Through the Eyes of a Flareon [PG] (Chapter 31 FINALLY up)

[Suicune's Fire]

Chapter Eighteen: Expedition Challenge

The whisper of her name was nearly silent, and I doubt anybody else heard.

She was speechless as she slowly bent down to find the opening of the sack with her mouth, her eyes staying fixed, and for one reason or another drew her neck back up. Her ears remained erect, mimicking mine, and we both continued our stare down.

“Dusty?” wondered Mynk, concern in her voice.

“Azure?” Gigin asked in much the same way, hopping forward to be level with me. When the eeveelution didn’t reply, the normal type lowered the front half of her body to catch Azure’s gaze.

The glaceon gave an acknowledging nod, keeping her gaze on me, and warily reached down to the sack. Her jaws separated and she took the opening in her mouth, tensing it to support the bag’s (light) weight. She then padded cautiously into the open room and placed the sack at one of the table’s legs, then backed up.

“Excuse me, girls,” Gigin began, trying to break our silent surprise. “Would you like something to drink?”

I didn’t remove my stare, but my mind went over a few things. “...Yeah, I would.” My tongue could do with the moistening.

“I’ll, uh...get the water,” offered the linoone, and she crept behind Azure after taking a bucket between her teeth and was out the door in a few moments. I knew she had become uncomfortable with the situation, and, well...I didn’t blame her.

Clinking and clanking sounded as Gigin must have been searching for something in the long gap in the wall along the bottom where I saw things stored not long before. I heard her scoff and sigh, and she waited a few seconds before popping up, and from the corner of my eye I saw her crawl forward until she stood up between us. “I will also be back,” she stated, and finished her crawl along the floor before disappearing through the exit.

We kept our eyes still. But her image was beginning to bore me, and I realised that using my eyes for communication wouldn’t get me the appropriate answers I sought. ‘But then again, what are the answers I want?’ I asked myself, filtering out two or three. I thought I’d begin with a simple one.

“What are you doing here?” we both questioned simultaneously. Then we blinked. I narrowed my eyes as if unable to believe that we had done that. Quickly I decided to tell her before she could sneak in another sentence.

“I’m living with this colony,” I answered blatantly. Had it been anyone else and I’m sure I would have replaced ‘living’ with something a little less intrusive.

“I...live with this colony,” Azure stated, and I drew my head back.

“Wh-what?” I must have been hearing things wrong. How could she live in the same colony I was invited to stay with? It was just...ludicrous!

“I said that I live here,” she repeated, and I rolled my eyes.

“I heard you, I just...” I turned away, figuring this had to be true. One chance at peace and it was suddenly foiled.

“Dusty,” she started, and I was surprised: it was the first time that I remember her calling me by my name. I answered with a flick of my head, and the expected complaining or rant was not what came out of her mouth next. “Back at the bibarel colony...” She held back contempt, and instead forced a calm expression to convince me of her words. “I meant to thank you.”

All of a sudden Hell froze over. Just like that. I blinked in succession, a bemused expression prodding my face. “Th-thank...me?” I mocked, hardly believing it when it came from my own mouth. Why on Earth would Azure want to thank me?

“...Yes,” she confessed, and I was rather impressed. It seemed she did understand the term ‘manners’ after all!

Rustling and pawsteps sounded as a duo of pokémon entered again, Mynk second, and the raticate held two bowls carved from some kind of glazed wood. She proceeded to place one under my nose and the other onto the tabletop. Mynk used her paws to angle the bucket while still holding the thin metal handle in her maw and released the water; it splashed clumsily all over my paws, and I made strange noises while shaking them off. The zigzagoon evolution apologised through gritted teeth and sincere eyes, and placed the bucket at a table stump.

“Ahh, doesn’t matter,” I murmured with a flat mouth.

My gaze flashed back to Azure to find her already staring at me, and Mynk must have noticed as she stepped in front of me and kept herself supported on her hind legs. “Perhaps we should...go to the next house?”

“Good idea,” input Gigin, and she gave the nod of her head before Mynk turned to Azure and nodded hers.

“We will be seeing you.” Mynk turned and padded on all-fours to the exit. She swivelled her head around, as if to ask if I was behind her, and I hesitated before meeting her tail. I gave one last look to Azure before we were captured by the sunlight bathing the village in its endearing warmth. With a turn of her head, Mynk’s eyes fell onto mine. “It...seemed like you knew Azure,” she mentioned with concern.

I breathed a sigh. “Yep-ah.” I flung my head back in front of me. “We’ve...met.” The linoone appeared content with the answer – or if she wasn’t she didn’t show it – and we continued up the ‘street’. However, feeling like I barely bothered to answer her question, I sighed. “You know how she’s been gone for...a while?”

“...Yes.”

“Well... I met her sometime during then.” I watched as Mynk’s face formed an incomprehensive expression. “She was captured...and I was too.”

I hardly got the response I expected when she stayed silent. I prodded her face with my eyes for a further explanation. “No, that can’t be.”

For the brief bundle of minutes I’d known this pokémon, of all things I hadn’t expected her to doubt me. “...Wadda ya mean?”

Realising her unwelcome appearance, Mynk softened her tone. “You see, Azure wasn’t gone for as long as Luck...or Larse...or Zhol. She said she went to visit someone, and we imagined she happened to find Larse on her journey home.”

