Chapter Three

Thump-thump.

An old woman looked up from her knitting, setting her feet to stop the rocking of her chair.

Thump-thump.

She set her knitting aside and began the walk to the front door. Her pace was slowed by age, and several more of the odd double-thumps passed before she finally opened the door and saw the two small Eevee waiting outside.

"Hello there, little ones," the old woman said warmly. "Do come in."

The little Pokémon needed no further urging to dash into the shelter of the cabin. The old woman was about to close the cabin door when she noticed movement out in the snow and paused to look more closely.

She was soon glad she had, for the sight that greeted her eyes was a small group of Glaceon working together to drag a boy through the snow. One walked in front of the rest, not dragging as they were, but instead watching where they were going and calling out periodically to guide the others. They were surprisingly swift, considering the weight of their burden, and soon had him on her doorstep.

The old woman yelled for her husband.

"Honey, boil some water! There's a boy here dying of cold!"

She then looked down at the Pokémon and asked, "Will you help me get him in?"

The one who had walked in front, seemingly their leader, nodded, and the Glaceon dragged the boy into the cabin.

It was only after she had tucked the boy into bed, when she returned from fetching some extra blankets, that she noticed the Umbreon that had come in with the other Pokémon. The Glaceon had curled up on the rug in the center of the main room and the Eevee were huddled together near the fireplace, but the Umbreon had jumped up onto the bed and settled down next to the boy.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering. "You're the two who were here a few days ago, aren't you?"

The Umbreon nodded.

"But where's the girl that was with you?" the old woman asked worriedly.

The Umbreon put his head down on his front paws, and his ears drooped despondently.