The rain poured down heavily, and a low mist hung over the area. A lone figure trudged wearily across the clearing, seeking shelter from the downpour. The creature was feline in appearance, being less than 2 feet tall, and had large, round ears that were an odd shade of yellow on the inside. Its body was blue from the waste up, except for a single yellow band on each foreleg and a scruff of black fur around its neck, and its rear was black, except for the ninja star-like tip on its tail, which was that same yellow color, and the blue area covering its hind paws, a trait that identified the Shinx as a female.
She cast her gaze over the area, her odd pink-colored eyes seeking out a possible shelter. Not far off there was a small wood, but the trees weren't clustered very closely together. It would work as cover, but only to some extent.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden, sharp sneeze. "Damn it, I need to get out of this rain," she muttered angrily to herself, setting off at a much quicker pace than before. It wasn't certain but she had a suspicion that she was catching a cold, and it would only get worse if she stayed out here much longer.
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The Shinx stopped and looked about. She was in the middle of the wood, and had just realized that somewhere along the way she had started climbing a hill. She was about halfway up, and couldn't see much through the leaves of the denser trees around the base of the hill.
Still looking for a possible shelter, she spotted a group of berry bushes nearby. It wasn't much, but she could probably slip in under them to keep dry, and maybe get a bite to eat as well. Wiping her face to get water out of her eyes, she stood back up and walked over to the berry bushes, poking amongst them to find a hollow area of some sort that she could slip into.
"What's this?" She had found something, alright. In the ground, just under the bush next to her where minimal rainwater would fall into it, was a hole larger than her. In fact, on closer examination, it seemed to be a burrow, probably left by some Pokemon who had resided there before.
She blinked, questioning if she should enter. It was possible that the Pokemon who made the den was still there. Then again, the Pokemon couldn't be much bigger than her if it resided in such a small tunnel.
A thunderclap behind her cleared her mind of indecision. Being an electric type, she was more afraid of what might happen to the trees on this higher ground, and of being trapped out in the rain by a fire. Going underground seemed like a much better option at that point.
As she trekked deeper into the burrow, she admired the work done by the one who had dug it. In the entrance tunnel there had been put up a small wall and a few side tunnels to help prevent flooding.
Finally, she stepped out of the tunnel and into a small cave of sorts. Granted, it was still only about twice her size, but that was pretty huge for one of her size. Glad to have a place to stop and rest, she sat down and went to work licking as much of herself dry as she could. It wasn't long, though, before she gave over to exhaustion, letting herself collapse to the floor and drift off into sleep.
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Almost an hour later, another figure approached the burrow. Unlike the first, this one knew where it was going. It hopped right to the burrow and slipped in; sneaking down the tunnels like it had done countless times before.
Then it noticed the scent. There was the scent of another Pokemon in the air, a female to be exact. It was a fresh scent, less than an hour old, and it was getting stronger as the figure got closer to his den. In its haste to see who had intruded upon its burrow, it lost its footing and tumbled down the last few feet, landing hard on the Shinx below.
In a matter of seconds, the Shinx had been jerked awake and flung the attacker off of her, pouncing on it immediately, growling as the sparks her species was known for jolted through her body and built up in her fur. By the light of her own electricity, she could see the one who had awoken her clearly. It was a Nidoran, a small, rabbit-like creature with pins on its back, long, spiky ears that had a green color on the inside, and a single poisonous horn on its forehead. This one was purple in color, with darker purple spots on its knees, signifying it was a male, and thus having a stronger poison than the female counterpart. As it is, Nidoran don't have fur, instead being protected by a smooth but tough hide.
Still angered at her rude awakening, the Shinx snarled, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The Nidoran was trembling slightly, being a little bit smaller than her, but he spoke with no less malice than she had. "I should be asking you the same thing! This is my den!"
The Shinx was taken aback. He was the one who lived here? It seemed a bit large for such a small creature. Nonetheless, she didn't see why he would lie, or why else someone would approach this place, so she decided to take a chance and stood up for a moment to sniff the air.
He wasn't lying. Now that she paid attention she could tell that the whole cave was covered in his scent, except for the spot she had laid in just moments ago. It was a light scent, with only the faintest hint of musk. She guessed the Nidoran must be an adolescent, not much older than herself.
The Nidoran was still staring at her with his harsh red eyes. She stepped back, bowing her head in apology as the electricity dissipated back through her body. Despite this, she could still make out his shape quite clearly in the darkness, thanks to her feline traits."I…I'm sorry, I thought I was under attack. I only came here to seek shelter from the storm; I didn't know you made this den."
The Nidoran got to his feet as he spoke. "It's okay, really, but you gave me quite a fright. I never get visitors around here, aside from the occasional stray Rattata, especially not in the middle of a storm. Oh, and by the way, I didn't make the den; my father did while I was still just an egg."
The Shinx sighed in relief. She hadn't wanted to fight; she was far too weary from traveling in that storm. Slowly, being careful not to offend him, she asked, "Sir…may I stay for the night? I've traveled far and don't think I can handle the storm any longer."
The Nidoran smiled as best a Nidoran can, trying to appear friendly to his new guest. "Well, of course! I have the room don't I? But may I at least ask the name of my guest?"
The Shinx blinked. Her name? She hadn't thought to tell him that. She didn't even know him, for Arceus' sake, but she couldn't refuse to tell him after he agreed to let her stay for the night. "My name's Myoko."
The Nidoran nodded. "Nice to meet you, I'm Nexus. Now then, you look tired. Why don't you go back to sleep and I'll go check to make sure the burrow's hidden properly? I do think I left the entrance quite uncovered."
Myoko said nothing. She was grateful for the stranger's help, but she still didn't know if she could trust him, so she didn't feel right sleeping while he was still awake. Nexus seemed kind enough, but how was she to determine whether or not he was sincere? She was about to open her mouth to speak once more when she realized he had already scampered off to take care of things. Sighing, she curled up against the wall and went to sleep, hoping she could trust the Nidoran to do her no harm.