I stopped. ‘Happened to?’ A question nearly slipped between my teeth before another one fell through. “Did she say who she went to visit?”

“...No, she didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you ask?”

Mynk seemed confused. “Well...Habib provides us with plenty of freedom. I...suppose he doesn’t mind where we go, as long as we will be safe.”

“...Right,” I mumbled, unsure about my initial thoughts on the leader.

Mynk must have seen this in my expression and began her attempt to soothe my doubt. “He cares about every colony member a lot,” she reassured. “He and Ikari just try not to be restrictive.”

I figured Ikari must have been Habib’s mate, the slowking. “But...when I was talking to Habib earlier, he said there had been three members missing other than Larse. Zhol, Luck, Azure...”

“Before Larse arrived,” she began, quick to settle my mind, “we thought she might have gone missing too. But when she returned, she said nothing about capture, and Larse told us she met up with him; he never saw her on the ship.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Well...perhaps I was mistaken, then.”

“Yes—it must have been another glaceon that you met.”

I ducked my head to enter a second home after Mynk turned and brushed the tip of her tail through the bottom of an arch—the section that lacked wood. There was a short noise to signify we were welcome, and soon enough I was in the company of a stout, colourful bellossom. She danced from within tall grass which spread across most of the house, and bowed before us with undying grace.

“Welcome,” she lulled, connecting her gaze with mine before Mynk’s.

After learning that the bellossom’s name was Mio, and that her mate was called Greech, she told me about her son, an oddish called Ollie. He sounded cute...but agitating like most young pokémon. She seemed to love him with all her heart though, as mothers do, and I came to wonder what kind of a parent I would make. The thought didn’t linger as Mio offered us some food. “Sure!” I agreed, watching as she placed some berries on the floor. I snuffled up two before looking up at her. “Sho,” I began, my cheeks bulging, “you wan’...any o’ dese?”

She declined, calmly explaining that, being plant pokémon, her family mainly consumes water for their daily needs as well as a few rotten berries—and a “healthy dose of sunlight”. I agreed with the sunlight and berries, but surviving mainly on water? How distasteful!

We moved onto the houses up the stretch, sticking to the left row of houses, and passed Shard’s house before coming across Azure’s. I eyed it as we padded past, and the waterhole I previously saw appeared before me once more, and I felt as if I was on that tour all over again. Further left was a house with the waterhole’s inlet running through it, and I was told that a politoed called ‘Politoad’ occupied it. I gave a suspicious eye-narrowing, but it quickly vanished as we came to the one in the corner. Zhol’s. “I guess I’ll be staying here then,” I mentioned, and Mynk turned her head. “I came with her here, and since I’ve been allowed a place to stay, it’ll probably be with her since we know each other the most.”

Next to hers, on the right (and facing in towards the waterhole), was an adjoined home. My linoone friend led me through the first section (after doing that tail-swishing thing again) and as I stepped inside, my limbs seized up. It was freezing! A chilly wind whipped past me and blew my fur about the room (in a non-literal manner) as I dropped a flame onto my paws. With a small “ouch!” I regretted it instantly, and directed my focus to something else.

Mynk gave an innocent smile and gestured towards me. “This is Dusty.”

We tossed our gazes between each other like a bundle of hay as I was quick to recognise this pokémon. She was one of the three I had woken up to—the one whose species I was unknowing of. She looked me up and down before she showed a meek smile and hovered closer, whispering a greeting that she followed up with a voice-clearing. I didn’t know whether to jump back in surprise, having forgotten she could move without walking, or show friendliness back.

“H...hi,” I muttered, figuring that would do. Just as Mynk attempted to speak, I interrupted. “If... Well, what are you?” I stated blatantly. She didn’t seem offended in any way, but her eyes told me she was wary and conscious of my words.

“M-my species is froslass...” she stuttered back, and I searched my mind for the word, only to find nothing familiar. Instead I grunted in return.

“She runs the healing clinic,” Mynk mentioned with added enthusiasm, and I nodded.

“I see...” I murmured, glancing around. The place seemed pretty pristine and orderly (apart from all that less-than-appealing snow strewn across just about everything), but...similar to any other home. A bed (although this one was very snowy and reasonably thicker), a table-bench thing, a few stumps and...that was about it. However, my attention was drawn to an indent in the wall on the right. I realised it was, in fact, the connection to the room beside it, and a door sat in that indent. Curious, I continued to stare.

“This room is Aemara’s house; however, through there is where she helps us heal if we get injured or sick.” The linoone nodded her head to the door I’d been staring at, and I understood. After we left, we walked between Tarla (that altaria) and another pokémon’s home and continued until we reached another house—one outside Den Row. “This is where I live!” she told me ecstatically, bounding to the entrance. With a cheerful face and paws pointing through, she invited me in after swinging open the door.

