[Mari]

Princess Peach waited patiently outside of her castle She seemed to be gazing into the distance, across the rolling hills that were the ruins of her kingdom, as if stuck in a trance. Not far off, a tiny deerling meandered her way towards the princess at a modest pace. She appeared awkward on her hooves, as if she were still adjusting to her new form. She was still a ways off, being rather nervous about her current location. She didn't like being out here, feeling vulnerable. Who was stopping some rogue monster from having a go at her? Who was stopping any given person from tossing a ball at her?

[TheSpatialWeeg]

If Peach would pay attention, she'd hear the sound of footsteps coming from her right. If she paid extra attention, these footsteps had a slight metallic sound to them, as if they were armored. However, there was no knight in shining armor approaching the princess. Instead, these footsteps belonged to...

"Am I late, Ms. Peach...?"

Rider walked to the princess' side, her Verde Pugnale resting on a scabbard placed on her golden "belt". "Where do you think those thieves went...? Have they gone far...?" She asked, trying to get a good idea on where they could start searching.

[Coolshaymin]

The sound of giggling came from behind Rider shortly after she arrived. One may quickly determine that the giggling was coming from the girl on the broomstick... Who was so generically known as Witch, but what were you going to do when you still have not earned a name? "Is that Rider? Ohohohohoho!~ Almost did not recogonize you in your strange outfit," she greeted.

She landed and took her broom in hand. There seemed to be one of those Pokemon creatures over there not wanting to get too close. It kind of made her want to test out those Pokeballs she kind of just horded. She ignored the urge for now though since people were watching. At least that mattered for now.

[Mari]

Peach's attention was drawn by the sound of footsteps. She didn't want to be snuck up on, after all. However, rather than a knight or some scraggly bandit creature, there was... Awwww... Peach's expression twisted into a smile at the sight of Rider. She was a comforting sight to be had. Peach would reach down and gently pet Rider's head, careful to avoid messing with her buns.

"No... You're right on time, Rider." Peach replied, sharing a moment with the other. She hadn't been expecting Rider to come and aid her, but she supposed she'd seen some pretty young heroes and heroines around. Before she could begin discussing the thieves and their likely location however, two more allies made themselves apparent. There was a pretty cute looking witch and ... a baby fawn sporting a forest green coat? Peach would turn to address the newcomers, resting her palm upon Rider's head idly.

"The thieves left behind me--but first. Some introductions." Peach replied, twirling her umbrella a bit so that Perry could face Witch and Valorie.

"My name is Princess Peach. This is Perry, my parasol." Peach began, pausing for a moment to allow the sentient parasol to speak for himself. "Howdy!" Perry interjected readily. Finally, Peach turned her gaze down upon Rider. "And this is Ms. Rider, my knight in shining armor~" Peach finished, humoring Rider's costume good-naturedly.

...Valorie, rather quiet, would remain silent as introductions were given, only speaking up after Witch had given hers.

"...A-And, my name is Valorie." the tiny deerling announced. She didn't seem like she was used to talking with people, for whatever reason.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider wasn't exactly too happy about Witch calling her costume strange, however all attention dedicated to that was swiftly stolen by Peach's petting. Rider's face now had a noticeable shade of red as she hid her face with her overtly large sleeves and let out a quick giggle in slight embarrassment. She soon showed her face again as Peach made the introductions and oh my god the parasol just talked. That was...unexpected. So unexpected, in fact, that Valorie talking lost any kind of surprise factor it had going for.

As Peach introduced Rider to them as her 'knight in shining armor', Rider couldn't help but to let out a small playful grin dominate her face. "E-ehe, don't you think knights would be...y-you know...taller and older...?" She asked before shaking her head a bit. "R-regardless...as Ms. Peach said, m-my name is Rider. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Valorie..." Rider continued."...and nice to see you again, Ms. Witch." 

She continued to observe the horizon, the dagger's jewel sparkling lightly.

[Coolshaymin]

Witch could not help but giggle at Peach's referral to Rider. Knight in shining armor? Her? Oh, that was priceless. If wearing a silly getup was all it took to be a knight they may as well sir her now. Oh right, she had a name to give. "Ohohohohoho.~ Howdy, just call me Witch." The parasol talking did not phase Witch as much as Rider it seemed. Talking objects was perfectly normal given their rarity... Still, that did make that umbrella pretty interesting...

