Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or claim to own it. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo...
Summary: A battle of love between a Sandslash and Quilava, one who wants, but the rules of the clan forbid such a things, while the other doesn't acknowledge such a thing and couldn't careless for such an emotion...
Hidden Love: Prologue
Power, one element that our species wants, but cannot have, which everyone strives for to themselves against my father's back… every single one… on this barren wasteland…
Nothing besides extreme heat casted its haze across the arid land in continuous patterns, the morning being a blaze of extreme heat while the night brought a cooler, but not by much, temperature. The breeze that picked up only felt hot, and only caused more problems for those I saw who needed help. Helping of Pokémon outside our species was strictly forbidden within our clan, only for those within our species were to be aided if wanted. If you were caught helping someone, you were to face the leader of the clan for judgement, a situation you don't want to be in at any time.
The humidity was the cause of most deaths. It was not for a stray wanderer of any kind that couldn't live in these conditions. If they were, they would soon be sentenced to dehydration and even heat related death if they weren't acknowledged. This was rare in any case, with how arid these planes were in the first place, there was no chance in ending up in here knowingly; you'd be dead within minutes unless you had a good reason to be in the desert.
But of course there are those rare encounters, lucky for those who I've helped out of here or have let them take refuge in secret. If I was caught, I would be in for a beating. I'd prefer to take the punishment; I wasn't one to let someone die just because of a rule that should be dismissed. But I had to tough it out; the rules stated the head of the pack would choose the betrayers punishment... the head of the pack was my father... which deserved me the highest care and my own area of refuge in privacy. I took it as an advantage for those who need help, like the bunch I was helping now.
They came from the forest far to the west of here, being told this was the only way back to Tidal Town, where the great exploration guild was, one I've heard only stories about and wished one day to see it with my own eyes. They were part of a rescue team, a new one that were lacking badly in the planning category by the sounds of things. I managed to just find two of the four of them passed out on the desert, the two still battling the desert alert and aiding me in getting both of them back to my abode before passing out shortly after from lack of water, though a splash of water helped that.
It wasn't much to fancy, my home, it was just a huge underground area that I dug out myself, and the help of some other Sandslash who has recently gone missing. But yeah, it was big in size, nothing in it beside a really thin, pink worn out blanket that I found on the sands when I was exploring. I also found a wooden plank, which I carved down with my long, sharp claws on my paws and shaped in a circular form, using it as a door for the only entrance of my den, a hole in the wall that tunnel a few metres before coming to the surface. All of my kind found it weird, but I paid no attention to it and just told them I liked privacy. There was also a crevice against the far end of the room, a small one that I stored items in that I found lying on the desert and claimed as my own.
"I'm glad you helped us, if you didn't… well I'd be a skeleton added to this deserts collection… we all would have been…" Grain said quite shamefully, rubbing the back of his head with one paw and taking a drink of water with his paws cupped that I had offered him from the source of water that was in a little ditch on the side of a wall. It wasn't a permanent supply of water, I had to continuously fill it from the daily picking within our clan's home, and I didn't really need to drink water as I survived on the juices of berries. He took a small porcelain bowl from a tan looking bag he had on him, slung over his right shoulder from the single strap and hanging down to about his orange furred hip, using the bowl to scoop up some water and pouring it on himself, leaving some left over so he could drink it.
"It's no problem, I do it for a living," I remarked quite heavily, shaking my paws in a shy movement in front of me. He gave me a short look, pouring more water on himself, drenching his fur in more of the cool water and making the Buizel look much more vibrantly coloured then he did when I first found him, getting the sand out of his fur that had clung to it. I turned my head to look at Silver, the Vulpix that was wounded and slightly in a battle for his body from what I was seeing as his body was twitching in small spurts every second within his slumber. I felt his forehead for temperature, though not too sure on what I should be feeling, never having to take care of a Vulpix injuries as I've never ran by one.