I entered and suddenly I was swallowed by a multi-cultural home. It was a fair bit larger than most others I’d seen, but the same size as Mio’s. To the left of the room the floor from the middle to the back had been laid with stone and the walls were completely constructed of it. At first I couldn’t figure out why at first, and then I noticed the bed was not hay—it was a mound of dirt. One time while travelling with Master, I had met a monferno who belonged to a friendly trainer who chose to come with us for a number of days. On the contrary to when he was a chimchar, his flame didn’t burn out as he fell asleep, so in order to avoid setting things on fire, he slept amongst rock and grassless dirt—or, for even further convenience purposes, in his poké ball. I figured the charmander I saw before lived in the house, since she was the only fire type that I knew was part of the colony—and she didn’t have relatives.

The middle also had dirt and, for safety, the walls were stone as well. I assumed Mynk slept there, since next door, on the right, a bed of sand and moss stretched across a decent space, with a couple of rocks planted here and there. In the centre of the room, further toward the door, was a low-cut bench of wood surrounded by four stone stumps. The floor was, unlike the other huts I’d entered, nearly completely clean of vegetation. Which made sense, of course, given the type of a residing resident.

“How do you like it?” Mynk wondered, taking her place on a stone stump which seemed a bit small for her.

“It’s, uhh...interesting,” I admitted, although I did find it a tad insulting that a fire type had to sleep on a pile of dirt (which could surely put out the flame anyway...well, an ordinary flame), but Mynk did too, I guess.

She must have followed my gaze, because the emotion about her altered dramatically. I sensed her spirits descending before she told me, “When she arrived here...she needed somewhere to stay. I lived in one of the other homes, but when I offered to let her live with me, the stronger villagers constructed this home for us.” She looked down, reminiscing with a tad of sadness. “..She never fitted in.” She swallowed. “...She never talks; she barely eats...” Her face dropped. “I...I’ve never seen her happy... And I...I just wish there was more I could do for her... So I can see her...smile.”

I had no idea what to do at that point. I felt suddenly deflated, and my shoulders began to sag. I approached her and sat by her side, a stable look on my face. I knew she was appreciative, and she attempted a positive reaction, but her muscles refused to form a cheerful arrangement.

I stayed with her for at least half an hour before being collected by Cubbs and set between the many homes. I waited as Greech passed, disappearing into his home, and Gigin nodded to me once or twice as she scampered by a few times. I tossed my head about, wondering why I had been instructed to stand in the middle of a path. “...Remind me why I’m here again?” I demanded impatiently. My toes began to jiggle.

“Be patient,” replied the cubone with a stern frown. “You’ll be told soon.”

I sneered at him and dropped to my belly, my head between my paws as I blew a puff of dirt from the ground, beginning to think. ‘This colony is so different to what I imagined.’ My eyes bumped into the many homes surrounding me. ‘Huts made like human houses... Pokémon of all kinds... Orderly schedules... Each pokémon with their own responsibility...’ My mind ran in circles, chasing its tail. ‘It’s kinda peaceful... Not much drama...apart from the members who were pokénapped.’

I was due for a guilt trip regarding Luck again as crunching stones sounded behind me. I rose quicker than fire could melt a hail stone and swung myself around. I was pleasantly surprised as the slowking made her last steps in my direction before stopping, her face a mix of contentment and sheepishness. “It’s just me, dear,” she commented, laying her innocence down before me.

“Regards...Dame Ikari Slowking,” Cubbs stated, bowing. She seemed flattered.

“Please, Cupborn,” she began while he kept his head half-way, “I insist that, if you wish to call me that, call me ‘slowqueen’.”

“Less patronising?” I queried, figuring it made sense.

“Oh, hello,” she greeted with a warmth I hadn’t felt in a long time...figuratively speaking.

I gave an acknowledging smile in return, looking about. Cupborn nodded to his ‘dame’. “...So why am I here?”

Ikari perked up. “Oh—sorry to keep you waiting, dear!” she chuckled, approaching me as I craned my neck to view her properly. “Our hunters not only hunt in the south, but also the east and west. Currently Zhol and Shardclaw are south of the colony, and there are parties ready to set out to the west and the east.” I tilted my head, wondering where she was going with this. “As your first duty for the colony...I’d like you to go with one to hunt.”

“Oh, crap,” I whispered scornfully. Quickly looking back to her, I issued an uneasy response consisting of groans and awkward expressions.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Uhh...it’s just that...” My paws shifted and I chewed my lip. I really didn’t know the second thing about hunting.

I was saved by a distraction as a small bunch of pokémon hustled into view. “We’re about to leave,” the altaria spoke, her tone informative rather than requesting. She stood proudly with a small, moss-coloured pokémon on her left. He was canine-like and had yellow streaks along his elongated head and a spike-like tail poking up from his behind. An electrike.

“Oh?” Ikari met her eyes. “Wonderful!”

“And us,” began another voice, and Hyso hopped up, the floatzel I glimpsed earlier following with a confident grin. “We were going to head west to the wide-river and hunt some fish.”

“Most certainly!” the orange pokémon agreed, and I felt like a sarcastic swing of the arm (or leg).

The slowki—queen set her gaze upon me, and I suddenly felt like the entire colony was watching. “Which party would you like to travel with?”

