New Additions (Part 3)

A week had passed since Espeon's kits had been born.  This meant Clover had just given the ok for Espeon and Umbreon to bring the kits outside the den and into camp for the first time.  The Clan and I had decided to each sit in a different part of camp, so that we could teach the kits what was where.  I sat atop the announcement rock and watched the log den anxiously.

From inside, I heard tiny voices.  "Come on, everyone!  This way!"

Umbreon spoke.  "One, we said you were in charge of your siblings.  That means you keep them safe and argument-free, not boss them around.  That's my and your mother's job."

What must have been One answered back.  "Sorry, Daddy..." she said shamefully.

Finally, Umbreon stepped out of the den, followed by One, Two, and Three.  Four and Five trailed cautiously after Espeon as she, too, exited the den.  Espeon looked down at the five tiny Eevees.  "All right, kits.  Look around.  See the other clan members?"

Wide eyes swept the camp, noticing the other six clan members in their various places.  Three piped up.  "We have a BIG Clan!"  I smiled warmly.

The proud parents smiled as well before Umbreon instructed them.  "They'll tell you about the camp and a little bit about themselves.  You need to know who's who and what's where."

Espeon finished his thought.  "So go ahead and explore.  Talk to everyone.  One, keep everyone together, ok?"

One smiled broadly.  "I will, Mommy!" she squeaked.

The kits began stumbling around camp, still trying to get the hang of walking quickly.  Suddenly, Four cried out.  "I see Uncle Bolt!"

"Uncle Bolt!" the rest of the kits shouted as they scampered towards their caretaker, who was sitting by the Emergency Tree.  I smiled again as Bolt nuzzled them all individually.

"Hello, kits!  I see One, the oldest and leader...  There's Two, my special shiny girl!  Hello, Three!  I think you're shinier than before!  And Four, of course, my buzzy wonder!"  He was cut off as Five leaned on his leg.  "Hi, Five.  Are you tired already?"

Five shook her head.  "No, I just love you."  My heart melted a bit more.

Bolt smiled, too.  "Ok, everyone, sit down where Two is."  There was a bit of a jostle as the kits got to their seats.  "As you know, my name is Bolt.  I am a Jolteon, an Electric Type.  I can use electricity to attack." 

There was a collective "Woah....."  One piped up.  "Can you show us?"

Without saying a word, Bolt used Thunder to strike himself squarely.  All of the kits jumped in surprise, Five falling over backward.  Bolt laughed and helped her to her paws.  "And I like to run really fast and climb trees."

After a second of recovery, Three questioned, "Is that why you're near a tree?"

"Well, this is a very important tree," Bolt explained.  "It's called the Emergency Tree.  If something happens and the Clan is in danger, I climb this tree.  I believe Espeon said that you should come with me if that happens.  There's a path on the inside of the trunk that's really easy to run up.  We'll practice later, ok?"  The kits nodded seriously.  One, Four, and Five looked a bit daunted.  "Ok," Bolt concluded.  "Go see the rest of the Clan."

The kits tottered away, drifting until they found Clover.  I hedged a guess that they were going to the familiar members first.  The Leafeon smiled as they approached.  "Hello, kits!  Do any of you remember me?"

All nodded, and Two answered.  "You're Clover, right?"

Before she could answer, Five scampered up to Clover and snuggled against her leg.  "I love you, Clover!"

Clover smiled at her cuteness and affection.  "I love you, too, Five.  I love all of you.  Ok, now sit down."  She waited patiently until everyone was seated.  "Again, my name is Clover, and I am a Leafeon."

Now One spoke up.  "Are you a plant?"

Clover laughed.  "No, but I am a Grass Type!"  She noted One's disappointed face and added, "But I can grow plants.  Watch."  She focused on the soil to the left of the group of kits.  Slowly but surely, a small berry bush sprouted from the ground and tiny Kasib Berries grew, one for each kit.

All five stared in amazement.  Finally, Three spoke.  "...Can we eat those?"

Clover smiled and shrugged, slightly exposing her wings.  None of the kits seemed to notice.  "Well, I did grow them for you!

Three's eyes went wide.  "All for me!?"

Clover shook her head in amusement as One looked at her shiny brother.  "No!  One for each of us!"

Three nodded in understanding.  All five kits chose a berry and munched happily, Three and Four staining the fur around their mouths.  I shook my head with a smile.  Were all males like that?

