PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Be this as it may, every species of Pokémon referred to in the following text and everything else that is a part of the Pokémon franchise is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended.

WARNING: This story contains sexual intercourse between one female and several male Pokémon. If this bothers you in some way, then I advise you not to read further. I am not responsible for any kinds of mental damages that this story may or may not cause.

Ruin of the Meek

Part 1: I cannot go on


The sunlight bathed the forest in its gentle warmth. June had just begun and the world seemed to be full of life and energy. It was still a long time until the more depressing seasons of the year would arrive and so, Moon was looking forward to at least three very enjoyable months. She loved the summer sun, for she was an Espeon. The gem on her forehead glowed in the warm light and filled her with joy, making her forget all her worries. A gentle breeze ruffled through her purplish fur, ensuring that she wouldn't feel too hot. During this time of year, the world was certainly beautiful beyond comparison; the singing of many bird Pokémon could be heard in the distance, the grass was green and soft under Moon's paws and the trees and bushes had never looked more alive.

The Espeon was currently busy looking for edible berries, roots and plants, which she piled up on a big leaf that she could trail behind her, just like her father had taught her. From him, she had learned how important it was to always be gentle, tender and careful, no matter what she did, so she took a lot of time collecting the food, as she tried her best not to destroy or rip out anything she didn't need.

Not only had Moon received a large amount of valuable advice from her father, he also was the one who had given her a name. He was an Umbreon, and when his daughter had been born, he had named her after the thing he adored the second most only after his mate. Moon's mother hadn't objected, probably because she had never been particularly interested in her daughter...

"Moon!" Just the sound of this voice was enough to make the Espeon wince. She turned around and saw her mother stepping out from the brush. Her fur was brighter than Moon's, but the gem on her forehead was of a dark red shade; it almost had the color of blood. Even though Moon had reached adulthood some time ago, the older Espeon was still taller than her. She also seemed to be sleeker and more elegant than her daughter, but she was not beautiful. This was something Moon was absolutely certain of. A creature with such a hard, cold stare could never be called beautiful.

There was something about this Espeon called Reska that made Moon instinctively duck a little and expect the worst, and there were certainly a lot of things about her that just made the younger Espeon angry. From the way Reska had raised her daughter, Moon had learned that a Pokémon like her should not have children. A Pokémon like Reska should not even have a mate, at least not one like Pharion, Moon's father. She simply didn't deserve him.

"You're taking too long." Reska always seemed to be yelling, even if she was talking in a calm tone. Everything about her was intimidating.

"You always take too long with everything you do. If you were to consider spending a bit more effort on finding food that we desperately need to stay alive, you might just manage to return home with at least half as much as this for once..." Reska stepped aside, granting Moon an unobscured view on the large pile she had gathered. The younger Espeon frowned as she spotted many berries that looked old or squished and quite a few roots and sticks that didn't seem to be edible at all. At first she wanted to speak up against her mother, but Reska's hard stare was resting on her, making it very hard for her to gather up enough courage for something like this. In the end, Moon simply kept quiet, but she managed to at least keep looking at her mother without turning away.

"I don't even know why we keep feeding you," Reska spoke with just a hint of disgust in her voice. "Then again, you'd probably starve if you had to live alone, so throwing you out of our den would be a rather cruel thing to do..." The older Espeon turned her back on her daughter and slowly started walking. "Let's head back and see if your father has done something useful for once." Since Reska had left without taking her leaf with her, it was up to Moon to take both leaf stalks between her teeth and drag all the food along behind her. Even though she was used to this, it was still very exhausting work, especially since she had to watch out not to drop anything and still follow her mother without falling behind, as Reska took every opportunity she could find to yell at her daughter.

For a while they walked without talking, avoiding hills and dense bushes with the only noticeable sound coming from Moon, as she was panting through her clenched teeth. Then, Reska slowly came to a halt and turned her head to look back at her daughter.

