A Storm of Rage (Part 1)

I sighed in exasperation.  "Ma'am, I'm sorry.  We found your shiny necklace, but there is no such thing as a green Sableye!"

The Swellow puffed up in annoyance.  "A green Sableye stole this necklace!  Did you not see it when you retrieved it!?  Are you all colorblind!?"

"We found it on the ground near your nest!" I shouted.

She paused.  "Hmph."  With that, she took the necklace, dropped our cash, and flew off in a huff.

I let out another sigh as Surf walked up behind me.  "I can't believe she was the only customer we've had this month."

Surf rubbed my cheek comfortingly.  "I know.  On the plus side, we're well stocked, so..."

"Yeah... I know..." I muttered as I rubbed him back.  "Sometimes, it just feels like I'm barely making things work.  Barely any money or customers, this weird spat between Umbreon and Bolt..."

Bolt interrupted our moment.  "Yeah, about that..."  I turned around to face him.  "We've called a truce, but there's a problem that we can't fix here.  I'm afraid it'll tear the two of us apart.  I don't want to hate Umbreon, but I can't see a way to fix this."

I cocked my head at him.  "Surf, can you give us a moment?"  This was about more than just a small argument, I could tell that much.  Surf nodded, rose to his feet, and padded off quietly.  I turned to Bolt.  "What's on your mind?"

Bolt looked at me curiously.  "You trying to fly away or something?"

I had a brief moment of confusion before realizing that my fins were vibrating to the point of humming slightly.  "Wow.  I didn't really notice.  There must be a big storm on the way."

Bolt nodded absentmindedly.  "Anyway...  I don't want to keep this just to myself, and I need to tell someone I know I can trust."

I was touched.  "That... instills a lot of confidence in me," I said, being honest.  "I was just telling Surf how I sometimes feel like I don't do that good of a job."  I shook my head.  "Enough about me.  What's up with you?"

Bolt started rapidly pacing back and forth, the way he does when he's nervous.  "I...  I just...  Oh boy.  I don't know how to say this...  I... I'm..."  I waited patiently for him to finish.  Let him come out on his own.  This must be big for him.  "I'm just going to say it.  Please don't be upset with me."

"Of course not!" I said.  "This is obviously hard for you!  I'll support you.  No matter what."  I silently congratulated myself.  Nice job, Splash.  Chalk one up for the leader.

"Ok..." he said with a sigh.  "Here goes.  .....  Im-"

CRAACKK!!  BOOOOOOOOMM!

Both of us jumped as a massive blast of thunder struck a nearby tree.  Immediately after, the sky opened up into a torrential downpour.  I heard Inferno scream.  And Umbreon yelling at him for being "such a princess."

I looked at Bolt.  He looked at the ground.  "...I'll..  Tell you later."  With that, he dashed off.  Half of me wanted to follow him.  The other half said to wait, let him tell me when he's ready.  The second half won.  Besides, my Clan probably needed help.

Sure enough, Clover and Snow were trying to tie down Espeon's and Umbreon's log den so that it wouldn't blow away in the wind.  Clover made roots appear from the ground, loop over the log, and go back into the ground on the other side.  Snow was freezing the entry and exit points on the roots to the ground so that nothing would tear.  "Good thinking!" I yelled as I raced by.  They nodded back and resumed tying things down. 

"Surf!" I called.  "Come help me with the pond!"  During bad rainstorms, the pond would overflow and sometimes flood the camp.  Therefore, it was our job as the local Vaporeons to spill as much water as we could on the other side so that it would have more room to fill up.

We dove into the water in perfect harmony.   We started simple, using our tails to throw water over the side.  Then we progressed to swimming against the side as fast as we could, then stopping suddenly, causing more water to rush out. 

Just as we both started using Surf to get more water out, the biggest bolt of lightning I had ever seen struck the middle of camp.  For a second, I was blind and deaf.  I dove deeper to recover quicker, bumping into Surf in the process, who had the same thought.  When I regained my senses, I shot to the surface in a jet of bubbles.  The lightning had not left any damage.  But it had left something else.

Something the size of a large Rapidash.  Something with electric yellow fur and black stripes.  Something with spiked whiskers and very long fangs.  Something with claws the length of my tail.  Something with black thunderclouds rolling angrily across his back.

I only caught a brief glimpse before I fell back into the water.  It couldn't have been.

Surf swam up to me.  "Splash?  Are you ok?  You look like you've seen a ghost type."