Clover waited until the kits had finished to speak again.  "Now, I'll tell you where everyone sleeps.  It's like their own private area.  Everyone shares a place with another Eevee.  As you know, your Mommy and Daddy sleep in that log with you," she said, gesturing to the den on the other side of the emergency tree.  "Splash and Surf sleep in the pond over there..." she said, gesturing towards the pond directly across camp from the emergency tree, "Snow and I live here," she turned to face her bush that was right next to the announcement rock, "and Bolt and Inferno sleep there," she finished, pointing towards the rock between the emergency tree and her own bush den.

Finally, Clover ushered the kits away, then looked at the berry bush that she had created.  "Now what am I going to do with this?" she muttered.

Next, the kits walked towards me.  I jumped down from the rock to greet them.  "Hello, kits!"

Five jumped up and down to see over the ears of her siblings.  "Ooh, ooh, ooh!  You're Splash, right?  I remember you!  I love you, too, Splash!"

I smiled at the small kit.  "I love you, too, Five.  Like Clover said, I love all of you."  All of the kits warmed at the sentiment.  "Anyway," I continued, "I am a Vaporeon, which is a Water Type."

Two tilted her head.  "So can you summon water?"

"Right!" I said before looking straight up and spouting water, making a neat little Vaporeon fountain.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw One and Five playing in the spray.  After a few more seconds, I stopped.  The kits seemed disappointed.  "Personally, however, I think that this is a better party trick."  I finished my sentence, made sure I had the kits interest, and melted into a puddle.  There were many gasps.

"Where'd Splash go!?" Four shouted.

One guessed what I had done.  "I think she turned into water!"

I reformed myself, making Four jump.  "One is correct!  Vaporeons can turn themselves into water if need be.  We're also really good swimmers and can breathe underwater."

"Wow..." Five said in utter amazement.

I smiled and jumped back up onto the high rock.  "This is the announcement rock.  We tend to think of it as the head of camp, because it's directly across from the camp entrance.  When something important happens, I stand up here and tell everyone.  The rest of the Clan sits down there, where you five are."

One asked, "Do any of the other Eevees get to speak from up there?"

I looked at her.  "If I say it's ok.  It's my job to tell everyone news as Clan Leader."

Two spoke again.  "What does that mean?"

I thought for a moment before answering.  "It's like how One watches over you and Espeon and Umbreon tell you what to do.  One makes sure that you stay safe, Espeon and Umbreon make sure that you know what you're supposed to be doing.  I do that for everyone in the Clan."

The other kits nodded as Two spoke again.  "So, like One for us, but on a bigger scale and for everyone?"

"Exactly," I answered with a nod.  "Now go ahead, find the other Clan members!"

The kits stood up and trotted over to Surf, who was stationed at the pond, which was adjacent to the announcement rock.  "Hi, kits.  I'm Surf."

Five automatically said, "I love you, Surf!"  I smiled.  She was so sweet to everyone.

Four raised a paw.  "You live here with Splash, right?"

Surf nodded as Three asked another question.  "You're a Vaporeon, too, right?"

Surf nodded again.  "Right.  But I don't think Splash really showed you how we attack with and use water."  Surf started off by using Aqua Ring, creating a sphere of water around himself.  Then, he used Surf, creating a giant wave the crashed into the chilly pond.

All five kits responded unanimously.  "Wow!"

Surf turned back around and took a bow.  Then he began talking about the pond.  "As I heard Clover tell you, the pond is where Splash and I live.  However, it's not just a good sleeping place for us.  This is where the Clan gets water from.  We drink from the pond.  Which is why, in winter, it's so important to have a hole in the ice.  Splash and I can get in and out, and the other clan members can get a drink."

Two spoke up again.  "But it's winter now.  Why isn't anything frozen?"

"You can thank Inferno for that," Surf replied, gesturing towards the Flareon.  "We figured that, as this is your first time outside your den, snow and ice might be a bit of a hindrance."

"What's hindrance mean?" Three asked loudly.

"It's when something slows you down or trips you up."

"Oh."

Surf smiled.  "Now, run along, kits.  You still have two more Eevees to see!"  He shooed them away with his tail, and the kits happily scampered towards Inferno at the Prey Hole.  Surf looked up and me.  He looked exhausted already.

Inferno greeted the kits with a big, warm hug, which Five returned with her courtesy 'I love you.'  Inferno grinned at her.  "My name is Inferno!  I'm a Flareon, which is a Fire Type!"

Three called out again.  "So you attack with fire?"
"Right!" Inferno replied, briefly igniting his fur, then following up with a Flamethrower at the sky.  The kits oohed and ahhed at his display.

Two switched her ears.  "So you melted all of the snow and ice?"