"It's not easy having to drag all this stuff with you, is it?" she asked. Moon stood still and opened her mouth, now taking deep breaths, almost gasping for air.

"It'd be a lot easier if you helped me," she spoke, managing to sound at least a little bit accusing. Her mother now turned around to face her and slowly sat down. Nothing about her posture signaled that she might feel insulted, but her forked tail was raised, swaying from the left to the right in an almost threatening manner.

"You have to learn how to do this by yourself." Moon was certain that she knew exactly how to stay alive on her own; her father had always taught her very well. However, she decided not to say anything as Reska continued: "You know, you wouldn't have to work so hard if your father actually managed to bring down some prey for once." Moon's eyes tightened. It wasn't too hard for her to take when the older Espeon insulted her, but she wouldn't let her get away with speaking badly about her father.

"Daddy is too gentle to hurt anyone," she said, now with a bit of sharpness in her voice. "That is something truly admirable." Very slowly, a small grin appeared on Reska's face, but it didn't serve to make the older Espeon seem any friendlier.

"Just listen to yourself," she spoke in a mocking tone, "calling him "daddy". You're not a little girl anymore, Moon, you're an adult now, and you should act accordingly." Moon slowly became less angry again. Reska wasn't talking about her father anymore, so anything she was going to say now was at least more or less acceptable. "You should try to find a mate, for example," Reska added. "Someone you could live together with, someone you could mate with... It must be really embarrassing to still be a virgin at your age." The older Espeon noticed that Moon wasn't going to say anything in response. She turned around and started walking again; however, she kept talking, even though her daughter had trouble picking up the leaves and following her quickly enough.

"You know, I've had dozens of males before your father," she spoke in a tone of voice that sounded as if she was proud of what she was saying. "Just about everyone wanted me. In the end I decided to settle with Pharion, of course, because..." The word hung in the air for a moment. Reska shook her head. "Actually, I don't even remember the reason," she mumbled. Moon's ears twitched as she heard these words. Reska had always claimed that she loved her father. The younger Espeon had never actually believed her, of course, but it still surprised her to hear her mother talk this way.

"I thought you love him," Moon spoke. Reska looked at her for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Oh, I do love him," she replied. "I just don't know why."

The small family of two Espeons and one Umbreon lived in a cave that they had dug into a hill with a large tree on top of it. It wasn't particularly big, as this would have caused the hill to collapse under the weight of the tree, but it was enough for three Pokémon. The entrance was framed by two thick roots. It led directly into the one room the cave had, which served as a place for both eating and sleeping for every member of the family. Moon was relatively certain to know the reason why her parents apparently didn't need any private space just for themselves, and she wasn't quite sure what to think about this.

Next to the entrance there lay another large leaf, which had a pile of food on it, that was just a little bigger than Moon's and certainly a lot smaller than Reska's. However, Moon was sure that her father had collected the tastiest berries, plants and roots he had been able to find, whereas Reska had probably taken just about everything she had stumbled across. Still, the younger Espeon's gaze remained on the food only for a second, as she quickly recognized the yellow rings in front of the dark cave entrance, which were the only part of her father she could clearly make out in front of the black background. She immediately let go of the leaves she was dragging and dashed towards her father.

"Daddy!" She almost ran him over, but managed to stop right in front of the Umbreon and rubbed her cheek along his neck in an affectionate manner. Moon then looked at his face and saw him greet her with a loving smile.

"My sweetie..." Her father gave her a soft lick across her cheek and kept his eyes on her for a moment. His red eyes were deep and full of warmth. A long time ago, Moon had wished for her mother to look at her this way, too, but nowadays she was quite glad that only her father did this. It made it special. It showed her that nobody cared about her as much as her father did, and this made her feel warm and safe and happy. Only Pharion could invoke these feelings, and he managed to do it just by looking at her already.

However, after a short while her father raised his head in order to look at Reska instead. Moon watched what was going on with Pharion's face and to her it was as if she was being impaled by an angry Nidorino. Her father's smile grew broader, his eyes seemed to glisten and he started to slightly wag his tail. Reska, however, did not seem to be nearly as excited as he stepped closer to her.

