Were it so easy [private/Observer]

[ambermon]

"Live off the land. Were it so easy!" Dorumon scowled as he sifted through berry bushes. The land was not enough to feed himself and Amber. Humans couldn't live off of berries and fruit, and he definitely wouldn't last too long on such a diet himself. Even if they could, the vast majority of berries and other fruits they found were rotten or full of insects that were picking them over. They would starve trying to find any that were actually edible!

He looked into the bag he had been carrying, which had been a remnant from a previous stolen meal. Inside were a grand total of eight berries that he had found that appeared decently edible, though some still looked questionable and one of them he wasn't even sure it was safe to eat. How the heck could Lunamon expect him to do this? Idiot rabbit!

At least he had some time away from Amber for now, with her off in town using their so far only effective means of getting a meal and what other supplies they required. His time with her had only become more frustrating since their encounter with the self-righteous little rodent. He couldn't even solve anything peacefully with other digimon without her getting ticked!

Dorumon kept going, looking half heartedly through various berry bushes, still having poor luck for the most part. He didn't know why he even bothered with this...

[Observer]

Several days had passed since Renee had run into Lunamon in her part of the forest. And ever since she found herself very, very busy. Not just busy as usual, like patrolling, but actually venturing farther into less explored parts of the forest. She had ... a mission of sorts. She had to find one specific digimon, and one specific tamer. Sounded easy enough, but in reality - not so much. One small digimon and a human were difficult to find in a big forest...

But finally, her efforts paid off, when she heard sounds down below, while hovering above the branches, unseen. Quietly, she approached the source of the sound to see who it was... A smile appeared on her face when she saw who it was. My search has ended it seems... - she thought as she looked from above at the small digimon, who was trying to get some berries in the bag... Hnh... Maybe Lunamon's words really did have an effect on him, since the youkomon was pretty sure this was the dorumon she was looking for. The human was nowhere in sight though, and that made her a bit suspicious.

Renee figured it would be wiser to act as if she knew nothing about him, or his tamer, because the "all-knowing about people" attitude would not help her get closer, only will rise suspicions. For now, she'd treat dorumon like every other lone digimon she encountered, even if she knew this one probably was not alone. The dorumon did not look the vicious soldier guy Lunamon described him, however. If anything, he looked rather ... pitiful, when trying to find some branches in the lower bushes - most animals eat those by now, but because the poor thing was small, he couldn't reach for higher branches.

- Hmm... A dorumon. I do not recall seeing one here before... - her trademark echoing voice was heard from unknown direction again. However, this time it was rather benevolent, showing no hostility at all whatsoever. A good spirit would be talking in such a way. - Forest helps everybody who respects it... Are you lost? Do you seek food? Or maybe shelter? - she went with usual questions she posed to all digimon she encountered here. From reaction it was possible to tell if a digimon were hostile or not, and not giving him the chance to attack first. How would the dorumon react?

[ambermon]

Dorumon's berry picking was interrupted by a voice calling out to him. Nearly instantly he spun around, eyes darting to locate the source of the voice, but he found none. Then it spoke again about the forest helps everybody who respects it. First thing came to mind was that fool Palmon that had protected that Dracmon for the sheer sake of the slight possibility of the attack missing and hitting a tree. However it definitely didn't sound like her, and unless the plant digimon got a serious kick to the head, he didn't think she'd change so drastically.

"I do my best." He responded simply to the voices statement. That was true to an extent -- he didn't go around deliberately harming the forest, though when it came to fighting off enemies, he was going to do his best to take them down, even if it meant taking a few tree branches down with it. "I already have adequate shelter, though I wouldn't say no to food." Dorumon responded. He didn't particularly sound enthusiastic by this offer though. Strangers bearing gifts were not always what they seemed to be after all, and that whoever this was hid herself from view, it only made him more suspicious. "Now who might you be? Are you going to show yourself or am I just going to be talking to thin air today?"

[Observer]

So they really needed food. They were hungry. Renee could figure that much from a slight, almost unnoticeable crack in the dorumon's voice. Hunger. Well this was as good for a reason to steal as any other - those who seldom had any food on the table would understand what I mean. And it also meant these ones were not such vicious thieves as Lunamon described them to be - if it was the latter case, they'd steal enough not to know what hunger is. And that meant they took only enough to survive. Or so it seemed. Renee decided not to jump to conclusions.

As the dorumon voiced his question, the purple fox decided to leave her shelter and show herself, since it would be only fair. Plus she didn't think a dorumon, no matter how battle-hardened, could do something to her. Plus he had no reason to be hostile. Stepping out of the shadows that concealed her for so long, she revealed herself to the light. Her stealthy heritage of a renamon showed - she still was able to sneak around, even if she were bigger now. The youkomon looked at the dorumon with her only eye.