Lucky there was another Vulpix here, one more suitably healthy and having a vivacious brown fur compared to the one I was tending to, his fur all matted with blood that I was unable to get out after cleaning him the best I could with water. After feeling the extensive heat of Silver's body heat, a mildly hot feel from his body, I moved to Sarina, who was sleeping next to him, huddled close to him to keep him warm as she said his temperature was much lower than normal. When I applied my paw on her forehead, I could tell she wasn't lying by that, she was much hotter than him, leaving me to stand up and apply the pink blanket over the both of them, leaving there heads stick out for oxygen.
"Are you in love with Pali?" I asked quite abruptly, turning to look at Grain, getting a slight pause of silence from the water that had been splashing on the earthy floor, receiving a cold stare from Grain as I slightly turned my head down in shame. I wasn't too sure on what to talk about, knowing the most already from the two vulpine, I didn't know anything about the Buneary yet, though I had a sense that I've seen her before.
"Why do you ask that?" he said quietly within a whisper, glancing over to the cute Buneary who was leaning against the continuous earthy wall that kept the surface from collapsing. She was the second that was still awake when I found them, the first being Grain as they dragged the two vulpine behind them in hopes of finding a shelter in this stark desert.
"I find her cute…" As soon as I spoke that, I was visited by a torrent of water. I was sent back a few paces, drenched all over with water on my rock hard flesh slightly shivering from the cold it brought to my body as I landed on back, my spikes preventing me from being pushed any further as they struck the ground hard and dug in. The water slowed down as I caught the Buizel begin to close his maw, walking over to me as I watched him give me a daggering stare that made me regret asking that questions.
"Be careful what you say around me!" He told me, his voice dropping a few tones, grabbing me by my neck and making me stand on my feet, his objective trying to make me hover in the air as he held me from my neck. He was too short to be able to pull that off successfully, me being taller than him but a few inches, but his strength was incredible to pick me up without any effort. I caught a glimpse of his crimson eyes, different from the sky blue ones he had just moments ago and felt his paws squeeze around my neck, making me open my maw in pain and attempt to breathe some air.
There was a rush of lights at that point that began to swarm my vision slowly, his hold becoming tighter, clenching his one paw around my thick neck and making me flail my arms. How he managed to hold me was beyond me, but it seemed unnatural for him to have eyes that changed colour, that I was for sure, and that grimace he gave me looked malicious. I admit I was scared at how he was acting, being kind and caring; now he was truly opposite of that.
"Put him down, Grain!" I heard in the form of a feminine yell, his grip on my loosening before I caught his body beginning to form a shell of some kind from his feet upwards. I was on my feet, rubbing my neck to get feeling in it and breathing heavily to pick up the oxygen my lungs lacked, viewing his body as the crystal like shell began to freeze his body in place, covering him up to the rim of his floatation sack. The reason behind this was clear when I looked behind him, the brown, fuzzy Buneary's left paw extended against his back with an icy blue cast emitting from the clenched fist she formed.
"Ice punch?" I questioned with a claw to my maw, admiring the technique as for one I've never seen an ice move used and another reason was that I never knew a Buneary could learn a move like that, being a normal type in my knowledge.
She gave a cute smile towards me, "Sorry about Grain, his… overprotective of me. This'll soothe him," she said innocently; retracting her fist from Grain and letting the Buizel 'cool down' from his little burst of rage he had on me. "It's natural for him to lose his temper, but a little bit of alone time with him and I can subdue the beast that lays within him…" she added in a lustful voice, jumping on Grain's still mobile head and landing on top, giving him a delicate peck on his forehead. A blush formed on his cheeks and his eyes began to settle as the crimson pupils began to dilate and return to the sky blue ones he had before, ones calm and full of secret emotions I couldn't grasp.
"I… uh…" I stuttered a little scared to ask any questions with the reaction I got from one of them quite unknowingly. I took a seat on the spot I had been almost strangled on, admiring the sculpture that Pali had made of the once flaming Buizel. I was a little side-tracked by the sudden burst of his attidute changing for the worst, but the Bunerary said it was natural… I reckon this team has great problems... though I knew who held the strength within the group now…
"His my sweet cake," she told me, leaping off him as he began to heave his eyelids, walking over to me and rubbing up against me with her soft fur in a flurry of speed. She would have anchored me to the ground if I weren't supporting myself with my clawed paws. I wasn't to thrilled about her rubbing against me, I never really liked any female to as it gave me a sense of great concupiscence… and the fact she was utterly cute wasn't making it any better… "To think this is my second time here…" she admitted with closed eyes, leaning against me gently with a content sigh.