I glanced between the two groups. ‘Hmm...let’s see...’ Tarla silently dared me to follow with her menacing eye, and the small electrike, although cute, avoided my line of sight. ‘The snooty altaria overflowing with self-confidence and a shy electric type, or the seemingly friendly water type going fishing with a placid looking raticate partner...’ The choice was an easy one, and the answer tickled my claws as I began to reply. “I pick—”

My question was interrupted as a patter of feet scattered across the ground and three figures materialised before us. One, tall and broad, looked down upon me with alarmed eyes which quickly returned to wary; another, a short pokémon, looked slightly emotionless but at the same time happy. The latter grew a smile.

“Zhol!” I exclaimed, nearly leaping onto her with excitement. I felt my tail sway and my body strengthen. It hadn’t been long, but it was weird to go for a measurable time without her.

“Hi, Dusty!” she replied mildly enthusiastically, revealing the third pokémon—a bite-sized pink pokémon with blue polka-dots – or, as I liked to call them, poké-dots – spread out over his skin. A scrunched face appeared disappointed as the snubbull addressed everyone with a flash of his eyes and shyly hobbled down the centre of the path and between us all, in the direction of the waterhole.

“Who’s the cutie?” I asked the sneasel amusedly, finding the young pokémon ugly and adorable at the same time.

“He’s a granbull’s son—Hunter.” She drew the slowqueen’s attention and mentioned, as the scyther pushed by, “He was injured, so we returned to get his wounds treated.”

Ikari nodded, and with her eyes she followed Shardclaw walking beside the normal type, guiding him closer to the clinic. “It was good you thought to do so.” She passed Zhol a supportive smile.

“Oh—Ikari?” I began, stepping forward. By the looks of things, she wasn’t aware I knew her name. “Can I go with Zhol? She’s a great teacher! I—I mean...of the surroundings. Teaching me about the trees and...plants, and...general landscape.” I cleared my throat uncomfortably, my speech beginning to quicken. “You know.”

Zhol tilted her head as Ikari thought my request over. “...That would be fine,” she answered, and I cheered, pouncing onto my dark and ice type friend and knocking her to the ground. She nearly speared me with her claws as an automatic reaction, but instead held back her giggles and disapproval, shoving me to one side.

“If you all don’t mind, could you and Shardclaw take Dusty to the east, so Tarla and Doltei can search the area you were hunting in?” Ikari wondered, and I found it interesting that she asked for clearance before making the orders.

Zhol seemed indifferent. “I don’t mind.”

With a shrug, Hyso and the floatzel scurried down towards where Zhol was taking me earlier, through the west exit, and Tarla huffed, turning to the electrike. She muttered something and took wing, grasping him in her talons and soaring in the opposite direction to the huts—where Zhol and Shardclaw had come.

“So... We will be going with Shardclaw, then?” I questioned with a string of displeasure dangling from my tone.

“...Yes,” the sneasel confirmed, and I groaned inwardly. I so didn’t want to travel with him.

***

Why did Azure lie about her whereabouts? “It must have been another glaceon that you met.” I’m not an idiot. ...Well...maybe I am sometimes, but Raiys introduced her to me as Azure. I know it was her. The question now was, as I had been wondering, why didn’t she tell anyone she was pokénapped? Was she ashamed or embarrassed about it? Did she tell someone who wasn’t Mynk? It didn’t make much sense. Or, as an old friend and I used to say, it made anti-sense.

A twig slipped between two of my toes and stabbed my skin. “OUCH!” I yelped with a scowl, angry that it would so rudely interrupt my thinking. I spat a flame onto it, and a thin trail of smoke lifted, snaking sneakily into the sky. I noticed that Shard’s eyes grew as large as Cubbs’ thick skull and he snapped at me to extinguish it. With a mutter of annoyance I stamped it out, and Zhol threw me a particular look. It was a look of expectance: I should get used to being bossed around by this overgrown bug type. “Heh, we’ll see...” The trees ushered us further into the forest as the path became rockier, and soon we were leaping up small hills and eddying around the occasional boulder. As I remembered the question regarding Azure, I turned to my sneasel friend. “Hey,” I started, and she met my gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me Azure was a colony member?”

The sneasel seemed to ponder as she looked skyward before back to me. “You didn’t ask me.”

“Yeah, but I mentioned her before we got here... And it was like you didn’t know who she was at all.”

“Azure has...not been staying with us long. We are unacquainted,” she mused, and I could see her digging through her thoughts.

“Right...” I jumped a rock my size (and nearly snagged a foot on its point). “Do you know where she came from?”

The sneasel shook her head, and I frowned, facing forward once more. As I glanced over my shoulder, the scyther acted as if he hadn’t been staring at – or ‘checking on’ – me while I’d been talking to Zhol, and that only made my frown marks deepen. He was beginning to get on my nerves, and pretending wasn’t going to stop me from wanting to tackle him down and interrogate him.

My attention was shifted as a slope appeared to the left, obscuring the sharp and tricky stalagmites which had been spiking that path near when we began, and it rose fast before it was soon a looming wall of rock. A path wound up it further on, and on its level was what looked like more grass. The grass where we were was thinning out, and mainly in clumps. The trees were changing to become harsher and ahead in the far distance I could glimpse a barren land stretching further with each ledge and giant stone.

Zhol made a subtle edge towards the slope which tore through the wall, and soon enough we were elevating and onto grass once more, turning to the left. The path now stretched to the north, rather than the east, and it felt odd, since right next door was a desert-like land. However, I went with the flow, and the literal sound of flowing trickled into my ears, drowning my hearing in a rushing current not far off. “You guys gonna fish?” I asked, but really I should have directed the question to Zhol and Zhol only. It’s not like the scyther would reply.