"Not a ghost type.  Not at all," I stammered.  "No.  It was..."

"It was what?"

"Raikou.  It's Raikou.  He's in our camp."

Surf's eyes nearly fell out of his head.  "What!?  Are you sure!?"

"Positive."  I was still in shock.

"Well... what do we do now?" Surf asked.  I said nothing.  I didn't know.  I thought Raikou was a kit story at least, and at most an elusive Pokemon that was only seen in times of crisis. 

"I recognized him from the stories.  He fits the descriptions exactly."

Surf was at a loss.  "What now?"

"I... don't know."

 

 

I poked my head above the surface, dully noting that if Raikou decided to attack, the pond wouldn't exactly provide ample protection.  He was standing in the same place as he was when he first appeared.  His claws dug into the ground slightly.  As he turned his head, lightning struck again.  The clouds on his back crackled with electricity.  He did not look happy.

 

Diving back under, I swam to Surf.  "He looks pretty angry.  I doubt he's here for idle conversation."

 

"I'd say the same thing, judging by this storm," he said, glancing at the raindrops on the water's surface.  Raikou roared, making us both jump.  On a split-second decision, I swam to the surface again.  Surf followed.

 

I glanced back at him.  "Stay low."  He nodded.  Without warning, I leaped out of the pond and landed on the side.  I could almost feel Surf's mix of anger, fear, and concern.  But no time to think about that, seeing as Raikou whipped around to face me as I landed.

 

He growled, sounding like distant thunder.  "And you are?"

 

All I could think of right now were the ten some ways he could kill me where I stood.  "S-Splash, great Raikou."

 

The storm lessened a bit.  "Splash as in the Eevee Clan Splash?"

 

Wait, what?  "You know me, sir?"

 

He nodded, relaxing his position.  "I have come to speak with you.  It's a most a most urgent matter."

"Why me?" I asked, getting slightly less tense.

The Thunder Pokemon glanced around the camp.  "Get your Clan together.  I must speak to all of you."

One by one, my Eevees crept out of their dens and hiding places, even Espeon, who's not much of a rain fan.  Naturally, Inferno was missing.  "Inferno!" I hissed.

"Not coming out!" he shouted back.  "I can hear from here!"

"Fine," Raikou growled.  He turned to look at all of us before sitting down.  "Hello, Bolt," he nodded to the Jolteon, who nearly fainted.

I got right to the point, deciding to ask Bolt about this later.  "Why are you here, if you don't mind my asking, great Raikou?"

The legendary looked up at the storm clouds.  "I am here because I have been told that you are the best of the best."

Bolt almost fainted again.  "Wait.  You... I... That... Wait... What!?"

Raikou smiled in amusement.  "That's right.  That dream was real."

All attention turned to Bolt.  "...I had a dream a few nights ago that I met Raikou.  We talked about the Clan and I told him we were the best," he finished, half looking down, half proud.

My breath caught in my throat as I thought of what the legendary's words meant for us.  "Wait..."

Raikou nodded.  "That's right.  I need your expertise and versatility.  I need you for a job."

A Small and Unexpected Visitor (Part 3)

I worked my paws on the grass anxiously.  Where was everyone else?  It had been 30 minutes five minutes ago!  Maybe I had counted wrong.  Maybe-

"Figured you'd be on time," Surf said from behind me.  I jumped.  "And on edge as well," he said with a smile.  "Now, that's the Vaporeon I know and love."

I shook out my fins.  "I've been on edge ever since I set paw in this human town!" I said defensively.  Surf just looked at me with a knowing expression.  I sat down and curled my tail around my paws in mock annoyance.  I could never be mad at Surf.  Instead, I changed the subject.  "Did you see any of the others on the way back?"

Surf shook his head.  "No.  Though, I did see Clover running around between houses.  She's pretty anxious to find this kit's mother."

"That's Clover," I shrugged.  "Always trying to make lives better."

Just then, the call of a Leafeon broke over the town.  "HELP!"

Surf and I looked each other for half a second.  Then, without a word, we dashed off at top speed.

Clover looked back and forth between the Arcanine and the Houndooms.  "HELP!" she called again.  She couldn't stay up here forever!  Sooner or later, one of then would think to use fire.  The fence was wood.  It would burn easily.  The Arcanine breathed flames at her.  Though that would work, too! she thought as she desperately leaped away.  The Houndooms caught on, also shooting fire up at her.  Clover called out again as she dove away from the heat.  One of the two Houndooms singed her tail.  She yelped and drew away.  At this point, even a trainer had to be better than this!

