Three snuggled up next to One in my nest, shiny silver next to normal brown. I let out a quiet sigh. I was tired, too. However, I had a job to do. First things first. One had said that that the humans in our camp had left. Now, it was time for me to inspect the damage and search for clan members.
Slipping into the pond as quietly as I could, I swam cautiously towards the surface. As One had promised, no humans were in sight. Getting bolder, I jumped high over the pond, arcing over the surface to do a cursory check. No humans in sight. As I fell back into the pond with a splash, my stomach growled. I hadn't had anything to eat since early this morning, and now the sun was going down. It would be dark soon. As far as normal Clan rules went, no one was allowed hunting at night alone, unless it was Umbreon. It was too dangerous. I'd have to go hunting tomorrow.
I pulled myself out of the water and into the main camp. Everything was wrecked. Dens were broken, personal possessions were scattered carelessly around camp, and debris was everywhere. My heart broke to see my camp in such a state. Surf and I had built this camp ourselves when we first started the clan. I walked around, trying to find things that weren't damaged. Bolt's and Inferno's rock den was relatively unharmed. So was the Emergency Tree.
The Emergency Tree! Bolt might have escaped up there, possibly with a few other clan members! "BOLT!?" I called loudly. "BOLT!? IT'S SPLASH! ARE YOU UP THERE!?" No response. The hole at the base of the tree was free of debris. I set my jaw and slipped inside, dashing up the inside of the trunk.
Leaping out into the daylight, I looked around for any sign of a friend. The only thing I saw was the rapidly setting sun. "Patrats..." I muttered. Bolt could have easily jumped from the Emergency Tree to another. He could be anywhere in the forest by now, at the speeds he could run amongst the branches. I shook my head sadly and dragged my tail back down the tree tunnel to the ground.
I looked around again, trying to think like my clanmates. The only dens that were not destroyed were mine, Surf's and Bolt and Inferno's. Espeon and Umbreon's den was completely gone, but Snow and Clover's bush den was in better shape. Slipping inside, I nosed around amongst the charred leaves and broken twigs for any of Clover's herbs or berries that might have been spared. All of her herbs were gone, but there were a few berries left. The kits might like those. After hunting around some more, I found one of the leaf pouched that Clover made to help carry things around. I collected the berries in the pouch and walked back outside.
The sun was halfway over the horizon. I sighed. If any of my Clan had heard me calling to Bolt, they would have responded. None of them would be knocked out from this long. Either the humans captured them, or some of them escaped and went somewhere else. For now, it was just myself, One, and Three.
I dove back into the pond with my berry pouch. I could feel it fill up with water. Oh well. I popped my head back into my den, checking to make sure that the kits were sleeping soundly, which they were. Then, since I couldn't sleep in my own nest, I swam to Surf's den instead. His den was about the same size as mine, with Snow's ice sculpture of a Vaporeon jumping out of the water right next to the entrance to the pond, and the crystal orb that Espeon and Umbreon had given him next to his bed, the one that changed color, depending on my mood. Right now, it was dark blue and black, both colors swirling around the orb. There was a note next to the orb, written in Surf's paw style on a frosted leaf that was a bit crinkled from age and use.
Colors to watch for:
Red - angry - slow her roll and don't let her boil over
Deep purple - lonely - give her the loving and attention she
Color swirls - confusion - she's probably strung up over another problem in the Clan. Talk to her.
Dark blue - Overwhelmed - lend her a paw. Take over while she takes a break.
Black - fear - find her immediately and beat the living daylights out whatever has her scared.
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Espeon looked around at her new enclosure, trying to hold back the utter disgust that she felt. It was about as big as the crate had been, barely enough space to turn around in. It only had a bowl of stuff that she guessed was supposed to be food, but smelled more like rotting carrion that a Trubbish had found, and another bowl of water that smelled almost as foul. At least there was light in here. She was in a cage in a poorly lit human den. The entire structure was rather dirty, with only a large, rough-looking human behind a "counter" as he had called it.
Espeon could sense other Pokémon around her, also in cages that were stacked around hers. Some of them were quite rare. A Zorua, two Riolus, a Crygonal, a few Axews, a Totodile, a scared Cyndaquil, and a Servine. Espeon sat down. This was a place where humans could get rare Pokémon.
The door to the human den suddenly burst open, and a human carrying a small wooden box marched in, gripping the box tightly. Espeon could easily see why; Surf was inside, and he was fighting with everything he had. "LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU DULL, DIM-WITTED HUMAN!" The box shook violently as Surf threw himself against the sides, trying to break loose.