"I missed you, my love," he spoke. Hearing those truthful words, Moon swallowed. She slowly sat down, not knowing whether or not she actually wanted to witness what was going to go on between her parents. Her father had always been the best mate the young Espeon could possibly have imagined; he was honest, faithful and so very devoted to Reska that he probably didn't even know of the existence of other females, with the single exception of his daughter, of course. It was painful to watch how his mate treated him.

Very slowly, Reska's gaze went from Pharion's face towards the pile of food next to him. She frowned.

"What is this?" she asked, sounding as cold as two blocks of ice crashing into each other. The Umbreon looked at the food as well and blinked.

"That's the food I've collected," he replied and turned his head back towards Reska, once again showing her a broad smile. "I've made sure to only pick the very best..."

"If I remember correctly, I had asked you to bring back at least a Rattata," Reska remarked before looking back at her mate. "I'm sick of those plants. It's been ages since I last ate a good piece of meat!" The smile on Pharion's face disappeared and his tail stopped wagging as he looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I tried to catch something, but they all got away, I'm really sorry..."

"You didn't try hard enough!" Reska shouted at the male in front of her, who seemed to be shrinking in size. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have gotten behind this by now?! You let them escape on purpose, just because you're not willing to kill anyone! Not even for your mate!" Moon pricked up her ears and managed to hear her father mutter "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." over and over again, but the older Espeon apparently didn't care about what he was saying.

"And you claim to love me," she spoke, sounding very disappointed. She breathed deeply. "I must say, I'm surprised. Do you remember how you said you'd fulfill all my wishes, no matter what I'd ask for?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I tried, but I just couldn't, I'm sorry..."

"You know, I thought I could trust you, but you apparently don't even want to try to make me happy these days, I really..."

"Why don't you just go hunting by yourself if that's so important to you?" Moon snarled. She had clenched her teeth. Right now, she hated her mother. Her father was the sweetest, gentlest, most wonderful Pokémon to ever wander this planet, and Reska had nothing better to do than hurt him. The older Espeon turned her head towards her daughter and apparently tried to stare her down, but Moon didn't feel intimidated this time. Instead, she felt her muscles become tense, readying her for an eventual battle. She knew that she would fight for her father. It wouldn't matter that her enemy was her own mother, she was ready to take on everyone who wanted to hurt him, everyone in the whole world.

"Hunting?" Reska spat out the word. "That's the male's job." She shook her head. "Well, I guess I can't expect you to know about these things, Moon, you've never been with anyone, after all..."

"Can't you see you're hurting daddy by demanding these things from him?" Moon cut her off. She was trying to calm down a little, but it was hard. Of course her mother wouldn't attack her, but she almost wished she did. Nothing could possibly make her angrier than her father being treated in such a terrible way.

"I hurt him?" Reska spoke in an unbelieving tone. "What are you talking about? I'm just taking him up on an offer he made, and it's certainly not my fault that he's too much of a wimp to keep his promises..." Moon growled and shot her mother a hateful stare, but before anything else could happen, her father looked at her and said:

"Please go inside the den, sweetie. This is something you shouldn't have to bother with." The younger Espeon blinked. As she noticed Reska's triumphant expression, she began:

"But daddy, I..."

"Please... Your mother and I need to be alone for a while, my sweetie..." Moon looked into her father's red eyes and swallowed. They showed an expression of indescribable pain and she knew she would just make it worse if she insisted on staying with her parents. Her father didn't want her to witness Reska yelling at him. He wanted to protect her from things like this. After a short moment had passed, she lowered her gaze.

"I'll do anything you want, daddy," she whispered. Moon then turned around and slowly padded through the entrance and into the family den. The faint glowing that came from the gem in her forehead barely illuminated the darkness, but her eyes would soon grow used to the absent light.

Moon sat down near the far end of the cave and sighed softly.