“Oktau and Hyso are responsible for fish,” she told me, and I made an effort to thank her for her answer before padding on by the wall which continued in this direction.

Rustling hustled to my ears before I assumed a ready stance and locked my sights on a tree just begging me to hunt its inhabitants. A feathery tail poked through a break between the leaves, and my heart began leaping. “This is so mine,” I claimed, narrowing my eyes.

My friend hardly seemed interested in upstaging me. “...I’ll check if the river can be crossed easily,” she mentioned, and I nodded, trying to concentrate.

As the sneasel rushed off, I crouched with my tail end to the rock and I attempted to recall what I had seen her do when she hunted. Although...fishing was what I watched her to, and with that she merely used her hefty claws to take aim and then stab the suckers. Though I didn’t think that technique would be so effective in a situation like this, where the prey was in the air rather than being submerged. Taking my chances, I decided to stick with my instincts and wing it (here’s where one would groan at my humour)! I took off, having a better result than the last tree I tried to climb up, and the branch caught me with the many extra limbs growing from it in several places. I scrambled onto it and managed to balance after steadying myself, and then I readied myself once more and leapt onto an easier branch above. Once stable, I flashed a sly grin to Shard, who was watching with what...could have been worry.

I crouched, my belly fur brushing against the bark, and my shoulders reached for the sky as I crept along, meeting the trunk. I hoisted myself up to have two front paws against it and my hind legs were swarmed with weight. Saliva began flooding my mouth as I watched as, above, a number of spearow squawked at the sight of me and my hungry eyes.

Much to my surprise, I was jumped by one as he dove down and swooped, nearly slicing my eye. I shrieked and dipped my head, my tuft blowing back as the wind weaved between each strand. My paws nearly slipped as he wheeled around and tried again, but this time he skimmed my ear with a wing attack, and a soft throbbing began at its tip. As he repeated the action and neared me for a third time, I scarcely aimed before firing a stream of flamethrower, but the bird pokémon was unexpectedly agile and evaded the attack with a feather to spare. I screeched as he landed a successful gust attack, and I was blown hopelessly off balance, clawing at the bough for safety. Apparently the forest was mocking me as I failed to get a grip and tumbled onto the bough below and continued to the ground with a pain-induced wail.

In no time I felt a rush of wind and the flash of metal as I blinked out the pain and weakly turned my head. I couldn’t breathe as a result of being winded as I witnessed Shard race past me, take to the air and then flutter his way to the branch that threw me off. His claws dug into the bark and he raised his weapon-arms and must have been satisfied as the spearow screeched and reeled back, zooming to the nest he originated in.

I finally inhaled the much needed air surrounding me, and my chest heaved as I got to my paws and felt a large presence looming over me. I panted, twisting my head to see a scyther clenching his jaw. As much as I didn’t want to, I thanked him. It was horribly embarrassing to have nearly been beaten by a meagre spearow, but all the while, I was relieved it had been scared off before it did any more...damage...

Shard muttered a reply, but after he realised it was barely audible, he cleared his throat and repeated, “You’re...welcome,” and slipped away. He only went a few paces before stopping again, and I wearily followed.

I realised the reason he stopped and did the same thing, noticing as a duo of tasty-looking young buneary hopped along one of the rock wall’s levels. I gave a sinister smile as I decided I liked what I saw. Turns out we both had the same thoughts as Shard took off and lifted into the air before landing soundlessly onto the edge of the level the normal types had been previously on. I flinched with a tang of jealousy as I bounded towards a pile of boulders and jutting ledges that were my pathway to landing next to him (not that he waited).

Following their tail-ends, I sprinted after them while making sure to keep clear of the edge to my right which came before a long drop. It wasn’t long before I was overtaken, and within a matter of seconds, Shard was skimming effortlessly across the rock in hot pursuit. I darted after him, avoiding any splits in the floor or jutting rocks along the way.

We slowly rose, and the wall next to us grew further away, so that our level was becoming wider. We both had more space to run, and the buneary had less space to hide.
In no time Shard’s scythes came down upon one as the other flew out of the way at the last second, and unfortunately for the buneary, it was cut down its leg. It howled and rolled into a boulder before becoming unconscious, and Shard took it upon himself to bite into its neck to stop its pulse. I, meanwhile, sped past the scyther with the second and rather distressed normal type in view, felt my stomach fizzle, and spat out a glob of purple goop. It splattered short of the prey, and I was left to jump over it at the last second. I scoffed, thinking it to be typical, and tried again. This time I aimed further ahead, and it landed half a metre in front of the buneary. I frowned again, thinking it to be typical, but when it skidded, lost its footing and began somersaulting, I lightened up.

“Score,” I whispered, dancing ‘round the puddle and ripping the buneary from the ground. But when it shrieked and struggled rather than flopping dead, I drew a sharp breath and adjusted my grip, biting down harder. Finally I felt the prey droop, and I grimaced, imagining how painful it must have been when I failed to extinguish hi—its life. Every time I identified a prey pokémon’s gender, it became more personal, just like if I had known their name. That made it harder to kill the prey and become driven of all remorse. Master used to tell me something every time I had given her a forlorn look:

“The food chain works in a certain way. Without the food, there is no chain; and without the chain, there’s no order of things. So don’t feel bad.”

