Chapter Two: Mother's Warmth

Moonlight shone over and blanketed the expanse of sylvan land the Sanctuary nestled on. It has been several hours since the incident with the vaporeon and Fleur just now settled her kids to rest within the room of another structure that the fox sage had chosen for them months ago. The room itself was of a medium size, but was surprisingly well-furnished as if it were still in use when she was first introduced to it. It had only two beds, but they were sizable enough to comfortably fit both the little bunearies.

Fleur thought back to when the kind delphox first brought them in, feeling a tingle of warmth inside her from remembrance of the fox's benevolence. She could hardly believe she even came across a place like this, considering how bad she felt her luck was, but the more she thought about it, the more it did not seem like luck had anything to do with it. She grew serene towards the Sanctuary rather quickly, as if a soothing aura had always permeated the place, and considered it her home—finally, a place that they could settle.

The road before having come across the Sanctuary was a very trying time for Fleur and her children indeed. The hardships and trials that she and the bunearies went through were arduous and exhausting, but Fleur felt deep inside that it was a necessary journey to strengthen them with time, and sure enough, that is just what had happened. It was not all in vain, though there were certainly enormous costs at the end of it all, and they still lingered deep in her heart, festering like an open sore.

Fleur walked outside, breathing in the crisp night air deeply, feeling it filling her lungs. Holding it in for a few seconds, she then slowly exhaled, looking up into the beautiful starry sky. Fleur gazed back at the building in which her children slept, and she began to eye the large stone blocks that made up the structure. Some of these blocks had imperfect placement and jutted, standing out like a druddigon on a snowy field. The lopunny proceeded to effortlessly hop onto each of these protruding stones until she reached the roof, making her final leap with unmatched elegance.

The lopunny sat down and again looked up into the star-speckled void above, her mind beginning to wander back to the series of perils that lined her past and built her to be who she was today.


Several months ago, the mother lopunny was heavily distraught, but still had strength in her to not show weakness to her four vulnerable children. She and her children had been traversing across a snowy landscape for days, the elements unforgiving and relentless as constant blizzards plagued the lands they traveled on.

Fleur desperately had to search for some form of shelter, as her kids, who were trailing behind her, showed clear signs of fatigue and weariness from the hours of walking they went through. With each minute it seemed they were falling further behind, their pace faltering and struggling to keep up with the lopunny's. Off in the distance, Fleur thought that she could see a small pack of snorunt, gleefully skipping about as if it were a hot summer's day. Looking off in another direction, she also barely caught sight of an abomasnow, overlooking the stretch of white land, seated stone-still on the edge of a cliff with almost unblinking, piercing eyes.

After a few more minutes, Fleur decided that she had enough of the relentless pummeling of snow from the uncaring high winds. Coming across a drift, Fleur aimed her vision towards the left, catching sight of a naked forest that enclosed the edge of a thicker portion of brush and vegetation that had survived the harsh cold environment. Signaling her children with a shout and a flick of her arm, they made their way into the forest to hopefully find good cover to rest their sore, aching bodies.

Making their ways deeper into the embrace of the forest, the trees dancing against the strident tune of the coarse winds, Fleur felt her inside warm in anticipation and hope of long-awaited rest and shelter from the elements. Looking back at her kids, she was glad to see they were soldiering forth as well, not giving up in staying close to their revered parent. They were strong, and the mother lopunny knew it, but they could only last so much longer before the freezing temperatures invited a horrible and inevitable fate.

Aside from the shrill, whistling winds, Fleur thought she could suddenly hear something distinctively different. The deeper they went into the forest, the less daunting the winter storm was, which also served to clear up her powerful sense of hearing so that she could detect other noises finally. What she heard sounded like a deep and guttural hiss, but not expecting such a sound in this environment, Fleur was not able to determine where exactly it came from. The lopunny stood still, her body tensing up as she kept her ears ready for the next occurrence, if it were to come.

With heavy concentration, she was even able to cancel out the sound of the screaming wind slightly, hearing her children shivering and shuffling around, even huddling together to try to keep warm. She did not want to remain in this state for very long, but a terrible feeling welled up in her gut about this threatening noise. It could have been a predator—perhaps something stalking them and waiting for them to eventually collapse, hoping to get an easy meal.