Reska and Pharion had walked a little ways into the forest, so that Moon wouldn't be able to hear them. The Espeon was sitting in front of her mate, continuously yelling at him, while the Umbreon kept his eyes to the ground, apologizing for everything she accused him of having done. After a while, however, he slowly raised his gaze a little. There seemed to be an orange hue around Reska's body, which came from the sunlight that filtered through the canopy. It was obvious that she was very angry at him, but right now Pharion only noticed her shining black eyes and the sound of her sweet voice. He wasn't able to focus on what she was saying; all he knew was that she was talking to him, and he didn't need anything else. Very slowly, a smile formed on his face as he remembered how very lucky he was to be allowed to spend his life with this wonderful female.

"I love you," he whispered. Reska stopped shouting at him and frowned.

"Were you even listening to me?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Pharion swallowed.

"I... I'm sorry, Reska..." he stuttered as he slowly stepped closer towards his mate, "I tried my best, but... then I looked at you, and now I can't think of anything else than you..." He stopped as the Espeon leaned back a little; apparently she didn't want him to come too close to her at the moment. He sat back down on the ground and sighed deeply. "I want to be good enough for you," Pharion continued. "I'm really sorry for all the things I've done wrong... Please forgive me..." Reska's expression slowly grew softer.

"That's alright, I guess," she spoke calmly. "But you really have to try harder." The Umbreon nodded quickly.

"I'll do anything you want... Anytime you want... Really, I promise..." The Espeon smiled a little. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from Pharion's back. All he wanted was to make his beloved mate happy; something had to be terribly wrong when she wasn't smiling.

"I probably shouldn't be too hard on you," she said, now inching a little closer towards her mate. "Now, there's something else I think we should talk about..." she went on, turning her head in several directions, apparently making sure that no one was nearby. Pharion smiled at his mate. She had forgiven him and everything would be alright... From the moment he had gotten to know her, he had known that he wanted to spend his entire life with her. He had never really known why, and he had never actually wondered why; there was something very special about Reska, but he couldn't really say what it was, and it didn't matter anyway. He had such strong feelings for her that they drowned out every single rational thought.

"It's about Moon," the Espeon spoke. "Don't you think she's getting a bit too old to live with us?" Pharion blinked. He had never thought about this before; sure, all children leave their parents at one point, but Moon...?

"Well... she's an adult, yes," he spoke slowly, "but as far as I know, she's never expressed a desire to leave us..."

"That doesn't matter!" Reska snapped. Pharion winced a little at her sudden outburst, and so she went on in a softer tone: "It's just natural that she wants to leave. Maybe she doesn't even know it yet. She might need us to help her understand that she has this wish." She brought her face closer to Pharion's and showed him a somewhat mischievous grin as she whispered: "And just think of all the time we'll have just for ourselves when she'll be gone..."

Pharion swallowed. He usually never disagreed with his mate, but his daughter was the only living creature he truly cared about, except for Reska, of course. Moon had never seemed like she'd live alone rather than with her parents. In fact, she had always appeared quite attached to the Umbreon; when he thought about it now, he noticed that the young Espeon had never been very close with her mother. Pharion couldn't understand why.

"If she wants to go, I won't stop her," he spoke, "but she doesn't want to, at least not yet. Just last night she said she wants to stay with us forever, and I..." The Umbreon stopped talking, not just because Reska seemed to be getting angrier again, but also because his own words had made him think. Recalling the situation, he couldn't help but notice that Moon hadn't said anything about her mother. She had told Pharion that she wanted to stay with him forever, but not...

"I think you haven't understood me." The Espeon's voice was shivering a little, but she apparently managed to stay calm. "I doubt that Moon will truly be happy unless she can find a male to be with. And we'd get to have some time alone..." She gave him a peck on his cheek. "That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Reska's lips had barely touched his skin, but it had been enough for Pharion to feel like he was on fire. His ears and his tail stiffened up and his cheek was tingling where Reska had kissed him. She was such a magnificent, divine being and just the thought of her touching him was wonderful enough already. Pharion knew that he only existed to fulfill her wishes. There was no way he could deny her anything.

