Hello, all you happy readers! Well, perhaps 'all of you nonexistant readers' would be a better term XD. Yeah, another short story... eight chapters worth of shortness. It has the Mary-sue Tessa in it, so don't be too hard on that part, I recognise my mistakes. Very old story, this is.
Sundrop
AWOOOOOOOO!
A chorus of raucous howls rose from the dark night, signaling that the hunt had begun. A small pack of Mightyena ran effortlessly through the grassland, tracking the prey they had spent all night wearing down. Now they ran not for fun, but for the kill that would sustain them for another week or more.
The terrified Tropius ran doggedly on, feet pounding the hard earth as it sped for anything that would grant it safety from its pursuers. The howls sounded closer, and there was no cover in sight.
Suddenly, a dark shape flew from the thick grass before the Pokemon, snapping at its vulnerable legs and underbelly. The Tropius bellowed in terror, flailing its sharp leaves and stomping with its feet. The rest of the pack materialized out of the darkness, growling and crouching close to the hard packed earth while waiting for an opening.
The huge plant Pokemon reared up, the desperate move of a dying beast, and put it's whole weight into the blows it dealt. One of the dark dogs, broken and bloody, flew to the ground in a lifeless heap. The others leapt upon the prey more fiercely, bringing the great beast to its knees before finally dealing the killing blow.
The Tropius lay dead, its life lost to the pack on the blood-spattered battleground. The Mightyena began the feast, stuffing themselves violently with the sweet meat until they could eat no more.
Soon, the last of the dark dogs had left the carcass, and the pack continued back to their haven for the night. If there were any meat left by morning, they would rip it into smaller pieces and store it in the cold, deep caves of their home. As it was, many of the pack took large chunks of the mutton and began dragging them, bringing the sustenance to their families at the caves.
By daybreak, nothing was left of the huge kill except for a stained skeleton and a few, sparse strips of well-picked meat. The grasslands waved their tiny fronds to a new day, oblivious to the cruel scene of nature on its very grounds as the sun rose red and vivid on the horizon.
A vicious growl erupted from the deep cave, warning the male Mightyena that he could not enter. He growled softly and placed the large chunk of Tropius meat at the entrance, pausing to peer down into the den before loping to the other side of the cavern.
A soft, gray snout soon appeared at the entrance, sniffing curiously before taking the meat delicately in its jaws. The female rumbled in her throat, thanking and warning at the same time, before disappearing into the darkness once more.
She loped down the twisting tunnels effortlessly, following the tiny cries of her newborn pups. The passageways opened up into a small grotto, where two tiny Poochyena huddled in a soft nest of downy hair and warm sand.
The mother looked at her pups with pride, thinking of names for each of them. The male was an ashy gray, normal for most Poochyena, and the markings on his feet and face were a pitch black. The female Mightyena sat and thought, considering some creative names and the names of other pack members. Suddenly, she knew the perfect title.
"Dust, my baby. Your name is Dust,"
She turned her attention to her daughter, looking at the puppy's features intently in the weak light filtering in from the ceiling. A dim speck of light drifted from the young pup's fur, but was unnoticed by the mother, who had already turned to consider. She looked at the Poochyena again, and sighed.
"This isn't going to be easy, not for a dark Pokemon," she mused.
The tiny pup wriggled around in the nest, and was suddenly illuminated by the ray of sunlight pouring in through a larger crack in the ceiling. The female Mightyena gasped as the light was reflected back in the form of a rain of sparkles.
"I never thought... oh, but she's beautiful!"
In even the low light, the tiny pup glowed with the radiance of the sun. She was not a pure yellow, for where the black patches on a regular Poochyena would be she had dusky yellow-brown fur, but still she was lovely. Her mother looked down upon her, and immediately thought of a raindrop reflecting a brilliant prism of sunlight.
"Yes... that would be it, wouldn't it? Sundrop? My baby Sundrop,"
Six Months Later...
"Hah! I'm going to beat you this time, Dust!"
"Not in a million years, Sunny!"
The two sibling Poochyena raced each other through the tall grass, straying as far from the pack as they dared. The pounding of running feet and joyful barks echoed throughout the area while the adult Pokemon lazed in the last light before day's end.
Soon, the hunt would begin, and it would be the pups first time to be brought on such a venture. They were excited, and were trying to burn off their excess energy before they had their first lesson.
A howl from their father brought the two speeding back to the pack, panting softly as they trotted forward. The huge Mightyena smiled tenderly at his children, proud of how large and strong the two had grown over the past few months. He was worried, however; they were inexperienced at stealth and tracking, and a mistake when they were bringing down prey could be fatal for one or more members of the pack. He sighed and dismissed his fears as he saw the expectant faces all around.