After minutes, the hiss finally came up again. There! To the left! Fleur whirled to see a slender figure obscured by the brush and streams of white powder that whizzed by her vision. Upon seeing it move, Fleur could make out its shape better and was hardly able to gasp upon realizing what it was that was stalking them all this time. It was a snake pokémon, and a surprisingly large one at that. Its figure was relatively simple, as it usually was for this type of creature, but its head had a more complex shape, with an assortment of diamond-shaped plates making up its skull. Its tail was also something to behold, curved, sharp, and dangerous. Swaying its body back upwards, the lopunny could also notice two huge red fangs poking out of the edges of its mouth. Red, piercing eyes stared directly at the rabbit mother—hungry eyes.

Fleur signaled to her children to back away from her, gesturing with an arm and sweeping it backwards. The little bunearies were hesitant at first, but trusted their mother and backed off into a nearby set of shrubs, remaining huddled together. The rabbit pokémon persisted in her ready stance, prepared for anything that would come her way. The snake pokémon slithered closer and she knew that this was it. Fleur had to fight right here and now, or risk losing her life and the lives of her children. The rabbit guessed this was a poison-type, as it was common for snake pokémon. She had previous experience in fighting these creatures, but the ones she fought were of a much lighter hue and not nearly as big. They especially did not have as much of a complex shape, as Fleur now got a better look at its tough outer coating.

The snake pokémon inched ever closer, but the mother lopunny would not budge, bracing herself as the snake looked as if it was about to pounce at any given moment. It finally ceased its slow slithering upon reaching a distance of at least 10 feet from Fleur. She squinted her eyes, trying to make sense of what it was doing now, but she could not quite read it. She could see the snake's tongue pop in and out of its lips, and the creature looked like it was studying her, just as she was observing it. The two continued to stare at each other, Fleur's cold, numb feet still planted firmly where she stood.

In a flash, the snake suddenly pounced forward, hissing violently as it opened its fleshy maw, revealing its threatening, red fangs in their fullest. The rabbit kicked off the ground and pulled off a quick dodge to the left, the snake clamping down on nothing but air. Almost as if taken aback by her sheer speed, the serpentine pokémon reared back its head, glaring at Fleur. This time it took a slower approach, trying to confuse the rabbit with a smooth slithering movement of its entire body that made it hard to tell when exactly it would strike next.

Like before, the lopunny stood her ground, concentrating on its movements. These slithering motions were nothing new to her and she did not budge. She continued to wait until the snake pokémon inched in close, determining the distance she needed in her head to pull off what she was about to do. Once the snake closed the gap between them even further, its swaying movements became a lot wider, the serpent acting like a pendulum.

It thought it had succeeded in confusing her despite her unchanging, hardened expression and focus, and decided it was time to lunge. Before it could even crane its neck forward, however, a swift, powerful roundhouse kick from the lopunny sent the snake flying into a nearby tree, its body almost wrapping around the trunk. The snake could hardly collect itself before the mother rabbit was on top of it in breakneck speed, pummeling its head mercilessly with her fists and feet, her powerful legs providing immense power behind her stomps and kicks.

The snake pokémon cried out in fear and pain as it unfurled and whipped the rabbit off of its battered body, turning tail and slithering off to retreat with a swiftness. In the heat of the moment, Fleur almost ran after the creature, but stopped herself upon remembering her children were not far off. She did not have to budge, though, as her kids came running for her, knowing the battle was over. They did not mind the cold in that point in time, greatly inspired by the utter strength and ability of their mother.

Just then, another sound was caught by the lopunny's massive ears—the sound of twigs snapping and emerging from a thick brush. Fleur whirled around to see a pack of zangoose in the distance, clearly coming out of hiding just as her own children did. Their thick, white fur coats were a lot more practical for the wintery environment despite the sharp red markings that lined their bellies, heads, and claws. There were three of them that arose from their hiding spot. Fleur remained resilient despite the combat she had just engaged in, but noticed something different about these creatures. Their faces appeared tender and their gaze non-threatening. It was as if they had no intention of causing trouble.