"I'll talk to her about it, and if she wants to leave..."

"I want you to make her leave, don't you get it?!" The Espeon was staring at her mate angrily. He blinked and shook his head.

"But... my love, we can't just..."

"Of course we can!" she yelled. "You're her father! Tell her that we're tired of her being around! Tell her to leave us alone!" The Umbreon looked concerned.

"You... you must be a little confused..." He lowered his gaze. "I'm really sorry I've made you so angry... I know you love Moon, you can't really..."

"Didn't you just say you'd do anything I want, anytime I want it?" Pharion didn't look up. He hated himself for disagreeing with his mate, but he had to do it. He was sure she didn't mean what she said, she was just a little worked up at the moment, and this had been his fault. Reska was kind and loving, she'd never ask him to do something like this.

"Please, dearest..." he began a little hesitantly, "I just don't think you really want me to do this, Moon is our daughter, and..."

"You're such an idiot!" The Espeon turned around and dashed off into the forest in the direction of their den, leaving her mate behind. Pharion quickly raised his head.

"Love, please wait...!"

But she was already gone.

It wasn't unusual for Moon that she wasn't sure whether or not she was doing the right thing. As she had grown older, it had become harder and harder for her to leave her father alone with her mother. There was no way to tell what she did to him. With a female like Reska, just about anything seemed to be possible, as long as it resulted it emotional suffering. However, Pharion had made it very clear that he wanted Moon to stay inside the den, and the young Espeon didn't want to be disobedient. She knew she had to be a good daughter, not only in order to make up for her mother being such a terrible mate, but simply because she loved her father and she wanted to do everything she could to make him happy.

Not very much sunlight found its way into the den. Most of the time it was only illuminated by the two Espeons' glistening red gems and the faint glowing of the yellow rings in Pharion's black fur. Thus, Moon immediately noticed it as her mother entered. An angry red light made her face visible in the darkness.

"Get out of here, you little brat!" Reska barked. "I want to be alone!" Moon blinked in surprise. She didn't move.

"Where's daddy?" she asked. For a short moment she felt like adding "What have you done to him?", but the thought of Reska physically attacking her mate seemed deviant. She did appear to enjoy hurting him, but so far she had never been actually violent.

"Somewhere in the forest, I guess," Reska replied as she sat down on the ground. "Go look for him and leave me alone!" Moon nodded. She certainly didn't want to stay with her mother any longer than she absolutely had to, and judging from the way Reska acted, there had to have been some kind of argument taking place between her mate and her, which meant that Pharion certainly needed someone to talk to. Moon would be there for him. Without saying anything else she quickly dashed out of the small cave and into the daylight.

Her mother's traces were still easily visible in the grass. Moon followed them into the slightly deeper parts of the forest, perking up her large ears so that she wouldn't miss any sound that possibly came from her father. She heard the usual noises of bug Pokémon and bird types, but there was something else there as well. It sounded like a mixture of heavy breathing, sobbing and whimpering; someone was crying.

Looking behind a few more bushes, Moon finally found her father. He was sitting under a tree with his head hung low, and as far as Moon could tell, his whole body seemed to be shaking. She approached him very carefully; he hadn't noticed her yet.

"Daddy?" she whispered. Pharion jerked and quickly raised his head. For a moment the Espeon saw his teary eyes and the damp fur on his cheeks. She felt a sudden sting of pain and anger. This was Reska's fault.

Pharion apparently didn't want her to see him cry, as he turned his head to the side and breathed deeply, trying to stop his tears from flowing.

"My sweetie..." Moon quickly stepped up to her father's side. This was not an entirely unusual situation. The Espeon gave her father an affectionate lick across his cheek and watched as he slowly turned his head in order to look at her. His deep red eyes seemed so full of sorrow that Moon instantly felt the desire to snuggle up to him to make him feel better. She knew that right now her father was recalling every single situation in which his mate had hurt him in some way. Moon feared that one day this might simply become too much for him to take.

