Disaster Strikes... Again (Part 2)

I shot towards the surface of the pond as fast as I could go, before back paddling as hard as I could when I approached the surface.  There were two humans there.  I melted just I heard one of them shout and point to me.  "There's one!"  After a few seconds, he looked away with a disappointed sigh.  "There was another Vaporeon there, but it got away," he called to an unseen third human.

Wait a second, ANOTHER!?

The third human responded.  "Watch the pond.  It'll come out at some point."

I willed my liquid body to drift down to the bottom of the pond.  Patrats.  Not they'd be watching the pond like Talonflames.  And they must have found Surf, or at least seen him.  Did they hurt him?  I couldn't get to him to help!  Not only that, if he was all right, now he couldn't get to the pond.

Ok, think.  If Surf needed to get to the pond, he'd give me some kind of signal.  He was smart.  If humans were watching the pond, it had to be because they had seen one of us in the water, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be Inferno.  If he got my attention, all it would take would be one Blizzard from me.  That would give him the cover he needed.  Come to think of it, that would work for any of the others in my clan, with the exception of Bolt and Inferno.  I needed my Psychic.

Espeon?  I called mentally. Usually, that was all it took for her to respond.  This time, nothing.  Maybe it was because I was still water.  I slowly inched my way across the pond, still silently calling out to her.  Finally, when I reached my den, I reformed myself as I exited the water, making poor Three jump.  "Sorry, Three!  I had to sneak around the pond."

He relaxed a margin of a bit.  "Ok.  Where's mommy?"

I tried once more, screaming Espeon's name in my head.  Nothing.  I looked at Three.  "I don't know.  She's not answering me."  I didn't say how scared I was for her safety.

Three laid back down next to his unconscious older sister.  "Did you go look at the camp?"

I shook my head.  "I tried to, but the humans are right there.  They saw me.  Now, they'll be watching the pond and waiting for me to show up.  A Vaporeon can only stay a puddle for so long."

Three looked at the ground sadly.  "Then... What do we do now?"

My eyes found the ice sculpture of Suicune that Snow had made me for Snow Day.  "We have to wait it out.  I don't like just sitting here as much as you do, but we can't make a move until those humans go away."

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

When Espeon slowly awoke, she was in the dark.  Pitch darkness all around her.  She didn't like the dark.  She was also moving.  At least, the floor was.  It was too much for her to try and stand up in her current state.  Not liking the lack of light, she tapped into her Psychic powers, making her jewel glow.  The touch of light was all she needed.  That was one of the many reasons that she loved Umbreon.  When she was with him, she was never fully in the dark.  He always cast a light for her to follow.

The glow didn't give off much light, but it was enough for her to see the wooden box she had been imprisoned in.  It was barely small enough to turn a circle in.  She stayed laying down and calmly organized a list of priorities.

1.  Where was she?
While the answer was rather unclear, she could technically cross that one off.

2.  Umbreon.
She still felt rather weak from whatever the humans had done to her, so her powers were not as strong as usual.  Nevertheless, she cast out her mind, searching for her beloved.  After a few seconds, nothing.  He was probably out of range of her current powers.

Just as she was about to search for her kits, Espeon felt a mind stirring very close to her.

Snow?  Are you all right?

The Glaceon took a few seconds before coming to her senses.  Espeon?  Where are you?  I can't see anything!

The humans have us, I'm sure of it.  I don't know where we are exactly, my powers haven't fully recovered yet.

Why are we moving so much?  I can't stand up.

Don't try.  Espeon shifted her mind around, scanning the other presences in the area.  Four humans... Five Rapidashes.  She moved back to Snow.  We are in boxes on a galloping Rapidash.  The humans must be taking us somewhere.

Snow's mind became angry and upset.  Great...  Well, at least Clover isn't with us.

She isn't?

No, she's a long way away.  Good thing, too.

Just then, Surf started to wake up as well.  Espeon informed Snow and helped clear the mist from his mind, waking him up more thoroughly.  The first thing the male Vaporeon tried to do was stand up and fight his way out of what ever had happened to him.  He fell and knocked his head.  Espeon tried to calm him.  Surf, take it easy.  We can't get out like that.

His initial response was out loud.  "Splash!?  Where are you!?"

She's not here!  She's safe.  I think.  I only know for sure that she's not here.

Surf was silent for a few seconds before responding mentally.  ...Than at least I have that.