"... Did that Pokemon just talk?!" Witch pointed out when Valorie spoke. Was it not a Pokemon? She kind of just assumed it was. Not even sure where she drew that conclusion now that she thinks about it. She mostly heard of them and definitely would not recogonize a good 95% of them. Still, it talking made it seem even more worth catching... And also more of a hassle... But those were unimportant details.

[Mari]

Peach spotted the playful look on Rider's face and decided to humor her. A stifled chuckle escaped her lips. "Mmmhm~ They would also be a boy." Peach began to muse aloud, commenting on the de facto gender exclusivity of the title, at least during the era it was still relevant. She did not wait for Rider to respond to that thought, however. She turned and pulled Rider into a gentle embrace. "But that's not going to stop you from being my favorite little knight." the princess continued on to remark in a rather affectionate tone before releasing the smaller girl. This provoked a weak smile from Valorie.

"I was a human once..." she explained rather softly, just sort of shifting past the hem of Witch's skirt and easing her way into the middle of the group.

At this, Peach turned and gestured off onto the horizon. "The thieves went that way. They probably had to stop somewhere. We just need to catch up with them..." she explained thoughtfully. It might be hard to do that on foot.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider was going to interject Peach's thoughts when she was pulled in for a hug from the princess. In response, the smol girl hugged back, feeling an estranged warmth emerge in her heart. She never felt that kind of warmth before..or did she, but she had no remembrance of it? It was hard to think about at this point in time since...well, hugs kind of distract you, isn't that true?

Rider kept hugging for a while before she noticed Peach was trying to let go. She immediately retracted. "S-sorry, I got a little carried away..." Rider tried to apologize. She soon turned to the direction Peach gestured to. So that's where they ran off to, huh? Well, that left the problem of catching up to them. Have they actually gone too far that catching them on foot was implausible?

"I...don't think that they could've gone that far in such little time..." Rider said, trying to remain optimistic.

[Coolshaymin]

"She's human too?!" Witch continued to exclaim in shock... Did that make her less worth catching or more worth doing it... She is going to need to remember to bring those Pokeballs out of storage next time. The magical girl recomposed herself with a few giggles slipping out. Need to keep your eye on the prize... And that would be the bandits as alluring as that crown on Peach's head is...

"Ohohohoho~. Rider is right. Should be no problem catching up to them if we get moving. Better hurry though before we lose track of them completely," Witch added. If the bandits had a hideout then she could maybe find something she needs for her potion too. That would be a nice bonus for helping out with these seeds.

[Mari]

Valorie recoiled at Witch's exclamation. She still wasn't used to people freaking out. "Well--I was... I'm stuck this way." she quietly explained. Peach glanced at the tiny deerling but chose not to acknowledge her troubles for now. They did need to get moving, after all. "That's alright--and we'll just have to see!" Peach replied, smiling reassuringly at Rider. She herself seemed pretty optimistic. The thing was, they had to stop sooner or later. They couldn't just keep running forever. Something else was actually on her mind, however. Peach was an incredibly perceptive and empathetic woman. She'd taken notice of the almost longing way Rider had been holding her. ...That did it. She made a note to pursue these feelings, later of course.

"...We do need to move fast though, and we can't have anyone being left behind. Valorie. Do you think you can help with that?" Peach went on to ask, eyeing the tiny deerling. How exactly was she supposed to help? It did seem like Peach and Valorie knew eachother though, based on the familiar way Peach was speaking to her, as if she knew something the others did not.

Valorie glanced around rather anxiously. She knew what Peach meant, but was a bit shy about the prospect. "I mean... I guess I could..." Valorie relented after a moment. "You would be my hero if you could aid us with catching up to the robbers." Peach went on to remark encouragingly. This seemed to brighten Valorie up, as she needed something to reinforce her terribly battered ego right about now--odd a favor as it was.

Striking a combative pose, Valorie began to glow! Once, twice and then thrice her body would undergo a metamorphosis, growing larger and larger until she was no longer the small deerling they'd met moments ago but a ... much larger deerling! The now (relatively) giant Valorie was larger than even Peach, but judging by how much effort the action had taken it seemed like this was a temporary thing.

"Rider, Witch? Will you ride with me?" Peach asked, turning to face the other two.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider simply watched in awe as Valorie grew in size in order to accommodate two or three people on her back. Well, there's something to help on the chase. The smol girl heard Peach's question and quickly nodded in response to it.

