You new here?" She asked sweetly, her eyes sparking with mischief

Mei jumped, startled, before she realized it was just another Pokemon. "Y-yeah." She replied. "Is this your territory? If I shouldn't be here I can go..."

Purrloin simply laughed. "Wow, you really are new here, aren'tcha?" She giggled. "I'm Purrloin. I often roam around here, but it's not my.....'Territory'" She emphasized the last word with amusement, as if Mei had made a stupid yet hilarious mistake in her eyes. Suddenly she straightened up, her nose twitching as she scented the air. "Wait a second...You've been captured before! I can small human on you!" She exclaimed in surprise, taking a step quickly back as if the Shinx carried some sort of highly-contagious disease.

Mei winced at the memories that word brought up. "About that, I escaped from my trainer. I somehow managed to let myself out of that Pokeball, and smashed it." The Shinx sighed. "He never really liked me. I doubt he'll notice I'm gone."

"Oh? Funny. My friend lives around here, and he has a similar story. I actually came down to see him, considering he lives here. I actually come from 'Virbank City', or at least that's what the humans call it." Purrloin replied, flicking her tail in interest. "Say...Maybe you should come along with me to meet my friend, Houndour. He lives in an area a few alleys from this one, so it's not too far. He's a bit...Hardy. But I'm sure you'll two will get along great!"

"Sure, I'd be happy to meet him." Mei replied, relieved she wasn't the only one in this situation. Just then, her stomach growled again, this time louder. "Uh.. Hold on a sec." Mei dug through the trash for a couple seconds before lifting her head up, half of a sandwich in her teeth. She set it in front of Purrloin. "Wanna share?"

Purrloin smirked, suddenly doing a quick, 360 degrees spin, the sharp, crescent-shaped end of her tail smacking the sandwich away, where it hit a dumpster and fell into the abyss of trash. She ignored any yelps of protest that might come from her new "friend" and simply leaped back onto the roof she had been sitting on, a weird, rummaging sound coming from up there as she flicked her tail contently over the edge. She soon leaped gracefully back down, a pouch in her jaws.

"Wouldn't you rather have something a bit more...Oh I dunno, fresh?" She purred, that same mischievous glint back in her eyes. She raised a sharp claw and sliced the pouch open, all its sweet-smelling treats inside. There was Poffins and still-warm fried berries inside, all tumbling out to their paws. "You must be hungry!~" She chuckled, putting the food into piles and pushing one pile towards Mei with her nose. "Go ahead and eat up. Got this stuff myself."

Mei blinked, trying to grasp what just happened. She tried to reply, but couldn't really find the words. The smell of the food was making her mouth water, so started to eat, the good taste surprising her. I guess humans aren't all bad. She thought.

Ooc: Time skip to Houndour's place?

Ic: Purrloin quickly and neatly ate her own share, then licked a paw and drew it over her head. "You're welcome." She giggled, standing up. "Whenever you're ready, we can go."

OoC: Sure. And sorry for not posting sooner. Kinda lost my motivation for a little while

IC: As they arrived in the alley, it was quiet. Almost too quiet. Mei stuck close to Purrloin, worried something would pop out at them. "A-are you sure this is where your friend is? I don't know if I like this, It's too quiet."

Ooc: It's fine x3

Ic: Purrloin gave Mei a playful shove. "Don't be so scared. Houndour won't hurt you as long as I'm here." She giggled. She suddenly rounded a corner, leading into darkness. Of course Purrloin could see decently well in the dark, as she was feline. She turned to make sure Mei was following her before sitting down and tapping her tail twice on the ground, making a pat sound each time.

As if some sort of signal, a rather large Houndour poked his head from behind a few boxes stacked up in the corner, each holding some sort of food. He obviously had it well here. "Oh hi Purrloin..." He huffed, leaping over. Up close, he looked even bigger, though not too much bigger than the two in front of him. Growth-Spurt perhaps, or maybe it was just because he was strong for a Houndour. He perked his ears, eyes flashing over to glare at Mei. "And who's this? She smells of human, Purrloin!" He growled quietly.

Purrloin rolled her eyes. "A friend. She left her trainer, I'll have you know, and isn't fond of going back. In fact, her story is similar to yours." She huffed, getting back to her paws. "Can we leave your little corner over here? It might be hard to see for my friend, Mei, here. She's not used to city-life, or at least not as a free Pokemon." It might seem a little odd that Purrloin added emphasis on "Free Pokemon". But like Purrloin had said, Mei seemed rather new to this, so she'd probably find out later when she's had some time to adjust, right?

Houndour grunted and nodded slowly, padding past Purrloin and out into the "bright" light that was in the alleyway. Purrloin followed cheerfully, as if this was normal behavior from Houndour, which it most likely was. Either that, or he just wasn't sure he liked the idea of a stranger entering the soul part(the corner lol) of his home. Both reasons seemed logical, so whichever one works for you.