Eevee awoke to harsh, crunching noises. She whimpered, her head fiercely hurting. Her eyes seemed glued shut.
She could feel cool patches on her fur. She worried for a moment that she'd been shaved. Her eyes peeled open. Eevee was totally covered in wet leaves. They felt strangely soothing. Almost angelic. But they were also sticky. So sticky that she couldn't remove herself from the 'bed' she was in, a hollowed out tree stump.
There was a strange, sweet aroma everywhere. She couldn't find anything by scent, the overpowering, sweet scent veiling her sense of smell. Her first priority was to find her master.
And then, she saw it. With fear stricken eyes, she spotted something blue, and very clearly alive. The creature moved leisurely behind a tree, just out of view as she tried to focus her blurry vision.
The pup heard loud crunching, and imagined the worst. Some predator, munching bones?
No.
The creature's munching sounds stopped. It seemed to be reacting to Eevee's huffing breaths. Eevee panicked, struggling against the sticky leaves that bound her to the log.
Stepping from behind the tree, the creature revealed itself fully to Eevee, who watched and analyzed him cautiously. A round, hard carapace, colored a shining dark blue. A horn that stretched up from his forehead. Stubby, powerful legs and long, hard arms that terminated in cream colored claws. His body was covered in light grass stains, and his mouth was lined with tree sap and splinters of bark.
His antennae, round spheres over his head, wagged lightly, its tongue licking the sap off of his face. The carapace around his mouth was structured in a way that made him constantly smile. His friendly eyes fixed on the Eevee.
A Heracross. She'd never seen one, and had no idea what it was, knowing only that it was a fellow Pokemon, and a three feet bigger than her. Her thirteen pounds next to his one-hundred and change, made for bad odds in a fight.
She was clearly trapped. Doomed. She resigned herself to cruel fate as the Heracross tromped forward.
Its hand wrapped around the scruff of her neck. She winced, preparing for her final stand.
Heracross lifted her, unsticking her from the innards of the tree stump.
NOW! This was Eevee's chance to fight and win! This happy bug had a surprise attack incoming, as Eevee prepared a banquet of knuckle sandwiches.
Her paws swung towards his face. He pulled her away from his eyes and mouth, startled, but not letting go. His teeth bore not in anger, but confused, frightened shock. Eevee clicked and clacked her teeth together, praying by some miracle that she would find his throat with her fangs.
Heracross released a breathy, jolly cackle. He quickly realized it was IMPOSSIBLE for her to hurt him. He reeled his arm in, and she pawed at his face, claws sliding off of his hard, shining carapace.
HIS EYES! HIS EYES! Eevee's eyes blazed with rage as she swung. How powerfully she swung with her sore little arms! She aimed for his face. He simply shut his eyes. Even his eyelids were thick, and well armored. He smiled slyly. Almost mockingly. With a body of steel, claw meant little.
Alright. Enough of that. Heracross tucked Eevee under his arm, and walked to the tree.
Eevee, tired out, did nothing, observing his behavior and awaiting a chance to retaliate. Searching for a weakness.
He bit into the tree, crunching it with his jaws. He backed up, satisfied. He then reached into the tree with his free hand, pulling out a long, sticky trail of sap. With his claws, he worked it into a ball small enough for Eevee's mouth. Holding Eevee under his arm, he stuffed the ball into her mouth. She winced, then sucked on the syrupy orb.
Sweet. She'd never experienced sweetness. For a moment, she forgot her prideful anger and happily let the ball of sap slowly melt in her mouth. It gave her much needed energy. It was much more satisfying than the dry pellets that her Trainer had given her. Heracross reached further into the tree, and pulled forth a white grub. He took it with him back to the stump, depositing Eevee there. Once again, she was stuck in the log. Heracross gave her the grub to eat, then sat beside the log.
Eevee once again assumed the worst. He must be fattening her up for later consumption!
Sleep, child. No. He was simply guarding the pup, so she could regain her strength.
Thus began the friendship of the Heracross, and his tiny, currently ungrateful guest.