While she was off balance from the burn, the Arcanine jumped up at her.  Clover panicked, throwing herself the other way.  Which was off the fence.  And into the Houndooms' territory.  Clover braced herself for burning fire or sharp fangs.  This was it.

SLAP!

A smooth, wet missile slammed into her at the last possible second, shoving her out of harm's way.  She landed hard, rolling on the grass before regaining her bearings and leaping to her feet.  "SPLASH!" she yelled.

I knew it was dangerous.  But I had no choice.   Jumping off of another side of the Houndooms' fence-territory, I knocked Clover out of the Fire-Type's reach.  I, however, was not quite as lucky.  One of the two grabbed my fluked tail and shook.  Hard.

Just before it got too bad, Surf appeared, blasting the Houndoom with a well-aimed Hydro Pump.  It yelped and let go of my tail (much to my relief).  Surf raced along the fence, jumped down, and landed next to me.  We stood shoulder to shoulder, fins bristled and tails held up slightly.  I glanced back at Clover, who was licking a burn on her tail.  Turning back to Surf, I gave a tiny nod.

Then, we swamped the whole territory with two simultaneous Surfs.

The Houndooms retreated fairly quickly, as did the Arcanine once Surf used Hydro Pump again.  He missed, but the Arcanine got the message.  Meanwhile, I ran over to Clover. 

"Are you ok?  Did they hurt you?"

She smiled at me gratefully.  "Just singed my tail.  It'll heal.  They hurt my nerves more than my body.  What about you?" she asked, suddenly concerned.  "Are you ok?"

I gently slapped my tail against the ground.  "Fine, actually.  Nothing that Recover and a long soak in the pond won't fix."

Clover rose to her paws.  "We should get back.  Umbreon's probably worried sick."

I agreed.  We hopped the fence again and trotted back towards the meeting spot.  "I hope he found the kit's mother.  Neither Surf or I found any sign of her."

"Me either," Clover mumbled.  "I was so hyped up about returning the kit, that I wasn't careful at all.  That's how I got into that mess."  She looked down at her paws as she finished.

I nudged her shoulder.  "Hey, it's fine.  None of us expected any different of you.  Well, maybe not that you would get into a situation like that, but..."

"Yeah," Clover finished for me.

"There's Umbreon," Surf said.  The Dark Type sat up as we approached.

"Where were you guys!?" I found the kit's mother ages ago!  Took a bit to sneak away from an overly curious Delcatty, but I got here only ten minutes after the said time!"

"Sorry about that," I said.  "Clover got herself into a tight spot."

Umbreon nodded slowly.  "So that's what those battle sounds were..."

Clover looked down again.  "Yeah..."

I looked at Umbreon excitedly.  "But you found the mother!"

"Yeah!  She's in that den back there!" he said, pointing with his nose.

"Great!" I smiled.  "Let's get back to the Clan and decide our next move."

"You're ba-OW!!" Inferno yelled as we walked in.

I couldn't help snickering.  "Kit still pulling your tail, Inferno?"

"Not funny," he responded grumpily.  "I sure hope you found the mother.  If I don't get away soon, I'll have no fur left!"

Umbreon rolled his eyes.  "Don't worry... we found her," he said as he padded over Espeon and rubbed cheeks with her.

"Ok," I said, sitting in the middle of the clearing.  The rest of the Clan sat around me as I got started.  "Based on what Umbreon told me, the mother is pretty hysterical about losing her kit.  We can't carry the kit to her, because it's the same size as us, and we might get spotted.  And based on Clover's experience, that's not preferable."  Clover nodded seriously.  "What we need to do is figure out a way to get the two of them to find each other.  Any ideas?"

Bolt stood up.  "Inferno could walk away from the kit and lead it to its mother."

Inferno shook his head as much as he could with the kit pulling on his ear.  "As much as I enjoy the thought of being able to walk on my own, we know from experience that the kit would much rather scream until I come back than follow me."

Espeon stood up.  "Then why don't we come from the other angle?  Get the mother to follow one of us to the kit?"

Snow didn't like the idea.  "And endanger one of us?  What if she's a trainer?  Or has another Pokemon that might attack us?"

Clover wasn't so quick to dismiss it.  "No, that might work.  We'd just have to time it right.  Even if she is a trainer, she'd be too distraught to try and catch us."

"Yeah," Bolt said.  "Espeon, I thought you were the Psychic Type.  Wouldn't you know how emotions work?"

