Firebug: Ice Night for a New Friend

Overview
Mainly some minor world-building for the Fallen Realm.

Included Characters

 * Ellie Prower
 * Dal Elderitch
 * Racoon Trio (Skunkface, Brunt and Boss'n)

Story
"Oh Dear Chaos, oh dear Chaos..!" Dal Elderitch mentally screamed, running and jumping over trashcans, garbage and puddles of dirty water, dashing through an alleyway.

A trio of raccoons chased after the small Dragon, just kicking the obstacles Dal had jumped over to the side. "Where ya going, tiny? We're just collecting our - heh heh - taxes." The leader grinned.

"Get away from me!!" She responded, trying to fly away but only managing to glide up a bit. Failing her flight, Dal crashed into the ground. Her red scales were covered in brown water, the dulled white of her hair messy and discolored. The old clothes she had on were now shredded, giving the young Dragon little protection from the elements. Dal clung to a sack filled with food she'd retrieved from

The leader of the group walked up to her, chuckling darkly. "Looks like you're in luck, kiddo… the tax is just that food you got, whatever it is." Slapping Dal, the racoon grabbed the bag and threw it to the thug on the left.

"Please… I'm so hungry…." She whimpered, rubbing her cheek.

"Come on, if you found this, you can find more. Yo, Skunkface, what we got in there?" The racoon answered.

In response, 'Skunkface' opened the bag and pulled out an orange. "Fruit, boss, citrus to be exact."

"Skunkface, if I wanted the family tree of this stuff, I woulda asked for it. Just tell me what we got." The leader scowled.

"What you got..." A mechanical voice declared. "Is a world of pain," A small figure stood at the end of the alley they were in. Its silver mask was covered by a white hoodie, a red bodysuit underneath it all.

The leader burst into laughter. "What are you? A lawn gnome crime fighter?"

Breaking into a run, the figure zoomed at the group. As it got close, it became clear the figure was a girl. She planted a fist in Skunkface's stomach, using all the force she could muster.

"Boss, what do I do?"

"It's a kid, just… hit her until she doesn't get up."

"Ohoke," The racoon dropped the bag and raised both fists above the girl; then stopped. "'Ey, she's gone."

The third racoon blinked. "Uh.…."

Dal tried to scramble away, but the leader grabbed her. "Where the Sol Zone did she g-"

The third racoon went flying into the alley wall.

Skunkface screamed, then flew into his teammate. The girl re-appeared, laughing a bit. "You're next, scumbag." She added, pointing at the leader. With a terrifying confidence in each step, she marched towards the racoon. "Oh, and by the way, I'm Firebug."

"OK, Fizzlebutt, stop right there." The leader pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and put it to Dal's throat. "Just back up, let me go and this little Dragon gets to see the sunrise."

Firebug winced, stepping back. "OK, OK…. Just let her go…"

"What's she… come on, Dal, you can handle this guy." The Dragon's eyes turned Crystal white and the temperature around her dropped. She stuck her claw towards his foot and a beam of ice fired. The racoon's foot was struck and became encased in ice, stuck to the ground.

In panic, the leader swung his knife around erratically. The chrome weapon came swinging at Dal's race, its shining danger closing in. Dal saw Firebug move and the world changed, like looking at the scene through unfocused binoculars.

"Are you Okay?" Firebug asked.

Dal looked down to see Firebug's gloved hands clamped around her wrist. "Y-yeah..." She looked to her right at an enormous piece of balled up paper. What had happened hit her all at once.

"Wait... WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!?!? I'M TINY!!!"

Firebug pulled her hood and mask off, revealing orange fur, Fox features and gentle blue eyes. "Just don't panic, OK? I can explain… just calm down,"

The Dragon crossed her arms.

"My name is Ellie… not Firebug. And I shrunk us both. See, easy."

Dal blinked. "What happened to the racoon?"

Ellie giggled. "He ran off after we both vanished." Behind her, the crook was indeed dashing away and screaming like a madman. Glancing around at the area, Dal was still gawking at what this… Ellie had done to her.

“This can be reversed, right?” She asked. “I’d hate to be stuck at this size forever,”

Ellie smiled. “Yeah, it can.” She took Dal’s hand and the binocular vision happened again, when it cleared, they were back to normal. The Fox scooped up Dal’s bag and handed it to her. “So where do you live?”

Dal blushed. “Wherever I can put my head… I’m homeless. Lost my parents one night, don’t know what happened to them; Just woke up here,”

“Huh… Well, if you’re hungry, I can show you where to get some food?” Ellie offered. “Real quick, though, I never got your name, if I may?”

“Oh, it’s Dal, Dal Elderitch.”

“Elderitch, huh? That’s a sweet last name.” The Youth smiled.

“Really?” Dal replied, smiling back.

“Yeppy. Come with me, let’s get you something to eat.”

The Dragon followed Ellie out of the alley and into the street. “Is this what having a friend feels like?”