Inferno puffed up his chest, obviously proud of himself.  "Yep!  That was me!"  When no one questioned him further, Inferno showed the kits the prey stores. "So this is where we keep all of our food.  We call it the Prey Hole.  Splash chooses a few Eevees to go into the forest and hunt, and they bring back yummy prey, like Pidgeys, Patrats, and Magikarps.  Then, what doesn't get eaten right away is put in here, where it will be kept fresh for a few more days.  Snow thought up the system, don't ask me how it works..."

Five spoke up.  "What about berries and things?  Do you put those here, too?"

Inferno shook his head, making his ears jerk.  Three giggled.  "Clover and Snow are in charge of the berries.  Clover grows them, and Snow keeps them fresh until we need or want them."

Five, who was still cuddled up to Inferno looked up at him.  "You're so warm and fluffy and cuddly."

Inferno seemed at a loss for words.  "Uhh...  thanks."

Luckily for the Flareon, Snow called to the kits.  "Kits!  Come over here!"  All five broke away and raced towards Snow, while Inferno stayed at the prey hole, looking a bit winded.

The sun pierced through the leaves and fell on my skin and the announcement rock.  I half closed my eyes at the welcome warmth as Snow started talking to the kits.  "My name is Snow.  I'm a Glaceon.  And before you say anything, Five, I love you, too." 

Five looked stunned.  She leaned over to One.  "How did she know?" she whispered.

Snow smiled and continued.  "Glaceons are Ice Types, so we use ice and cold a lot."  She demonstrated by summoning a small Blizzard that covered the Eevees in a bit of snow.  They seemed even more stunned. 

Two was the first to shake it off.  "So what's this part of camp?"

Snow turned towards the camp entrance.  "This is where the camp ends and the forest begins.  It's a perfect camp entrance, really, big enough for us to get in easily, small enough so that bigger predators can't get though, and easily defendable.  Now, listen very closely," she said with icy seriousness.  "None of you are allowed outside of camp until you are at least one month old.  Even then, only if you are with someone who can protect you.  One does not count," she added as One was about to ask.

"I'm telling you this for a reason.  There are Pokémon out there that could really hurt you.  There are places you could hurt yourself badly in without there being anyone to help you.  It's easy to get lost.  Promise me that you will stay in camp until Splash and your parents give you the ok."

Once again, the answer was unanimous.  "We promise."  Five looked really scared.

Snow smiled again and snuggled Five.  "It's ok.  Now, I expect you're all pretty tired, so you should probably go back to your den and take a nap."

"Ok..." most agreed.  Five let out a large yawn.

One took commend again.  "This way."  Grouping all of her siblings together, she led them back to the log den where Umbreon and Espeon were waiting.

Four, the only one who did not seem tired at all, looked at his parents.  "Can you show us what your attacks are?"

Espeon nodded.  "I'm a Psychic Type..."

"...And I'm a Dark Type," Umbreon finished.

Espeon lifted Four into the air with her telekinesis.  He let out a short yelp as his paws left the ground.  "Yaa!  Neat, now put me down."  Espeon smiled and did as he asked.  Umbreon leaped forward, and a dark hole opened up out of nowhere that was just big enough to fit into.  Umbreon jumped completely through it, vanishing completely.  He then reappeared a few seconds later, jumping back through the hole between dimensions, landing perfectly on his paws.  Four's mouth fell open.

Umbreon looked at his son and answered the question that Four was obviously thinking, despite his speechlessness.  "That was Phantom Force.  You jump into a shadowy dimension and then jump back out."

Espeon nudged her still buzzing kit.  "Come on, everyone.  Let's go inside for now."

I closed my eyes in the brilliant sunlight, relaxing and listening to the family settle down.  At one point, one kit spoke.  "Mama?"

"Yes, One?"

"Four's making me uncomfortable."

Espeon sighed.  "Four, come sleep over here."

"Ok.  Sorry, One."

I was distracted by a pair of wingbeats overheat.  I forced my eyes open to see Streak and Night settling in camp.  Night noticed me basking.  "Splash?  I know you look awfully comfortable up there, but can you come down here for a second?  I was hoping you could explain something to us."

Groaning internally, I forced my legs to work after a few unsuccessful tried.  I jumped down and padded over to the large bird Pokémon.  "What?"

Streak had a paper rolled up in his talon.  "We were flying over the big white human den, you know, just to check if things were running again?"  I nodded.  "Well, Night found this."  He unrolled the paper to show a picture.  My breath caught.

Streak looked at me carefully.  "Do you know anything about this?"