Traces of Radioactivity (Part 1)

I cautiously poked my head above the surface of the water.  That had been some storm.  Not even Bolt or Surf had been willing to be out in it.  But now that it was over, it was my job to do the damage check.

I pulled myself out of the water carefully, watching the ground for any possible debris I could step on.  The ground was littered with it...  But Inferno could probably sweep it up without much of a problem.  I could see a few downed trees outside of camp, nothing unexpected there...  Though I was glad that Clover had helped secure the ones near camp.  The log den looked very damp, and a lot of leaves were missing from Snow's and Clover's bush den, but aside from a bit of flooding damage, our home didn't look half bad.

"All clear!  Just watch where you step, everyone!" I called loudly, letting my voice break the near-silence of the post-storm morning.

Naturally, Bolt was the first one outside.  "FINALLY!  I can-"

"No tree climbing!" I said firmly.  "Not until we know what's unstable."

"What!?  Come ooon, Splash, please!?"  He worked his paws in the ground in his usual hyper manner, accompanied by sparks of electricity jumping around his fur.

"No.  You can check the Emergency Tree, but that's-"  I didn't even have time to finish my sentence before Bolt was off like a shot and dashing inside the trunk.

I sighed quietly as Surf padded up behind me.  "Someone's excited to be out and about..."

"Yeah..." I said, not looking away from the base of the tree as everyone else started to emerge carefully from their dens.  "Almost a full day stuck in his den.  No wonder he's so hypercharged."

"How did he survive..." Surf said with a tiny teasing smile.

"How did he survive?" said the Flareon said as he carefully extracted himself from his rock den, skirting several puddles anxiously.  "How about how did I survive?  Yes, he was stuck in a confined space for almost a full day.  I had to be stuck in there with him."  I winced.  Yikes.

Moonlight walked by, already clearing debris with her tail and not looking at anyone.  "Oh, quit whining, Inferno..."

I gave her a stern look.  "Hey.  Would you want to be in his paws?"

"Arceus, no, I'd commit suicide."

"Then don't tell Inferno, someone who is older than you, by the way, off for something you would complain about, too."

"I said I'd commit suicide, not gripe about it endlessly."

"Hey!" Inferno said, insulted.

I saw the retort on the shiny Umbreon's tongue and decided to end this before Inferno really did end up griping endlessly.  "Moonlight, insult Inferno again, and you'll be the one fishing all of the debris out of the pond, not me."

She rolled her eyes and sighed.  "...Fine.  Sorry, Inferno."  The Flareon only 'humph'ed in response.

"Don't let her bother you!" Five chirped as she bounced past.  "She's just grumpy!"  The look on Moonlight's face as she resumed sweeping said 'you're not wrong...'

I glanced at the pond, then turned to my mate.  "Actually, can you clean the pond out?  I should probably scout around with Snow and Clover to make sure no one is hurt nearby."

"Sure."  He nodded once and rose to his paws to go do his job.  I smiled after him.

Another dynamic duo trotted over to me as I watched Surf slip into the water.  "We heard our names?" Snow said with a small smile and a tilt of her head.

"Yes, I need a tracker and a healer to help me look for anyone that might need help after the storm."

Clover smiled brightly.  "Sounds good to me!  I'll get some supplies."  Inferno finally turned back to the camp, following Moonlight's example and sweeping the ground with his tail (much more effectively than the Umbreon, I thought to myself).

Just one more thing to attend to...  "There you two are.  Espy?  Umbreon?  Can you two check the outside of the camp walls?  Just make sure the thorn barriers weren't damaged out there."

Espeon nodded.  "Of course, Splash.  Sunbeam, you're in charge of your unevolved siblings."

"On it, mother!" the smaller version of Espeon called back, already trotting after and retrieving a giggling Five.

Clover finally returned with her leaf bundle full of berries and herbs.  "Ready to go."

I nodded and led the way towards the camp entrance.  Hopefully, the storm was just a lot of wind and rain, and no one had been badly hurt.

"Miss?  Miss?  Are you all right?"

The Meowstic in front of me slowly blinked awake as Clover's Revival Herbs worked their magic.  I breathed a sigh of relief as she looked between the three of us.  "...Who are you, exactly?" she asked in a crisp, yet airy, voice with a slight accent.