The leader of the pack who made itself known by pacing ahead of the other two and puffing out its chest slightly, looked upon Fleur with a twinkle of admiration in its eyes. It was dressed in a strange garment made of straw that covered the left half of its upper body. Around its waist was a worn bandolier with an assortment of different-sized pockets. The zangoose halted when it was within a few paces of the rabbit, a tender smile slowly spreading across its face. The cat-ferret pokémon then gave a respectful nod, and all tension eased off of the lopunny. It extended its right claw toward the rabbit, Fleur's wariness rising again for a moment before simmering, the mother extending her own hand to meet the strong, black claws of the leading zangoose.

After a brief shake of their bound appendages, they released each other, the other two zangoose catching up to the scene. The leading zangoose gave a slight bow and said with a very masculine voice, "That was a mighty fine job you did fending off that seviper." Seviper. So that was the name of the creature. Fleur remembers now that the snakes she fought back in the day were actually known as ekans. Even though her encounter with the seviper proved to hardly be a challenge, she still felt that it was not something to take lightly. She shuttered at the thought of being stabbed by those wretched fangs.

"I've never seen such skill in combat," the evidently female zangoose to the left with her high-pitched voice spoke up in awe. "The way you jumped the serpent while it was still down after that amazing kick to its jaw. Stunning!"

With a chuckle, the leader said to her, "Settle down, Yana. The lopunny was mighty impressive, but let's not overwhelm her with praise. She already looks on edge."

The zangoose to the right, a male, spoke up with a nod, "Yes, and she has children too. It's never wise to mess with a mother trying to defend her offspring, as that serpent learned not too long ago." He laughed hysterically. Fleur's eyes darted back and forth between the zangooses, not sure what to say herself.

"You need shelter, yes?" the leader asked. Fleur's face beamed for a moment and she nodded vigorously. She could hear her children chattering amongst each other excitedly. The leading zangoose smiled. "There's an empty human cabin we call our home. Follow us and we'll take you there in no time."


True to his word, the zangoose and his two followers brought Fleur and her children to a quaint cabin, nestled snugly against an arching cliff face and surrounded by the snowy forest. It was like a beacon amongst the sea of white they had treaded through for days. Simply gazing at the human dwelling sent a rush of inviting warmth across Fleur's body. Not wanting to appear rude to the zangooses, she kept her excitement under control and stayed behind them, the walk long and agonizing. Her children, however, had a different idea and rushed off with a sudden burst of energy towards the alluring structure, shouting and whooping in high, restored spirits. Fleur reached forward and called to them fruitlessly, her voice trailing off in embarrassment as she placed her hands on her breast.

"Sorry," she muttered to the zangooses. In response, they just laughed heartily, insisting she not worry about it. The children were crowding around the entrance door, clawing at it and jumping cutely in excitement and giving quick glances back to the group, as if they had gone a little too hyper after a rush of sugar.

Getting closer to the cabin, Fleur noticed a campfire in the middle of the clearing that served as the cabin's yard as well as a small, humble shed off to the side. Fleur had seen her fair share of humans, and this encampment seemed setup in such a way that the humans who might have lived here only now left the place. She wanted to ask more about that and how long the zangoose dwelled here, but the rabbit was simply too shy and exhausted to utter anything else. She did not even stop to consider that maybe this whole thing might have been a trap, as her instincts would normally alert her. All she wanted right now was to rest her aching body and drift off to a deep sleep, and she felt she could finally get that in such a cozy place such as this.

Finally arriving at the cabin door, the younger male zangoose pulled out a key from the thick fur around his right claw and handed it to the leading zangoose. Reaching over his head to be able to thrust the key into the strangely-shaped hole on the door, the older male gave it a quick turn and then pulled it back out. Fleur was not about to question the mechanics of this human invention, and just stared in wonder as the wooden door opened to reveal an interior decorated so lavishly and bathed in a soothing glow—a spectacle of warm colors that washed over her even if she was not actually inside. The sight was so comforting that Fleur's trembling legs finally gave in, her body shutting down before her head even hit the ground.


Fleur woke up with a start, her heart pounding. It felt like only seconds had passed by since she collapsed. Her first instinct upon waking up was looking around for her children.

"The children. Where are the children?" she mumbled in a half-asleep stupor as she analyzed her surroundings. She was definitely inside the cozy cabin, its interior warm and populated with so many human odds and ends, and she was lying on some sort of raised platform with a wonderfully soft surface. It was almost overwhelming trying to take it all in at once, but she was most concerned about the location of her kids. Eventually, though, looking behind her, she spotted one of the zangoose that graciously offered her their help.