I pushed her away softly, smiling sweetly with the blush I felt I had with the feel of my cheeks flustered, when I noticed and realised what she said. When I got a good look of her eyes, I remembered meeting this Buneary before, those emerald eyes sparking my memory when I got a good look at them. Though they were much more settled and placed in pieces then the first time I saw her, "You're the same Buneary? But you seem… different… more… outgoing?" It took me some time to think of a word to describe her, using a stalling technique I used in conversations that I found a little disturbing and not to my taste, and the fresh thought of her still rubbing against me quite clear and making me nervous to say something in the first place.
"Yeah… it's because I met this lovely being, he understands me and I understand him…" she pointed her paw towards the Buizel that was asleep within the ice that was beginning to melt and make a mess on the floor. "His somewhat in the same position as me… accept he has blood on his own hands…" Pali added, looking up to me as I was quite taller than her, me having to look down just to catch the adorable little Buneary. I knew what she was talking about, remembering a Riolu that was with her explain her situation to me. I guess that my sentence in this world was nothing compared to what she has been through.
"Please could you not talk about blood…? I don't want to be reminded of my father… that arrogant filth…" I said as nicely as I could, folding my arms and turning away with a frown on my face and a mutter of words under my mouth. At least now I was thinking about my clan, pushing the arousal I was getting by that small second of continuous rubbing of her fur against me. One thing I despised most was him, most of the clan did… they liked me better, not that I liked to boast, and urged me to confront my father in battle and take other the power he had… but to do that, I would have to strike a final blow to him and draw the final breaths of his figure… one thing I was not was a killer…
Sure, I did think of myself as I worthy leader of the clan, but If I were to do such a thing, I would still need to have a female to pass down the lineage of leadership… and a female was one thing I did want, but one that was loving and compassionate, one thing the Sandshrew's and Sandslash's were lacking in. The females were power hungry as when they were bonded with a dominant leader, they shared his power in the clan, holding much more than the male does, ironically.
Though I could procreate with a female from our clan and become leader while my father was still breathing, but if I did this, I still had no power or say in the rules or control over the colony, I would only secure my place in the line and get appreciated from him for doing such a thing. So the main objective… even though I hated it… was to kill my father for me to bring great prosperity to all of us before he ends up killing all of us with our species beginning to die in great numbers ever since he became leader.
A loud shatter rang through my ears, like that of glass falling upon the ground. I turned quickly to see Grain fallen on the floor with shards of ice surrounding him, Pali on his back and her paws kneading his shoulders and arousing him from his short slumber.
"Where… where am I…?" he said tiredly, groaning as he remained there in discomfort while the Buneary continued her treatment on his back.
"Stay still and let me heat up your muscles," she coaxed to him in an ill manner or lustful tones, leaning her body down on his back at occasionally, by the looks of it anyway, licking the back of his head. I found it hard to identify if she was, her ears covering up the scene between her lips and his back as she lay against the back of his body. "You don't want to be sore like last time…"
"Well… uh… I might go and catch up on some news within the colony; youse stay here and make sure to not get seen by any of my species." I said quickly, not wanting to see where this is going.
"What colony?" Grain asked in a perk of interest, turning his head left to look at me directly. I was already late, though, I would go unnoticed for sure as I think it wasn't anything important… but it was my father and the tiniest and docile of things was important… so I wouldn't put it past me...
I gave a groan, if it was important I would have to go through punishment from my father for being late. "I'll explain it to them, you just go…" I heard Pali speak, making me bless her for knowing her and praising her, quickly rushing out of my den and leaving them alone for maybe a few hours.