Espeon gave him a minute to think while she set up a telepathic network between herself, Snow, and Surf.  The second it was completed and the other informed of it, Snow filled Surf in on the events up until now.  Surf sighed.  I don't know where to go from here.

Snow thought about a plan.  What if Espeon ...mind controlled the humans to let us go...?

Espeon smiled sadly.  While a good idea, Snow, very few Legendaries can use mind control.  In fact, only two that come to mind.  I cannot.

Snow reprimanded herself that whatever she thought could be heard.  What about emotion?  I know you can do that.  Make the humans pity us so much that they let us go?

Again, I can only influence change in emotions, not create them.  If the humans felt any pity for us at all in the first place, then I'd have something to work with.

Surf rejoined the conversation.  But they don't.  It was a statement, not a question.

Espeon nodded, though no one could see her.  There was a bit of silence in which all three were thinking about ways to escape.  Finally, Surf directed a question.  What if we came from a different angle and attacked the Rapidashes?

Snow thought about the idea.  Possible...  They do get scared rather easily.

Espeon thought about it.  The idea had merit.  If the Rapidashes reared up, the crates that she, Snow, and Surf were in might fall of their backs and break open.  It was a gambol, but one that more possibility than drawbacks.  It is a good plan.  Surf, if our boxes do break open, you'd be the one to keep the humans at bay.  I'll help as soon as I can.  Snow, if any of our crates do not break on impact, it'll be your job to remedy that.  Ice can break rock, so this thick wood shouldn't be a problem.  Surf has priority.  He'll need to distract the humans.  Once we have them unstable, which I can assist with, we can make a break for the woods, if there are any.

Snow added.  Just run in the opposite direction.  If we stick together, the humans would be on one side of us.  And we'll stay together when we run.

Espeon and Surf agreed.  Surf inquired, should we do it now?

Not yet, Espeon thought.  Creating the mental links took a bit out of my still recovering powers.  I'd need a few minutes before I'm at full capacity.

The male Vaporeon, ever patient, relented.  Whenever you're ready, Espeon.

Espeon meditated, trying to increase her Psychic power and trying not to hear her kits in her mind.  They weren't really contacting her, it was just the memory haunting her.  They were safe, that's all that mattered.

 

 Umbreon saw Four's glow pressed against a tree through the smoke just before he also saw the human shadow reaching towards him.  Fury overtook Umbreon as he bolted past Clover and make a flying headbutt into the vile man's skull.  Umbreon put as much dark energy as he could muster into the blow, making it one of the most ferocious Dark Pulses he has ever used.

 

The humans staggered back, reeling for the force of the strike and trying not to lose control over his mind.  Umbreon landed perfectly on all four paws in a protective stance in front of Four.  "Daddy!" came his kit's voice from behind him.

 

"Four, go to Clover.  Now.  I'll hold him off."  The venom in his voice was all the encouragement that the radioactive Eevee needed, dashing towards Clover as the human regained his composure.

 

The human stared Umbreon down, brown eyes meeting angry red ones.  Umbreon took a threatening step forward.  "You want my kit?  You'll have to go through me first," he snarled. 

 

The human threw a Poke Ball on instinct, but Umbreon was one step ahead, using Phantom Force to dodge the projectile.  Re-emerging into the physical dimension a second after he vanished, he dealt another crushing blow using a Dark Pulse-Headbutt combo.  The human fell to the ground, reaching for his pocket, probably to take out another Pokémon to defend himself, the worthless coward.  Umbreon landed directly in front of the man's face and lit his rigs up, summoning a blinding light from his forehead ring to temporarily blind the human, when shouted and covered his eyes with his hands, pulling them away from the Poke Balls.  Umbreon took the opportunity to blast the despicable human with a critical-strength Sludge Bomb.  Using another Dark Pulse as he leapt away from the human's swinging fist, Umbreon savagely bit the man's shoulder and used Sludge Bomb again to infect the wound.  Another quick jump brought Umbreon in front of the human's face again.  Umbreon smashed his forehead to the human's, projecting every possible image and emotion of just what Umbreon could and would do to this man if he EVER came anywhere near his family again.  The man screamed and tried to pull away, but Umbreon wouldn't release him.  He combined the terrifying images with Dark Pulse after Dark Pulse, pushing towards insanity.  Finally, when the human's mind has just about broken, Umbreon sprayed poison into his eyes, used Phantom Force again to move behind the human undetected, reappeared, and dealt a swift and strong kick to the base of the human's skull, knocking him deep into an unconscious state full of nightmarish images.