Umbreon jumped to his feet while Espeon just looked angry and insulted.  Before it could get into a fully fledged argument, I stood up.  "EEVEES!  Calm down!  Bolt, that wasn't nice or appropriate.  Keep your thoughts to yourself."

"I'd still hear them..." Espeon muttered.  I silenced her with a look.

Clover paused for a moment before continuing.  "...Anyway, we have one or two Eevees lead the mother back to the kit while the others hide."

Snow picked up where her friend left off as she, too, stood up.  "But we couldn't lead her to the camp, so we'd move Inferno and the kit somewhere else.  We could have a series of Eevees that will run back to the camp and warn the others when the mother is a certain distance away."

Bolt caught on.  "Three messengers.  One to tell the others to get ready to move, the next to tell them to move now, and the last one to tell Inferno to get away from the kit."

Espeon stood up again, her quarrel with Bolt forgotten.  "When she sees the kit, she'll want to get to it as soon as possible.  That'll give the Eevees who led her there time to hide.  That way, everyone will be safe by the time she would be ready to catch one of us!"

I smiled proudly at my Clan.  "I love it when we all work together like this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later, the Clan was ready to go.  After holding a race to see who the top five fastest runners were, not counting Inferno, I delegated the roles out.  "The top runner are, in order of place, Bolt, which we all knew and expected; Espeon, who is much faster than she looks; Clover, who was possibly still on adrenaline from her close scrape; myself, nearly tied with Surf, but winning by a nose; Surf, as I just said; Umbreon, who I know is extremely disappointed with himself; and, finally, Snow, who, to be fair, doesn't need to run that much."

Bolt zipped around in circles.  "So what do I do?  What do I do?" he asked excitedly.

I shook my head at his antics.  "Bolt, Espeon, and Clover will be the messenger Eevees, since they can get back to the Clan the fastest.  Bolt will take the position furthest from the Clan, Espeon, second, and Clover, the closest.  Surf and I will lead the mother to the designated place.  Any thoughts as to where that would be?"

Surf stood up again, still a bit winded.  "What about that spot where we were originally going to put the camp?  It has hiding spots.  Not as many as here, but it'll work.  Plus, it's not too far from the town."

I nodded enthusiastically.  "That's perfect!  Far enough away to give the others a chance to get settled, but close enough to be able to run all the way there from the town."

Inferno cocked his head.  "You thought about putting the camp close to a town?"

"Why do you think we moved it here?" I asked.

"Oh."

Umbreon sat next to Espeon.  "So Snow, Inferno, and I take care of the kit?"

"Yes," I responded.  "Is everyone clear on what, where, and when they're doing?

The response was in unison.  "Yes!"

"Then, let's do this!" I called.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surf crept up next to me, pulling the kit's cloth-fur behind him.  The kit had taken it off a while ago, and Inferno thought it might tell the mother that we knew where the kit was.  And, since I outranked him (and he lost the deciding game of Tailslap), Surf was the one dragging it instead of me.  I kept a lookout and guided the way.

"Tish ish ridiculoush," he said around the cloth-fur.

I shushed him.  "This way.  We're at the town.  The den is this way."  He simply rolled his eyes and followed.  As we approached the den, however, there was a bit of a commotion.

The mother human was yelling at what looked like the kit's father.  "I told you to look after her!  How could you let her out of your sight!?" she shouted.  Surf and I flinched.

The father shrunk back as well.  "I-I don't know what happened!  She was in the yard one minute, then gone the next!  I swear I was gone for only a minute!"

Before things got any worse, I jumped out of the bush and let out a loud call.  "Splash..." Surf warned quietly.  Both humans looked at me in surprise.  I felt a slight sense of danger.

The mother seemed to forget about me and rounded on the father again.  "Surf!  Now!"  Ever loyal, Surf dragged himself out as well, still carrying the cloth-fur.  Both of us called to the mother, trying to get her attention.

Luckily for us, and him, the father noticed us.  "Lily, look!"

The mother didn't even look at him.  "You and your Pokemon!  Do you ever think about anything else!?"

"No, there are two Vaporeons!  One has her shirt!"  That got her attention.

We didn't need any more encouragement.  On a silent signal, we turned and bolted at the same time.  The mother's voice sounded behind us as she ran after us.  "They know where Isabella is!  Stay there!"  She ran with everything she had.  So did we.