- My name is Renee. I ... tend to this part of the forest. I find lost digimon, ward off humans, and ... destroy anyone who threaten the safety of this place. And what is your name, little one? - she asked. It was anybody's guess if the dorumon actually had a name - some did choose a name for themselves, some didn't. Mirei had a name, she had a name, so ... yeah.

[ambermon]

Dorumon's gaze immediately shot to the movement in the shadows as the owner of the ominous voice stepped out, revealing itself too be a Youkomon, with a makeshift eyepatch over one of her eyes. Clearly battlehardened, and stronger to boot, Dorumon concluded it would be unwise to provoke this fox. So far she didn't appear hostile, which was good. He was on his own out here, and certainly wouldn't last in a fight against this digimon.

Name? Truth be told he didn't actually have a name, and always went by Dorumon. Even in the digital world, the only distinction in his name was being Alpha Dorumon. Names weren't really that important to him. "I just go by Dorumon. I live nearby with my partner, and we work together to get by and fight off threats. So, what possessed you to approach me?" He asked, curious as to why Renee had shown such interest in him as to initiate this conversation.

[Observer]

- I approach every single one I meet in the forest. What I do depends on their intentions here. I saw you for the first time, so I approached you as well... - Renee replied as she looked around. Bingo. These were the people she was looking for. They did not look that hostile, in fact, not hostile at all. But that was just a digimon, she had yet to meet the human, which was the one Lunamon described to be a complete monster.

- You live in the forest with your partner? - Renee sounded seemingly curios, as if she did not know the answer. And, actually, she didn't. She did not know why they were living here. Not exactly anyway. - The only human I know who lives here is the forester, and he doesn't have a digimon. Why are you living here, of all places? - she asked and raised an eyebrow. An answer to that question was very important to define her judgment...

[ambermon]

So she was simply patrolling. Made sense, he and Amber did the same after all. He however preferred quiet observation and leaving non-threats be and then going after those that did pose a threat to himself and those around him. He didn't often approach non-threats though. While he didn't say no to friends, he wasn't actively looking for any. His friends, or what was left of them, were back in the digital world, and he had to stay loyal to them. He didn't want to make friends outside where he lived. Loyalty was a big thing for Dorumon, and he couldn't stay loyal to all his friends if they were separated from each other, and he couldn't guarantee that he'd be able to convince any friends he made here to join his pack.

Then the conversation turned in the direction of Amber. Dorumon's tail twitched slightly, a nervous motion. "Its the only place she is by any stretch, comfortable." Dorumon explained, falling back on his rear to scratch behind his own ear. "She has a deep loathing for humans and has done her best to separate herself from them. Paranoid or something. I can't say I'm a big fan of humans myself, but she is pretty much over the top with hate against them. Every tiny infraction commited by humans is an atrocity in her eyes."

"I've been doing my best to help her out of her state, but so far I've gotten little results... other than a slap in the face from some ignorant lecture happy bunny rabbit!" Dorumon kicked at the ground in frustration with the last statement which was delivered with considerably more venom than what he had said previous to it. He glared at the ground he had kicked up, but calmed down after a moment and shook himself. "Sorry. Recent encounter with some self-righteous digimon shoving his ideals down my throat -- Its not a good feeling to trying your best at something only to someone to start yapping at you as if you've done nothing."

"I've been hoping to take her back to the digital world with me. At least there I'll have my pack all together and won't have to worry about food and minimal chance of human contact. I doubt she'll ever be able to recover otherwise. Unfortunately I've been having a difficult time finding such a portal."

[Observer]

- Ignorant lecture-happy bunny rabbit? Heh, good one... - Renee chuckled. Really, that nailed it better than anything. It was a bit unfortunate though, that wizardmon, whom she respected so much, after de-evolving, became, well ... this. He still was a good person, but rationalism he usually had disappeared into thin air. Back then he was a digimon, who followed his own ideals to the letter, but did not force anyone to do the same, believing in choice. Now ... well, he was persistent there where it was not needed, and spelled trouble upon himself.

- I think I know who are you talking about. That Lunamon is a friend of mine, since I met him in the city as a wizardmon... - she said and turned away a bit. That was true, of course, but ... she'd better not mention under what circumstances they became such friends. The scar on the eye started hurting because of the very memory. Back then wizardmon was ... well, normal, now he needed to be looked after like a child.

- I met him wandering in the forest a few days ago. He said he was looking for his friend ... to whom he said a lot of harsh things he did not mean to say. He explained to me that he wanted to apologize, but unfortunately, I didn't know about who he was seeking, so my guess would be his search was fruitless... - Renamon said upon looking at the dorumon again. She was doing lunamon a favor, trying to repair what he had broken so callously, without thought or consideration. She would apologize for him, even if he wouldn't, and perhaps in future he'd thank her for that. - You are that digimon he talked about, aren't you? - she asked as if she did not know the answer.

