Sunbeam's Quest (Part 2)

I woke up the morning after the party that the clan had thrown Sunbeam to celebrate her evolution.  Well, more like the afternoon after.  Surf was crammed into my nest with me, as the two of us had been talking after the celebration.  I must have fallen asleep with him next to me.  I smiled at his paw on my shoulder.   I loved him so much.

I laid my head back down and waited for him to wake up.  I could tell when he did.  His smooth, quiet breathing turned to shallower breaths, and a small smile appeared on his face.  I nuzzled his face.  "Hello, sleepyfins."

He sighed happily without opening his eyes.  "I must still be sleeping.  There's no way something this perfect could happen while I'm awake."  Realizing that I'd have to at some point anyway, I stood up and stepped out of my nest, stretching on the floor as Surf muttered, "Noooo...  Now it's too cold..."

I smiled and nudged him.  "Come on, we'll have to get up at some point.  Sunbeam and Espeon are leaving for Bell Tower today."

"Right..." he said, finally hauling himself up and flexing his back, tail, and legs before stepping out of my nest and leaning on me slightly.  "Such a shame.  I was really enjoying snuggling with you."

He slipped into the cool pond water before I did, waiting for me quietly.  Before I went anywhere in the water, he touched his nose to mine.  I held the kiss for a few more second before we broke apart, but the magic was still there.  Surf and I swam in sync to the surface, pulling ourselves out in tandem.

Sunbeam and Espeon were standing in front of Clover, the former looking like a slightly smaller copy of the latter.  The rest of my clan was either seated near Clover or milling close to mother and daughter.  Clover herself was making two bundles of herbs for the trip.  "I've packed you Pecha Berries, Rawst Berries, Chesto Berries, any kind of berry with curative properties, especially the Sitrus...  Here are a few Revival Herbs in case you get into a bad fight...  I put a few mental herbs in, too, just in case you need the mental focus, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

Espeon smiled.  "Thank you, Clover."

Umbreon ran out from his den and towards his mate.  "Wait, Espeon!"  He stopped in front of her as she turned around.  "I know that I can't come with you, but here.  Take this with you."  He dropped one of his remaining orbs of moon dust that he hadn't used when the clan was separated after the explosion.

Espeon smiled and looked up at him, slightly confused.  "Won't you need this?"

Umbreon shook his head, leaning closer to his mate.  "No.  You need it.  That'll remind you that I'll always protect you and be there for you, even if we're miles apart."

Espeon smiled in the way that she only did when she was with Umbreon.  "Thank you, Umbreon.  I...  What do I give you to show you that I will always love, cherish, and return to you no matter how far the distance?"

Sunbeam looked at her mother thoughtfully.  "What about the promise stone?"  I smiled.  Even though Umbreon had seen through Terror's lie about the red stone that Umbreon had, the couple had taken to calling it one anyway.

Umbreon smiled warmly, still keeping his eyes on Espeon in front of him.  "Perfect."  With that, the two of them touched noses and kissed lovingly.  Bolt and Inferno found other things to look at, each for their own reasons.

Sunbeam looked at me incredulously.  "Did I say that or did my mother?"

I smiled.  "You did.  They just don't like leaving each other."

"Even for just a few days?"

"Even for just a few minutes," I corrected.

The perfect couple broke away from each other, Umbreon finding my gaze.  "Splash isn't wrong."

Inferno ruined the moment.  "Dear Arceus, just go!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the impatient/disgusted Flareon, most with smiles.  "Fine," Espeon said.  "We'll be back before the full moon."

"Goodbye!"

"So long!"

"Good luck!"

"Be safe, both of you!"

However, it seemed that shouting goodbyes just wasn't good enough for Sunbeam's younger siblings.  All of them, including Two, charged away from where Bolt had told them to sit and tackled their evolved sister, which now required more than one of them to do.  Sunbeam laughed, half musical, like Espeon, and half the same giggle that she had before she evolved.  "Guys!  Get off!  I have to go!"

"We know!" Five chirped as all four kits gave their older sister hugs.  "Did you expect us to just say goodbye and let you leave?"

