Newly redone.


Unfortunately, switching from a diurnal lifestyle to a nocturnal one isn't easy. Kasu found this out the hard way. Over the next several days she found it nearly impossible to sleep days, much less stay up all night traveling. But she kept her mouth shut, not wanting her two new friends to think her weak or whiny. That didn't stop them from noticing her difficulties. Archimedes did his best to help her.

Tenebrae, on the other hand...

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, those tree roots stick up a little. You oughta watch out."

"I can't see a thing! How am I supposed to watch out!"

Tenebrae smirked. "Learn how to see in the dark, I guess."

"Jerk." Kasu limped along after Tenebrae, favoring the paw she'd bruised for about the fiftieth time on a protruding tree root. A sudden breeze above made her look up. Archimedes had perched on a branch above Tenebrae.

"Stop giving her such a hard time," the owl reprimanded his friend.

"She gives as good as she gets," Tenebrae replied, unconcerned.

"That's not the point!"

"I'll be fine, Archimedes. I'll get him back later... while he's sleeping." Kasu bared her fangs in a wicked grin.

"You can try, missy." Tenebrae grinned. "Once."

Kasu stuck her tongue out at him as Archimedes shook his head and took flight again.

Kasu was highly impressed by her new friends. Tenebrae had perfect night vision, capable of seeing everything in the dark (though he had admitted to Kasu that he couldn't see very well in bright sunlight). He moved quickly for such a small 'mon, and his tongue and mind moved nearly as quickly. Archimedes flew in absolute silence, his wings noiselessly cutting the air above them, and Kasu would never forget coming up behind him, tapping his back, and seeing his head swivel completely around to look at her. Though he wasn't as smart as Tenebrae, he was much more tactful.

For their part, the two males were impressed with Kasu's dedication. She kept up well and was unwilling to admit defeat. Sure, she seemed very stubborn (not always a bad thing), and she took cracks about her fur color very badly, but otherwise she seemed to be a good companion.

"C'mon, girl! You're lagging!" Tenebrae grinned, out of her sight. He loved teasing her.

"Tenebrae, I will come up there and I will claw your face."

"Knock it off, you two!" Archimedes barked.

They ignored him, continuing to needle each other all through the night.


Had the Patrol known they were being observed, things might have been less funny.

Had they known what was observing them, humor would have taken a long vacation.

"On our land, are they," a voice snarled in the undergrowth.

"Yarr, those stupid Patrol creatures, two of them be," another replied irritably. "Pick fights with those creatures, we should not."

"Right you may be, Leader," a third began, "but a problem is the Eevee. Not of the Patrol, is it. Punished, it should be."

"Agreed," the second voice hissed. "Objections?"

There were none.

"Strike at dawn, we will!"

Hisses of approval filled the air.

Unaware of what danger lurked, the Doom Patrol had stopped for the morning.

Archimedes had flown ahead to scout out good hiding places, leaving Tenebrae and Kasu cooling their heels by a placid stream.

"You always pick these idyllic little spots to stop in," Kasu noted, stretching languidly. "I think you're secretly a romantic."

"Nobody's perfect," Tenebrae replied blandly.

"If you'd keep that in mind, your ego would be considerably smaller," Kasu yawned.

"Oh, fine. If all I'm gonna get from you is abuse, I'm leaving." Tenebrae exaggeratedly wiped an imaginary tear from his eye as he stood up.

"Where're you going?"

"To find out what happened to the featherbrain."

"Liar. You're just getting sick of sitting on your butt."

"That too. You stay here."

"Whatever." Kasu allowed a smirk to flick across her face. "One of us has to stay in the same place, after all, so that you two don't get lost."

"Lost? I don't get lost. I just sort of... can't pinpoint my exact location... sometimes."

"It's the same thing, isn't it?" Kasu yawned pointedly. "Weren't you going somewhere?"

If Sableye could roll their eyes, Tenebrae would have as he left the stream bank, vanishing back into the surrounding forest.

Kasu simply sat after he left, enjoying the silence. She was tending toward somnolence now, a sign she was adjusting to her nocturnal lifestyle, she thought. She slumped a little, half-curling on the stream bank. The spot reminded her of the river back at the camp, of all the happy sunlit days she'd spent with Mahk and Cheggah, before the evolution mess...

She felt terrible. She hadn't thought of her brother and her best friend in days. How were they doing back at the camp? Did they miss her? What did they think happened to her?