"U-um...I don't have anything to use as a ride for myself...so it'd be most appreciated, Ms. Peach, Ms. Valorie...!" She said before (reluctantly) sitting on Valorie's ride-able back.

Thankfully for the Deerling, the armored bab was in no way heavy because of armor or was she ever heavy by herself. Carrying the little girl was going to be an easy task to her, at the very least in that form.

[Coolshaymin]

"She even grows on her own? How does that even work? You are more mammal
than plant, right?" Witch questioned the situation of Val growing. She
seemed to be starting to treat this pretty normally now. Definitely not
thinking about catching her, nope. No way would she want to lay claim to
such a rare and interesting person.

...

...

Should of really brought those Pokeballs but noooo. She would never have use for them. She looked at her broom for a second before looking at Valorie. Her broom traveled pretty fast so she could save her some back pain... But where's the fun in that. "Like I would miss this. Ohohohohohoho~!" Valorie giggled before jumping on board with the other two.

[Mari]

"...Honestly, I think it might be the other way around. I've been feeling really sensitive to pollution ever since I wound up like this." Valorie lamented with a sigh, her gaze shifting to Rider. The bab's thankfulness seemed to cheer Valorie up, alleviating a lot of her apparent anxiety. "It's no problem. Just... be gentle, alright~? It's my first time..." she went on reply.

Valorie was honestly a little tall for Rider at the moment, having no saddle to aid even the taller girls in climbing her. Luckily for Rider however, Peach was there to help her up. The princess, on the other hand, was fairly tall for a woman and, in spite of her long and flowing dress, was able lift herself over Valorie and mount the enlarged deerling. Her dress would flow out over Valorie's back, draping over the deerling's figure a bit. Peach them promptly moved gripped Valorie with her thighs and legs, leaning over and offering Rider a hand up. She would quickly scoop Rider into her arms and place Rider in front of her, keeping a single arm wrapped around Rider for security. She didn't want Rider falling off or worse, being thrown off in the event of an accident.

When Witch moved to join the two, she would likely wind up in back. "Hold on tight, Witch" Peach advised, the invitation of her open waist for Wich to hold onto. She didn't want Witch getting hurt either, as she seemed pretty young in her own right. Witch would likely find that Valorie's "fur" did not feel like fur against her legs. It was actually a lot softer than regular fur with the texture of moss, which was probably a blessing to those of them not wearing pants as it would minimize the risk of chaffing. How convenient!

Valorie turned her gaze forward, no less flustered now that she was fully mounted. "Is everyone ready? Because I'm gonna start moving." Valorie warned, rather polite given that they were in a minor rush. Only a moment further would pass as Peach checked both of her allies to make sure they were settled before the deerling broke into a walk. She was steadily building up speed and would quickly break into a trot. It was unknown how long they would be riding before they found their target.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider had some trouble trying to go up, however she quickly gained a helping hand in going up withing Princess Peach. Quickly accepting the help, she was equally as quick to be scooped up by the princess. Feeling one of her gentle hands hold her, she replied by huddling closer to Peach for extra comfort. Out of all the people she was around in that mission, Peach was arguably the one who got closer to Rider affinity-wise.

Feeling all set, Rider nodded in response to Valorie.

"I'm all set...we can go now...!" She said with a new bout of confidence in her voice.

Holding herself tight on the now big Deerling and keeping herself close to Peach, Rider mentally prepared herself for the oncoming battle.

[Coolshaymin]

Witch felt the texture under her and it seemed to feel odd for fur... It almost felt like moss of some sort. It was a common potion ingredient so she got kind of familiar with it. Appears she really was more plant than mammal despite looking like a normal deer for the most part. This was a bit of an interesting development. "I see what you mean..." Witch said absentmindedly, more concerned with thinking of how that could be beneficial.

Just then Peach suggested for her to hold on tight for some reason. She was in the back, what was she supposed to hold on to... Oh. She was suggesting her to hold onto her it seemed. That was a bit unexpected and Witch could not help but question it... Then again, given her attitude to Rider, maybe that was just how she was... It was a feeling she was not that familiar with despite being at her sort of young age. She hesitated for a moment before holding onto Peach since Valorie was not exactly as gripable as a broom. "Okay, I am ready too."