 

Umbreon stood still, hackles raised, teeth bared, and in an attack posture.  He panted heavily through clenched fangs.  He finally managed to relax his posture a bit, looking over to see Clover and Four hiding behind a tree.  Umbreon let his fur fall flat, but his ears remained pinned back as he stepped over to them.  Clover managed to find her words.  "...You... could've held back a little..." she stammered, choking on her words a bit.

 

Umbreon looked at the damage he had done.  "That was me holding back, I didn't kill him," he growled.

 

Both Clover and Four looked terrified.  Four was unable to speak, but Clover still could.  "Remind me to never, ever cross you again."

 

Umbreon said nothing, only leaning down and nuzzling Four, ignoring what Espeon and Splash had told him.  It calmed both father and son.  Umbreon whispered in Four's buzzing ear.  "I will do anything in my power to keep you safe, Four.  Always."

 

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

 

Bolt paced back and forth nervously across the smooth treetop, giving off tense sparks when he turned.  The kits had fallen into a fitful sleep next to the warm and comforting Inferno, and the Flareon himself was helping Bolt keep his cool.  "All of our Clan members can hold their own weight, they'll be fine!"

 

Bolt couldn't stop thinking about Espeon.  "What if-"

 

"Espeon is fine," Inferno said firmly.  "If anything, she has the most control over her type than any of us.  She's very powerful."  How did Inferno know him so well?

 

Bolt stopped pacing and hung his head, still breathing rapidly.  "I just want to shower the camp in thunderbolts until every last human is out of our territory!"

 

Inferno flicked an ear.  "You would almost certainly hit clanmates," he said factually.

 

Bolt forced himself to lie down.  "Where do we even go from here?" he asked desperately.  "Is there a protocol of some kind that I can never remember?  I'm really bad with the protocols, are there six or seven, I think there's one for a flood, or was it tornado, maybe both, I don't know, I'm really bad at th-"

 

"Bolt.  I'm sorry, but for the love of Mew, shut up."  Bolt stopped talking and took a breath.  Inferno continued after a second of silence, just as Bolt was about to start up again.  "And no, there is not a protocol for 'camp blows the heck up.'  I think the fire one would be the closest in this case."  The poor Flareon still seemed on-edge about being up so high, but he had dutifully not looked over the side of the Emergency Tree, nor had he lost his cool in front of Bolt and the kits.

 

Bolt nodded, rising to his paws again.  "That's, like, the only one I know.  We go to the river, you keep the fire from spreading too close to us, and Splash and Surf work to put out the fire.  Easy."

 

Inferno nodded as Five turned fitfully in her sleep.  Bolt was by her side in an instant, whispering soothing words in her ear.  "Shh...  It's ok, Five...  I'm here...  I'll protect you... It's all going to be ok..."

 

With his words, Five drifted back into a more peaceful sleep.  Bolt stood back up as Inferno looked on, impressed.  "You're really good with kits, Bolt."

 

Bolt glowed with pride, to the point where Inferno had to gesture with his tail to take the light down a notch.  "Sorry.  But thanks."  There was a long silence.  "Now what?"

 

Inferno stammered.  "I... guess we follow the fire protocol?  I guess?  I don't know.  It seems like the most logical thing to do.  Right?"

 

Bolt shrugged, just as unsure as his best friend.  Nothing seemed straight right now.  Everything was upside down and backwards.  "I guess so.  But we can't go anywhere now, that's for sure.  There are humans down there, and I don't want to get Two and Five to get caught up in a fight."

 

"Also true," Inferno agreed.  Bolt started thinking again.  Too quickly and about too much.  Where were Espeon and Umbreon?  What about One, Three, and Four?  And Splash?  And Snow?  And Clover?  And Surf?  Were they all ok?  Did the humans find any of them?  Did they get away?  Where was everyone?  Would they also think to come to the river?  What if no one showed but them?  Then what?  What about rebuilding the camp?  Would they have to relocate?  Would the kits be able to handle that?  Could they handle themselves in a fight?  Could he stop that from happening?  Was he electrocuting the tree?  Would that light it on fire?

