Clover's Gift (Part 1)

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...?" Clover stammered as she stood up quickly.  The wings disappeared.  She looked back at herself, then turned in a few circles.  "No... no wings...  Very funny, guys...  Actually, it's not funny...  Please stop looking at me like that, Snow, please stop..."

Snow was in shock herself.  "Clover, it's not a joke.  When you stretched out, you suddenly had wings..."

Clover stuttered for a bit, trying to grasp what was happening.  "But...  Leafeons don't have wings, I'm a Leafeon, not a... Aveon or something like that!  They don't exist and neither do Leafeons with wings!"  She ended in a near-sob.

I shook my head.  "Clover, look.  Just go back into a stretch and see for yourself."

"No!" Clover shouted.

I stepped towards her.  "Please?  Look, I'll even help you."

She looked at me in what looked like fear.  Not of me, but of what she might see.  "Please don't, Splash, I really don't want to- ow..." she said in a slightly panicked manner as I put my paw on her back and helped to very slowly push her down into another stretch.  Just as before, as Clover slowly stretched her shoulders, long, feathered wings extended from just behind her shoulders.  They were actually very beautiful, with the same cream coloring as her fur on the top and a gentle fade on the undersides, from the same beige as her fur at the leading edges that slowly melted into the same green as her tail and ears on the large trailing feathers.  Each wing was about the same length as her body, counting her tail.

Clover looked back over her shoulder at her new beautiful accessories.  I took my paw off of her and backed up a step as Clover continued to stare.  "No..." she muttered.  "That's...  Not possible..."

Espeon tried sending her soothing words and emotions.  "Clover, you look beautiful."  When she didn't respond, Espeon pressed onward.  "That must be what the humans did to you.  Think about it.  It explains a lot."

I nodded.  "You said the humans said 'they would be functional.'  Not it.  They.  And it also explains why your cage was so high up when we rescued you.  The humans must have wanted you to figure out that you had wings and to fly down."

Clover slowly stood up, never taking her eyes off her wings.  As her shoulders returned to their normal positions, her wings slowly retracted, until they were perfectly folder against her sides, the tan tops blending in perfectly with Clover's fur as to be practically invisible.  "...how...?" she said in a barely audible voice.  "I didn't even know that I had..."  She seemed unable to say the word.

Bolt spoke up.  "How could you not know that you have wings!?"

Clover teared up, all of the joy from Snow Day gone.  "I don't know!" she yelled, getting more and more distressed.  She looked around at the rest of the Clan.  "Stop looking at me like that!  Leave me alone!" she squealed, racing off into the forest.

Snow leaped to her paws and sprinted after her best friend, now about the same speed as the still recovering Leafeon.  Just as she reached the camp entrance, vines sprang from the snow-covered ground and knotted around Snow's hind left paw, tripping her.  As the rest of us moved to help bring Clover back, much larger vines snared myself and the other 5 Eevees, trapping us in one spot!

Snow pulled against her snare.  "She Grass Knotted me...  That's the first time she's ever hit me..."

Surf fought his bonds with Iron Tail, with little effect.  "She doesn't even know Grass Knot!"

I pulled against my own vines.  "She was scared!  She probably didn't mean to!" I called to Snow, trying to reassure her.  "She probably didn't want anyone following her and accidentally secured us all in camp!"  An idea came to me, and a claw-bitingly close Stone Edge thrust from the snow and cut my vines.

Bolt and Inferno seemed to have the same idea at the same time, using Lava Plume and Blast Burn respectively to burn their restraints.  Bolt looked at Inferno as the flames died down.  "Remind me where you picked Blast Burn up?"

Inferno shrugged.  "The Great Entei taught it to me when we were saving Clover.  It was sort of a split-second thing..."

Bolt shook his head at his friend before going to help Surf.  Umbreon managed to wither his vines with poison from his glowing rings, then help Espeon escape, even though she was doing just fine with her claws.  I looked over at Snow, who was still lying on the ground in shock.  I trotted over to her.  "Snow, come on.  Get up."  She stayed as she was for a few seconds before using a focused Blizzard to freeze and snap the knot around her paw.

"This is my fault..." she whispered.  "I told her to stretch, I looked at her funny..."

I leaned against her comfortingly.  "This is not your fault, Snow.  Not in the slightest.  You only wanted to help when you told her to stretch.  It was good for her.  How were you supposed to know?"

"I should have known, though!" she shouted at me.  "I know her better than anyone!  Right now, she's very scared! She just wants to be normal!  It's not her fault that the ...vile humans gave her wings!  She didn't want that!  And then I looked at her as if I hardly knew her!  It is my fault, Splash!  I was her rock!  She depended on me to always be there for her, through thick and thin, never judging her!  And I DID judge her!  And now she ran away!  After she hit me!"

At this point, Snow completely broke down, crying hysterically.  This was worse than when Clover was missing.  Now, Snow thought that Clover hated her, even though she didn't.  I winced.  How could this happen?  It felt like we had just gotten her back.  As Espeon walked over silently to try and calm Snow down, I turned on Bolt angrily.  "Bolt, that was not the right thing to say back there!"

Bolt shrugged.  "It's true, though!  How could she not know she had WINGS for Arceus's sake!?  If I had wings, I'm pretty sure I would know it!"

Inferno tilted his head at his friend.  "Come on, Bolt, Splash is right.  You might have been thinking that, but you shouldn't have said it to her right then and there."

Bolt sighed regretfully.  "You're right...  Sorry..."

I sighed as well.  Snow managed to calm down and stood up.  "We need to find her.  She may hurt herself."

Bolt piped up again, eager to redeem himself.  "I can run around the forest and check her favorite spots."

Snow shook her head.  "No, just Splash and me.  A small group will make her feel more secure right now, and she trusts us more than anyone else."

Bolt seemed a little insulted, but relented.  I nodded thanks at him, then turned to Snow.  "If it's just the two of us, we should get started.  We have a lot of forest to cover."

Snow smiled.  "No need," she said, using a paw to lift the small stone off of her chest.  "I know exactly where she is."