Did they wonder why?

She felt miserable, a hunched ball of silver fur, fighting the few tears she knew wanted to fall.

The warning came abruptly.

"Look out!"

Kasu didn't stop to question the order. She just rolled.

As it turned out, that saved her. Claws slashed into the ground where her head had been. Kasu leaped to her feet as the 'mon spun at her and attacked again.

Persians!

Sleek, sly, terrible, and not particularly intelligent, they were territorial and fickle, the bane of a woodland 'mon's existence. Fortunately, they weren't numerous, but even one could wreak havoc on a full-grown Flareon.

There were four facing Kasu. Four snarling, hissing, growling feline behemoths (at least compared to Kasu), all with murder written all over their cream-furred faces.

Kasu had been hailed as surprisingly strong for a young female Eevee in her pack. She might have survived a fray with one Persian. But all four were stalking closer, one paw in front of the other.

"Trespasser, you are," one hissed. "Punish you we will."

"Right." Kasu edged backward. "I'd love to stay and discuss that. But, as it happens, I have another engagement..."

And she bolted.


Some way off, Archimedes was busy berating his best friend.

Berating is perhaps not the right word. "Yelling at" fits the bill better. "Scolding" might work. "Screeching" just about hits the mark.

"YOU LEFT HER ALONE!"

"Hey, she can take care of herself," Tenebrae defended himself.

"She's just an Eevee! Besides, what evidence do you have that she can fight?"

The cocky Sableye found himself, for the first time in years, at a loss.

"Uh..."

"See!" Archimedes smacked his friend with one wing. "C'mon, let's go before she gets in trouble!"

Kasu had to hand it to the Persians - they had quick reflexes. Not five seconds after she had split, she heard sounds of pursuit. She ducked into every little hole she could - the Persians were undoubtedly faster than she was, so she'd have to play on their size and lack of reasoning power.

Despite her efforts, however, they continued to gain. She kept at it, hoping against hope an opportunity would present itself soon.

One did.

Unfortunately, it wasn't an opportunity for her.

Her feet betrayed her at the apex of a hill. She slipped on a leaf and went down, head over tail, yelping the whole way down.

She landed hard at the bottom and scrambled to her feet, hearing triumphant shouts behind her as the Persians spotted her. She darted to the right and found a high, steep incline - not impassable, but certainly not good. A quick glance confirmed that all but the face she'd rolled down were like that.

The only way out was past those Persians charging down the hill.

For the rest of her life, Kasu was never sure how she got the courage to do what she did next. She charged forward, ducking under one leaping Persian and gaining the top of the hill before they could figure out just what she was doing. They turned and raced after her, yowling as they realized how close she was.

"Oy, hon! This way - duck an' run!"

Kasu followed the voice and dove. She slid between a pair of cream-colored paws, coming to a rest under the 'mon.

It took her a moment to realize it, too, was a Persian.

"Ah'll slow 'em down for ya, hon," the Persian said, stepping over her. "Watch a master in action."

The four Persians had slowed to a stop and were now all regarding this intruder warily.

"You trespass too, punish you we will," the far one said, readying himself to pounce.

"Try it, bucko," Kasu's protector snarled, also readying herself. "Ah dare ya."

The far Persian pounced.

He never made it.

A flash of gleaming white, and the Persian found himself sprawled on his side in the dirt, three deep gashes in his cheek. The other three Persians stared in consternation at the big female as she lowered her paw slightly.

"Leave me an' the little 'un alone, an' Ah'll let ya walk outta here in one piece. Understand?" She flexed her claws.

They seemed to understand very well, since they took off immediately, tearing up the undergrowth in their haste.

"Wow!" Kasu forgot herself and bounced in front of her protector. "That was amazing!"

"Don' celebrate too much, hon, they'll be back," the Persian advised. "How'd ya get mixed up with them, anyway?"

"They called me a trespasser - my friends left me for a minute, and they attacked - thanks, I wasn't going to get much farther -"

"Quit babblin', hon," the Persian said with an amused smile. "Sit down for a minute an' tell me yer story, an' Ah'll try ta get ya back ta yer friends after that. Ya need ta rest after that run, anyway."

"Thanks... uh, what's your name?"

"It's kinda unpronounceable in any tongue but a Persian's. Call me Firefang. What's yer name?"

"Kasu. See, what happened was..."

The sun was high in the sky as the young silver Eevee told Firefang what had happened to her.