I scampered through the burrow, the one way passage to the surface of the desert, where everything was much hotter and sandier then underground. The light from the sunlight began to peak my vision more brightly as I made my way to the end of the hole, sticking my head out and searching around to spot something that I was hoping not to see within the sandstorm that had picked up in the hours I had been underground with new friends that were most likely in danger now…
Adrenaline, the only thing I was counting on now as I had ran out of endurance to keep myself up knowingly. The rush I felt was exciting and thrilling, but I had to escape this place… I had spent enough time here and I wasn't going to let them kill me after I heard the guards talking…
I gave a heavy breath, my constant running upon my four paws slowing down to a stop as I reached an end in my road, coming to a wall with three tunnels to choose from. I stood up tall, being able to sustain my weight on my back legs even though I just felt like collapsing on the ground and resting. It would be eternal rest if I did that now as I heard the voices of guards chasing me still from behind my figure.
I don't know how many tunnels I had crawled through, but it was surely a labyrinth in here, wherever here was…that is… and seeing that I wasn't in the mood to deduce the current situation properly and refused to think in the hot sweat I felt all over my being. I ran through the tunnel to the right, regretting it as it ended in a dead end after a few minutes of running.
"Great!" I said sharply, turning my whole body around when I heard a shout that directed my pursuers that I was in that tunnel. I tossed my back against the wall, closing my eyes as I let rivulets of tears pour from my eyes, trying to catch my breath as my lungs felt like they were going to burst from my chest… I'm going to die here… no… not without a fight…
"THERE SHE IS!" A Sandslash yelled, his claws pointing at me while three were close behind him. This burrow was much bigger than most I had ran through and it held a crack above it which was most likely light from some source. It must be a new one or… I can't think of that now… I remained vigilant, not ready to give up as I shook my head, growling viciously with tears still falling from my ears. I wasn't going to give up… I wanted to experience much more in life, and the adrenaline that was still coursing through me was giving me rash ideas that would end up with me getting injured for the worse... but i might as well try something to get out of here
"Calm down missy! We won't hurt you as long as you come with us!" one of them shouted, clearly lying if he was to shout it to me. If he said it nicely, then I probably would have listened instead of leaping at them with my maw opening, expelling a boiling degree of flames to them as the fire surrounded me and the whole tunnel. I wasn't always one to think things through… I just acted and hoped for the best…
In a matter of seconds, through the bellow of fames within the tunnel, I felt a deep pain on my side. It made me lose concentration and yelp, landing on the soil that covered the ground with a skid and slowly forcing myself up, holding against the left side of my ribs as I had small amounts of blood gushing from a cut in my flesh, one staining my teal blue fur one my back and the patch of creamy fur that was my underside.
I turned my head and gave them a look of disgust as I had my back to them, standing there as I awaited them to take me down and drag me back to that cell I had been stuck in for what felt like weeks. I caught blood dripping on the claw of the one that was leading these pursuers, realising that he struck me good in my hopeful getaway. One went to walk up to me, being stopped by the one who was definitely the leader of this small pack who had attacked me. I wasn't shocked that they had no damage, these rock types… why couldn't it be ice types…
"Let her go… she can't escape this place without running into chief…" He pointed out smugly, that grimace on his face a scar that implanted me with a sense of fear. I fell onto the ground, lacking the energy to keep myself motivated to escape at this point. I landed on my stomach, a whine escaping me once again when I felt a sharp sting on my side again from the impact I made to the ground. "It seems she doesn't want to keep her feisty stature in her time of need," I heard him say, seeing him walk into my field of vision.
In a flash of seconds, I was being hung the air by him, both his paws holding me around my neck as a flailed weakly. He held me at eye level to him, him smiling wickedly and licking his lips, "if only leader would let us have our way with you… you'd be wanting to escape my grasp right now," he mocked, making me tear up some more when I felt his claws beginning to dig the flesh under my fur.
I began to feel faint, whether it was the blood I was losing, all the lack of oxygen; I began to feel my body become numb and my vision blurring. It was seconds later that I felt light headed, making contact with the ground painfully as he threw me to down to cause me more grief. I gave a look at my capture one final time, one begging for mercy as my vision blurred more, not just by my tears, but by a dizziness that was sweeping me. I heard loud chuckles, everything finally cutting out and turning black with my pain disappearing...