 

Inferno spoke and cut Bolt's runaway train of thought off.  "Bolt.  You are short circuiting again.  Calm down.  Run in circles."

 

Bolt forced himself to not think about anything.  He began blasting in extremely tight and rapid circles, focusing on keeping his footing.  He didn't know why this helped him think, but it did.  As he continued to race around in tight loops, one question stuck in his mind:  What now?



Disaster Strikes... Again (Part 1)

I came back into consciousness coughing with my ears ringing.  I was half deaf at the moment, could barely move, and could hardly see anything through the smoke and debris.  I tried to smell out where I was, but smoke filled my nose, making me break into another coughing fit.

As my vision started to stop spinning, dim voices reached my clearing ears.  Human voices.

"....... job with Electrode..."

"... Got a nice haul he..."

I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it.  These were obviously not good humans.  I had to get out of here.  Where was my clan?

I forced myself to roll onto my paws, standing up and fighting the accompanying wave of severe nausea.  Trying not to let myself throw up, I ended up coughing again.  My eyes and ears were clearing up, but my nose remained clogged with smoke. 

Panting heavily, I glanced around.  Light reflected off of something about 10 tail-lengths away.  Pond.  The ice must have shattered during the explosion.  It was safe there.  I could recover and get the clan into hiding there.  First things first.  I couldn't help if I was on the verge of collapsing myself, and the light from Recover might alert the humans.  I had to get to the water.

I started walking as best I could, stopping when I put weight on my hind left leg.  I clenched my jaw and limped towards the safety of the water.  I stopped short again as I heard tiny coughs.  Changing course, I dragged my tail over to heap of debris from which the delicate sounds had come.  Only using one paw, I dug frantically through the wreckage.  If one of Espeon's kits was there...

There!  A small brown ear!  Moving the wood wreck aside, I uncovered an unconscious female Eevee. 

"One?" I croaked, smoke still inside my throat.  She gave no response.  I leaned over to her, wincing as I did so.  She was still alive, but hurt very badly.  I grabbed her ruff in my teeth and carefully pulled her free of the splinters of wood that littered her fur, ignoring my own pain. 

I muttered soothingly to her, even though she had been knocked out by the blast.  "It's ok... Splash's here...  I'll keep you safe...  This way..."  I made my way towards the pond again, limping as fast as I could go.  The humans were getting closer.  As I was about three tail-lengths away, another gleam caught my eye.  Shiny fur.  It was Three.  He had miraculously made it through the explosion completely unscathed, if not a bit dazed.

He stumbled towards me.  "Splash?  What's going on?  What are those things?" he asked frantically, looking at the humans.

Trying not to cough with One still in my mouth, I did my best on short notice.  "Dangerous humans.  This way.  Pond.  Now."

He looked hesitant.  "What happened to One?"

"Now!" I snapped, pushing him with one paw.  He got the message and hurried alongside me to the edge of the water.

"Why are you walking like that?" he asked, his questions getting more desperate.

I looked at him.  "Hold your breath," I grunted before pushing him into the water and jumping in after him with One.

Three flailed his paws desperately, unable to swim.  I carefully pushed him along with my nose and shoulders, pumping the water gently with my tail until we got to my den.  The tiny Eevee gratefully clawed his way into my den and gasped for air.  I followed, placing One as far from the water as I could.  Ducking my head under the water again, I coughed smoky bubbles until only water remained and I could breathe easily again.  Then, I surfaced, did my best to pull myself out of the water without stressing my leg further, and curled around a shivering Three.

"Good job, Three.  You were very lucky."  I used Recover while attempting to lick him dry.

He was still shaking.  "What happened?  Where's Mommy?"

I had to use a few more Recovers as I answered.  "Bad humans happened.  They used an Electrode to blow up our camp.  I think they're looking for us.  We can't let them find us.  As for your mother?"  I paused.  "... I don't know."  With that, I dove back into the pond to see if I could find the rest of my clan.

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

Espeon awoke in a daze.  Where was she?  Wherever it was, it was dark and smoke filled.  She tried to stand up, but found that her hind legs were trapped under debris. 

A question seized her mind.  Where was Umbreon?  She cast her mind out, seeking his presence, but not finding it.  Where was he?  Was he hurt?  Was he alive?  "Umbreon?" she called hoarsely.  She'd been standing right next to him when the blast occurred.  Where was he?  Maybe he was just knocked out. 

