Hello everyone! Kyuro here with another chapter of Silver Lining at last! I'm sorry my uploading is getting so widely-spaced apart, I'm trying my best though ;-;
Anyway, on with the story~!
Disclaimers: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON! Pokémon is a trademark of Nintendo and Game Freak, and I take no credit for their work. All OCs in the story belong to their respected owners.
Silver Lining Chapter 4
We walked through the wilderness outside of the city for a good while, Lunis occasionally looking back once or twice to see if I was following. I kept close, knowing how easy it was to get lost in the wilderness outside of the city, especially now that the sun was setting and that it was beginning to get dark. Thankfully, I saw a light up ahead after a while, and assumed that we had arrived. Sure enough, when we stepped into the clearing, my eyes were met with the eyes of an Espeon, Flareon, and Glaceon.
The entire clearing was quiet for a moment, and I quickly inspected it. It wasn't hard to tell that the clearing was only being used as a makeshift camping grounds, mostly by what looked to be where the family was sleeping, which was merely leaves covering sticks that were all put together by tree sap. It was very resourceful, but clearly it wasn't made to show-off.
The Glaceon was the first to speak, and rather rudely if I do say so myself. "Lunis, who is that?" He asked with a hostile tone.
"It's someone I happened to cross in the city." Lunis replied, her tone quickly becoming as hostile as the Glaceon's. "Why do you sound so riled up about it?"
"Sweetheart…" The Espeon joined in, her tone and voice sounding like the motherly figure of the four of them. "You know we don't associate ourselves with anyone, even if they do accept pokemorphs."
"Pardon me," I interjected as well, trying to be polite. I hadn't even realized that I was wearing my hood the whole time, nor that my face wasn't visible, "but what if that someone is a pokemorph?" I pulled my hood off, showing them my face.
All three of them went wide-eyed for a moment, before each getting a different look in their eyes. The Glaceon actually just returned to his hostile glare, while the Espeon seemed to have more of a thoughtful look as they both stared at me.
"Alright, what does that change?" The Glaceon growled. "He's still someone who we can't trust just because he's not a human."
"Actually it changes a lot." Lunis rebutted. "Use your brain for once Krys, do you think I would've brought him here if he would've been a threat. He helped me get away from the people in the city when my cover got blown."
"Oh?" The Espeon perked up a bit at that.
"Did you think that he might have some kind of motive that he hasn't told you about?" The Glaceon, evidently called Krys, still stood firm. "Mom, come on, do you really think we can trust anyone that we just meet? Even if they do something like rescue us?"
When he said it like that, it actually sounded like more of a good idea to me…
The Espeon, now confirmed the mother of at least Krys, remained silent for a while, looking me over and thinking hard. It was silent for a while before Lunis spoke up.
"Mom, he's by himself, imagine how hard it has to be to survive alone. He has to do all of the things that we split up amongst the four of us." Lunis explained to the Espeon. "You know I wouldn't try to bring him here and take him with us if I didn't think that it would be a good idea."
"Hm…" The Espeon continued thinking, but acknowledged that she heard Lunis. "I think we should try this."
"Seriously?" Krys and Lunis asked simultaneously.
"Yes, but I must give you a fair warning, if this doesn't work out, then we'll have to go our separate ways. So don't consider this arrangement permanent just yet." The Espeon told me with a stern voice.
"Yes ma'am, I understand." I reply. "I'll help in any way I can."
"Well if you're offering, it would be nice if you could help with gathering food. Everything else that we'll need the four of us can handle." The Espeon explained.
"Will do Miss…?"
"You can just call me Selene, and these are my kids." She said. "I'm sure you already know that she is Lunis. His name is Krys and her name is Kira." She went on, gesturing to Lunis, the Glaceon, and Flareon respectively. "And what is your name?"
"You can call me Shade. It's a pleasure to meet you all." I reply, before looking over at Krys quickly and muttering under my breath. "Almost all…"
"Well you three, let's start getting ready to get some sleep. We have to move to the next city tomorrow since we were discovered here." Selene said, and the other three started to pack things up and get their beds ready. However, Selene quickly noticed a minor problem. "Oh dear, um… Shade? I'm sorry, but this shelter isn't big enough for five people…"
"Great! You can sleep outside." Krys sneered as he rolled out one of the beds in the shelter.
Lunis shot an angry glare his way, but I actually agreed. "That's perfectly fine with me. I'm actually more used to that than making a shelter and sleeping in it. I'll just sleep in the trees."
"Are you sure that you're alright with that? I mean, we can figure something else out…" Selene tried to change my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
"I refuse to do anything that will inconvenience you four more than I already am." I insist. "I'll be alright; I've done this through wind, rain, and hail." Well… not so much the last one, but my point was made. Selene sighed briefly and nodded, gathering her children into the shelter before putting out the fire.
I looked around the clearing for a good tree to sleep in, and when I did, I climbed up as I always do and set up, using my clothes as a pillow against the base of the tree. It was a nice night tonight from what I could see through the tree. Bright stars and moon, cloudless sky, and a gentle breeze flowing through the forest. For the first time in a long time, I actually had something to look forward to. I was excited to be traveling with another group of pokemorphs, but at the same time, I had to make sure that I allowed no chances to be considered freeloading. There may be extra hands at work, but I still will have to work just as hard to keep in their good standings. I sighed and let myself fall asleep, actually looking forward to tomorrow for once.
And there you go! Another chapter at long last signed, sealed, and delivered. Now to continue working , because this is where the story starts getting good :3. I'll see you guys later! ~Kyuro