Upon getting a short distance into the woods, I caught a glimpse of Bolt before he blasted off like a bolt of lightning.

Bolt tore into camp before stopping short and falling over.   "Rats...  Shouldn't have gone that fast..." he muttered as he stood up.  "Guys!  The mother's coming!  Get a move on!"

"Then you help!" Snow yelled back.  Bolt rolled his eyes.  Then went over to Inferno and the kit.

Espeon sat patiently in a small tree.  Umbreon needed her back safe.  She went over her escape strategy.  She was to teleport herself and Snow into a tree outside the almost-camp.  Close enough to see, but far enough away to be safe.  Pawsteps and heavy footsteps got her attention.  The second she saw the pair of Vaporeons, she dashed away.

I was getting a bit tired as we passed Clover.  I could tell Surf was, too.  But the human mother was the exact same distance away as when we started!  How was she not tired?  Humans tired much more easily than Pokemon! 

"There it is!" Surf called to me.  I looked ahead!  Yes!  There is was, indeed!  And there was the kit!  ... And Inferno!  He was trying to get away, but the kit had a death grip on his tail!

"Lead her away!" I yelled to Surf.  We had to give Inferno more time!  Unfortunately, the mother had other ideas. 

"ISABELLA!" she yelled, running past us as we curved away.  Without hesitation, I turned back and raced after her.  Surf stopped for a second, but then turned as well and ran after me.

The mother got there first.  The kit let go of Inferno, reaching up towards its mother instead.  The Flareon tumbled away, too late to escape notice.  Sure enough, as I skidded to a halt, she held the kit and stared at Inferno.  He froze under her gaze.

For a while, no one moved.  Eventually, I found the courage to step out and stand next to Inferno.  If he was in danger, I would protect him.

Surf walked up next to me.  Then Snow.  Then Clover.  Then Espeon and Umbreon.  And finally, Bolt.  All of us stood as one.

The mother looked at all of us as she stood up with her kit.  She pulled out the rectangular device that humans use to talk to each other.  "...Jake?  Jake!  You're not going to believe this!  There's..." she paused.  We all looked at her, silently begging.

The kit waved a tiny paw at Inferno.  The father's voice came out of the box.  "What?  There's a what?"  I held my breath.

The mother still didn't answer for a moment.  Then she stammered "...Isabella.  There's Isabella!  I found her!"

A Small and Unexpected Visitor (Part 2)

I held my breath.  Half of me wanted to leap out of hiding and distract whatever it was long enough to let Inferno escape.  The other half said to stay put; Inferno could handle it.  The second half won.  Better the chance of seeing one than definitely endangering two.

Whatever was in our camp, it wasn't a trainer.  This was too low to the ground.  Being a puddle, I had too low of an angle to see clearly.  It was in the bushes around our camp!  It went right through Umbreon's bush!  However, instead of attacking or distracting it, he only looked at it funny, with his head cocked as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

A tiny paw with fingers reached out of the bushes, towards Inferno's tail.  It looked almost like a Mankey... but it was a bit too small.  What was it?

Whatever the paw belonged to, it took hold of the end of Inferno's tail and pulled.

"YOW!" Inferno yelled from within the rock as he briefly cloaked his tail in flames, burning his attacker.  It squealed in pain and tumbled out of the bush. 

That's no Mankey... I thought as I watched it start crying.  "That's a human kit!" I said as I emerged from my puddle.  It was rather cute, with the weird cloth-things that humans wear over their skin.  It smelled a bit yucky, but even so.  "Inferno!  You hurt it!" I shouted as it continued to wail.

"It pulled my tail!" he retorted, pulling himself out of the rock (head first this time).  "I thought it was a predator!"

"Fair enough," I shrugged.

"Does that mean it's safe to come down?" Bolt asked from the treetop.

"Yes!  All clear!"  The rest of the clan came out of their hiding places one by one.  Bolt crouched on the edge of his paws staring at the human kit as if it were from another world.

"What IS it?" he asked, awestruck.

Espeon and I answered at the same time.  "It's a human kit."

Clover looked dubious.  "This is what a human kit looks like?"

Umbreon shrugged.  "I guess.   ...But where's its fur?  Humans have patches of fur on their heads!"

Snow sniffed it carefully.  "There's a tiny bit here, but it's all wispy.  I hope it's not cold." she said as the kit continued to bawl.

"And how do we get it to stop crying!?" Inferno shouted.  "At this rate, every piece of prey will be gone, and every predator and trainer will come running!"