And what about her kits?  Where were they?  She searched again, this time for the presence of her kits.  Close by, she found Surf and Snow, knocked out, but relatively unhurt.  There!  Two and Five!  Both were awake, but hurt.

Two!  Five! she called out in their minds.

Two was first to respond.  Mama!

As she communicated with her kits, the smoke started to clear.  This way! Espeon called, guiding her kits.

Five sent her thoughts.  Mommy, what happened?  Where are you?

Just as she was about to respond, voices reached Espeon's keen ears.  "Found one!"

The smoke in front of her cleared just enough to see a tall human shape.  Dread flooded through her.  Five's scared voice entered her head again.  Mommy?  What's happening?

Espeon still couldn't respond as she watched the human reach to the ground and roughly grab Snow, who was just starting to stir, by the scruff.  "A Glaceon!" he called in a harsh voice.  Then, without a second thought, he took out a small container with a tiny stick on the end.  It looked a bit like the things that humans kept Potions in.  That is, until he jabbed the stick into Snow's flank and pushed the liquid inside into Snow!  The Glaceon immediately fell deeper into unconsciousness, though she was still alive.

For one of the first times in her life, Espeon panicked.  Without breaking the mental link with her kits, she arrowed her mind to Surf, desperately trying to get him to wake up.  SURF!!  Surf, the clan is in danger!  Splash is in danger!  Wake up!  Humans are coming to attack you!

However, whatever she tried, it was too late.  Just as the strong male Vaporeon was about to wake up, the cruel human did the same thing to him, making him fall limp again in his tight grip.  Espeon summoned her psychic powers to free Surf and Snow, but just as she was about to launch a mental attack, Two's voice entered her head.  Mama!  I see you!  We're coming!

Espeon froze.  She only had a few seconds.  Get Surf back, free herself, or save her kits?

The choice was obvious.

NO!  GO!  RUN!!  RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!  RUN!  LEAVE ME HERE!  GO!!

She saw a glimmer of grey fur as Two and Five skidded to a stop.  There was a brief pause before both did as she said, racing in the opposite direction.  Espeon just managed to find a waking Umbreon before there was a sharp pain in her shoulder, and everything went dark.

Umbreon snapped awake with an alert sense of urgency and panic.   Espy? he called out mentally, but got no response.  "Patrats!" he muttered under his breath, wishing he could seek out her mind like she could.

A voice from above him called.  "Help!  Umbreon!  I'm stuck!"  Umbreon glanced up to see Clover, hanging upside down by her paws, still tied to the tree branch.  "I was blown over during the explosion, but it missed me for the most part!  Streak and Night got caught in the thick of it!"

"Hang on!" he called up, not meaning to make a joke.  He had forgotten Shadow Claw a while ago.  Maybe he could try and use it to cut Clover free?  As he prepared to try, he called to the hanging Leafeon.  "Can you see Espeon from up there?"

"No!  Half of the camp is shrouded in smoke!  I can't see anything!"  Umbreon growled under his breath and used a halfway combination of Shadow Claw and Dark Pulse, but it did the job well enough, cutting Clover's hind paws free.  "WHAAAA!" Clover screeched as she swung from her front paws.

"What about my kits!?" Umbreon called desperately.  He couldn't protect his family!  He felt helpless.

Clover narrowed her eyes, trying to see past the smoke.  "...No.  Sorry, Umbreon.  I don't know."  Umbreon drooped visibly with a sigh.  He moved to cut Clover loose.  "Wait!  I see a glow!  I think it's Four!"

"What!?  Where!?" Umbreon shouted.

"I can show you!  Cut me loose!" Clover shouted back.  She ended up regretting saying this, as the second her sentence ended, she was falling towards the ground.  Umbreon backed up as she barely managed to open her wings in time, making the fall not as catastrophic.  Was that the first time she had used her wings to not crash?

Clover shook herself off and tore in one direction.  "This way!"  Frantic, Umbreon bolted after her, wincing slightly as he put weight on his bruised shoulder.  But he would endure anything for his family's safety.

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

Bolt's ears rang as he staggered to his paws.  Thank Arceus that Inferno was between them and the explosion!  Being a Flareon, he had taken the fire that would probably have killed them, as the closest to the blast.  But his fluff, once again, had protected his fellow clan members, this time, from the force of the blast.  Bolt looked at his best friend, who was knocked out quite heavily.