"Okay, pups, this is your first hunt, so I want you two to behave." he instructed, "Don't make a sound until we tell you to, and most of all, don't do anything without a signal from us if we're bringing down prey. Do you two understand?"
"Yes, Father," answered the pups, completely in sync.
The Mightyena nodded once, and the pack's Alpha led off. Dust and Sundrop trotted proudly at their heels, surrounded by adults who were already beginning to track scents. The young pups watched in fascination, sniffing the air curiously to try and catch any scents themselves.
Soon, all the safety the pups had ever known was lost from sight over the darkening horizon. The hunting party moved with unnatural stealth, and the Poochyena instinctively kept quiet while the adults caught the scent of Spoink on the other side of the grassland. The pup's father walked to them, telling them to sniff the air.
"What's that weird smell?" asked Dust.
"I bet it's food, right Dad?" asked Sundrop excitedly.
The Mightyena smiled down at the youngsters, nodding his answer.
"Yes, children. That scent is a Spoink," he said, "When we catch one, I'll show you what they look like."
The pack moved in on the small group of pig Pokemon, making no sounds while they set a trap for the largest ones. They didn't need to worry about being seriously hurt by the herbivores, for the pigs were a psychic type and were therefore weak against the dark dogs. But the older pack members still signaled for the pups to stay out of the way for now.
The young dogs watched as the pack planned out the entire trap, noting how quietly they moved. The Spoinks continued feeding, oblivious to the danger not twenty feet away as they bounced high to pick berries off the trees.
Suddenly, the trap was sprung! Mightyena leapt into the group of Pokemon, herding the drove up the hill and into the waiting jaws of a second attack force. Not many of the small pigs escaped with their lives, and those that did were the fastest and most cunning.
It was not long before the bloodshed was over and the pup's father was walking back to them, holding a squealing Spoink in his heavy jaws. The two young Poochyena barked excitedly, wanting to see the prey clearer.
The Mightyena dropped the injured pig to the ground, and it squealed in pain as it tried to bounce on a broken tail. Sundrop started to approach the Pokemon, but Dust was quicker. He ran up and sniffed the Spoink curiously.
Suddenly, the pig shot forward, hitting Dust squarely on the nose with the orb on its head. The Poochyena yelped and jumped back, whimpering as he rubbed his sore snout. The others in the pack laughed softly, waiting to see what the pups would do.
Sundrop cautiously approached the pig, careful to stay away from its head. She sniffed the air, smelling the fear and panic of the small creature, and suddenly pounced upon it. Her small jaws pierced the skin, and the first taste of blood entered her mouth. She growled, biting down harder as the pig shrieked in alarm, and suddenly felt something snap within her prey. The pig went limp, and she looked at her father questioningly, surprised.
"Good job, Sundrop. You just made your first kill," he said proudly.
"I did?" asked Sundrop.
"Yes, my baby. How about we bring another for your brother?" suggested the Mightyena.
"Yeah! He can do it too!"
Another Mightyena brought a smaller Spoink to Dust, who stared at it, confused. He tentatively sniffed it, but the pig turned to face him and leapt forward, ready to bash him with its orb. Dust was ready for another trick of such nature. He waited until the small Pokemon had come close, and bit down upon its orb. The Spoink screamed as he slammed it into the ground again and again, and finally the shrill cries ceased and the pig hung motionless in the pup's jaws.
"That's a new technique..." mused the pup's father, looking at Dust curiously, "Good job, son."
"Thanks dad!"
The pack settled down to eat their kills, the pups thoroughly enjoying the pork that they had killed themselves. It was not long before they were finished, and the adults had taken the leftover meat in their jaws to carry home.
"That was it?" asked Sundrop as she and Dust followed her father.
"Yes, that's all we have to do to feed the pack, but prey is not always so easy to obtain. Remember, what we caught was small compared to what we usually take down."
They continued on in silence, except for a dull roar that was steadily becoming louder somewhere in the night. Suddenly, the roar increased in volume, and twin lights illuminated the entire pack. Most of the Mightyena scattered, but the bright lights hypnotized a few of the dark dogs and they stood frozen, staring into the glow. Sundrop stood still, confused between running and staying where she was.
She looked frantically around for her father and brother, but the lights were blinding her and she couldn't see anything beyond the beams. He coat sparkled, and she heard sounds beyond the light as she cringed in fear.
"Oh my gosh! Look at that! It's a shining Poochyena!"
"Quick, capture it before it gets away!"
"I knew we'd find something good if we went out tonight!"
A red and white sphere flashed before Sundrop's eyes, and she yelped as the ball hit her flank. She tried to run, but a cruel red glow had engulfed her. Her vision blacked out, and she couldn't see the bright light anymore. She panicked, trying to escape the darkness, but the nothingness held her firmly in its grasp. Soon, she had to give up and rest.