"Then we need to make it feel better!" I said over the din.  Trotting up to the kit, I sprayed cold water over its burnt paw.  It's crying slowed a bit.

Snow walked up behind me.  "Let me help."  She blew a cold breeze over the burn while I resumed spraying water.  Espeon came up as well and emitted a soothing psychic suggestion to the kit.  Eventually, the crying subsided.  It looked at the three of us.  Then, it grabbed the fins on my head.

"Ow!" I complained.  "Not for pulling!"  Luckily for me, Inferno stepped in and wriggled his fluffy body between me and the kit.  It started petting him.  "Thanks," I muttered, shaking my head.

"No problem," he said softly.  "Now that I know it's not a threat, well..." he trailed off.

"Question?" Bolt asked.  "What do we do with it?"  Everyone fell silent.

Umbreon shook his head.  "We can't keep it.  What would we do with it?"

"Besides," Espeon meowed, "it must have a mother somewhere."

"Then why isn't it with that mother?  Maybe something happened," Clover said with concern.

"Well, we can't abandon it," Surf reasoned.  "Both Umbreon and Clover are right."

Everyone fell silent again, trying to come up with a solution before it pulled more of Inferno's fur out.  An idea came to me.  "Ok, we'll do it like when we needed the Search and Rescue party after that fire.  One team of three goes out looks for the mother, and comes back.  If they find her, another three will help get her back to her kit."

Surf looked at me fondly.  "I knew there was a reason we made you leader."

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, the search team was ready to go.  Inferno would not take part in any of the parties, seeing as the kit loved him so much.  When he tried to leave for a second to get a drink, the kit had started wailing again.  Thus, Inferno would watch the kit.  Whether he liked it or not.

 

Umbreon, Surf, Clover, and I started off.  "There's a human town this way," Umbreon said.  "We'll have to be careful, though.  There are trainers."  The rest of us nodded and continued walking solemnly.  We were a Search party, so we ignored the two Tailows that we saw on the way.

 

Some time later, we reached the edge of the town.  Dusk was falling, so we had a bit of cover as long as we stuck to the shadows.  "Split up," I whispered.  "North, east, south, and west.  Call if you run into trouble.  Meet back here in half an hour."  Everyone nodded and split up without another word.  If I knew my clan, Umbreon would take the south side, Clover would go east, and Surf would prefer west.  So, I took the only remaining cardinal direction.

 

Five minutes later, I was creeping between houses on the north side of the town.  Compared to most human camps, this one was rather quaint.  The dens weren't that big, and the fence-territory was larger than most.  I stuck to the shadows and melted the second I heard motion.  Many dens were closed with lights on inside.  One or two humans were outside their dens, most with Pokemon of various species.  But no matter how hard I looked, I just couldn't find a distressed female.

 

Surf dove into a big, blue pond as a trainer came out.  Hopefully, he doesn't want a swim, Surf thought as he melted quickly.  This water was strange.  It had stuff in it that made his eyes hurt a bit.  Also, it was too blue.  Humans are weird, he thought to himself.  After a few minutes, the trainer went back inside, much to Surf's relief.  He jumped out as quickly as possible and shook himself off.  He looked up at the rising moon.  He had been out here for 20 minutes, and not one sign of a human missing a kit.

 

Umbreon rolled his eyes as yet another human walked right by him in the shadows.  How stupid could you get?  He wasn't afraid to spray poison from his glowing rings if spotted, but he preferred staying out of sight in general.  He only had 3 more dens to check.  He chuckled as he walked, thinking to himself I wonder if they didn't notice the kit is gone.  Just 3 dens left.  Then he could go back to Espeon.  As he passed one, the door to the den burst open.  Umbreon jumped and hid in the shadows.  A female human ran out, sobbing.  "Isabella!?  ISABELLA!" she cried.  Umbreon faded further.  Well, he thought,  I think I found the mother.

 

Clover searched among the dens, anxious to find the kit's mother.  She ran down the gaps between them, not using stealth as much.  If danger came, she could always hide in a bush or tree.  Nothing there...  Nothing here... No humans here...  Where is she!?  So caught up in her thoughts that, as she rounded a corner, she almost crashed into an Arcanine.  A hungry-looking Arcanine.  Clover skidded and reversed direction just as the Fire-Type's teeth snapped shut on the spot where she was a second ago.  Clover ran blind, looking for somewhere to escape.  She could feel its heat on her tail.  It was catching up!  Seeing no other option, she bounded up a wooded fence that marked the edge of a human's territory.  She stopped just in time to see two Houndooms in the fence-territory!  Both jumped up at her, barking fiercely.  She looked back and forth.  Fire-Type dogs on either side!  She was trapped!  "Help!" she called desperately.  "HELP!