The zangoose turned towards her in response to Fleur's murmuring and the rabbit could recognize that it was the leader of the pack. He smiled once their eyes connected.

"What was that? Did you need something?" he asked with a tender, soft voice, as if afraid to awaken anybody else. Fleur quickly eyed the window behind him and saw that night had fallen. Was she only out for a few hours?

"My...children," Fleur slurred out, still not one-hundred percent comfortable with the zangoose, though she felt bad having this disposition even after they let her stay in this warm haven away from the cruel biting snow outside.

"Your children are fine, miss," the zangoose tried to assure her. He then went on to confirm her suspicions by saying, "You've only slept until the moon fully rose. That would be about, say, a few more hours since we arrived."

"Where are my children?" the rabbit asked, yearning to see them herself, hopefully not mutilated or gone forever out of her sight because she was simply too idiotic to realize that this entire thing was one big elaborate trap. The zangoose, however, appeared taken aback at the lopunny's firmness and chuckled nervously.

"They are in another room. The cabin itself has four rooms and-" He was cut off when Fleur shuffled to get herself off the soft platform she had rested on. Reacting quickly, the zangoose approached her, slightly raising both his claws in a caring gesture. "Miss, don't be so alarmed. I know you care alot for your kids, but-" He stopped himself once again as the lopunny brushed past him and walked straight to the door, reaching up to the bulbous protrusion and touching it. She proceeded to push and pull on the knob, giving it a curious tap and then examining it closely. The mother's naivety forced a stiffle of laughter out of the older zangoose.

He approached her and gently set a claw on her shoulder, to which Fleur backed off from him, startled. He nodded in assurance and set his claw on the knob. He did all this in a slow and demonstrative fashion so that Fleur could see. Grasping the protrusion with two of his sharp claw fingers, he gave it a slight twist, a clicking sound following the motion. He then pulled the door open, which squeaked almost as if in protest to being disturbed. Fleur looked out the new opening to see an even larger room with another huge collection of human items. Eying the zangoose suspiciously still, the lopunny reluctantly exited the room.

Fleur was even more overwhelmed standing in this larger chamber. There were so many things to see and she would possibly spend half a day just figuring out what most of the furnishing and trinkets lying around were. The rabbit thought she could recognize a couple of things thanks to her having seen humans in the past interact with their own pets; she noticed a Super Potion lying on a windowsill, and on a random shelf attached to the opposite wall, she could see a Revive glistening within a clean jar.

The lopunny quickly took her attention away from the knickknacks, however, and begun her search for her children. As she did so, she noticed the room branched off into a smaller one in which another one of the zangooses was standing. Closer inspection showed that it was leaning into an opening, its door swung wide open. It appeared to Fleur like it was rummaging through whatever contents were inside. Fleur approach carefully, thinking of a horrible outcome where her children were being stuffed inside and organized with other unfortunate pokémon that have fallen into the claws of these monsters. Alas, there was no such thing, as Fleur could see nothing but assorted boxes and what looked to be small, cylindrical, metal containers. She guessed they could be carrying human food, and the simple thought caused the rabbit stomach to growl in anticipation. It was loud enough to alert the zangoose to her presence. Upon seeing the zangoose's face as it reared back to see what the noise was, Fleur noticed it was the female zangoose who the leader called "Yana."

Yana smiled at the lopunny, a single fang sticking out between her lips.

"Hiya," she greeted, to which the rabbit waved a hand timidly. "Was just checking our rations is all." Upon closer inspection, Fleur discovered Yana seemed a bit nervous, her brow furrowing upward. But then, Yana's face suddenly beamed and she started to rummage again.

"Oh, hey!" she started, "Have you eaten recently? I mean, you and your kids look so starved. We didn't expect to be feeding five more pokémon, but…" Yana retracted once again, this time with a couple boxes in each claw. She walked over to Fleur, offering them to her and proceeding to say, "Those humans left behind a lot!"

