Lulu turns her head just enough to let him see her muzzle scrunched in distaste. Following that, she quickly shakes her head, accidentally batting him with her dreadlocks.
"Brother?"
Again, Lulu shakes her head.
"Father?"
This time, she nods and sighs in exasperation.
"Yeah, I can kinda relate to that." Julian muses aloud. "I was the youngest of my siblings and after my mom passed, my own dad sometimes went a little overboard because I was the 'baby' of the family. I'm not super thrilled over how he threatened my life and all that, but I can kinda get where your old man is coming from. I'd be a bit pissed if someone ran through my home making a racket."
Again, Lulu looks back at Julian, but this time he can't seem to place the expression on her face. Contemplation, maybe?
The one-sided conversation lapses into silence, broken only by the sound of Lulu's spikes dragging through the air and the whipping of Julian's too-large clothes.
'Man, just what the hell did I get into this time?' Julian holds back a groan. 'In the middle of God knows where, back to being a teenager, with nothing but the clothes on my back, a phone with no service, and a fancy marble. I know that DARPA had something to do with this. What were they working on? Some kind of virtual-reality thing? No, why would they bother loading it with pokémon? And why include me for that matter? This has to be a mistake. They did something and this is all the result of a colossal fuck-up, I know it.' He sighs and looks at the back of Lulu's head. 'I hope all that jazz about pokémon naturally being nice is true. I've already hitched a ride on Air-Cario and I can't exactly go back now.'
For almost an hour Lulu carries him as she and the rest of her group jump tree branch to tree branch like ninja. Not once do any of them trip or lose their balance, instead flowing with supernatural grace from one movement to the next. Their travel frightens away the other pokemon that Julian can catch a glimpse of. Starlys, ground-bound Bidoofs, a Shinx, and even a Carnivine all make themselves scarce when the group of Lucario bound by.
Eventually, the trees begin to thin out, and the alpha male who Julian mentally dubs 'Pops' jumps down to the ground with everyone swiftly following his lead. Once all of the Lucario are on the ground, Pops takes off with breakneck speed along the ground. His stance is low and his arms drag out behind him from the sheer velocity. Everyone quickly follows along, adopting the same stance before they run as blue and black blurs, dodging trees and bushes as they go.
Lulu, unable to mimic their stance with Julian on her back, simply has to push off the ground harder to keep up. The sprint only carries on for about 15 minutes before the group begins to slow, but by then Julian can hear Lulu beginning to pant. No doubt she's tired from traveling through the trees with him and the sprint only makes things worse.
Finally, it seems as if the trip is at an end. Pops comes to a stop near a thicket of trees and shrubs so dense that nothing can be seen beyond them. Forming into a single file line, each Lucario slips through a very narrow gap between two of the shrubs. Pops stands by the 'entrance' with his arms crossed, waiting for everyone else to cross before he does.
Julian starts when Lulu releases his legs. It isn't until his feet hit the ground that the pins-and-needles sensation of his legs being asleep hits him. He hisses and shakes his legs, trying to will feeling back into them.
The last Lucario that isn't Lulu or Pops crosses the threshold that Pops is guarding, leaving just the three of them outside the thicket.
Julian stiffens when Pops levels him with yet another glare. The same unplaceable feeling that makes a primordial piece of Julian awaken and suddenly become wary washes over him again like a wave. The feeling stops when Lulu protectively steps in front of him and returns her father's glare with one of her own, shielding the teen from the oppressive feeling.
Pops scoffs and holds his nose up, not deigning to give Julian any more attention than necessary. Again, the sudden weight disappears.
Lulu growls at her father one final time then takes one of Julian's hands in her paws, dragging the blonde human with her without a struggle. She leads him past Pops and into the narrow opening of the shrubs, ducking a little as she does so.
Julian follows, ducking his head as well to clear the branches. Once he feels no more leaves or twigs tugging at his arms and back, he raises his head and feels his eyes widen.
Past the narrow gap is a grove of trees arranged in a tight circle with tall bushes filling in the cracks, making an unbroken wall of green leaves and brown bark. Along the barrier of green and brown are simple open-faced huts and wicki-ups, each built with woven sticks and covered in a layer of mossy dirt. Many have circles of stones filled with ash nearby, but no fires currently lit. Under the simple shelters, a number of startled Lucario and wide-eyed Riolu stare at Julian. Out in the distance, a babbling river cuts through the natural camp, filling the clearing with the sound of running water. In the very middle of the camp where several more Lucario pause spars between them, the grass has been worn down to bare dirt by the countless paws that have no doubt tread over the spot.
It's... peaceful. Beautiful, even.
Before either side can get a word in, Pops comes striding in from behind. He stops several steps ahead of Lulu and Julian, then waves a paw uncaringly toward the only human in the little camp. "Grario. Lugrrr..." the rest of his speech dips into a growl punctuated by an annoyed bark.
Don't forget to powers tone..