"You don't have to hide anything from me," the Espeon spoke in a warm, yet worried tone. "I'll be there for you and I'll always do my best to make things better." Pharion smiled at her. Moon was glad that her presence seemed to make him feel a little better, but she also sighed inwardly because she knew that this was not the same kind of smile he showed his mate.

"Please don't worry too much about me, my sweetie," he said calmly. "You shouldn't weigh down your mind with such problems. I'll be fine..." Moon shook her head and stepped closer towards him, softly rubbing her cheek along his.

"I'd do anything to make you happy, daddy," she whispered. "I know you need someone who truly cares about you..." She retracted her head a little and looked deeply into his eyes. "I love you."

The Umbreon nodded slowly and kissed Moon's cheek in return. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed this mild intimacy while blushing under her dense purple fur. Moon breathed deeply and her nose was filled with the scent of her father, the one person who had loved her and cared for her from the very beginning of her life. It made her feel safe and warm; she knew she didn't have to be afraid of anything when she was with her father.

"I love you, too, sweetie." He was being completely honest, but Moon knew exactly that he didn't have the same feelings for her that she had for him. From Pharion's point of view, Reska always came first. The older Espeon owned the true love of the most wonderful male in the world, and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

"It's simply awful that Reska treats you like this," Moon spoke in a low tone. "You should ask yourself if she's really..." Her father shook his head.

"You shouldn't say such things about your mother," he said, sounding neither angry nor hurt. He always spoke to his daughter in a warm, caring tone of voice, no matter what had happened. "Reska just lost her nerves because I made her feel unloved..." He lowered his gaze and sighed deeply. "This is all my fault. She was right to get angry at me, I really acted like a..."

"She'd never get angry at you if she really loved you!" Moon knew exactly that what she was saying was the truth. She knew that, if she was Pharion's mate, she would be so very grateful that she would assure him of her love every single day. She knew that she would never get angry at him. It was simply impossible to get angry at someone like him.

Her father just smiled at her and shook his head again.

"Just because your mother got a little upset doesn't mean she wouldn't love me, sweetie. I made a mistake and she corrected me, and everything's going to be alright." He placed his head on the back of Moon's neck in a protective manner. "Don't worry so much, my sweetie," he continued in a soothing tone. "Your mother will have calmed down soon, and I'll do my very best not to annoy her so much ever again..."

"She made you cry, daddy," Moon spoke lowly as she rested her head on her father's shoulder. "How can you still protect her?"

"It wasn't her intention, my sweetie," Pharion claimed. "Reska would never hurt me on purpose and I tend to sometimes be a bit too emotional anyway. Everything that happened was my fault. Please don't accuse your mother of anything."

The Espeon sighed deeply. When it came to Reska it was downright impossible to make her father accept the truth. She decided to let this topic rest for the time being and instead focused on the feeling of her father's warm, soft fur gently brushing across her cheek. Before she knew it she was purring lowly, simply enjoying being together with the Umbreon without Reska anywhere around.

After a short while her father began to talk again.

"There's something your mother wanted me to talk about with you," he began slowly. The topic was apparently making him feel uncomfortable, as his tone of voice had become even more careful and hesitant than it usually was. "You know... you've reached a certain age at which you might not want to be so... close with your parents anymore." Moon decided to forego mentioning that she had, in fact, never been close with her mother and just listened as Pharion continued: "Reska thinks it could be time for you to leave us and have your own life now, so..." Moon instantly stepped back and looked at her father while shaking her head. It didn't surprise her that such a suggestion had come from Reska. However, the younger Espeon knew that leaving was out of the question, even if she had wanted to. She couldn't just leave her father alone with someone who kept trying to ruin his life.

"I never said I wanted to leave, did I?" she asked. Pharion shook his head and smiled understandingly.