Fleur hesitantly took the two boxes and started to rattle them gently as Yana went back to the closet. The boxes were indeed filled with something, but once again, the rabbit could not help but feel suspicious. If they have so much food still, in these human-made boxes even, then perhaps they had only moved in recently? What if the humans really did not abandon the cabin and were away on some sort of trip, intending to return?

"It's cereal," a familiar husky voice sounded from behind. Fleur whirled around, her large ears brushing against a raised platform in the smaller room, knocking off a couple of empty cans seated close to the edge. They hit the ground with a startling clatter and caused the lopunny to leap in fright, her back against the wall. The leading zangoose laughed uproariously followed by Yana, who came to see what happened. Fleur blushed in embarrassment and held the boxes close to her bosom. "Don't worry about it," the male zangoose said tenderly as he went to pick up the cans, putting them back on the counter. "Anyway," he started as he turned around to face Fleur, "what's in that box is a neat sort of food. They look like little crumbs almost, and as far as I know, humans eat it with milk."

"Milk?" Yana spoke up, still tending to her business with the closet contents. "Like, milk from a Miltank?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," the leading zangoose confirmed. "I think they keep them in glass bottles, like they keep the cereal in those boxes there." Fleur gazed down at the boxes in her grasp, able to smell the "cereal" inside. It was unlike anything she has ever smelled in her lifetime, and her stomach gurgled in response to the sensation. She cursed herself, however, eager to feed her children first before herself—that was how it had always been. "But I'm sure you are really itching to see your little ones, yes? Come over here." Fleur's heart jumped in response to this and she eagerly followed behind the zangoose as he lead her to another door on the North side of the large room, just opposite of the front door leading outside.

Inside the door was another room that was just about the same size as the one Fleur woke up in. All across the floor were a very colorful arrangement of toys and books. In the middle, all the bunearies were huddled together, wrapped in a thick blanket. The mother lopunny quietly tiptoed her way over to her children, then knelt down to inspect them. They were all breathing, thank goodness, and looked generally healthy. The room itself was nice and warm, but the same could be said for every other room the lopunny has been in thus far. Fleur closed her eyes and sighed in relief, elated at the good condition of her kids.

"See? All safe and sound," the zangoose whispered, eying the scene from the door. Fleur felt even worse now not feeling the pack was trustworthy, but it was simply from all the experiences she had in her life that she was shaped this way.


Very early in the morning, the children finally stirred, Fleur having refused to leave their side until they woke up, not that the zangoose protested this. Once they rose, everyone had gathered together in the "living room" as the leading zangoose called it, and the younger male returned from the outside with small wooden logs which he eventually threw into a stone hollow against the eastern wall. The leading zangoose went on to explain that this was known as a "fireplace," where a fire could be made that would keep the house's interior warm. Fleur was impressed by his seemingly boundless knowledge of human apparatuses.

It was nothing but cordial jubilee in the cozy cabin as the cheerful group sat, ate, and drank merrily, Yana having pulled out the aforementioned glass bottles of Moo Moo Milk. The older zangoose even brought out ceramic bowls which Fleur has never used before. He proceeded to demonstrate the milk and cereal mixture that he briefly explained before, and they all sampled the food with nothing more than pure bliss, scarfing it all down in mere minutes.

With their stomachs full, they then went on to tell stories, at least, the zangooses mostly partook in this activity, sharing their death-defying experiences in the harsh wild, all too familiar to the rabbit mother. Fleur was far too shy to reveal anything about her past, but she ended up explaining she and her children's current situation.

"Well, maybe you could consider this home," the leading zangoose suggested, to which Fleur blushed.

"Oh no. I don't think I can bring such a burden upon you all," she replied timidly, watching her kids play with the toys and chase each other around the spacious room.

"No worries, miss, we're happy to add to our little family here," he said, tenderly eying the other two zangooses. "However," he then started, Fleur's body chilling at the word merely being said, "we do have ourselves a little problem that we are hoping to set straight." The rabbit mother laid all concentration on the leading zangoose, expecting him to unveil something terrible from the foreboding attitude that he shifted into. The older pokémon looked at the other two zangooses and gave them a knowing nod, the couple nodding back in succession.

The older zangoose had summoned Fleur to come outside with him. The winter storm had calmed significantly and all that was left was a chilling breeze. The morning sun had barely reached over the horizon to greet the world, bathing the sky in a foretelling blue and pink. The two pokémon went around the back of the cabin before the zangoose stopped. Fleur was not sure why they needed to go great lengths to have this conversation, but she did notice the zangoose showed signs of apprehension while being outside, gazing around in high alert.

