She blinked awake and sat up on the branch. "I'm up, Dad..." she called back, annoyed by his punctuality. Usually, she was up before him.
"Come on down so that we can keep moving." Moonlight grunted in response, standing up on the bough and mapping out her climb down. Having wings like Clover's didn't seem like a bad thing. She honestly had no idea why the Leafeon was so keen on hiding them and pretending they didn't exist. If Moonlight had wings, it would make climbing the really big trees a snap.
She jumped to the ground just as Umbreon pushed a Pidgey towards her. Moonlight tried to hide her annoyance. He had woken up before her and had time to hunt? She muttered a 'thank you' and took the prey to eat a short distance away. Oh well. They'd reach Dark Cave today, if they kept up the same pace as yesterday.
Moonlight tried to ignore all of the tiny warning signs that she had seen thus far. Her father's premonition, the Murkrow... All of it was pomp and circumstance. Murkrows flew at night. That was a fact. Just because she had seen one didn't meant that it was bad luck. As for Umbreon's bad vibes... Nothing she couldn't handle.
Umbreon padded over to her as she finished. "Ready to go?"
"Of course I am." She stood up and readjusted her herb pouch, then trotted ahead a short ways before slowing back down to a walk to let her father keep pace. Neither said anything, though Moonlight could tell that Umbreon wanted to. Moonlight kept her eyes ahead. She despised small talk.
After a while, it seemed like Umbreon couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Are you ok?"
"Fine."
"You're awfully quiet."
"I'm always quiet."
He didn't have a comeback for that. Moonlight knew what she was doing. Spending your entire life around your chatty oldest and youngest sister really teaches a Pokémon how to end conversations to get some quiet time.
Moonlight's thoughts drifted. She wondered what everyone else in the Clan was doing. Splash and Surf were probably being annoyingly sweet to each other, as her own parents so often did, and Sunbeam was probably trying to dream about Moonlight every chance she got...
She stuck on that. Sunbeam's Power Quest really did help her orient herself as an Espeon. She learned how to use her powers, she gained new ones, and tried ones that she hadn't before, branching out to become a very powerful Psychic Type for her age.
Moonlight, on the other paw, already knew a lot about her powers as an Umbreon. Sunbeam had only known about her telekinesis before her Power Quest, but Moonlight already knew how to jump dimensions (something that most Umbreons couldn't do anyway) and she had been working on controlling the light from her rings. She knew that there were a few other things that she could work on, but it didn't seem like she needed a Power Quest to figure them out. Just practice.
Her thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar scent. She stopped, her father doing the same behind her. She could feel his anxiety level climb as he picked up the same scent. It was something that Moonlight had never smelled before. What was it?
Her sharp ears picked up movement from a fair distance away. It sounded like pawsteps, but from something bigger than her. So, it wasn't prey...
Umbreon stepped up next to her. "We're close to the cave. The last time I was here, I had a not-so-nice run-in with a group of Pokémon who lived nearby." So that's what he hadn't told her about this place.
She spoke without looking back at him. "So? What's your theory?"
"That sure seemed to me like a patrol. Looks like their numbers have grown over the years..." That made Moonlight pause. If this was in the middle of a hostile Clan's territory...
She'd really get some practice with her Dark Type powers.
Without asking for her father's advice, she forged ahead with a small smile. Dangerous hide and seek. This was going to be fun. Umbreon ran after her. "Moonlight!" he hissed, stopping in front of her. "What are you doing?"
"Dark Cave is this way. That's where I'm going," she said frankly.
"And the aggressive Pokémon that will attack us if they find us here?"
"All the better to train with my powers. We're Umbreons. We're stealthy."
"Stealthy doesn't keep us alive if we get caught."
"You're right. Fighting skills do. Stealthy keeps us from getting caught in the first place. Let's go." Moonlight tried to step around her father, but he blocked her path again.
"And diplomacy lets us pass through without the need for stealthy."
Moonlight rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I don't do diplomacy. Splash does."
Umbreon narrowed his eyes at her. "You should learn to. It's a good skill to have."
"I'm perfectly fine with stealth and fighting skills, thanks."
An unfamiliar female voice spoke from behind Umbreon, smooth, but hard. "And who, pray tell, are you?"
Ten minutes later, Moonlight and Umbreon were practically pushed into a tiny cleared space that was apparently an empty den. Moonlight didn't think anyone would ever want to sleep here, but she said nothing.
It turned out that her father had been right about the whole diplomacy thing. The Liepard that had found them (It wasn't Terror. Moonlight had asked.) had been going to call for backup from her apparently massive Clan and force Moonlight and Umbreon out, but her father's smooth-talking had saved them. He told the truth, telling her that he had been taking Moonlight on her Power Quest when they walked past the Clan's borders without realizing it. The Liepard had grudgingly accepted his story, then led them back to their camp and told them to wait in the den where Moonlight was currently sitting until someone else came to talk to them.
The shiny Umbreon sat sullenly towards the back of the den while her father paced closer to the entrance. "If any of them recognize me, we're done for..."
"Dad, relax. Even if someone did recognize you, which I have no idea why they would, you said it was a really long time ago, we can both get out any time we want."
"And they could still chase us. This is where I learned Phantom Force in the first place."
Moonlight blinked in confusion. "...What?"
