Wings and Things (Part 1)

I stared at the picture.  It was a perfectly illustrated Leafeon, but with hastily sketched wings added on...  Exactly like Clover.  My mouth hung open for a few seconds.  "I..."

Night stepped a bit closer.  "You were the ones to do the investigating there.  Does it ring any bells?"

I stammered for a few more seconds, trying to come up with a solution.  I didn't want to lie to our friends, but I didn't want to betray Clover's secret!  "Uh...  I...  Don't know," I finally finished, feeling awful already.

Streak tilted his head.  "Really?  Nothing?  A human obviously drew this, and they took Clover hostage, so I thought..."

I just shrugged.  I was about to negate the statement before I heard two familiar pairs of pawsteps; one very quiet and soft, and one light and springy.  Night looked at them.  "Hello Snow, Clover."

Clover smiled.  "Hi Streak!  Hi Night!"

Snow trotted around to her friend.  "What's going on?" she asked with a soft smile.

Streak turned towards the pair.  "We were flying over the white human den..."  At this, both Eevees' energy levels went way down, and they grew solemn.  "...and we found this."  He showed them the picture.  Clover stopped breathing.  "Any ideas?"

Almost at once, Snow shook her head.  "I've never seen that before in my life."

Streak and Night looked even more confused than before.  "Oh.  Sorry to bother you, then," Streak said with disappointment.

Just as they were about to take off, Clover raised a paw.  "Wait."

The Staraptors sat back down and turned towards her.  "Think of something?"

Clover looked away from their faces.  "I..."

Snow tilted her head.  "Clover?"

The Leafeon didn't acknowledge her best friend.  "I... might... know something... about that..." she dragged out, slowly extending her wings.

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I looked at our neighbors, allies, and friends.  "Please don't tell anyone!  It'll destroy her!" I pleaded.

Night was the only one able to speak to me.  Streak was still trying to comprehend the facts.  "She has wings.  Actual working wings.  Leafeons don't have wings."

Clover looked at him incredulously.  "You think I don't know that!?  Why do you think I kept it a secret!?  I hate being singled out!"

Night continued speaking with me.  "Has she had these since we rescued her?"

I hesitated before answering.  "Well...  Technically, yes."  Night looked upset, but I pressed on.  "To be fair, there was, like, a month of recovery for her after that incident, and even a little bit after that, even she didn't know."

Night gave me a look.  "She didn't know...  that she had wings."  It was a statement, not a question.

I flicked my fin.  "Yeah, Bolt said the same thing, too..."

She opened her own wings slightly in exasperation.  "How did she not know that she has wings!?"

"I don't know!" I shouted back.  "She was just as surprised as we were when she opened them on Snow Day!"

"We were there on Snow Day!!"

"It was literally right after you left!  She had a fit because we looked at her funny, and then she ran off into the forest and tried to yank her wings off!"  I decided to leave out the part about her tying up everyone in the Clan with vines.

Night calmed down a bit.  "She doesn't like them that much?  ...They're actually very pretty..."

I shook my head.  "I agree that they're beautiful, but she likes just being a normal Leafeon.  She hates it when Pokémon look at her differently."

Night nodded.  "I guess I can understand that.  I don't really like unwanted attention, either."

I nodded, looking at Clover, who was showing Streak again.  At this point, Bolt and Inferno were watching what was happening.  Snow walked up to them and tried to distract them with the picture.  It worked. 

Night spoke again.  "...Can she use them?"

"Hm?" I asked, drawing my attention to the female bird Pokémon before me.

Night looked at Clover's wings.  "She obviously has control over their movement, and they look pretty solid to me.  Can she actually fly?"

I looked at her.  "Well..."

Clover looked back and forth between the two Staraptors, who, true to their word, had been trying very hard not to look at her differently over the past two days.  "You're sure?  I don't want to inconvenience you."

Night shook her head.  "Nonsense."

Streak bumped her shoulder with his.  "Staraptors are some of the best fliers in the Pokémon world!  Who better to teach you?"

Clover shrugged.  "I guess..."

Surf walked over to me and sat down, watching the flight lesson.  "This will be interesting."

I looked at him, then at Snow, who was still coaching the session.  "Yeah.  I really hope she gets it this time."

Surf gave me a look.  "I should hope so, too.  They spent two days asking her questions and working on a training regimen."

I smiled.  "Fair point."

We returned to watching the lesson.  Streak and Night stepped away from Clover, leaving talon prints in the snow.  Streak instructed her.  "Ok.  We just need to see what you can do without any coaching.  Show us what you've learned so far."

Clover looked at him nervously.  "You mean...  Try to take off on my own?"

Night nodded.  "Right."

Clover nodded, intimidated.   Just as she was about to open her wings, however, five tiny bundles of fluff exploded out of Espeon and Umbreon's log den.  I heard One's voice squeak, "Let's go see the snow!"

Five joined in.  "And the ice!"

All of them sank into the snow, which was only about as deep as my ankles.  They giggled and laughed as they rolled over and played in the white fluff.  Espeon and Umbreon trotted after them, Umbreon shaking his head.  "Kits!  We have visitors who are busy!  Try to be quiet!"

Espeon pulled Four out of a small drift.  "It's cold out here, too.  You should probably come back inside until they're done."

Streak and Night looked at the quintet, astounded.  Streak spoke first.  "You have kits, too!?"