Bolt touched his node to Inferno's shoulder and emitted a jarring shock, which woke Inferno up rather easily.  "Inferno!  You ok?"

The still dazed Flareon nodded, glancing around.  "Where are the kits?"

Bolt looked around at the smoking wreckage of camp.  "No idea.  They must have gotten thrown by the explosion."

Inferno puffed out his fur, throwing the dust off.  "Great...  The kits are missing, as is the rest of our clan, our camp is destroyed, we have nowhere to go..."

Bolt shook his head determinedly.  "No.  The kits are fine, Espeon and the others are fine, and we will get through this!"  His voice betrayed the fear that what he was saying was not true.

Just then, two bundles of fluff, one slightly smaller than the other, careened into the worried Jolteon.  Two recovered first.  "Uncle Bolt!"

Bolt nuzzled the two kits comfortingly.  "Two!  Five!  It's ok!  Inferno and I will keep you safe!"  For a few seconds, no one spoke as the Jolteon and Flareon comforted the scared Eevees.  Eventually, Bolt broke the silence.  "Five, you're shaking!  What happened?"

Five started blubbering at the mention.  "M-m-mommy was attacked... b-b-by humans..." she paused to sniffle and cuddle closer to Bolt.  "...and she told us to run... and leave her there... and..."  Five could speak no more as she completely broke down into sobs.  Even Two was crying quietly.  Bolt gave his nieces another hug, now worried sick about Espeon.

Inferno paused.  "Wait, humans?"

Two could only nod.

Bolt burst into action.  "Emergency Tree!  Now!  Go go go!"  He grabbed Five by the ruff, urging Inferno to take Two, and raced for the base of the tree.  He could already smell the stench of humans.  Dropping Five at the hole at the roots, he waited for Inferno and Two to go ahead.  "Inferno!  Take the lead!  Kits, follow him!  I'll make sure nothing comes after us!"

Inferno dashed up the inside of the tree, holding his breath as not to light it on fire by accident.  Bolt made sure that Two and Five were behind him and in no danger of falling before running after them, praying to Arceus that the rest of his clan would be safe.

Wings and Things (Part 3)

I desperately tried to corral the rambunctious kits.  How could five things that size have so much energy!?  "Surf!?" I called.  "Help!"

He laughed and ran over to assist me in wresting the kits into one spot.  "How long has it been since they left?"

"Ten minutes," I panted.  "They really wanted to go hunting."

"I think I know why," Surf said as he grabbed an escaping Three by the ruff.

I shrugged.  I didn't think Espeon would do that...  Would she?  I contemplated my friend as Streak and Night glided into camp again.  Streak took a look at our situation.  "Having problems?"

I gave him a quick glance before attending to a giggling Five, who was trying to make a run for it.  "You could call it that."

Right on cue, Bolt and Inferno dashed into camp, kicking up snow.  Bolt bounded over to us.  "Let me help!"  Instead of actually doing anything, he just said two sentences.  "Hey, kits, Inferno and I are going ice skating!  Do you want to come?"

Five mouths fell open in excitement.

Inferno, already standing by the pond's edge, called out to his exploding partner.  "Come on, Bolt!  We're losing daylight!"

Bolt looked over his shoulder.  "Be right there!"  He then turned back to the kits.  "Come on!"

There was a small stampede that followed Bolt as he trotted to the frozen pond.  I closed my eyes and vented a sigh.  "I should go play lifeguard..." I muttered to Surf, Streak, and Night before dragging my paws to the access hole in the ice, sliding in, and positioning myself under it, in case any kit, Jolteon, or Flareon fell in. 

It was quieter in the water.  I took another sigh of relief.  It had been about a week since Umbreon's premonition, Streak and Night were assessing Clover's flying ability, Bolt and Inferno were wearing down their energy reserves by falling... I mean skating, and the Clan had several customers over the winter.  Things were looking good.  Umbreon's premonition still concerned me, but I was willing to take the good where I could get it.

I rolled onto my back on the bottom of the pond and watched seven blurs of color slide like crazy, one smaller brown blur running in place.  Bolt (glowing yellow blur) seemed to be sliding to one side of the ice, running as fast as he could, despite the lack of traction, and seeing how far he could go within a few seconds.  Inferno (big red/orange blur) looked like he was actually trying to skate well, and failing.  The five kits (small brown blurs/small near-invisible blurs/small glowing blur) just seemed to be having fun sliding around, occasionally bumping into someone.  I resigned myself that, if any of they got hurt, this was Bolt's fault.