The human shook the box vigorously. "Stop it!" The burl human behind the counter gave him a look. "Male Vaporeon," the one holding Surf stated. "He's pretty feisty." Suddenly, a large dent appeared in the side of the box. Then another, and another, each accompanied by a hard bang! Espeon smiled. Surf was using Iron Tail. There was a mad scramble to get a cage open before Surf broke loose. Espeon tried to help the strong Vaporeon by muddling the humans' minds, but something was restricting her powers.
Espeon increased the force of her attack, but even then, the effect was minimal. Finally, the humans managed to get Surf into a cage and shut the door, locking it with a key. Surf continued to fight, blasting water through the bars at the humans, trying to use Hydro Pump again. It didn't work, but he did get them soaking wet.
Espeon sent him calming vibes. "Surf, back off. They may attack you if you don't stop." The Vaporeon relented, though he still sent death glares at the humans and swore at them under his breath.
Another human brought in Snow's crate as Espeon tried to seek out what was dulling her Psychic power. She, unlike Surf, did not put up a fight. A quick mind-read told Espeon that Snow was trying to buy the humans' trust. She was clever. "Snow? Are you all right?" Espeon asked quietly.
"A bit shaken up, but I'm fine," Snow responded. She sounded tired. "Espy?"
"Yes?"
"What do we do now?"
"Even if we wait forever," Umbreon finished under his breath. He would wait forever for Espeon. His red stone attested to that.
Four piped up. "Did you say something, Daddy?"
"Hm?" Umbreon said, glancing at his son. "No, nothing." His eyes moved back to the path through the forest ahead of them that he knew by heart, but his mind stayed on Four. His radioactive, but still perfect in his eyes, son. All he really wanted was to hug and be hugged, but he knew that he would hurt people if he did. He was a truly good Pokémon. He put his own desires aside for the good of others.
He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. He could barely see the moon. They'd have to find a place to den soon. Umbreon knew from experience the kind of Pokémon that came out at night here. He could deal with them if necessary, but he didn't want to antagonize anyone on purpose.
Clover interrupted his train of thought. "Umbreon, why are you walking like that?"
"Like what?" Umbreon responded, even though he knew perfectly well what she was talking about. His shoulder was getting a bit worse with all of the walking that they had been doing. Resting for the night would make it better. "I stepped wrong. It'll go away."
Clover, however, wasn't so easily swayed. "How does one 'step wrong?' Did you hurt yourself?" Dang Clover and her extensive knowledge of injuries. He was able to walk ad fight just fine. It wasn't that bad.
"It's nothing," Umbreon insisted. He refused to stop and waste extra time and herbs on an injury that didn't require attention. Instead, he changed the subject. "We should be able to reach the spot by tomorrow morning, but we should stop and rest for now. I think Four's getting tired." Clover gave him a look, but dropped it.
Four swished his tail gratefully. "Thank you, Daddy." He had been trying not to act tired so that Umbreon could look for Espeon. Umbreon's heart warmed.
Clover bounded ahead, stopping near a large tree with a rather expansive root system. "I'll make a den for us!"
Four pawed Umbreon's side as he stopped, a question in his eyes. Umbreon knew what he was thinking. Four just hadn't wanted to ask. Umbreon looked over at Clover. "Hey, don't forget to make extra space for Four."
"Sure, thanks for reminding me!" the Leafeon responded.
Four smiled at his father. It was clear that he wanted to be closer, but didn't want to risk hurting Umbreon. Personally, Umbreon didn't care. The fuzzy sensation had been getting less noticeable as the three of them had traveled. Umbreon laid down and reached out a paw, pulling Four close to him. Father and son curled up together, enjoying the respite that the end of the day was bringing. Umbreon knew that he would have to keep a vigil through the night, to protect the three of them against any nocturnal predators, but for now, he was content to stay here, close to his son.
His radioactive, but perfect, son.
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Bolt gazed across the space that was clear of sheltering foliage. It was about 20 paces between their current position and the human den. Two shifted her weight on Bolt's back to get a better look. "Is that what a human den looks like?" she asked, a tiny hint of disgust edging her voice.
Inferno trotted up behind them with Five comfortably aboard his back. Bolt tried very hard not to snicker. Inferno still had dirt and twigs stuck in his fur from the fall. The Flareon seemed ignorant of this fact as he answered Two. "Yes. Why they like their dens like that, I don't know."