"You're right, sweetie, and that's what I've told your mother, too... But she thinks you might actually want it without even knowing it yet, it'd just be natural, after all..." Moon blinked. She wondered why it was apparently so very important to Reska to get rid of her. So far, the older Espeon had just ignored her whenever she could.

"Do you want me to leave, daddy?" she asked in a lower tone, feeling her mouth slowly going dry. Her father looked at the ground.

"My sweetie, it's really not so important what I may or may not want, I'd like you to make this decision without having to worry about..."

"But I want to know, daddy. Please tell me..." Pharion sighed deeply.

"I... I don't want you to leave, sweetie, I want you to stay with me forever..." He raised his gaze again and smiled sadly. Even if she had tried it, Moon couldn't have turned away. Her gaze was locked with his as he spoke: "I love you, and... of course it hurts when someone you love has to leave, but... I know it'd be wrong to keep you here against your will..."

"I've never wanted to leave, daddy, and I don't think I ever will." Her father seemed to be surprised.

"But... Reska said she was sure you'd want to..."

"Reska doesn't know anything about how I feel!" Pharion instantly ducked a little and his ears twitched. It was as if a shiver went through his eyes and Moon immediately felt terrible about what she had done. She knew she couldn't act like this in front of someone like her father, who got yelled at on a daily basis.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I'm really sorry, I didn't want to shout..." Pharion shook his head and smiled again, but it appeared somewhat weak. His tail was trembling slightly.

"It's alright, my sweetie," he replied. "I'm just a bit too sensitive. I'm the one who should apologize, I didn't want to make you worry..." Moon slowly stepped closer towards him again. Her father had taught her how to be calm and gentle, but Reska's bad influence sometimes came through. Even though she hated this thought more than anything in the world: she was, after all, her mother's daughter.

The Espeon gave her father a kiss on his forehead and spoke softly:

"I'll always be there for you, daddy. I won't leave you alone." Pharion said nothing in response, but he gently nuzzled his daughter's cheek. Moon closed her eyes and tried to imagine a life without Reska.

It didn't work.

For the rest of the day, the atmosphere was tense. The family had come together in the den and not a single word was spoken as they ate what they had foraged. Moon noticed that Pharion kept giving his mate hopeful looks, but Reska didn't even seem like she wanted to acknowledge his existence. The younger Espeon sighed inwardly. It just got worse every day and she knew exactly that her father would never try to change anything. He would keep letting Reska mistreat him until it would be too late.

Looking at the entrance, Moon could see that the sun was setting. It reminded her of how tired she was. The constant worrying about Pharion exhausted her, and her own inability to do anything to help him just made it worse. She swallowed the last few bites of her meal and stretched her neck a little.

"I think I'll go to sleep," she announced, feeling a slight bit uncomfortable for having broken the silence all of a sudden. Her father looked at her and smiled as usual; the expression of her mother just seemed indifferent.

Pharion padded up to her and kissed her cheek.

"Have a good night, my sweetie," he spoke in such a warm tone that it made Moon's heart beat faster. She gave him a lick across his nose in return.

"Good night, daddy," she whispered. Pharion's eyes slowly moved in the direction of his mate and he nodded at Moon. She understood what he wanted her to do and turned her head to look at her mother.

"Good night, Reska," she said, trying not to sound too disgusted, if only for her father's sake. The older female nodded.

"Good night." Once more, Moon looked at Pharion. She tried her best to find something to say, something that would make everything better at once. However, there was no such thing, and thus she simply smiled at her father in an, as she was hoping, reassuring way. The young Espeon then stepped up to the wall of the small cave where she lay down and curled up around herself. With her head now resting on her front paws she closed her eyes, trying her best to remain calm.

When she heard the voices, she wasn't even able to say whether she had slept at all. Maybe it was just a minute that had passed, maybe it had been a few hours; there was no way to tell. She knew it was not very polite to listen in on a private conversation between her parents, but she also knew that she had to make sure her father would be alright. Moon stayed where she was and kept her eyes closed, but she perked up her ears attentively.

