No one asked me any questions or said anything to me as Surf gently guided me to the pond. He slid into the water gently, while I fell in and sank to the bottom. Surf, ever loyal, swam after me, settling on the bottom as well.
"Hey. It'll be all right."
"No it's not," I moaned. "Bolt's gone and it's my fault!"
He was so gentle with his words. "No, it's not. Espeon told me what happened when you ran off like that. It's not your fault at all. You just got caught in the middle."
I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. I told him to go hunt on his own and come back when he was ready to talk to Espeon about it. I drove him off!"
"Not on purpose, right?" When I shook my head, he added "Then it isn't your fault at all. You only wanted to make things better. Bolt left because he couldn't face Espeon, not because of anything you ever did or said!"
I looked up at him. "You're right. But I still didn't do my job as leader. I didn't help him feel better or give him any useful advice! What are you supposed to say to someone who's in love with someone else who's pregnant with another male's kits!?"
He cocked his head at me. "Espeon's pregnant?"
Oops. "You didn't know about that." What started as a question turned into a statement.
Surf slowly shook his head. "No, Espeon just made it clear that there was no way that she could be with Bolt. She never gave a reason."
"Oh, Zapdos kill me now..." I muttered in frustration. "Espeon's going to kill me. That was supposed to be top secret. You can't tell anyone. Umbreon is the only other one who knows right now."
"I can keep it that way," Surf promised.
"Thank you," I replied gratefully. For some reason, I felt better already. Maybe Surf's mystical powers over me were working their magic again. I always felt better after talking to him.
He noticed my returned confidence. "You ready to take charge again?"
I swam above the bottom of the pond. "Yes," I said with an astute nod.
"Eevee Clan!" I called, watching as everyone walked out of dens, from the Prey Hole (Inferno), or from a sunny spot (Clover). After a minute or two, I had 6 pairs of eyes fixed on me. "A short while ago... Bolt left the Clan. Whether he plans on coming back or not, I don't know." A disquieted murmur ran through the Clan. Inferno looked shell-shocked. His posture sagged, his ears drooped, and his mouth hung agape in disbelief. Snow leaned on his shoulder comfortingly. His best friend had just left. Umbreon seemed somewhat hurt, probably thinking that Bolt left because of him. But Espeon could stand it no more.
She teleported up onto the rock with me. "Eevees!" Espeon yelled. Espeon never yelled. The rest of the Clan snapped to attention, realizing that as well. "....Bolt left because of me. He was in love with me and..." at this point, the others were up in arms.
"Bolt!?"
"In love with Espeon!?"
"That can't be right!"
"But Espeon's never wrong about feelings!"
"But Bolt!?"
"Didn't he realize that she's with Umbreon!?"
"That's probably why he left, dummy!"
I narrowed my eyes. "QUIET!" I yelled over the clamor. Everyone stopped talking immediately. Espeon gave me a thankful look. I nodded back before she returned her focus on the Clan.
"That is not why Bolt left, though it was the cause of the fights with Umbreon," she stated in a much louder voice than normal. I could easily detect the distress coming off of her in waves. She felt even worse about this than I was. I then realized, it actually was her fault right before she finished her speech.
She closed her eyes. "Bolt left... Because-"
She was interrupted by a whole pack of Mightyena streaming into the camp, ignoring the size of the entrance, and crashing through it anyway. I took charge immediately.
"BATTLE PAIRS, TEAM UP! INFERNO! GO WITH UMBREON AND DEFEND ESPEON!"
Inferno dove towards the couple just as I leaped over the rest of the clan and let out a powerful Surf, swamping the pack with water. Surf himself took advantage of the giant wave, letting it carry him toward the disjointed Dark Types. He then took full advantage of the move that Suicune had taught him, Diving out of range of attacks, then appearing directly under a Mightyena, tackling it off balance and getting physical with Iron Tail. Just as his target began to recover from the shock, Surf dove under again, repeating the strategy with a different foe.
I focused on wide-range attacks, finding a group of Mightyena, then using Surf or Blizzard to knock them down and keep them down. The whole Camp became a battlefield, Clover taking full advantage of her unusual knowledge of the move Aura Sphere, Inferno shooting Flamethrower at any dog-like enemy that came close. Umbreon was not holding back, either. I saw more than a few Mightyena running away from him, covered in toxic chemicals from Umbreon's ferocious Sludge Bombs. Snow and Clover were in perfect sync, one using a close-range move as the other used a long-range one, healing at the same time, and matching each other blow for blow.
Just as I thought we were holding our own, a shadow swept over the Camp. With a rush of wings and a screech, Clover was pulled off the ground by a massive Mandibuzz, rising into the night like a malevolent shadow. Clover screamed and thrashed about wildly, but the Mandibuzz's talons were digging into her skin tightly.
Inferno saw it trying to fly away. He dashed off while yelling to Umbreon "TRY TO HOLD THEM OFF WHILE I GO SAVE CLOVER!"
"Here!" I yelled, seeing his plan. "I'll give you a boost! Hurry!" Inferno leaped up onto the rock just as I swept my tail under him, made the highest jump I could possibly make, then turned into a powerful front flip while swinging my tail forward, sending Inferno flying towards the Mandibuzz.
"Hang on, Clover!" he yelled as he let loose with Discharge, managing to shock the Mandibuzz's tail feathers. Unfortunately, gravity had other ideas. Inferno fell back to earth, fortunately landing in a fern bush.
As I fired another Blizzard at an incoming Mightyena, I watched Clover being slowly carried away and the voracious dogs starting to overwhelm Umbreon. We were two members short, with emotional turmoil wearing us all thin. And right now, it was starting to show. We were losing.
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