A Small and Unexpected Visitor (Part 1)

"Splash!"  Umbreon's voice rings over the camp clearing, ringing slightly in my head.  Figures.  The second I lay down for a moment to take a short nap and clear my head, someone else needs me.  But, that comes with the territory of being leader.  Resisting the urge to turn into a puddle and pretend I didn't exist, I pushed myself up with my tail and exited my den.

"What is it, Umbreon?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Espeon and Bolt are hungry again.  They suggested oh-so-subtly that I should take someone and hunt again," he said with a small smile.

I shook my head.  "Does Bolt ever stop eating?"

Umbreon tilted his head in mock pondering.  "I don't think so.  Maybe that's how he always has so much energy!"

"If that were true, then Clover and Inferno would be eating just as much.  We'd have no food for anyone else!" I laughed.

"Very true!"

"All right," I said, addressing the issue.  "Take Surf.  And tell Bolt that, next time, if he wants more food, go get it himself!"

"Gladly..." Umbreon grumbled.  "Surf!  Hunting team!  You're with me!"  Surf appeared from the pond with a splash and trotted over to join Umbreon without another word.  As they left, I sat down and curled my tail around my paws.  I was tired, but not that tired.  I could help out around the clan.  Snow was on the lookout for trainers.  Maybe I should go help.

I stood up and shook out my fins, scattering tiny water droplets.  I hoped it would rain soon.  Rain is good for everything.  Except Inferno.  He hates water.  As I walked past Espeon's and Umbreon's den, she waved her split tails at me in greeting, so I gave her a sunny smile.  Then, Bolt slid into her den as I walked away.  Huh, I thought to myself.  That's odd.  Bolt is usually cracking jokes with Inferno at this time.  It wasn't unheard of, but still.  Dens were supposed to be private.  Then again, if Espeon didn't want him there, she could have kicked him out.

As I exited the camp, Snow's head snapped in my direction, but she relaxed once she realized it was me.  "I thought you might want some company," I said as I jumped from the ground, to a rock, to a branch, to the lookout platform.

"Thanks, but I don't often get lonely," Snow replied quietly as I sat down.

"I know.  I just wanted to help," I replied.  Snow only nodded, then returned to her silent vigil.  I faced the opposite direction, to cover the whole range.  This was perfect.  I could help and think at the same time.  Which was probably why Snow liked it so much.  She was very contemplative.  I let out a quiet sigh and watched.

 

About half an hour later, Umbreon and Surf caught me in the middle of daydreams of Eevee kits.

"Splash?" Surf's masculine voice called.  "What are you doing up there?"

"Just helping Snow," I replied, rising to my paws.

"Well, can you help us now?  We're going to divide up the prey."

"Be right down!" I called.  The two disapeared inside the camp, laden with food.  Rather than jump back down, I dove into the ice-coated slide that Snow made.  It was much faster, well hidden, and it went right into camp.  It was perfect in case of a trainer emergency, as well, with almost no risk of being spotted.  Plus, the ice made it much smoother and more fun.

Umbreon looked up as I ran over.  "Three Magikarps, two Pidgeys, and six Patrats!" he called proudly.

"Nice haul!" I exclaimed.  "You guys really cleaned up!"  I did a quick count.  "Eleven pieces of prey, eight of us.  Everyone choose one!"  Surf and I immediately nabbed a Magikarp each, and Bolt was at the pile and grabbed the fattest of the Pidgeys from under Umbreon's nose before anyone saw him clearly.

"Hey!" Umbreon yelled as the hyperactive Jolteon raced back into his den and started tearing his food apart.  Umbreon laid his ears back and placed a firm paw on a Patrat instead.  "That was for Espeon..." he complained, just as she padded up behind him.

"It's ok, tough guy," Espeon purred as she rubbed her cheek against his.  "I can still have this one," she said as she took the other Pidgey.  The perfect couple picked up their prey in perfect sync and walked back to their den side by side.  Inferno ran up to the pile and grabbed a fair-sized Patrat before trotting back to his den happily.  Finally, Clover bounded up to what was left of the pile.