My head hung from my shoulders. I...I really missed her. It’s...hard without her.

“Come on,” muttered Shard through the fluff of his catch, and I obeyed after shaking the sorrow from my mind. I was rather surprised he had spoken to me, but who was to say he was comfortable?

“Yeah...” I mused, following with a body swaying back and forth from my jaws. Suddenly a tremor made me blink. ‘A tremor?’ At first I thought it was my belly, but when it visibly shook our surroundings, I had two things to believe: my stomach knew the move earthquake, or something else did!

Rocks from above tumbled from the high-placed ledge, and images of being trapped beneath one or having my skull forced in two invaded my mind. I snapped out of it and leapt, missing one by a single hair.

“Shard!” I yelped, the scyther frozen with fear. Around him a shower of stone chipped the ground and landed a fang short of his body. “SHARD!” I screamed, but the scyther’s only reaction was his jaw giving way and the dead buneary falling like slop onto the rock. I cracked down on the prey in my mouth and jolted forward, forcing myself to race through a deadly cascade of rocks. The adrenaline awoke inside of me, and my leg muscles were prompted to boost me forward in a desperate attempt to protect my very life.

Unfortunately the normal type which would satisfy my belly later on added to the weight I needed to carry, and it was constantly banging against my front. I clenched my teeth tighter as I forced myself to release it, but I didn’t need reminding about how bad that choice was. In a tangle my paws intertwined and there was less than a second to spare as my face slid along the harsh surface, stones and grit embedding themselves into my skin. I cried out with shock, a strong stinging firing up around my muzzle and forehead.

The sound of shattering rock pierced my ears as shards attacked from my right, some sharp enough to lodge into my flesh and cause a considerable amount of pain. “Ahh!” I screeched, curling up and praying from the depths of my heart for Arceus to spare my soul allow me my life. As soon as it could my head flipped up, and my eyes fell to Shard. Another boulder was crashing down from above him, and the fool was merely standing with wide eyes! I pondered things for a moment before ramming my paws against the rock. Had I not sprung from my position then and there and Shard would have been squashed scyther fodder! I slammed into him, narrowly avoiding a slit leg, and he was strewn across the path in a clumsy daze. I tensed my muscles and braced myself, preparing for a sickening crunch and a lost leg, but to my eternal relief, the sound was one of rock on rock. “You owe me,” I remarked, but my mood was quickly knocked from me as I felt my wet face ring with pain once more, and I longed for it to stop.

Although I knew my limbs had survived, I was unable to jump away as a fierce tugging clawed at my rump. I was in a wicked panic as I whipped around and absorbed the sight of my trapped tail. I squealed with desperation, swiping at the ground as if it would lift the rock and make it roll off the edge, but to my horror the reality of the situation dawned on me.

I was stuck.

***

“Shard!” I yelped again, repeating his full name shortly after. This was insane! Why was he leaning on his back, propping himself with his scythes and merely staring wide-eyed at me?! He needed to intervene and help me already! “Come on!” I pleaded, my eyes frantic in their search for more descending death spheres that were anywhere near. I caught sight of another, and it rocked on the above edge before tilting and dropping with a thick whistling sound. It was headed straight for me, and my eyes forced tears within them as I bore holes into Shardclaw’s skull. “Help me!”

I heard the misleading shatter of the boulder, and I felt it bash into my spine, causing a shrill shriek to escape my maw. However, it took me longer than a moment to recognise that it wasn’t a full-sized rock that had struck me. In fact, it was a mere fragment, and the contact it made with me was more of a shock than painful. Confused at this, I flung my head skywards in time to witness a dark figure soar before landing, its back to me and its powerful claws hanging just short of the ground. This ‘it’ was certainly not genderless.

“Z...ZHOL!” I cried, gushing fluids of relief and happiness mingled with those caused by fear and doubt. “You saved my life!” She whirled around and barely skimmed my face before zipping to my side and hesitated before slicing through the boulder and releasing my tail. I was overwhelmed and strongly grateful, and I wanted to find Zhol all the prey in the world to drop at her feet and watch her indulge in.

“Keep moving,” she urged, and I flicked my head upward. My heart stabbed my chest as I saw more rocks targeting us and began plunging in our directions.

With a scream I attempted to dart away, but my right leg almost betrayed me as I remembered the shards in my side. I had no time to yank them out as a rock smashed in front of me, and my best attempt to shield my face was to halt and shove it down, and a spray of pieces pattered my ears. One portion struck my eye, although it was closed, and I scrunched up my face as thumping began pulsing through my head. With no other priority, I blindly raced on, temporarily forgetting anyone but myself, and finally I saw the end of the path—where it began dividing into ledges. “Yes,” I breathed, nearly doubting my heavenly vision. My paws carried me faster, if possible, and my want for time to speed up was overwhelming. The repeated action of legs pushing my body placed me only metres from escape and my eyes lit up. I felt free, and somehow so much lighter; it was easier to run!