Then the tale about his partner's condition came around. So her hunch was true - she was nuts. Which was ... kinda sad actually. Mir's partner was insane as well, and that breakdown she had was still in Renee's head, the sight was ... not pretty. At all. A pain to watch. Was this girl having such breakdowns too? She did not know, and didn't want to ask. Not that she would help the condition anyway - she was not a doctor, not in this field. Humans might help, but ... there would be no way to approach them...

- Poor child... Maybe it is for the best to keep her away from people... She might hurt herself... Or others. - Renee said with genuine pity. Instead of helping them, Mir wanted to destroy them... He really needed a timeout. Who was supposed to be messenger of benevolence here? She was an assassin, and yet here she were, doing ... someone else's job. Funny how time changes people. She sighed and added:

- Lunamon mentioned you were stealing food to survive. I can bring you some, if you want. My ... stepchild is very good at tending to plants, and because of that we have little trouble in growing our own food. We can spare some for you and your partner, so your raids to the city would be kept at a minimum. There is a great risk of getting caught...

[ambermon]

Dorumon blinked when the Youkomon spoke with amusement at his curse. It wasn't quite the reaction he had been expecting, and wasn't sure why the bewitching fox digimon would find it amusing. When she voiced her suspicions though, it made more sense. "Yeah, that's the one." He confirmed. Well, clearly they were on the same page as far as Lunamon went, and was clearly a sensible digimon. He could respect her for that. There were too many people around that were just senseless.

When Youkomon went on about Lunamon searching for someone, his expression darkened, when it became obvious that the digi-bunny was looking for him. So he thought he could just come in, make Amber's paranoia even worse, then turn around and say he was sorry? "If you run into him again, please tell him to stay away. Amber has me on orders to kill him next time we meet him, and I'd rather not have to choose between him and my partner."

When the conversation went to Amber, Dorumon nodded, sadly. "Yeah. She doesn't need that kind of trouble. She's had a hard enough life. I got few leads, and I don't know what else I can do for her." He confessed his frustration. "She doesn't trust easy and if I go on even just a little about her hate being too extreme, I could lose it in an instant. All I can do right now is keep her safe and keep searching for that portal."

Then the topic shifted to food and their stealing, and Dorumon was take a little aback by her offer. "Amber has her own garden, but it just isn't working out much better than the berry route..." He muttered, glancing at the pitiful amount of berries in his bag. "I can't say no to that offer. It definitely is a risk, and we only take it because every other option hasn't done well for us. If there is anything you need from me, I'll try to be of help,"

[Observer]

Renee's expression darkened as well, when she heard what Amber ordered the Dorumon to do. Great going Lunamon, what a long tongue you have. The fox bet that 90% of his trouble were because he was not able to keep his mouth shut. And yet ... the rabbit was right about the girl being dangerously insane. Still, it did not mean she had to destroy these two... That would be too much like her old self - just kill it and forget about it. Thing was ... she failed to forget anything.

- I will, should I see him. Also, will tell him he's an idiot. Again. - she sounded thoroughly frustrated as she found out what his righteous talk lead to. Choosing words correctly wasn't one of the lunamon's virtues, it seemed, in this form, however.

Then came this talk about the portal. Renee sighed about hearing this. Because it was a fool's errand. Such permanent portals did not exist, as far as she knew, and even if they did, Hypnos would detected them sooner with their radar thingies, and surrounded it with troops faster than you could say "OMG there's the portal!". She was pretty sure he won't find it, but kept quiet, to avoid questions like "Why are you so suspiciously certain about it?" So she kept her mouth shut on this one...

- I do not think the sick child will be too happy to see me around, even if I would bring goods. Here's what we can do... I will bring things to a designated spot, for you to come and pick them up. I would have invited both you and your friend to join our little commonwealth, but ... I fear it would only make things worse. So this is the least I can do... - Renee said as she moved past the dorumon, one of her tails swiping across the ground, its dark flame leaving a burned, scorched mark at the ground. She drew an "X" to mark the place where she would be leaving the stuff. - And invent an excuse where did you find all that, like yous tole this from humans or something... For obvious reasons. - she added. Least she wanted is to fall in an ambush when bringing things to the X-spot. That would be only so ironic, no good deed goes unpunished after all.

As she was about to leave, Dorumon asked if she needed his help with anything. This was a bit surprising for a youkomon. She was big and strong, why would she need any help? But, in reality, she just hated to feel indebted to anyone, even if that someone only tried to repay her for favors she did. It was a weird habit. But she was grateful enough that he asked though. Lunamon was wrong to judge his former friend so harshly.

- Just keep the girl you tend to safe and away from trouble, and that will do enough. I will bring things you might need here, every several days... And will ask on how the child's condition is. - the youkomon said and looked away. Indeed, evolution does marvelous things to someone's behavior. As a renamon, she never imagined herself being so ... motherly?