"Snow would want... a Patrat," she said to herself, taking one for each of them.  As Surf and I moved the last two Patrats and Magikarp into the frost hole that Snow made to keep the food fresh, Surf smiled warmly at me.  We rubbed fins.  And then-

"TRAINER!" Snow yelled from the top of the lookout post.  Without another word, the camp became a flurry of motion.  Surf dove into the pond, melted and vanished.  Clover dropped the two Patrats and leaped into a fern bush, with her tail and ears making her blend in perfectly.  Inferno raced into a cleft in a rock just big enough to fit him, complete with a corner to keep from being seen.  Umbreon ran out of the den and into a bush, fading until he was just a shadow in the middle.  Bolt, barely visible as he was moving so fast, blasted into a hole between two roots of a tree, which, courtesy of Clover, wound up the inside of the tree like a spiral staircase and came out at the top.  Espeon used her telekinesis to pull up a wall of wood from the bottom of her log den, creating a false end of the log.  Snow shot out of the escape tunnel like a cannon, and without breaking stride, dove into a deep hole in the ground.  Finally, confident that everyone was safe, I turned into a puddle in the center of camp, so I could watch and call the all clear when it was safe. 

For a few tense moments, nothing happened.  Then, just as I was about to give the all clear, I saw movement, and heard the grass rustle.  I held my breath as it paused.  Something moved out of the corner of my eye.  It was very light yellow-orange and fluffy... and sticking out of the rock!  Inferno's tail was showing!  But before I could warn him, the intruder outside came inside the camp.

Welcome to the Clan!

My name is Splash.  I am the leader of this Eevee clan, along with a ton of help from my mate, Surf.  Right now, it's a fairly small clan, with only 8 Eevees, but judging by the amounts of time that Espeon and Umbreon are spending together, I'm hoping that number goes up soon!  As of right now, it consists of:

Splash - Myself, a young female Vaporeon.  Surf says I'm kind, fair, and understanding, but I prefer to think of myself as diplomatic. 

Surf - My mate, a male Vaporeon.  He's very mature and somewhat standoff-ish, but he can be very protective.  He's prone to mood swings, but that comes with being a Vaporeon.  The rest of the clan thinks of him as the second in command, and it's true, I come to him for advice more than any other, but I try to keep the ranks even.

Inferno - A young male Flareon with a bit of an attitude.  He's loud and audatious, but very social.  I look to him as our means of spreading news.  He has an explosive temper, especially if he feels like he's been insulted.  He usually hangs out with Bolt.

Bolt - A young Jolteon that is quite a handful.  Being a Jolteon, he loves to run, which is why he delivers mail and packages.  He can be a bit audations as well, and tends to complain a lot if he's cooped up inside.  He's very protective of the clan, and uses his excess energy keeping the night watch. 

Espeon - A young and beautiful Espeon, and one of the two without names.  She is sweet, loving, compassionate, supportive... I could go on complementing her for ages.  Like most Espeons, she's quiet and contemplative, often keeping many secrets.  The clan often confide in her, knowing full well that she'll never tell.  Almost every second of her waking day is spent with Umbreon.

Umbreon - Espeon's mate.  He is fiercely protective of Espeon, but generally quiet, thoughtful, and compassionate.  Unlike most Umbreons, he's not too secretive or independant, usually leaning on Espeon's shoulder.  The two of them are one of the best couples that I have ever seen.

Snow - A young female Glaceon.  She is very shy and quiet, usually the last to meet a visitor to the clan.  On the other paw, she's increadibly kind and compassionate, and favors talking to fighting.  She generally hangs back, only really sharing everything with her best friend, Clover.

Clover - A young female Leafeon and Snow's companion for life.  Like her Glaceon friend, Clover is rather shy and quiet, but gets playful when with pokemon she knows.  She is supportive of everyone in the clan, but speaks softly, prefering to talk than battle.  She acts as our healer, what with her know-how of herbs and plants.

What I love about my clan is that everyone has someone to look to.  I have Surf, Inferno has Bolt, Espeon has Umbreon, and Snow has Clover.  We run on a regular schedule, hunting in the morning, and working and patrolling in the afternoon.  For money, we work odd jobs for other pokemon.  Having an extra stash of cash can be quite handy.  You never know what you'll need a Pokemart for, even as a wild pokemon.  Now, because we're wild, we go in at night to avoid trainers.  Call it "breaking in" if you wish, but we always leave the apropriate amount of money on the counter.

I'm hoping things go well for the clan.  May many jobs, good hunting, good health, happy couples and friends, and Eevee kits be in our future!