Without warning a yellow figure swiped the stability from my paws and I landed flat on my belly a number of paces away. I barely had enough time to dodge a stone the size of a solrock as I scrambled for better footing, wandering dangerously close to the edge. A sandslash lowered her head and shot forward in my direction, and I gasped, leaping towards Zhol, who was diagonally to my right. She crashed into Shard and our mouths simultaneously scooped up rocks. I wasn’t even given a chance to apologise as a boulder flew down from the above ledge, bounced, and knocked Zhol clean off the cliff. “Zhol!” I screamed, and the dual type luckily slipped from the rock’s underside as the two slammed separately into the earth below. The sneasel had been hit while she didn’t expect it, and as a result she failed to land upright. When she made contact with the ground, she was pushed a few metres forward in the form of somersaults before halting beneath a tree.

Shard drew a sharp breath and heaved himself up, dashing past me and stopping midway between me and the sandslash. The spiked pokémon adopted an offensive position, a glint of anger and protective nature shimmering through her eyes. This struck me as odd, but I continued watching what Shard did once confirming the lack of boulders in my general vicinity. The two sharp pokémon stared each other down for only a second longer before a rock tumbled down, nearly directly heading for Shard. I narrowed my eyes and the scyther returned. I met his alert eyes and he seemed ready for something as I heard the patter of paws and clatter of claws against rock.

The sandshrew evolution burst through the fragments of the stone and sprinted our way, and impulsively Shard hooked his jaws around my mane. I was taken by complete surprise as his wings started beating a million miles per hour and my paws lifted from the rock. I was for once glad about the many knots weaved into my fur; however, clearly I was too heavy for his jaws alone to endure, and we descended quite quickly, tumbling across the ground once connecting with it. It was as if we had been spat from a giant mouth as we lay sprawled across dirt and grass shoots. I moaned and lifted myself up, my confused gaze being thrown about as I laid eyes on the sandslash. She watched intently from the top of the looming wall, and frankly I was intimidated!

Looking away to prevent angering her further, I dug through the air to find Zhol lying limp to my left. I scrambled to her side, nearly stumbling over my own paws, and held my head over her. She was bleeding in many places, notably both arms and her left cheek, and she seemed unable to move a leg very well. Her breathing was inconsistent and her eyelids pushed against one another, squeezing tears from underneath. I bit my lip, guilt jabbing my chest as I realised she was hit by the boulder on my account.

“Damn it,” I cursed, tearing from her as a clash met my ears. To my horror a gang of outsiders had surrounded Shard and were attacking one at a time, going for weaker parts such as his abdomen. “Hey!” I yelped, but immediately I regretted it. All four (plus Shard) thrust daggers in my side as they took note of me, and two split from the group and headed in my direction—fast. The two coming for me were a cubone and a numel, and somehow both were unexpectedly fast! The cubone spun a bone at me, and I shrieked, ducking. It flipped straight over my head, and unfortunately for the ground type, came to a halt as it thumped into the tree Zhol was resting under. And unfortunately for us, it dropped onto her face. “Sorry,” I whispered, watching as she shakily got to her feet. I was unsure whether or not she should be doing that, but I could use the extra help!

The orange and green stout fire type plundered towards me while the cubone came to a stop to plan another attack, and I readied a shadow ball. Pretending the cubone was Cubbs, a spark of dislike got the ghost move fired up, and combined with the negative energy emitting from the surrounding pokémon, I shot the spherical dark matter forwards, and it hovered above the ground until it struck the numel, sending him back a few paces.

“Gimme my bone!” The cubone presumably had his heart set on retrieving his bone as he sprinted in my direction, jumped a few centimetres, and landed with his lower half turned as if he were surfing. What certainly wasn’t a wave of water sprayed in our faces, and in no time I was seeing sand. However, the cubone never made it to his beloved object as Zhol covered him in snow and ice, freezing the sucker in his tracks, as well as the ground his feet were attached to. I had no objections as I looked to her, a satisfied expression in place, but she was unable to reflect my feelings as she staggered and dropped, catching her weight with her powerful claws. I ducked my head to assist her, checking to ensure her safety.

“Take it easy,” I advised, and the sneasel wheezed, presenting her undefeatable half-grin.

Our silent exchange was interrupted as our ally grunted loudly. Shard was fending off not only two sandslash, but the numel which previously challenged me. I found this completely unjust, and with a burst of sudden heroism, I sped forward. Just as a sandslash lashed out at my scyther acquaintance, I released a stream of fire, hopefully frying her ears and whatever else it happened to hit. Quickly I repeated the action on the other sandslash (while I heard Shard shriek), and I skidding to a stop as they both shook off and raised their massive weapons. Another numel and a sandshrew appeared from nowhere on the ledge and began making their ways down, presenting more problems.