"I'd never try to keep you from doing anything you want to do, love, please believe me..." Pharion and Reska were sitting right in front of the cave exit. The Umbreon kept both his head and his tail in a low position; he was trying his best not to enrage his mate. Reska was sitting in front of him, coldly staring at him.

"If that's the case, then why do you insist on me staying here?" Pharion quickly shook his head and attempted to appear even smaller.

"I'd never insist... I... I mean... I just meant to say that... maybe you shouldn't go alone, what if something happens...?" Reska snorted disdainfully. The way she was sitting there, so very elegant and strong at the same time... Pharion was admiring her almost divine magnificence, and it only served to remind him once more that he was, in fact, not worthy of being her mate. He tried his best, but he always did everything wrong...

"I can watch out for myself!" Reska replied. Her tail was slowly swaying back and forth. "I've done this so many times now and nothing every happened. You should trust me a bit more." Pharion nodded quickly and lowered his gaze.

"Are... Are you sure you won't feel lonely...?" The Espeon rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Look, Pharion, I love you, but that doesn't mean I'd want to spend every single moment of my life together with you. I need some time for myself every once in a while." Pharion didn't say anything in response. He kept staring at the ground, now shivering a little. "I'm just going to go for a walk," Reska continued. "You're acting as if I was going to leave you and never return." Her eyes tightened a little. "You don't think I'd ever do that, do you?"

"No, no, of course not..." The Umbreon kept shaking his head. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry... You can go for a walk, of course you can... I just... I just..."

"You just feel lonely without me, don't you?" Reska asked. Pharion nodded quickly without saying anything. A disfavoring noise came from the Espeon.

"Well, then you should stop being so selfish! I need to be alone for a bit! Do me a favor and try to understand me for once!" The Umbreon was pressing his body against the ground now. He had done it again. He had made Reska angry. Every single time this happened, he swore to himself that he would become a better mate in the future, but nothing had changed so far, and he hated himself for being so insufficient.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Please don't be angry, I'm sorry..." Reska had apparently enough of seeing him cower in misery. She stood up and turned her back on him.

"Have a good night," she said. Pharion raised his gaze and quickly sat up. He took a deep breath so that his voice wouldn't shiver too much.

"I... I'll be waiting for you..." Reska looked over her shoulder at him.

"I don't know when I'll be back. I might be gone for quite some time." The Umbreon nodded and managed to smile at her.

"That'll be alright... I'll wait..." Reska kept her gaze on him for a moment. She then began walking away.

"I love you!" Pharion called after her. The Espeon didn't stop walking as she replied:

"I love you, too."

Pharion kept staring at her until she disappeared from his area of view.

"Daddy?" Now that Reska was gone, Moon knew it was safe to talk to her father. If the older Espeon had found out that she had listened to them talking, she certainly would have been in trouble, but Pharion wouldn't be angry at her.

She had stepped up behind him without him noticing it. Now that she had spoken, he quickly turned around to face her, blinking in surprise.

"My sweetie... I thought you were asleep..." Moon looked past her father and noticed that there was absolutely no light coming in through the entrance of the cave. It had to be night, which meant that quite some time had passed since she had lain down to sleep. All she could clearly see was the Umbreon in front of her, as his rings were glowing softly. For a short moment she felt excited; it was night and she and her father were the only two Pokémon in the den. However, she quickly shook this thought off and mentally scolded herself for it. This was not the right moment to be thinking of such things.

"I woke up," she replied. She kept looking at the entrance. "Where has Reska gone to?" Her father turned his head to the side.

"She... She's just going for walk," he mumbled. Moon blinked.

"That's a bit unusual," she said. "I mean, it's dark outside and she's left you behind... Why would she do such a thing?" From what the Espeon could see, it looked like Pharion was trying to make a smile appear on his face, but he didn't quite manage to do it.