Bolt nodded and shrugged in agreement. "Now, under any other circumstance, you two are not to go anywhere near any other human den. This is a... extraneous... sort of... thing," Bolt groped for his words. Five giggled.
Inferno stood on the edge of the tree line next to Bolt. "Will you do the honors since you are a gazillion times faster than me?"
Bolt looked at Inferno mischievously. "I WILL do the honors since I am a gazillion tames faster than you!" Then, before Inferno could retort, but Two had enough time to hold on, Bolt laid on the speed up the door of Soursap's human's den, stopped short, and scratched on the door. He then bolted back to where Inferno was standing, ignored Inferno's look, and waited for a response.
Nothing.
Bolt looked back at his passenger. "Two, can you get off for a second? You can get back on when I come back."
Two nodded and slid off the Joelton's back before he could bend down. She shook her fur out as Bolt smiled. "Thanks." Dashing at high speeds back to the door, Bolt scratched for longer this time. He stood poised and ready to run at the first sign of movement, but none came. It wasn't THAT late in the day, was it?
Bolt turned back around, looking at the door. "Soursap? Are you in there?" he called, confused.
The old Leafeon's voice answered back, a lot less scratchy than Bolt remembered. "Bolt? Is that you?"
"Yeah," Bolt said, stepping closer to the door. "Where's your trainer? Didn't he hear me?"
"No, but I did. That's why I'm here talking to you. Chris is out of the house. He's buying more food, I think."
"So he's not in there," Bolt stated.
"No. Why?" Soursap asked with the same confusion that Bolt had. Bolt thought about his answer. He didn't want to alarm the Leafeon too much. He needed the shelter for a day. A thought came to him. What would Splash say if she found out that he and Inferno spent a day inside a human den? He imagined she wouldn't be pleased. Maybe she'd understand. It was the only option that they had, and Splash was pretty cool. She'd be ok with it, right? Right. Soursap's voice pulled him out of his stray thoughts. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah, sorry, uhh..." Bolt stammered. "We have a little situation."
"Who's we?" Soursap asked warily.
Bolt glanced back at the rest of his crew before answering. "Just me, Inferno, and two of Espeon's kits."
A joyous shout came from behind the door. "Espeon's kits! Clover told me that she had kits, but I never thought I'd get to meet them! I'll open the door! I'm sure Chris won't mind. Give me a second. It's hard to do this without eyes..." Well, that went better than he had anticipated.
Bolt whirled around and dashed back to his best friend and nieces. "Ok, Soursap's going to let us in, come on," Bolt said, rushing his words again. He really had to work on that. He bent down so that Two could climb back on as Infernos started a slow-ish run to the den. Bolt blasted past him as soon as Two was settled.
The Flareon and his tiny Eevee passenger arrived just as the paddle-thing on the door started to turn very slowly downwards. Inferno stepped closer to Bolt, addressing the kits. "Just so you know, Soursap doesn't look like Clover, ok? Try not to stare or say anything about it, ok you two?"
Both nodded seriously. Bolt tilted his head. "They can stare. He can't see them."
Inferno rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
Finally, the door swung open. Soursap was precariously balanced on a supported shelf near the door. However, it seemed that having two tails was beneficial in this case, as he was able to regain his balance and jump to the floor rather quickly. "Welcome! Come in!"
Bolt marveled at the change in the Leafeon since he had last seen him on Snow Day. Almost all traces of brown in his leaves had vanished, the slightly curling edges the only clue that they had ever been unwell. Though his eyes were still misted over completely, his demeanor had completely changed. He was smiling, first off. He was polite and happy. He also seemed to be a lot better at navigating without eyesight. Bolt gestured for the kits to slide off, which they did. "Two, Five, this is Soursap. Well, that's what we used to call him. It doesn't seem so accurate now, though."
"Oh, it's fine," Soursap answered as he pushed the door closed behind them. Bolt didn't like that. But he supposed that it would keep other humans out. He could deal with that. If Soursap could open it blind, then so could he. "Chris calls me Leafeon, so that name between familiar Pokémon is perfectly all right by me. Now, let me smell these two..." Two and Five exchanged looks.
Bolt leaped in to explain. "Soursap can't see, so he has to get to know everyone by smell."
The kits grew much more comfortable, Five even running up to Soursap and leaning on his leg. "I love you, Soursap. Clover likes you a lot!"
Before any further introductions were exchanged, there was a sound at the door. "Leafeon? I'm home!"
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