By that time I was fleeing back towards Zhol and into the sanctuary of trees, the sandslash tailing me. Zhol avoided them both as we rushed past her, but one caught sight of her frozen fellow cubone and turned to her. The sneasel backed up, her claws out to the sides in case she needed to use them. However, one of her legs gave way and she almost fell, giving the sandslash nearly complete dominance. In an effort to evade the sandslash on my tail, I whirled around, earning myself a scratch from the outstretched claws, and, gathering fuel for another shadow ball as fast as I was able, I fired the attack at the other sandslash. I nearly missed as it slammed into her, and Zhol was dubbed a lower priority as the enemy pokémon regained her balance and slapped me into her line of sight. “Uh oh,” I muttered, forced to make a sharp turn to the left and back toward the trees, confusing the sandslash that didn’t stop for Zhol—Sandslash One. I knew Zhol was thankful as I raced between trunks and kicked up dirt especially for my followers to swallow, and I began to notice that the forest was thinning. ‘Oh, that’s right!’ I thought, thinking myself to be a bit of an idiot. ‘It’ll get rockier and rockier.’

I was faster than those ground types, which meant I had a bit of an advantage, and that showed as I tossed my head over my shoulder to check their positions. After feeling bushy material tickle my toes, I suddenly slammed into something, falling on my back. I groaned and rolled over, taking in the massive stone that I somehow didn’t see. I stumbled behind it and slumped against it, waiting out the pain in my front. It slowly faded, but I knew I’d have a bruise or two.

The stone shook as a sandslash, as I had expected, ran face-first into its surface, and I held back the giggles as Sandslash Two (or Angry Sandslash) leaped from the bushes and landed to my right. Since she was shocked and distracted by her partner’s sudden halt, her peripherals failed to pick me up, and I gave a smirk. I took this opportunity to use a quick attack, knocking the foe off her feet, and followed it up with a (disappointingly) weak flamethrower. Sandslash One appeared at Angry Sandslash’s body, and readied her claws—those giant ones as long as her mouse-like face. She launched herself at me, nicking my tail as I turned it and ran, circling the small clearing we’d stumbled into.

I nearly stopped as I turned to view my backside, thinking the glimpse I caught of it was my imagination. I blinked with horrid realisation as I assessed it: half of my tail was gone. “WHAAAAT?!” I screamed, finally knowing why I felt so much lighter and ‘free’. I shrieked again, and Sandslash One looked taken aback. However, it didn’t throw her off track as she neared, eyes determined and claws ready. But I would have none of that. While running I acidified my throat, my stomach lurching as it bubbled and slid poison liquids up my pipes and into my mouth. With a “Pleh!” I spat a glob after shifting my head around, and I heard a splat before slowing to see the damage I did. However, I left myself open to surprise attacks, and it was then that I tumbled backwards, confused before I realised Angry Sandslash had rapid spun me away from her. I shook off and forced myself to my paws, feeling the increasing burden plaguing my body.

Both sides of my body ached. My thighs thumped as cuts and scrapes dotted my skin, as well as the bullet hole, and my face was still stinging, stones etched between wounds. My shoulders had similar problems, notably the scratch Sandslash One had caused. On top of that, I had half a tail! And how that happened I’d have no clue! Just about the only section of my body that remained untouched was the skin under my mane.

The ground types began closing in on me; I glanced from side to side, wondering what to do. I ran my gaze down Sandslash One, but nearly all the poison had dropped off. I nearly smacked myself in the forehead for forgetting that ground types barely took damage from poison attacks, but it had slowed her down, at least.

Out of nowhere I fired a line of flames towards them, and silently referred to them as cheaters as they retreated into their spikes, becoming nothing more than sharp balls. The fire steered clear of them, and they uncurled as if nothing had happened. I stressed my neck muscles, checking to see what was behind me. A stump and some bushes, and that was practically the end of proper vegetation; ahead (or behind) was dying plantation, and eventually things like cacti and drought-comfortable grass. Flicking my head back to the sandslash, I folded my lips in. These powerful pokémon had me outnumbered and outmatched. They both had type advantages against me, and I had a feeling they weren’t going to stop their ball-curling just for me.

One of them kicked up sand, and I ducked with a squeak, missing it by a hair, while the other darted forward and slashed with her giant claws. If it hadn’t been for the duck, I would have had two stakes in my face! I rolled out the way so I was behind the entrance stone, shards of an earlier boulder attack digging further into my flesh while dirt clung to patches to blood. Sandslash One, who happened to be the one that kicked sand in my face, pursued me in spherical form and bowled me over, her spikes thankfully not impaling me. I landed with an “Oof!” and felt nearly sick as my legs hoisted me up again. Sandslash One rolled back to her friend, and they exchanged inaudible words while I was struggling to regain focus. As weary as I was, I couldn’t let them win. For all I knew, they’d leave me out here with no treatment—or worse: take me back to their lair and eat me!

Just when I thought nothing could get any worse, another shudder of the stone caught our attention, and I picked up some cursing before a black figure leaped over the bush beside it—behind me. I was ready to curse with him as I scanned his body. His main colour was charcoal, but his muzzle and underside were orange. There was what looked to be a tiny skull situated in the middle of his chest, and he had bone bracelets cuffing his ankles as well as streaking his back. He was bigger than me and definitely more intimidating as he snarled, revealing a row of sharp teeth. The horns on his head were curled threateningly, and his eyes were rather enticing and burning with passion. He flicked his elongated, arrow-ended tail in annoyance and I definitely had reason to panic: I couldn’t adequately use flamethrower or shadow ball against him, and definitely not a bite, and honestly I had no motivation to fight him at all. However, that wouldn’t stop him from attacking me with as much force as he pleased.