"You know that seviper that you fought yesterday?" he mentioned, Fleur responding with a timid nod. He then chuckled and shook his head, as if anticipating he was about to say something silly. "Well, in history, there have always been... not so friendly relations between zangoose and seviper, and I'm not saying we are a part of something bigger. You can trust me when I say that what you see in us three is all there is. We are a small family trying to get by." Fleur nods again, showing she trusted his words. The zangoose swallowed dryly, looking around again before continuing. "The seviper that you fought has been on our butts for months, you hear? Months. We even think we might have seen another skulking and slithering about with it." Fleur believed she knew where this was headed.

"You want me to help fight it off?" she asked. The zangoose exhaled, his big chest compressing. He clearly felt bad for dragging her into this.

"I just thought, maybe, well-" he was fumbling with words, not sure how to approach the mother rabbit. "Look, from normal type to normal type, can I ask you to do this big favor? In exchange, we will let you stay with us however long you wish. Even if you do leave, our home will always be open to you." The lopunny was unsure of this. Putting her life in danger and potentially dying would mean her children would live without a mother for the remainder of their childhood, and if she were to refuse the zangoose's offer, she would appear greatly disrespectful after they had taken good care of them all.

"Alright," she replied, the zangoose beaming. "I will help you."


She did not expect the zangoose to declare the trek was to begin that same morning. They tried their best to assure the children that nothing was wrong and that they were going on a trip to get some more wood for the fireplace. They all seemed oblivious despite Fleur's troubled demeanor.

Fleur and the zangooses initiated a small meeting off to the side as the bunearies continued to chatter and play. They went over a brief plan on how to find and approach the seviper.

"We already know the damn thing is trailing us," Yana spoke up. "Klosson, did you see anything while you were out there?"

The leading zangoose, now known as Klosson, replied, "I haven't, but I have a gut feeling it's watching us out there like usual."

"Even after bunny mom here nearly broke its skull?" the younger male piped up.

"It's a resentful creature, Tanner. It will want revenge. So here's the deal," Klosson started, gazing over at the lopunny. "I'm going to need you to act as bait. Act like you are picking berries or something. After that last fight, it may remain wary of you, but it will not be able to resist a meal with its back turned to it." Fleur's mouth hung agape. She was in disbelief that they would have her act as a figure of enticement. How could she trust them to pull through with whatever they have in mind? "Don't worry though," Klosson said, waving his claws. "We are not going to let the snake lay a single fang on you. We will approach while it is lured to you. Even if it somehow manages to notice us, we will all have the serpent surrounded. There is no possible way this could fail."

Klosson then turned to face a collection of items sitting in a box lying on the floor. He then stated, "Besides, even if any of us makes contact with its pointy parts and takes in an unhealthy dose of its venom, there are plenty of Antidotes in our disposal."

With that, Klosson and Tanner prepared themselves for the fight ahead, putting on bandoliers and their straw capes, laced with twigs and leaves. They did not offer Fleur anything, however, because of her role which is meant to have her stand out as a tasty, naked treat. Yana, of course, volunteered to stay behind and watch over the children. Fleur had never left her children in the care of another, aside from her long-gone mate, but felt with Yana's tenderness that perhaps she had nothing to worry about.

The duo zangoose and lopunny gave their farewells to Yana and the bunearies, Fleur feeling a pang of sadness in her heart as if this was the last time she would see them. Once the front door was closed, there was silence for several seconds. Yana cleared it by clapping her claws together.

"Well then! How about I make you all a nice treat? There should be some in that cold container over yonder. I'll be right back, okay?" As the female zangoose waddled off, two of the buneary children remained huddled close despite the other two proceeding to play with their toys. They gazed at each other and then together left the room to return to the room in which they slept in.

Truthfully, the two bunearies were very curious about their mother and what she was doing leaving with the other two zangooses. Once they entered their room, they scoured the floor in search of something. Underneath the "bed," which is what Yana had called it before tucking them in, there was something that piqued their interest. Together, the bunearies moved over the mattress to find a square-shaped trapdoor leading outside.