He stopped pacing, then sat down with a sigh. "When I was younger, freshly evolved into an Umbreon, I wandered into these Pokémons' territory. The Clan of Darkness, they called themselves. They tried to get me to join, baiting me with all kinds of promises of power, including teaching me about jumping dimensions, their best ploy. But then I met Espeon. They didn't like it. Even though I didn't know where she had gone, they told me to drop her or else."
Moonlight frowned. "They don't sound like a great group..."
"They're not bad Pokémon, they just... Have a lot of self-interest." When Moonlight said nothing, he continued. "So I ran. I left with one of their best-kept secrets to chase a Psychic Type who wasn't even close to the Clan of Darkness."
Everything fit together. "And now you're here again, a runaway Umbreon who took his knowledge of Phantom Force, is mates with an Espeon, and is here with his daughter who knows the same technique that they do," she finished.
"Exactly."
Moonlight thought about it logically. "It still happened a long time ago. I doubt anyone would recognize you. So as long as we don't give away that we know Phantom Force, we should be able to get out of this."
Umbreon nodded, but he still looked worried. Pawsteps reached Moonlight's ears. These sounded familiar. Almost exactly like...
She had to blink a few times to be sure she wasn't imagining things. It was like looking into a mirror. In the entrance to the den stood another shiny female Umbreon.
Moonlight couldn't believe it. She was told that shiny Pokémon were exceedingly rare, and yet, she now knew of three of them, herself included. The other two Umbreons looked just as surprised as she was. Finally, her double spoke in a clipped and stern voice. "Who are you two, and why did you intrude on the territory of the Clan of Darkness?" Moonlight immediately liked her a little. She got right to the point.
Umbreon answered, trying to be nonchalant about it. "I'm Umbreon, this is my daughter, Moonlight. She just evolved and we were going on her Power Quest."
"I see..." she said, looking Moonlight over. Moonlight subconsciously sat up a bit straighter. "I am Brightclaw, head of the Clan of Darkness." She was the leader of this huge clan?
"A pleasure to meet you," Umbreon said with a polite nod. Moonlight copied his actions.
No one said anything about the two Umbreons who glowed blue rather than yellow. Moonlight finally took a risk and broke the silence. "We came here hoping to go to Dark Cave."
Brightclaw immediately bristled at the mention of the cave. "Training in Dark Cave is strictly forbidden. No one is allowed inside."
Moonlight laid her ears back. "Why not?"
Brightclaw locked eyes with her, matching her gaze. The leader's authority clashed with Moonlight's rebelliousness. The silent battle waged on as she responded. "It is a sacred place. No one goes in without a very good reason and my permission."
"So give us permission, then," Moonlight shot back with a hint of an attitude.
Umbreon watched the two nervously. "Moonlight..."
Both ignored him. Brightclaw still didn't break eye contact with Moonlight. "I can't do that. More to the point, I won't do that."
"Why not?" Moonlight challenged. Sparks could almost be seen between the two.
"I can give you permission to use the training yard outside of camp, but that is all I will do."
"You didn't answer my question."
"In a minute, you won't even have access to the training area and I will send you out of my territory, by force if necessary."
Umbreon finally cut in, putting himself between the two aggressive females. "That's a very kind offer, Brightclaw, thank you. We'll take you up on it."
Both shiny Umbreons looked at him, one with a hint of pleasure, the other with poorly-hidden annoyance. Brightclaw spoke again. "Wise decision. You can stay here while you train. If you need anything, Darksight will be just outside," she said as she exited the den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moonlight was still upset with her father by the time night fell. They had trained in the designated area, mock fighting each other and a few other Pokémon that were there, but they could have done that back home. I know I said that all I needed was practice, but this is not what I had in mind.
Finally, she and Umbreon had retired back to their den, Moonlight still not saying anything. Brightclaw was hiding something, dang it, and she wanted to know what it was. What was so special about Dark Cave that no one was allowed in?
Umbreon tried for the third time to mend thorn barriers. "I can really tell you're getting better. And that's without jumping."
Moonlight, for the third time, ignored him. Her father finally gave up, sighing and laying down on one side of the den. Moonlight picked a spot on the other side, still deep in thought. She really wanted to know what Brightclaw was hiding in Dark Cave.
...And she could find out easily.
She could almost hear her father telling her not to, but she had to know. She stayed where she was, waiting for Umbreon to fall asleep and ignoring the voice in the back of her head that was telling her to look at what happened the last time she did something like this.
This was different. This time, she wasn't going to get distracted.
This also has a lot higher stakes than last time.
So this time, she wouldn't fight anything. She'd just go in, investigate, and come out. No harm, no foul. Stealth was her specialty. If no one was in there, this should be a breeze.
Umbreon finally fell into a light sleep. Moonlight would have to tread lightly, literally and figuratively. She slowly stood up, then, making sure that no one could see her, she jumped silently into the shadow dimension. She smiled. Brightclaw wouldn't be keeping any secrets from her!
Stepping through the wall of the den, Moonlight trotted through the camp, avoiding walking through any of the Dark Types (seemed to be the only type that this clan consisted of, the typists) just for safety. It wasn't long before she found the entrance to Dark Cave, which was guarded by a massive Tyranitar.
Moonlight looked up at him, then walked around to the wall of the cave. She smiled to herself as she stepped through. No one had to know.
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