Sunbeam managed to get back to her paws, throwing Two, Four, and Five off of her, but Three remained on her back.  "I expected you two," she smiled, looking between the shiny kit on her back and the smallest Eevee on the ground, "but not them."

Two sat up and shook the dust out of her fur.  "We were coerced."  I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

Finally, Sunbeam managed to extract herself from her siblings' embrace.  "Bye!"  She called over her shoulder.  Everyone in the clan echoed her goodbye as she and her mother exited the camp and began heading towards Bell Tower.

Sunbeam was practically bouncing on her paws witch excitement.  Her light pink paws.  She loved being an Espeon already.  I wonder what my powers will be.  Probably mind reading, right?  I have experience with that already.  But maybe I'll be like my mother and be good at telekinesis.  Or something else!  There are so many choices!

Espeon turned to glance at her daughter.  "Try to calm down, Sunbeam.  You'll need all that energy later in the day.  It will probably take us a day or so to reach the city, and then we'll climb the tower during the day."

"Sounds good, Mother!" Sunbeam chirped back, trying not to bounce as much.  She tried to think more like an Espeon.  She was acting like an Eevee.  Calm...  Dignified...  Poise...  Elegance...  The two tips of her tail still twitched excitedly, but she maintained her composure.

She wondered what she'd see.  I'm the first one of five who is going outside the camp!  Outside the forest!  I bet I'll meet lots of different Pokémon.  I know Streak and Night, but what about other Pokémon?  Umbreon said he met a Luxray really, really deep in the forest.  They can see through stone!  That's cool!  I have Psychic power, but there are so many different abilities!  I want to know about them.  I like learning things.

Her mother probably hear her drifting thoughts, but she didn't say anything.  Sunbeam looked at the forest around her.  "Mother?  Is the whole forest like this?"

"Like what?" Espeon asked without turning around.  She knew where they were going.

"Like... this.  Bright and sunny, with the trees not too close together."

Espeon shook her head.  "Not quite.  Splash picked this part of the forest to build camp for that reason.  Most of the forest is actually much darker.  The trees grow very close together."

It sounded both scary and exciting to Sunbeam at the same time.  "Will we go through there?"

Espeon nodded, looking rather neutral.  "Yes.  We'll get there soon, actually."

Sunbeam didn't like the aspect of not much sun, but she was thrilled at the prospect of adventure.

They continued walking for a few hours in relative silence, on breaking the quiet when Sunbeam asked her mother another question.  "What kind of Pokémon live in the dark forest?"  "Do they see well in the dark?"  "Are there more nice Pokémon or aggressive Pokémon?" 

Finally, they entered the dark part of the forest.  Espeon was right; the trees grew a lot closer together here.  There was the occasional patch of sunshine of shaft of light shining between the leaves, but aside from that, everything was in shadow.  Sunbeam was nervous.  She, like her mother, wasn't the biggest fan of the dark.  After a few furtive glances at the surrounding trees, Sunbeam bounded next to her mother.  "Mother?  It's dark."

Espeon glanced in her direction, showing that the gem on her forehead was glowing slightly.  "Try doing this.  Tap into your Psychic energy, and it will glow."

"What do I do?"

"Just extend your awareness around us.  You can do it."

Encouraged by her mother's soft words, Sunbeam tried to feel what was around her, in a greater area than she could see, hear, or smell.  Listen...  Cast your senses out...

After a few unsuccessful tries, she managed.  Her jewel lit up, the pleasure of which almost caused her to lose focus again.  The light of her gem flickered as they traveled on, displaying her relative lack of skill in use of Psychic abilities.  By comparison, her mother's light never wavered, not even when answering Sunbeam's question about focus.  Splash was right.  Espeon was a powerful Psychic Pokémon.

Suddenly, Espeon stopped just as Sunbeam detected something watching them.  Something rustled through the bushes, getting closer and closer to them.  Whatever it was, it was at least twice their size.  A gruff voice shouted to them.  "Back away!  Turn around unless you want to be fried by lightning!"

Sunbeam froze as Espeon tried to fix her mind on the new presence.  The mystery Pokémon continued to threaten.  "Don't even try hiding!  I can see the two of you!"

Espeon found what she was looking for, shouting to the Pokémon nearby.  "Luxray!"