A sleek blue blur entered the ice, skillfully sliding across the ice and to the access hole.  He stuck his head in.  "Splash?  Streak and Night say they think they know what Clover was doing wrong."

I did want to see that.  "Thanks, Surf."

"Do you want me to take over here?"  I loved him so much.

I nodded, and swam up to meet him.  We rubbed fins for a few seconds and touched noses before swapping places.  The ice wasn't all that bad, as long as I used my claws and went carefully.  After six near-crashes, I made it to the snowy camp ground.  Streak waved me over.  "We figured out what the problem is."

I sat down and curled my tail over my paws.  "Oh?"

Night nodded as Clover tilted her head.  "Clover, you're putting too much force into your downstroke, while trying to finish the upstroke as quickly as possible."

Clover looked lost.  "What?"

The female Staraptor took a few steps back.  "Watch my wings."  With that, she took to the air, staying low, but still flapping her wings.  "It's all about angle.  You have two issues, your stroke size, and your wing angle."

Clover turned to follow Night's flight around the clearing, keeping her own wings folded.  "Starting with the stroke size thing."

Night continued to fly as Streak explained.  "On your upstroke, your wings should almost touch at the tips."  He demonstrated with his own wings.  Clover looked at his position, then watched Night for a bit, watching her movements.  I had to give the Leafeon credit for dedication.

Streak continued his explanation.  "Then, on the downstroke, you keep your wings as far outwards as you can.  Press on the air until both of your wings are pointing straight down."  Clover watched Night, as Streak could not demonstrate on the ground.  "Finally, as you take your upstroke, you need to bend your wings a bit.  Sort of... half retract them."

Clover tried to follow, but I think she was just as lost as I was.

 

 

The flight lesson went on for about an hour.  It ended with Clover practicing the suggested wings movements on a branch, so that she could extend them all the way down.  I called up from the ground.  "Clover?  You might want to secure yourself to the branch if you're just practicing!"

 

The nervous Leafeon looked down at me and nodded.  Small vines wound around her paws and looped around the branch.  She gave an experimental tug.  It held firm.  She looked at her coaches.  "You're sure this will work?"

 

Streak shrugged.  "It works for us."

 

As Clover started flapping her wings slowly, using the tips that the Staraptors had provided, I looked over the fluff pile that had accumulated under the Emergency Tree.  Bolt, Inferno, One, Two, Three, Four, and Five were all curled up and asleep, Four carefully positioned with Bolt in between him and the others.  I couldn't help but smile at them.  They had all worn themselves out on the ice, with a surprising final of only six falls in the access hole total.

 

I heard Clover mutter, "This is hard..." under her breath in frustration.  Then, Espeon and Umbreon finally reentered camp with Snow, loaded down with prey.  I stood up and trotted over.

 

"Nice haul, you three!  In winter, no less!  Well done!"

 

All three put their prey down in the center of camp.  Umbreon spoke first.  "Well, apparently, after all these long weeks away from the prey and busy with kits, we've still got it."  He finished the sentence by touching noses with Espeon.

 

Snow just rolled her eyes.  "You two spent more than half of the time in that exact position.  I caught most of it!"

 

They pulled away from each other to refute Snow's accusation in perfect time with each other, as always.  Umbreon started.  "Hey, this was our first time alone since the kits."

 

Espeon finished.  "And the cold is more of your domain, Snow."

 

I chuckled.  "Well, it looks like you really do still have it!"

 

Snow, however, was distracted.  "Why is Clover tied to a tree branch?"

 

I sat down and watched.  "She's just finishing up her flight lesson.  She's trying out some corrections that Streak and Night gave her.  Something about stroke lengths and wings angles."

 

Snow nodded as Espeon and Umbreon turned to me.  Espeon was the one who asked this time.  "So, how are the kits?"

 

I gestured towards the fluff pile.  "Over there.  Asleep after a hard day of ice floundering with Bolt and Inferno."

 

Espeon smiled.  "Any markings of future Glaceons?"

 

I tilted my head.  "Not that I saw..."

 

Umbreon shrugged.  "Well, you never know.  Maybe we just can't see it ye-

 

He was cut off as half of our camp exploded.