"My name is Splash, and this is Clover and Snow."  Said Leafeon and Glaceon nodded politely and gave quiet hellos.

"Oh.  Pleasure to meet you three...  My name is Jayna.  I think I was blown into something and blacked out..."

Clover nodded.  "That's what it looks like.  Your Psychic powers may be a little wacky for a day or two, but you should be fine."

"Thank you for that, Clover..." Jayna said, standing up and dusting herself off.  "You wouldn't happen to have seen another Meowstic, but male?  I was with my brother Zan when the storm hit."

We shook our heads.  "Sorry, we haven't.  But Snow can look around, she's an expert at tracking."  Clover nodded in agreement, and Snow shrugged.

Jayna nodded.  "That would be very kind of you, thank you."

Clover looked at the bruise on the back of the Meowstic's head again.  "In the meantime, would you mind coming back to our camp so I can look at that?  I also have some mental herbs and we have two Espeons who might be able to help with your Psychic powers..."  She glanced at me, probably thinking that she should have asked me first, but I nodded.  I was about to offer the same thing.

Jayna looked very carefully at all of us.  I could feel her in the corners of my mind, trying to tell if we had any hidden agendas, but as Clover mentioned, we already have two Psychics in camp occasionally listening to our thoughts.  We were used to it.  Finally, Jayna nodded.  "I suppose that would be helpful.  Thank you for the kind offer."

I smiled kindly.  "Of course.  Snow, I'll send either Sunbeam or Moonlight out to help you, depending on who's less busy."

"All right," Snow shrugged again.

"Better safe than sorry."

"True.  I'll be here waiting."

I nodded and lead the way back to camp, Clover and Jayna walking quietly on either side of me.

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Sunbeam, Three, Four, and Five were the first ones to greet us when we returned to camp.  Naturally, all three Eevees broke into questions at the sight of the newcomer.

"Ooh, who's this?"

"She's preeeeeetty..."

"Why is she walking on two paws?"

"Why are you wearing a scarf?"

"Can you hear anything with your ears bent like that?"

Sunbeam quickly slipped in between her siblings and the new guest.  "Sorry about them...  They get excited easily..."

"Not a problem at all," Jayna responded easily.  "I'm actually intrigued by the shiny one there..."  Three sat up a little straighter.  

Sunbeam nodded as Clover slipped past us and trotted towards her den.  "Yes, this is Three, my older younger brother."

"They're all your siblings?"

"Yes, they are."

"Moonlight's shiny, too!" Five blurted out before Four shushed her quickly.  I sighed quietly.  Kits...

Jayna looked curiously at Five.  "Who is Moonlight?"

"Me," said Moonlight as she walked up to us, ignoring Jayna's curious look, as well as everything else about her after a cursory glance.  "Clover said you wanted me, Splash?"

I nodded.  "Yes, can either you or Sunbeam go out and help Snow look for Jayna's brother, Zan?"

Sunbeam looked at the Meowstic.  "This being Jayna?"

"Yes," both Jayna and I said simultaneously.

The young Espeon looked at Moonlight.  "Can you go, sis?  I have to watch these three..."

"Sure."  Without another word, Moonlight slipped past us and exited the camp, still pointedly ignoring Jayna's gaze following her.

"...Fascinating," the Meowstic finally said.

I gestured that she follow us into camp instead of just sitting near the entrance.  "What?"

She looked at Sunbeam as she and Three through Five followed us.  "You have four siblings?"

"Yes."

"And two of them are shiny?"

"Also yes."

"And what's this one?" she asked, looking at the buzzy wonder, as Bolt called him.

Sunbeam looked at her quiet younger brother.  "Four?  He's..."

"I'm radioactive," the glowing Eevee answered for her.

Jayna smiled curiously at him.  "That doesn't affect you at all?"

He shrugged.  "No.  Not really.  I just can't hug anyone."  I couldn't hold back a sympathetic look.  Poor, sweet Four.  "Why do you want to know?"

Clover came back over with more supplies as Jayna answered.  "My brother and I study shiny Pokemon."

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